UC regents meet over compensation scandal

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 16, 2006 | by Michelle Maitre, STAFF WRITER

Hounded by a compensation scandal, University of California President Robert Dynes on Wednesday reiterated his vow to tighten university rules and introduced two new policies to improve oversight of executive spending.

"We take these issues very seriously, and we're very intent on fixing the problem and tightening up the system so that the things that have happened do not happen again," Dynes said during his introductory comments at UC's Board of Regents meeting at UCLA.

UC's compensation policies have been under fire since newspaper reports detailed large spending on bonuses, allowances, sabbatical agreements and other perks, much of it granted without approval by regents.

Dynes has said UC pay lags that at other institutions and the university needs to offer top dollars to attract the best candidates, but he acknowledges the university can be more open. The new policies announced Wednesday are part of UC's continuing attempts to revise its pay practices.

The first requires that any construction improvements worth more than $25,000 to UC chancellors' on-campus residences or offices be approved by the president, effective immediately.

Improvements to the president's residence, Blake House in Kensington, would be approved by the regents, pending ratification by the board in May.

The change follows media reports that UC spent thousands on home and office improvements, including $131,703 to renovate UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's office and $600,000 in deferred maintenance and other improvements at the on-campus residence of UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton, including $30,000 for an enclosure for her two dogs.

The second policy change would put new conditions on separation agreements with employees, adding provisions that would allow UC to void or reduce any agreed-upon payments if employees are found to have violated university policies or state laws.

Regents will vote today on the separation agreement policy. The change comes after legislative and public outcry over news reports that former Provost M.R.C. Greenwood would retain her $301,836 sabbatical payment even after a UC investigation determined she had violated conflict-of-interest policies when she hired a business partner to an administrative post.

The policy is not retroactive and would not affect Greenwood, who resigned Nov. 4. Dynes has said the university was legally bound to the payment because of a pre-negotiated contract.

UC officials have vowed to further reform compensation policies and have convened a task force to study the issue.

Additionally, PricewaterhouseCoopers is conducting an audit on executive compensation going back 10 years. The state auditor is also reviewing UC pay.

Meanwhile, compensation issues continue to dominate the regents' agenda.

A board committee convened into closed session Wednesday to continue discussions of a proposal that gives the president more authority over executive pay.

The proposal, called job slotting, puts employees into broad pay categories and allows the president to move employees within those ranges.

An interim policy requires salaries above $200,000 to be approved by regents. Previously, regents individually approved salaries of more than $168,000.

The committee also discussed a proposal to classify campus chancellors and the president into ranges based on total compensation packages, not just salary.

UC officials say the new system is more efficient, but critics say it opens the door to increased executive salaries. Regents will discuss the proposal in public when their meeting continues today.

Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, urged regents to hold off on job slotting, saying it allows the president to operate without adequate checks from the regents.

"In the past few months, if we have learned anything, it's that we need more oversight in regards to the Office of the President, not less," Maldonado said.

Also today, regents are expected to receive a number of reports relating to compensation, including one on pay for top executives. The report is supposed to be delivered annually to regents, but was not given last year.

Regents will also hear a report detailing paid service on corporate boards by university executives.

Birgeneau, for instance, receives $38,000 a year, plus stock options, as a board member for Cabot Microsystems. He receives $400,000 a year as chancellor.

And UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox sits on seven outside boards, earning more than $218,000 annually in compensation, retainers and reimbursements, according to the report.

The agenda and related items are available at http:// www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/.> The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Michelle Maitre at mmaitre@angnewspapers.com.