UC to crack down on rehired retirees

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 9, 2008 | by Matt Krupnick

University of California leaders will consider rules that might have prevented last year's rehiring of UC Berkeley police Chief Victoria Harrison, who had just retired with a $2.1 million payout.

The UC Board of Regents will discuss the new rules at next week's meeting. The proposal follows legislative criticism about Harrison's deal, first reported in the Times, which ignored what UC spokespeople called "guidelines" for rehiring retirees.

The new policy would restrict re-employment to less than half- time for no more than one year, and campus leaders would need to detail in writing the unusual circumstances requiring the rehire.

Harrison, 54, was rehired immediately after retiring last summer, and she has worked full-time since then. She took her retirement benefits as a lump-sum payment, is being paid $552,000 in deferred compensation over 10 years and is earning a salary and stipend amounting to $194,000.

As many as 1,900 UC employees have retired and been rehired, university spokesman Paul Schwartz said.

"Making all of (the rules) clearer will help ensure the practices are consistent," he said.

Schwartz declined to address Harrison's rehiring Wednesday, as did UC Berkeley administrators and spokespeople. Harrison was on vacation and could not be reached.

The chief's vacation raised additional questions about the circumstances surrounding her employment. When asked in April why the campus had not sought a replacement for Harrison, Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom said that the school needed her leadership to deal with tree-sitting protesters near Memorial Stadium.

Harrison's "leadership and experience are critical in effecting a smooth transition in UCPD management," Brostrom wrote in a June 2007 letter to UC administrators, asking for exceptions to UC guidelines.

But while UC Berkeley police negotiated with the tree-sitters last week and subsequently arrested several, Harrison was overseas, department sources said.

After the Times revealed Harrison's deal in April, state senators grilled Brostrom at a hearing, saying they did not understand why the university had no suitable replacement for the chief.

It was not clear Wednesday how the university would judge whether circumstances require a retiree's rehiring. Deals for top administrators and employees making more than $205,000 would need to be approved by regents, but others would be mainly enforced by the campuses.

"Everyone throughout the system has a responsibility to follow policy," Schwartz said. "But, in a lot of ways, (the Office of the President) doesn't exist to police campuses."

The Board of Regents will discuss the proposal next week during a meeting at UC Santa Barbara, but it will delay a decision until a subsequent meeting, Schwartz said.

Matt Krupnick covers higher education. Reach him at 925-943-8246 or mkrupnick@bayareanewsgroup.com.