Post by trues on May 30, 2007 22:00:30 GMT -5
According to this article all seniors position have to reapply for there job when there is a New Chaceller in the house. This includes Athelete Director.
A&T’s recovery could take years
By Lanita Withers
Staff Writer
ADVERTISEMENT
AUDIT
GREENSBORO — It could take N.C. A&T three years to completely address and recover from the findings of an internal audit report, Velma Speight-Buford, chairwoman of the university's board of trustees, said Tuesday.
The university is also responsible for repaying about $550,000 in mismanaged federal grant money, Speight-Buford said.
The report by internal auditors found evidence of poor oversight, nepotism and forgery, and recommended a criminal investigation. Auditors pinpointed about $2 million that had been misappropriated, overspent, illegally gained or misused in recent years.
The July arrival of A&T's new chancellor, Stanley Battle, could mark a new start for the university. Incoming chancellors are allowed to choose their own senior level administrators, including all vice chancellors, the university attorney and the athletics director, Speight-Buford said.
Earlier this spring, all those positions were declared vacant, and the university began accepting applications. If sitting administrators were interested in keeping their jobs, they had to reapply, she said.
Speight-Buford said senior and midlevel staff members should have been on top of some of the problems listed in the report.
"If I were Dr. Battle looking at this, I'd be looking for people I could be comfortable with," she said.
Battle was on A&T's campus over the holiday weekend.
"I'm just tired of talking. I want to go to work," Battle said Tuesday from Baltimore.
He's been kept up to speed of all the developments on campus, he said: "I can see the change in attitude just sitting down with people on the campus. I can see they are anxious to go to work and make the corrections and adjustments that need to be made."
Battle has had experience addressing problematic audits — he inherited a similar situation when he arrived at Coppin State University in 2003, he said.
"That's why I look at where A&T is at, and it's very, very, very doable," he said.
The genesis of the audits was tied to the institution's search for a new leader, Speight-Buford said. Last summer, the chancellor search committee held forums with key constituencies seeking input on the qualities desired in A&T's next chief.
"At every meeting, we had somebody who wanted to tell us what was wrong with the university," Speight-Buford said.
She asked those with concerns to submit them, compiling an 11-page document for interim Chancellor Lloyd V. Hackley when he came on board late last spring.
Several of those concerns — including a conflict of interest in the Division of Information Technology and Telecommunications, rumblings about the mismanagement of a naval grant in the College of Engineering and the depositing of Pepsi contract money into the chancellor's discretionary account at the A&T Foundation — were addressed in the auditor's report.
"I'm grateful we identified our own issues," Speight-Buford said.
The chairwoman also revealed the name of a former employee under criminal investigation.
Speight-Buford said former A&T administrator Anna Anita Huff was the Office of Naval Research program manager who was fired for allegedly misspending an estimated $500,000 from a Office of Naval Research grant, including paying large amounts in tuition, travel and fees for herself and family members.
A man who identified himself as Mr. Huff declined to comment Tuesday evening at the family's lakefront home on Clovelly Drive east of town, saying he knew nothing about the audit.
Speight-Buford said the most important statement in the auditors' report was that the budget of the university was not tied to its mission or strategic plan.
"If your budget is not tied to your mission or your strategic plan, tell me how you're going to be successful?" she asked.
The university's emphasis should be on its 11,000 students, she said.
Aggies had plenty to say Tuesday about their institution's audit report.
Courtney Copeland, a rising sophomore, said she expected more from the university.
"This is supposed to be an institution for people to better themselves, and you can't even trust the school with your money," she said on campus Monday.
Jason Perry, a senior, said administrators should receive the same scrutiny that students receive.
"I still have faith in A&T," he said, "but I think as far as examining the way they examine us to make sure we're doing everything that we need to be doing, we need to examine the administration to make sure they're doing everything they need to be doing and fire them accordingly."
Despite the damage the reports may have done to their school — and their trust — students said they still believe in A&T.
"I feel kind of betrayed because you trust these people, and they're supposed to be for your well-being," said Lauren Ettson, a senior. "You're wondering why certain programs can't go on and certain things can't happen, and it's because certain people are using or abusing their power.
"But, I still have faith in the A&T institution, and I'm sure they'll get it back together."
A&T’s recovery could take years
By Lanita Withers
Staff Writer
ADVERTISEMENT
AUDIT
GREENSBORO — It could take N.C. A&T three years to completely address and recover from the findings of an internal audit report, Velma Speight-Buford, chairwoman of the university's board of trustees, said Tuesday.
The university is also responsible for repaying about $550,000 in mismanaged federal grant money, Speight-Buford said.
The report by internal auditors found evidence of poor oversight, nepotism and forgery, and recommended a criminal investigation. Auditors pinpointed about $2 million that had been misappropriated, overspent, illegally gained or misused in recent years.
The July arrival of A&T's new chancellor, Stanley Battle, could mark a new start for the university. Incoming chancellors are allowed to choose their own senior level administrators, including all vice chancellors, the university attorney and the athletics director, Speight-Buford said.
Earlier this spring, all those positions were declared vacant, and the university began accepting applications. If sitting administrators were interested in keeping their jobs, they had to reapply, she said.
Speight-Buford said senior and midlevel staff members should have been on top of some of the problems listed in the report.
"If I were Dr. Battle looking at this, I'd be looking for people I could be comfortable with," she said.
Battle was on A&T's campus over the holiday weekend.
"I'm just tired of talking. I want to go to work," Battle said Tuesday from Baltimore.
He's been kept up to speed of all the developments on campus, he said: "I can see the change in attitude just sitting down with people on the campus. I can see they are anxious to go to work and make the corrections and adjustments that need to be made."
Battle has had experience addressing problematic audits — he inherited a similar situation when he arrived at Coppin State University in 2003, he said.
"That's why I look at where A&T is at, and it's very, very, very doable," he said.
The genesis of the audits was tied to the institution's search for a new leader, Speight-Buford said. Last summer, the chancellor search committee held forums with key constituencies seeking input on the qualities desired in A&T's next chief.
"At every meeting, we had somebody who wanted to tell us what was wrong with the university," Speight-Buford said.
She asked those with concerns to submit them, compiling an 11-page document for interim Chancellor Lloyd V. Hackley when he came on board late last spring.
Several of those concerns — including a conflict of interest in the Division of Information Technology and Telecommunications, rumblings about the mismanagement of a naval grant in the College of Engineering and the depositing of Pepsi contract money into the chancellor's discretionary account at the A&T Foundation — were addressed in the auditor's report.
"I'm grateful we identified our own issues," Speight-Buford said.
The chairwoman also revealed the name of a former employee under criminal investigation.
Speight-Buford said former A&T administrator Anna Anita Huff was the Office of Naval Research program manager who was fired for allegedly misspending an estimated $500,000 from a Office of Naval Research grant, including paying large amounts in tuition, travel and fees for herself and family members.
A man who identified himself as Mr. Huff declined to comment Tuesday evening at the family's lakefront home on Clovelly Drive east of town, saying he knew nothing about the audit.
Speight-Buford said the most important statement in the auditors' report was that the budget of the university was not tied to its mission or strategic plan.
"If your budget is not tied to your mission or your strategic plan, tell me how you're going to be successful?" she asked.
The university's emphasis should be on its 11,000 students, she said.
Aggies had plenty to say Tuesday about their institution's audit report.
Courtney Copeland, a rising sophomore, said she expected more from the university.
"This is supposed to be an institution for people to better themselves, and you can't even trust the school with your money," she said on campus Monday.
Jason Perry, a senior, said administrators should receive the same scrutiny that students receive.
"I still have faith in A&T," he said, "but I think as far as examining the way they examine us to make sure we're doing everything that we need to be doing, we need to examine the administration to make sure they're doing everything they need to be doing and fire them accordingly."
Despite the damage the reports may have done to their school — and their trust — students said they still believe in A&T.
"I feel kind of betrayed because you trust these people, and they're supposed to be for your well-being," said Lauren Ettson, a senior. "You're wondering why certain programs can't go on and certain things can't happen, and it's because certain people are using or abusing their power.
"But, I still have faith in the A&T institution, and I'm sure they'll get it back together."
