Audit Report Out, ISL Forms Filed: Our Administration Continues its Monumental Failure

To close out March, here is some new information coming from the Auditor General’s Audit of Chicago State, released just two days ago:

• When the University decided not to recall 9 faculty members on June 29, it had close to $20 million in cash and cash equivalents.
• Contributions to Chicago State virtually dried up completely in fiscal 2016, dropping from a paltry $435,878 for the CSU Foundation in 2015, to a total of $52,135 in fiscal 2016, $7335 for the old foundation, and $44,800 for The University Foundation at Chicago State--more appropriately called the Wayne Watson foundation; his hedge against a possibly rambunctious Thomas Calhoun. With all the ballyhoo surrounding the destruction of the old foundation and the creation of the new organization, the Watson foundation raised almost enough money to pay the salary ($44,880) of one support person. Well done Wayne!
• Showing the same magic touch in fund-raising we experienced during his tenure, Wayne Watson and his foundation succeeded in reducing the University’s endowment by over $120,000 (from $5.157 million to $5.036 million.
• The Wayne Watson foundation also reduced that organization’s current assets from $1.89 million to $879,000. That must be Watson’s stock-in-trade “right-sizing,” which he has now brought to a university, an entire community college system, and a charitable organization. To be sure, we are still standing on the shoulders of a giant.
• Chicago State had 15 audit findings, the same number as in the previous year.
• We reportedly violated state law by having the Provost approve at least 5 contracts for more than $250,000, for a total of $2.38 million. State statutes are clear that only the CEO, CFO, and General Counsel may approve those contracts, which must then go to the Board for their approval. Of course, by June 30, 2016, at least three members of that board had died, although they continued to appear at meetings. The Provost and other high-level administrators cut Thomas Calhoun out of this process.
• The Sun Times reported on a couple of other embarrassing audit findings. http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/csu-audit-finds-the-university-improperly-reported-federal-awards/

The University also finally reported on its condition to the Illinois State Legislature. The 2018 ISL Forms contain some interesting information:

• When the University decided not to recall 9 faculty members on June 29, it had $843,700 in unspent local income money from 2015. The salaries for those 9 faculty members totaled just over $590,000.
• The University still desires to swell its administrative ranks. Its position requests for 2017-18 include: a Director of Financial Aid at $110,004. The previous salary for that position (2014) was $80,004. For fiscal 2018, the University wants a newly created Vice President of Advancement, a bargain at $110,004.
• The University continues to make extensive use of interim appointments, although it also pays hefty overrides to bring them up to typical salary levels for their respective positions. One interim dean receives an additional $35,004 per year, a second an additional $30,000, a third an additional $23,004, a fourth an additional $12,492. The Interim President receives a bump of $120,000 per year, an Acting Vice President gets $25,000 more per year, and an Interim Associate Vice President an additional $11,300. That’s four Interim Deans, an Interim President, an Interim Acting Vice President, and an Interim Associate Vice President. That’s real stability folks.
• The total cost of the West Side campus that simply will not die has ballooned from $40 million to $61 million.

This is all simply more evidence that this University has reached a crisis point. No one in this administration knows what they are doing, or else, they are simply trying to feather their nests and get as much as they can before the place goes under. Time to get some people fitted for jumpsuits?