In the wake of a state audit that exposed numerous compensation policy breaches at the University of California, several state senators have voiced concerns over UC President Robert C. Dynes’ ability to lead the system and have called for him to resign or be fired.
State Sens. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) and Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), both members of the Senate Education Committee, held a joint press conference on May 3 — one day after the release of the audit — demanding that Dynes step down from his presidency of the 10-campus system and saying that they had lost confidence in his leadership abilities.
“I’ve spent many sleepless nights agonizing for some time,” Maldonado said at the conference. “But, in the interest of California and taxpayers of California, I’m asking President Dynes to immediately step down.”
The demands come after the state auditor’s discovery of policy lapses that led to erroneous payments, unreported salaries and housing and car payments that were not properly disclosed to the university’s governing body, the UC Board of Regents.
According to the report, Dynes, a physicist and former UCSD chancellor, was responsible for many of the lapses. Although state legislators have no power over Dynes’ employment, state Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced) called on the regents, who can fire Dynes, to force out the president without hesitation.
“Dynes still doesn’t get it,” Denham stated in a press release. “Greed, arrogance and ignorance sum up the attitude that is pervasive in the UC president’s office.” Denham has also proposed other solutions to solving the university’s compensation problems, including introducing a measure earlier this year that would have stripped the UC system of its constitutionally protected autonomy and give the state Legislature control over its budget. State Sen. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) — who sits on the same committee as Maldonado, Romero and Denham — said that she is willing to give Dynes at most six months to make significant changes to UC pay and transparency policies.
Denham’s proposal is too drastic, Speier said, and “fraught with problems.”
“The day the state takes over a public education entity as esteemed as the University of California will be a dark day for academia,” she said.
The demands put new pressure on the beleaguered Dynes, who has repeatedly pledged to improve the university’s transparency.
“I believe it is critical to move swiftly, but accurately, to identify root causes and permanent solutions,” he stated in a press release. “Where there has been misconduct, misjudgments or mistakes, I will take appropriate action. There is no conflict between our fiduciary duty and our obligation to act fairly.”
Dynes also gave no indication of any plans to resign. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he denied that he was giving into any pressure from politicians. “Do I look like I’m crumbling?” he said.
Gerald L. Parsky, chair of the UC Board of Regents, stated in a press release that the regents have asked Dynes to respond to the state audit at the next regents meeting, scheduled for May 17. He also said that the regents would review additional information, including an internal audit, at the meeting.
Both Romero and Maldonado said at the conference that they were prepared to attend the meeting if Dynes had not resigned by then.
The university is no stranger to compensation problems. In 1992, then-President David P. Gardner was accused of improperly giving bonuses to top aides and other UC officials, stepping down amid the charges.
