University of California President Robert C. Dynes has begun the arduous process of repairing a “broken” system of compensation, which has led to a series of state and internal investigations.
Following the release of recommendations by the Task Force on UC Compensation, Accountability and Transparency, Dynes has bowed to much of the group’s advice.
“I have heard the task force loud and clear: Major change is required,” Dynes stated. “We need to begin implementing that change immediately.”
However, some of the group’s recommendations should be addressed by the UC Board of Regents, Dynes said.
Acting on his power as the system’s top administrator, Dynes said that he will open up funding that will establish an information system to gather compensation figures for analysis and sharing with the public. The university expects the system to meet a public outcry for accountability.
“Outdated policies and practices must be replaced,” the task force wrote in its recommendations. “Necessary and appropriate checks and balances must be put in place and rigorously adhered to.”
At state Senate hearings, lawmakers grilled Dynes and UC Board of Regents Chairman Gerald L. Parsky on the university’s pay practices. Both admitted that the system had erred in many areas, especially regarding over $800 million in compensation given to UC employees in a year.
The university’s new office will start in October 2006 by analyzing research on compensation given to senior UC officials.
Transparency is a large focus for the university in the upcoming months, Dynes said. His office has promised a schedule and set of protocols for reporting compensation to the public and legislators. Regular reports to the regents as well as a Web site that will track compensation are part of Dynes’ new efforts.
University funding will also go toward ethics training, which will be required of all university employees. Dynes said that he plans to expand the program to include senior staff.
The UC system will also create a new position to oversee public requests for information. The slot, titled Public Information Practices Coordinator, will handle all California Public Records Act requests.
“These represent just the beginning of a long process for the University of California to improve its compensation policies and practices,” Dynes stated in a press release. “As the task force stated so clearly and well, the challenges laid out in its report will require several years to complete. But the time to start is now.”
For now, Dynes has appointed Senior Vice President Bruce B. Darling to an interim role to oversee human resources and be the administration’s official liaison.
