Editorial: State should let reform come from inside UC

Correction appended

It was a political feeding frenzy in Sacramento on Wednesday
““ and the victim of all the teeth-gnashing was our own
university system.

That’s because University of California President Robert
Dynes had to go before a state Senate hearing to explain why the UC
paid out millions in bonuses and extra compensation to top-level
employees while student fees have gone up and lower to mid-level
salaries for UC staff have flatlined or fallen.

Dynes apologized for the mess, and pledged to bring more
transparency to the UC system. Nevertheless, state senators raked
him over the coals, and they’ll get a chance to do the same
to the UC Board of Regents chairman in two weeks.

It’s nice to see politicians entering the fray. Students
and staff can be outraged all they want over accountability (or
lack thereof) in the UC system, but it’s unlikely
administrators would take them seriously enough to act.

But when a panel of glowering state senators is outraged,
it’s a good bet that action will come. And when the outrage
happens in a public forum ““ like a hearing in Sacramento
““ it should remind UC officials that their institution is
ultimately answerable to the public.

Certainly the chastisement is deserved. Recent revelations about
compensation of top-level officials have turned the
university’s business practices into a virtual comedy, in
which each episode is followed by one that is even more
ridiculous.

First, in December, the UC found its former provost, MRC
Greenwood, guilty of violating conflict-of-interest policies when
she hired a former business partner. Her punishment: a yearlong
sabbatical at her former annual salary of $301,840.

Then came news that the UC had allowed two other key
administrators ““ including the former chancellor of UC
Berkeley ““ to take paid leaves of up to a year with over
$315,000 in their pockets. This in spite of a UC policy that bans
paid leave of senior administrators for more than three months.

This sequence of events culminated in senators tossing around
words like “outraged,” “stunned” and even
“criminality” on Wednesday. And with those words comes
the paper trail. Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-San Luis Obispo, introduced
legislation last month that would make the university more open
with its salaries. Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, has proposed a bill
which mandates that if the UC does not make its practices open, its
budget will have to be approved by the state Legislature.

Let’s stop right there.

It’s true that the UC’s salary practices need to be
made more transparent. But having the senate step in and take
control of the university’s budget brings with it a whole
host of troubles, the largest of which is that it creates the
potential for politicians to decide who should go and who should
stay in the university.

While Sen. Denham’s motives might be pure, mixing politics
and education has the potential to hurt academic freedom.
Professors and administrators, while they shouldn’t be paid
exorbitant salaries, also need to have the freedom to do and say
what they want without oversight from Sacramento.

While we applaud the enthusiasm of the state senators,
we’d like them to not get too zealous. The political pressure
and public embarrassment being heaped on the UC will hopefully
bring about reform from where it should come ““ the
inside.

If not, the senate should feel free to rip into the university
again. But not to oversee its budget.