Fair Dealing
We will always conduct ourselves ethically, honestly, and with integrity-
This means that each member of the campus community
- Does not engage or allow others to engage in practices contrary to policy, law, or other obligations in order to achieve a "higher" purpose
Perspective: A Real World Illustration
A December 2005 Associated Press newspaper article reported on an administrator at a public university located in Michigan collecting $125,000 in salary during nearly eight months of paid leave after he stepped down and his position was eliminated.
The university could have saved $77,000 of that salary had the chancellor demoted the administrator into a lower-paying backup job after he forced him to resign as vice chancellor.
Instead, the chancellor allowed the administrator to keep his title as vice chancellor for student affairs and his $191,000 salary - even though the position had been abolished under a reorganization plan - as he looked for other jobs.
The administrator's affidavit is included in court records connected to his lawsuit against the chancellor and the then-dean of students.
The lawsuit claims the chancellor should have placed the administrator into a backup job guaranteed in his employment contract immediately or put him on paid leave instead of forcing him to use his accrued vacation and sick leave to cover the absence.
University lawyers argued in a court filing this month that the chancellor's delay in putting the administrator into his backup job "resulted in no economic harm" to the administrator since he was paid $77,000 more during the leave as a result. They said he never made a formal complaint asking to be placed into his backup job.
The chancellor finally moved the administrator into the backup position in the provost's office on June 23 after Republican lawmakers criticized the administrator for his absence and the then-dean of students told the chancellor of new allegations of sexual harassment against him. The position, which the administrator continues to hold, has a $73,000 salary.
The chancellor has said he made the administrator use sick leave and vacation to punish him for misconduct instead of having taxpayers pay for his leave. He could have immediately demoted him, but said he did not because he did not want to ruin his career.
The chancellor asked the administrator to resign the post he held for four years and look for other jobs after learning he had a relationship with a graduate student whom he mentored and the then-dean of students and another administrator said they could no longer report to him.
The case sparked criticism against the university from lawmakers and the governor that culminated in a $1 million budget cut for the school. In response, the university system's board of regents made a series of reforms in personnel policies, including the elimination of backup jobs, adopting a tougher sick leave policy and limiting paid leaves for administrators.
A school-ordered investigation led to a reprimand against the administrator for sexually harassing two women he supervised - although he denies the allegations. The university system's president reprimanded the chancellor for signing off on the administrator's sick leave when he knew he was not ill and for taking "an inordinate amount of time to place him in his backup appointment."
The then-dean of students left the university, citing the university's handling of the administrator's case.
Last Revised 5/23/2006