Acting University of District of Columbia President Stanley Jackson told D.C.’s elected leaders Tuesday that “gross mismanagement” allowed millions in public dollars to go to waste.
Jackson, who was appointed in June following the forced exit of ex-President William Pollard, said UDC has left roughly $5 million per year unspent, set aside about $8 million more in a “discretionary fund” and let a community work-force development program languish, even with $3.6 million allocated to it.
Council members were stunned.
“The needs are profound at that university, yet we have people asking for more money when they’re not even spending what they have, or know what they have,” said Council Chairman Vincent Gray, who called the oversight hearing.
Jackson acknowledged “people were not as diligent about minding their budget appropriately.” At the same time, school leaders under Pollard said UDC was cash-strapped.
The underspending comprises only a fraction of the UDC dollars that can’t be accounted for.
At least a portion of $3.6 million set aside for work-force development programs is missing or was wasted on no-bid contracts and redundant salaries, the council was told. Those programs, under the Office of Provost Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, have accomplished little to combat unemployment and literacy in three District communities.
“This is absolutely exasperating that I have to sit here and listen to this,” Gray said.
The D.C. Inspector General is investigating the work-force programs. Jackson would not say whether he thought the money was illicitly spent.
Another $8.3 million of the UDC annual budget was placed into a discretionary fund under Pollard’s office for “contingencies and emergencies” that crop up during the year, said Barbara Jumper, the school’s new chief financial officer. That fund has since been disbanded and reallocated.
“They don’t in any way appear to me to be improper,” Jumper said of the discretionary expenses.
