After more than three years of tireless advocacy by CFA members,
State Senator Leland Yee and many others, Senate Bill (SB) 8 was
signed into law today by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Members of the state Assembly unanimously approved legislation
Monday – by a vote of 75-0 – to open the books of CSU foundations
and other auxiliary organizations.
Republican State Senators including Anthony Canella of Ceres
A disappointing sidebar to the final state budget deal was
inclusion of language in this budget that eliminates the biennial
audit requirement for the 23 CSU campuses.
Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) hopes the third time’s the
charm – or more importantly having a new governor is the charm –
as he reintroduces legislation to bring greater transparency and
accountability at California’s public higher education
institutions.
Leland Yee with CSU Stanislaus students & shredded documents pertaining to Sarah Palins visit to the school.
Documents the Stanislaus foundation claimed didn't exist.
Sacramento – Choosing special interests and ambiguity
over much-needed reform in California’s floundering colleges and
universities, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed Senator
Leland Yee’s (D-SF) SB 330.
On Tuesday, the CFA’s Officers sent an open letter to Chancellor Charles Reed urging him to take ownership of the financial mismanagement taking place within CSU auxiliaries and foundations.
A new report released by CFA last week revealed that auditors
associated with the CSU Chancellor’s Office have found
inappropriate co-mingling of taxpayer dollars with private
donations and other business revenues inside the university’s 90
affiliated auxiliary organizations.
California State University officials, who have fought to keep
secret the financial details of how $1.6 billion is managed by
campus foundations, now admit that they have mixed private and
public dollars to the extent that they can't tell the difference
and don't know how much money is involved.
The sloppy accounting has raised new concerns about the
university's insistence that the foundations are independent
enterprises and should be exempt from public records laws.
(From left) CFA President LIllian Taiz, Stanislaus faculty member Steve Filling, CFA Communications Director Alice Sunshine & CFA Research Director Aimee Shreck during the announcement of CFA's Special Report
Legislation to expand California’s public records law to include campus auxiliaries and foundations was approved by the senate last week and sent to the governor.
Meanwhile, at the CSU Stanislaus Foundation, not only is there a
lack of transparency, but according to one news outlet the
foundation’s involvement in a gala event with former Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin may actually be costing students an
opportunity at scholarships.
The Los Angeles Times has confirmed that former Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin will receive $75,000 plus expenses up $18,000 in expenses
to speak at Cal State Stanislaus later this month.
Times education reporter Carla Rivera received confirmation from
two unnamed “State University sources that have seen the contract
for the engagement” that an earlier internet rumor about Palin
fee was in fact true.
The CFA Chapter at CSU Stanislaus has produced a documentary called: "Crisis in Higher Education: California State University Stanislaus," which examines the crisis in administrative leadership at the school.
