A new purchasing card policy was unanimously voted on during the CSCU Board of Regents meeting on Feb. 27.
This came several months after a controversial audit revealed CSCU Chancellor Terrence Cheng misspent state funds.
The Connecticut State Senate had voted “no confidence” in Cheng’s leadership on Thursday, Feb. 6 while schools were coming forward in support of the vote.
The audit revealed that he spent money on dinner expenses and a chauffeur, made purchases without keeping records and had been residing in New York despite being given an allowance to move to a property in Connecticut.
Elle Van Dermark, the president of the Connecticut State Senate, voted no confidence, stating that years of neglected concerns and a lack of transparency were key factors in the vote, and that it sends a message from the faculty.
“There was also a desire to try to register our frustration and our anger at the lack of transparency, the need for new leadership, and do that earlier rather than later,” Van Dermark said.
Cheng responded to the vote in an email sent out to faculty on Friday, Feb. 7, acknowledging that his conduct had brought on the decision. He stated that the system, the Board of Regents and himself would be acting to restore trust, such as overhauling the P-Card system to ensure tighter restrictions on its use.
“I am fully committed to rebuilding trust and confidence in our system and in my leadership among all stakeholders,” Cheng said in the email. “Ultimately, our students are the best investment we can make. Moving forward, our collective focus needs to be on strengthening that investment which will further support their success.”
Van Dermark said that Cheng’s response did not feel authentic and avoided addressing the actual problems, many of which are inside the system.
“The problem is at the top. The problem is the culture at CSCU, it’s not with the lab assistants, or the faculty, or the staff who are using state funds for legitimate purposes, so the apology fell short and the promises for additional protocols seem to miss the mark.” Van Dermark said.
Christina Murphy, a political science major and student senator at Northwestern Community College, said that the lack of funding and cutting of resources and programs for the community colleges juxtaposed with Cheng’s misspending increases the frustrations among faculty and students.
Murphy said that this is an important reason for students to pay attention to administration right now.
“It’s 70%, if not 80% of at least Connecticut state students are working, we’re taxpayers. It’s our money that are going into these systems… some of us are on both sides of it, but that should give us all the more reason to be engaged and understand what’s going on.” Murphy said.
