UConn and stealing..

[Guapo]

No. I’m saying their drunken wasteful spending gives ammunition to people who want to cut spending.

How many stories do you need to read before one realizes it’s the culture?

They paid a dead guy hundreds of thousands of dollars wihout anyone even bothering to care he hadn’t showed up in months.

How is a $500k department head worth that expense if he can take employees around the world on fornication romps doing anything but his job?

Herbst herself said that the funding cuts haven’t hurt the quality of education so why send them more money to set on fire?

I love that one - literally nobody at UConn is responsible for anything. It’s always someone else’s fault.

The weak state legislature should have sent a message a long time ago.

I agree that it’s not good PR but we’re talking about people justifying torching millions (billions?) of dollars in funding over misuse of a comparitvely small amount of money.

Misuse and oversight that happens in any sort of institutional environment, by the way.

UConn is held to a higher and more unreasonable standard than any other institution in the country, and has more jackals foaming at the mouth in state government (talk about a glass house) ready to rip it apart at a moment’s notice, than any other flagship university in the country.

 

[UofCT]

What years was he a BBall manager?

P.S. When I filed my very first expense report for a big Wall St brokerage in 95 the office manager asked to talk to me. There was no cab ride to or from the airport. I said I took public transportation b/c it was cheaper and more reliable. He subtly told me that in the future my expenses should show I took a cab like everyone else. I think this is how this kind of thing starts.

Craig Austrie era

 

[whaler11]

I agree that it’s not good PR but we’re talking about people justifying torching millions (billions?) of dollars in funding over misuse of a comparitvely small amount of money.

Misuse and oversight that happens in any sort of institutional environment, by the way.

UConn is held to a higher and more unreasonable standard than any other institution in the country, and has more jackals foaming at the mouth in state government (talk about a glass house) ready to rip it apart at a moment’s notice, than any other flagship university in the country.

That’s crazy talk. UConn has gotten the kid glove treatment from the state. Almost no one has been better funded.

There isn’t any money to give them in the future - because it’s all already promised to former state employees - including the useless layers of administrators that Herbst bankrolled.

Unreasonable standard - they run a health system that loses money faster than it can be printed and they paid a DEAD GUY for 9 months. Because 80 year old work at home professors who make $200k is a reasonable position. How long didn’t the guy do anything when he was alive that they couldn’t figure out he was dead?

 

[upstater]

So you’re arguing that the school deserves to have it’s funding cut by millions because an employee fleeced the school of 90k?

Not sure about the academic world, but in real life it’s not all that uncommon for people to have their assistants travel with them for business. Sounds like the real crime here is that he was trying to hide it.

It is highly unusual for the academic world. Unless you're a president.

 

[upstater]

That’s crazy talk. UConn has gotten the kid glove treatment from the state. Almost no one has been better funded.

There isn’t any money to give them in the future - because it’s all already promised to former state employees - including the useless layers of administrators that Herbst bankrolled.

Unreasonable standard - they run a health system that loses money faster than it can be printed and they paid a DEAD GUY for 9 months. Because 80 year old work at home professors who make $200k is a reasonable position. How long didn’t the guy do anything when he was alive that they couldn’t figure out he was dead?

There are different parts of universities. One is the private foundation. No one knows what is going on there. Elsewhere, people have budgets. Those are being slashed. Presidents slash the academic budgets, and they leave the private foundation alone. There are huge consequences to the cuts. Anyone who thinks the quality of education isn't being drastically diminished is totally fooling themselves. As a parent of two teens/tweens, I will stay very far away from any school that is slashing funding.

We had a fool at my school who did practically the same thing as this joker (without the sex part) and we are paying a price for his idiocy. The net result is that the students get less service. Why? Because we aren't reimbursed anymore for services that have been contracted with donors (i.e. someone donated money for a specific purpose, the new system rejects reimbursement for the services provided to fulfill donors wishes, those services are then canceled, and people are left wondering what will then happen to the money donated. That money is going somewhere). In the end, the administrators win either way. Who is to blame? The encroachment of ill fitting business practices (ie. metrics) into the academic system.

 

[whaler11]

There are different parts of universities. One is the private foundation. No one knows what is going on there. Elsewhere, people have budgets. Those are being slashed. Presidents slash the academic budgets, and they leave the private foundation alone. There are huge consequences to the cuts. Anyone who thinks the quality of education isn't being drastically diminished is totally fooling themselves. As a parent of two teens/tweens, I will stay very far away from any school that is slashing funding.

We had a fool at my school who did practically the same thing as this joker (without the sex part) and we are paying a price for his idiocy. The net result is that the students get less service. Why? Because we aren't reimbursed anymore for services that have been contracted with donors (i.e. someone donated money for a specific purpose, the new system rejects reimbursement for the services provided to fulfill donors wishes, those services are then canceled, and people are left wondering what will then happen to the money donated. That money is going somewhere). In the end, the administrators win either way. Who is to blame? The encroachment of ill fitting business practices (ie. metrics) into the academic system.

Herbst said it not me. Seemed like a dumb thing to say if you want to keep getting finding but I’m not an academic.

 

[CCSU97]

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said UConn has created its own problems.

“We have seen extravagance and overspending at UConn,” Fasano said. “For years, UConn’s spending on questionable priorities with little oversight has been out of control. UConn has made contracts and commitments that they cannot afford. UConn has failed to live within its means and has shown questionable judgment, prioritizing administrative bloat over the needs of their students.”

Dems blame GOP for UConn ranking drop, GOP blames UConn

 

[Guapo]

That’s crazy talk. UConn has gotten the kid glove treatment from the state. Almost no one has been better funded.

There isn’t any money to give them in the future - because it’s all already promised to former state employees - including the useless layers of administrators that Herbst bankrolled.

Unreasonable standard - they run a health system that loses money faster than it can be printed and they paid a DEAD GUY for 9 months. Because 80 year old work at home professors who make $200k is a reasonable position. How long didn’t the guy do anything when he was alive that they couldn’t figure out he was dead?

I think you’d be surprised by how many places with thousands of employees don’t realize that a specific employee has died.

Sounds to me like it’s an issue of not having enough administrative people, not too many...

 

[CL82]

How is a $500k department head worth that expense if he can take employees around the world on fornication romps doing anything but his job?

Note to self: consider a career in academia.

(Fornication romps... perfect choice of words... snicker)

 

[Guapo]

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said UConn has created its own problems.

“We have seen extravagance and overspending at UConn,” Fasano said. “For years, UConn’s spending on questionable priorities with little oversight has been out of control. UConn has made contracts and commitments that they cannot afford. UConn has failed to live within its means and has shown questionable judgment, prioritizing administrative bloat over the needs of their students.”

Dems blame GOP for UConn ranking drop, GOP blames UConn

Yes, this is the kind of stupid talk from state politicians that I was talking about.

 

[Guapo]

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said UConn has created its own problems.

“We have seen extravagance and overspending at UConn,” Fasano said. “For years, UConn’s spending on questionable priorities with little oversight has been out of control. UConn has made contracts and commitments that they cannot afford. UConn has failed to live within its means and has shown questionable judgment, prioritizing administrative bloat over the needs of their students.”

Dems blame GOP for UConn ranking drop, GOP blames UConn

@whaler11 I know you do not want to be on the same side as Hurr-Durr Fasano

 

[whaler11]

@whaler11 I know you do not want to be on the same side as Hurr-Durr Fasano

Broken clocks something something something.

Fighting over 18 vs 22 is pretty stupid though in general.

 

[whaler11]

I think you’d be surprised by how many places with thousands of employees don’t realize that a specific employee has died.

Sounds to me like it’s an issue of not having enough administrative people, not too many...

You’ve got examples of people who make 200k being dead for 9 months and nobody notices?

Yes there aren’t enough adminstrators at UConn Health... that’s it.

 

[80shusky]

The real stealing here is charging money for football tickets.

 

[Guapo]

You’ve got examples of people who make 200k being dead for 9 months and nobody notices?

Yes there aren’t enough adminstrators at UConn Health... that’s it.

Lol well UConn Health is definitely something that I would look into cutting if I was in a position of power.

That, along with putting CCSU out of it’s misery, and combing the directional schools into one “Connecticut State University” would be something I would look at.

 

[the Q]

Lol well UConn Health is definitely something that I would look into cutting if I was in a position of power.

That, along with putting CCSU out of it’s misery, and combing the directional schools into one “Connecticut State University” would be something I would look at.

Having one admin office (finance, purchasing, hr, etc) for all those schools would save a lot of money as well

 

[upstater]

Herbst said it not me. Seemed like a dumb thing to say if you want to keep getting finding but I’m not an academic.

I imagine the way presidents operate today they see entire parts of the university as fungible. Sure, just axe entire academic disciplines and install e-sports! Who cares??!

 

[upstater]

Having one admin office (finance, purchasing, hr, etc) for all those schools would save a lot of money as well

Have you ever heard of SUNY Central? Again, efficiency and rooting out redundancy seems like a nice thing, in theory.

One of my favorite head scratchers is finding a flight for a visiting speaker/resident and then forwarding that information to the administrative unit that purchases travel. Invariably, they buy the ticket for $300 more than I found it 4 days prior! I'd be very happy to do it myself if only I would be reimbursed!

 

[upstater]

Yes, this is the kind of stupid talk from state politicians that I was talking about.

They need to compare subsidies for UConn to subsidies from other states. Is it out of kilter?

This morning I read private contractors are making $750 per child per day housing separated refugee children. Is Fasano up in arms?

 

[Guapo]

They need to compare subsidies for UConn to subsidies from other states. Is it out of kilter?

This morning I read private contractors are making $750 per child per day housing separated refugee children. Is Fasano up in arms?

The question I have from the Fasano quote that I think cuts to the heart of the matter is the following:

What are UConn’s means and who sets those parameters?

 

[Guapo]

They need to compare subsidies for UConn to subsidies from other states. Is it out of kilter?

This morning I read private contractors are making $750 per child per day housing separated refugee children. Is Fasano up in arms?

The question I have from the Fasano quote that I think cuts to the heart of the matter is the following:

What are UConn’s means and who sets those parameters?

We hear people say all the time that “UConn is not living within its means” but that is a totally meaningless statement unless we understand what those means are.

This requires us to have a conversation about how to view UConn’s place in the state.

I happen to believe that it’s very smart for states to aggressively promote and maintain their flagship schools. I would point to North Carolina and Georgia has places where the impact of doing that has really paid off. I also believe that cutting UConn to the bone (l realize people like @whaler11 are not arguing for this BUT there are definitely people who do want to do that, like Fasano) will tremdously hurt the long term prospects for the state.

There are not a lot of things currently drawing people to Connecticut but UConn is one of those rare things that are. It is a resounding success for a state that has messed up so many other things and I shudder to think what the state of the state would be now had projects like UConn 2000 not been undertaken.

 

[CL82]

You’ve got examples of people who make 200k being dead for 9 months and nobody notices?

Yes there aren’t enough adminstrators at UConn Health... that’s it.

C'mon it was only one time... Who hasn't paid a dead employee for 9 months?

 

[intlzncster]

What's the subsidy for research at UConn? They take 60% for general funding. Where do these research funds sit in the overall mix? 20% 30% 40% If the budget is a billion, and research is $250m, then 60% of that gets swept into the general fund.

You're asking the wrong guy upstater. It's my general consensus that academics*, and even more so, university administrators make far too much money. There's so much bloat at schools it's insane.

*I come from a family of them, so I don't have a huge bias one way or another

 

[intlzncster]

Ya, all good 'cept most employers want to see (proof of) that degree. Kind of a racket though.

I get that, I do. But I do think the attitude is changing, even if it's slow. For example, you see a lot of tech guys able to jump in after 6 month intensive comp courses. Skills should be a priority, not a piece of paper.

University works for people who are going into medicine, law, science, research, etc. And English teachers. Everything else is pretty much useless.

 

[whaler11]

We hear people say all the time that “UConn is not living within its means” but that is a totally meaningless statement unless we understand what those means are.

This requires us to have a conversation about how to view UConn’s place in the state.

I happen to believe that it’s very smart for states to aggressively promote and maintain their flagship schools. I would point to North Carolina and Georgia has places where the impact of doing that has really paid off. I also believe that cutting UConn to the bone (l realize people like @whaler11 are not arguing for this BUT there are definitely people who do want to do that, like Fasano) will tremdously hurt the long term prospects for the state.

There are not a lot of things currently drawing people to Connecticut but UConn is one of those rare things that are. It is a resounding success for a state that has messed up so many other things and I shudder to think what the state of the state would be now had projects like UConn 2000 not been undertaken.

No matter what you consider the value... there is no money.

The SALT changes are going to make that even more stark because the high-income residents have even more reason to leave now.

The entire state budget is going to get swallowed whole by the pension liability. UConn’s funding is going to gradually move to zero barring an absolute miracle.

 

[Guapo]

I get that, I do. But I do think the attitude is changing, even if it's slow. For example, you see a lot of tech guys able to jump in after 6 month intensive comp courses. Skills should be a priority, not a piece of paper.

University works for people who are going into medicine, law, science, research, etc. And English teachers. Everything else is pretty much useless.

An education for education sake is worth something.

I have my history degree from UConn. I do nothing involving history, yet the critical thinking skills I developed while in school have been invaluable to me.

Believe it or not, you can’t learn everything there is to know, much less know how to process that information, just by reading Wikipedia.

 

[Guapo]

No matter what you consider the value... there is no money.

The SALT changes are going to make that even more stark because the high-income residents have even more reason to leave now.

The entire state budget is going to get swallowed whole by the pension liability. UConn’s funding is going to gradually move to zero barring an absolute miracle.

So the state is just going to cease to exist?

 

[intlzncster]

An education for education sake is worth something.

I have my history degree from UConn. I do nothing involving history, yet the critical thinking skills I developed while in school have been invaluable to me.

Believe it or not, you can’t learn everything there is to know, much less know how to process that information, just by reading Wikipedia.

Not at the price they are charging. $5-10k max per year, with the same ability to receive grants/scholarships.

I'm not talking about wikipedia either come on. I'm talking about real, online education with professors.

 

[intlzncster]

I imagine the way presidents operate today they see entire parts of the university as fungible. Sure, just axe entire academic disciplines and install e-sports! Who cares??!

E-sports makin' money tho. Just sayin'

 

[whaler11]

So the state is just going to cease to exist?

How is not being able to fund higher ed the same thing as not existing?

The state got saved this year when they got a huge one time windfall because the feds closed a loophole that forced hedge funds billionaires to pay taxes on money accumulating off-shore.

They have 127 billion and growing in unfunded pension liability and the wealthiest families are trickling out of state every month.

36% of the state income tax comes from 10 towns and 51% of the state’s revenue is from the income tax....

19-20 already projects to a 2 billion deficit - and since any tax increase is going to be self-defeating so start looking for non-higher ed spending that isn’t fixed costs... good luck.