Auditors Find UConn Repeating Past Spending Mistakes

A state audit released Tuesday bluntly outlines 15 recommendations where UConn must make improvements ranging from overpayment of employees to tracking the use of cars and credit cards to improperly spending nearly $50 million in state funds.

One recommendation says that a former high-level employee, who was earning more than $200,000 per year, was overpaid for the amount of work he completed. The employee was not identified by name in the audit.

"A UConn administrator stayed on the UConn payroll, with no reduction in his $202,829 salary for a year after stepping down from his management position, during which period the employee was expected to work primarily off-site," the 43-page audit said. "The employee's compensation was not justified by the amount of work our review indicated was performed; it may have been intended to reward the employee for stepping down voluntarily."

UConn identified the employee as Brinley Franklin, the vice provost for the university libraries who was described by UConn as "a national expert" in his field. UConn said Franklin, who stepped down as a manager in October 2013 and then worked for eight more months, was asked to complete "multiple complex projects of significant value to the university" that included generating revenue for the university through grants. He was working "primarily off-site," according to the auditors.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/education/hc-uconn-audit-findings-20160913-story.html