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Emu Where Does The Money Go?

Emu Where Does The Money Go? image
Parent Issue
Month
February
Year
1993
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
Rights Held By
Agenda Publications
OCR Text

Slnce the spring of 1992, Eastern Michigan University has refused to fully disclose information about how it spends financial contributions it receives. By its own account, however, half of the money donated to the university in the third quarter of 1992 was funneled to the administration.

 

EMU received $582,911 in contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30, 1992, according to an EMU Information Services press release. Of this, $296,997 was given to the Executive Division. By contrast, the university's endowed scholarship funds received only $60,876. The university's library received $130.

 

EMU Information director Susan Bairley said that she does "not know the particulars" of how the $296,997 allocated to the Executive Division was spent. Bairley stated that there are "all kinds of accounts" In the Executive Division. These accounts include, in addition to administrators' salaries, glfts from the EMU president to the "Learning University" publlcity campalgn, contributions for the football stadium, certain unendowed athletic scholarships and the Alumni Relations and University Development departments.

 

More detailed Information about Executive Division expenditures was unavailable because EMU channels contributions through the Eastern Michigan University Foundation, a "private" Corporation which was set up in 1989 by the university and to which EMU's $7.7 million endowment was transferred last year.

 

As a "private" entity, the Foundation claims it has no obligation to disclose how it spends funds. This reporter sued the Foundation in April, 1992 to have it declared subject to the disclosure requirements of Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA). After motions and arguments in Oct. 1992, Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Kurtis T. Wilder promised a ruling , which still not been issued. In the event that Wilder does not first issue a ruling, a trial is set for Feb. 19.

 

The Foundation's acting president is EMU Executive Vice President Roy Wilbanks, while its acting vice president is the university's public relations chief, Kathleen Tinney. As Vice President for University Development, Tinney not only controls EMU's Information Services, but the Executive Division accounts which Bairley mentioned.

 

The Foundation's plans project six-figure annual salaries and benefit packages for its president and vice president - which would be in addition to the officials' EMU salaries. At present, neither the university nor the Foundation will disclose whether Wilbanks and Tinney are on the Foundation payroll.

 

As it now stands, the only source of public Information about the use of gifts to the university is Tinney's office. If it is legally heid that the Foundation is subject to the FOIA, then all of the Foundation's records will be open to public scrutiny. If it is held that the Foundation is subject to the OMA, then all meetings would be open to the public and business prevlously done by foundation officials in closed meetings would have no legal effect.

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