After months of public criticism aimed at University of
California officials, three key state senators called Wednesday for
the leader of the university to either resign or be fired.
Saying that “greed, arrogance and ignorance” were
pervasive in the UC president’s office, Sen. Jeff Denham,
R-Merced, asked that the UC Board of Regents fire UC President
Robert Dynes.
In a separate news conference Wednesday morning, Sens. Abel
Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, and Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, said
Dynes has lost public trust after months of scandal and must
resign.
All three senators serve on the state Senate Education
Committee, which held two February hearings in which lawmakers were
sharply critical of UC compensation.
Three audits have shown that the UC has violated state and
university policies regarding compensation benefits on numerous
occasions over the past several years.
Senators say the blame for the compensation errors falls on
Dynes.
“(Dynes) either knew about all of these secret
compensation deals and looked the other way, or he was completely
unaware of what his key staff members were doing. In any case, it
is clear that new leadership is needed,” Denham said in a
statement.
Stacey Hendrickson, a spokeswoman for Denham’s office
clarified one difference between Denham’s request and that of
the other two senators.
“He asked (Regent) Chairman (Gerald) Parsky to fire
President Dynes. He did not ask for a resignation,” she said.
“The senator believes that (Dynes) should be fired … not
receive compensation or a severance package.”
Compiled by Bruin senior staff. Read The Bruin tomorrow for
complete coverage.