Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

CSU system takes criticism from legislators, Rell administration

  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • December 16, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The co-chairwoman of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee leveled sharp criticism at the administration of the Connecticut State University System Thursday, citing a new report faulting the system’s central office for spending “more on bureaucracy than on academics.”

Rep. Roberta B. Willis, D-Salisbury, told the General Assembly’s Program Review and Investigations Committee the report shows the need to rein in CSU’s administration.

“I am beginning to feel like we’ve been taken advantage of,” she said “We need more oversight.”

Willis’s comments came two days after a panel appointed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell released its report recommending abolishing the central office that runs the four-campus system, saying the move could save the state $6 million.

“The time for business as usual must be banished from the CSU lexicon,” Brenda Sisco, Rell’s budget director and head of the Connecticut State University Working Group, wrote in the report.

The CSU administration-particularly Chancellor David G. Carter-has been under fire for much of the year for a series of controversial decisions. Among them was the removal of Cheryl Norton as president of Southern Connecticut State University under an agreement that gave her a one-year sabbatical at full pay.

The administration also drew criticism for approving double-digit raises to top officials in the central office in the face of the state’s continued budget problems. Although Carter defended the raises, they were scaled back at Rell’s request.

In addition to the working group named by Rell, the bi-partisan Program Review and Investigations Committee decided to undertake its own review of the system.

Both panels complained this week that CSU has only provided partial information needed to complete their reviews.

“Repeated efforts to get comprehensive lists of employees, titles, salaries and job descriptions went unanswered… Without CSU’s cooperation, detailed analyses of administrative or other personnel needs cannot be done,” Sisco’s panel wrote in the report. That panel included Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, education officials, and former Democratic House Speaker Moira Lyons.

Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford and co-chairwoman, of the PRI committee, said her staff “had a terrible time” getting accurate data from CSU. The committee cited the difficulty in obtaining information in announcing Thursday that its review, which it had hoped to complete this month, likely would be extended at least a month.

Bernard Kavaler, spokesman for CSU, said the system has complied with all requests for information.

“Half of the information they say we never provided them is sitting on our web site and is readily available,” he said of Sisco’s report. “What they ask for we provide.”

Sisco’s group concluded that CSU has devoted too much of its resources over the past two decades to expanding its administrative staff by more than 70 percent.

“Personnel practices at the CSU central office-both the hiring of large numbers of non-faculty and the overly generous compensation once hired-are driving up the cost of attending CSU and making it an unaffordable option for Connecticut students,” the report says.

CSU also has not been graduating enough students in key need areas defined by the Connecticut Department of Labor, including accountants and computer software engineers, the report says. “CSU must itself be more responsive to the economic employment trends.”

Kavaler said the report is “stunningly incomplete, inaccurate and incorrect.” He said CSU was never given the opportunity to review and verify the report’s data and conclusions before they were made public.

Rell said she “welcomes the recommendations for savings by eliminating — or, at a minimum, sharply reducing — the scale of [CSU’s] administrative office.” Rell proposed eliminating the system office in her transition budget last month.

But ultimately that decision will be up to Gov.-elect Dan Malloy and state lawmakers. Malloy’s spokeswoman said the incoming governor “has been clear that there is a lot of fat in state government that we can– and must — trim” and is reviewing the recommendations.

 

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut’s largest COVID vaccination site is now open. Here’s what you need to know.
by Jenna Carlesso

The state plans to vaccinate 7,000 to 10,000 people weekly at the former Pratt & Whitney airport at Rentschler Field.

Nursing home residents are receiving the COVID vaccination at a higher rate than their caretakers
by Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso

Providers attributed workers' reluctance to a variety of issues, from concerns about fertility to uncertainty about the side effects.

Legislative leaders support extension of Lamont’s emergency powers during COVID
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

The governor's emergency powers expire Feb. 9 unless he asks lawmakers for an extension within 72 hours of that date.

Weeks after the election, Secretary of the State’s efforts to monitor disinformation campaigns ended
by Kasturi Pananjady and Dave Altimari

For weeks, an intelligence analyst monitored social media for the Secretary of the State's office. Then her contract ran out.

Keeping Connecticut’s music industry alive
by Matt Fitzgibbon

By recently passing the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, in its COVID relief package, Congress has temporarily protected The Constitution State’s music industry from economic free fall. But are the courts now willing to do what’s necessary to provide the permanent security it needs and deserves?

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Keeping Connecticut’s music industry alive
by Matt Fitzgibbon

By recently passing the Save Our Stages Act, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, in its COVID relief package, Congress has temporarily protected The Constitution State’s music industry from economic free fall. But are the courts now willing to do what’s necessary to provide the permanent security it needs and deserves?

Opinion A young Black man sees a need for faster racial progress
by Eugene Z. Bertrand

I first learned that I was Black in kindergarten. More importantly, I learned of the negative connotations that come with identifying with my own skin color.

Opinion Sadly, not much has changed since Martin Luther King Jr.’s killing.
by Alberto Cortes

As we approached the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I took the time to read and watch his “I Had a Dream” speech which he  delivered on Aug. 28, 1963; and as I read through it 57 years later, I realize not much has changed.

Opinion The struggle for racial justice and equality is far from over
by Marilyn Moore

On the eve of the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I and many others are reflecting on what recently transpired at the U. S. Capitol and how it relates to the injustices that Dr. King and so many others fought to change so many years ago. It is obvious that our nation's fight for racial justice and equality is far from over. In fact, it continues to this day.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO