SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a state audit found University of California administrators hid $175 million from the public while tuition increased, university system President Janet Napolitano apologized Tuesday for the way her office handled the investigation but disputed several of the audit’s findings.
In an unusual show of bipartisan agreement, lawmakers from both parties said during a Tuesday hearing they are deeply troubled by the state auditor’s finding that the UC president’s office tried to interfere with the audit. Later in the hearing, several legislators said they appreciated Napolitano’s apology and her promise to implement the audit’s recommendations.
Napolitano maintained that the money in reserves actually totals $38 million, which she described as a “prudent and reasonable” amount set aside for unexpected expenses. Most of the $175 million identified in the audit funds important university programs including research grants, Napolitano said.
She agreed her office should keep clearer budget plans and records, as the audit recommended.
State Auditor Elaine Howle told lawmakers she faced an unprecedented lack of cooperation from Napolitano’s office while it was under audit. She detailed efforts by the office to edit responses from individual UC campuses to survey questions from auditors.
Napolitano’s office “inappropriately screened” the campuses’ responses and altered statements and ratings that were initially critical of the office, the audit said.
“We felt that the surveys didn’t reflect an independent voice from those campuses,” Howle told lawmakers at the hearing.
