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Week of Thursday, September 9, 2004Gov. questions EMU By PETE
HEYN If two recent letters out of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office are any indication she is very aware of the ongoing controversy surrounding Eastern Michigan University’s "University House" project and the exit package given to departed President Samuel Kirkpatrick. The governor is having her legal staff review what options are available to her if she should decide to take action. In a letter dated Sept. 2 to the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents and Interim President, Dr. Craig D. Willis from Kelly Keenan, legal counsel to the governor, Keenan invokes the governor’s authority to "require information in writing from all executive and administrative state officers, elective and appointive, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices." In the letter, Keenan is seeking documentation, including the university’s formal response to an state auditor general’s report on the University House project. The university’s response to the report on the $5-million project is due by mid-September, and Keenan is asking for a response within 14 days. University House is a 10,000-square-foot president’s residence and entertainment facility for fundraising. Numerous questions have been raised about the cost of the project and the way it was financed. The governor’s office also is seeking copies of any documents pertaining to the University House project and the Board of Regents’ involvement in the project, and a copy of Kirkpatrick’s employment contract with the university and copies of Kirkpatrick’s termination agreement, severance package, sabbatical agreement and all other documents regarding Kirkpatrick’s relationship with the university. Keenan says in the letter that the reason for the request for the information is that "the Auditor General’s Performance audit of the University House project … has generated significant public concern regarding the faithful execution of the laws of the State by the Eastern Michigan Board of Regents." University Spokesperson Ward Mullens said the university would comply with the request. Many of the people who signed a petition requesting the governor cancel the $514,000 exit agreement between EMU and Kirkpatrick and asking for the resignation of regents Philip Incarnati and Joseph Antonini have received a letter, dated Aug. 17, from Granholm, thanking them for taking time to "engage in a dialogue with your state government." Granholm also says in her letter that she has shared their concerns with her legal department. In the letter Granholm notes that: "the Michigan Constitution of 1963 grants a large measure of autonomy to State universities. My legal staff is currently reviewing the Auditor General’s report and other issues raised by the audit, and is awaiting a formal response to the audit from Eastern Michigan University. They are also analyzing what legal option may be available to the state in light of EMU’s constitutional autonomy. "If I find as Governor I need to take specific action to deal with this issue, I will keep your thoughts in mind." After seeing a copy of Keenan’s letter to Willis and the Board of Regents prominent Ypsilanti businessman Peter Fletcher, who has been an outspoken critic of the University House, said, "Responsive, but it is time for action; the letter-writing time is over, it is time for action. The university remains paralyzed in a swamp of sleaze and scandal and it can only be rescued by removing the regents who created it." |
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