UCF: More projects improperly funded

TALLAHASSEE — University of Central Florida officials on Thursday identified a potential $13.8 million in improperly funded building projects as they continued an investigation into the misuse of state operating funds.

The eight additional projects were flagged as UCF officials began reviewing spending and procedures after a state audit determined in August that the school had improperly used $38 million in state funding to construct a campus building.

School officials told the state university system’s Board of Governors last week that the 137,000-squarefoot Trevor Colbourn Hall was built using state operating funds in direct violation of state policy and law that restricts that funding to activities like instruction, research, libraries, student services or maintenance.

On Thursday, Kathy Mitchell, the interim chief financial officer at UCF, told the school’s board of trustees in a meeting in Orlando that a review of building projects going back five years identified three additional projects involving $10 million in spending that also violated the restrictions on the use of state operating funds.

Unlike Colbourn Hall, the three projects only involved partial funding for the facilities, according to the report. The largest expenditure was $7.6 million for furniture, equipment and laboratory space at the Research 1 building, which is used by faculty and students involved in programs such as laser and photonics, nanoscience technology and energy research.

Mitchell said the review also uncovered another five projects, totaling $3.8 million. She said while the expenditures were questionable, it was not clear whether they violated the restrictions on the use of operating funds. The largest project flagged was $1.6 million for furniture and equipment for the UCF Global building, which provides services for international students.

As they did with the $38 million for Colbourn Hall earlier this month, the UCF trustees on Thursday voted to replenish the $13.8 million in funding for the newly identified projects, using funds from “auxiliary” accounts controlled by the university to replace the state operating funds.

Mitchell said she was “very confident” that the review captured any questionable spending in the prior five years, and school officials will review building projects going back an additional five years.

When a trustee asked her how many more projects may be involved, Mitchell said: “I expect that we might find some more of the smaller projects. I do not expect that we will find more complete buildings that were (built using) inappropriate funds.”

UCF President Dale Whittaker, who assumed his post in July, told state officials last week that the school’s former chief financial officer, William Merck, took full responsibility for the improper funding of the Colbourn Hall project. Merck resigned last week.

“Like you, I am upset that our trust was betrayed and that this issue has really damaged UCF’s credibility and reputation,” Whittaker told the trustees on Thursday.

He said he would “work tirelessly” to re-establish the administration’s relationship with the board and would hold all UCF employees accountable as the investigation continues.