ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF President Dale Whittaker is firing four administrators in the wake of an investigation into inappropriate spending by the university.
- UCF president firing 4 administrators in wake of funding investigation
- UCF acknowledges misappropriating $85 million for construction projects
- Whittaker creating new position of chief accountability officer
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In a statement released Friday before a special meeting of the Board of Trustees about the third-party investigation, Whittaker also said he was creating a new position of chief accountability officer, which will oversee the university's Compliance, Ethics and Risk Office.
The investigation was launched after UCF was accused of misusing millions of funds to pay for construction of a new building, Trevor Colbourn Hall, in 2014. The funding should have come out of a capital outlay budget, which was meant for facilities.
The building cost $38 million to build, though UCF has acknowledged misspending more than double that amount.
"In all, construction projects totaling about $85 million were either built, or planned to be built, with inappropriate funds," Whittaker said.
He said he knew about the source of funding for Colbourn Hall but denies knowing that using those funds for construction of the building were inappropriate.
Whittaker has hired retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen to "lead change" in the Administration and Finance division.
"Moving forward, we will ensure that every dollar we spend is appropriate and that we have the right checks and balances in place," Whittaker said.
The identities of the four Administration and Finance division workers were not released.