Bob Dunning: Regents too soft on conflicts of interest

By Bob Dunnin

“Regents toughen rules for board service,” said the front-page, above-the-fold headline in Davis’ Only Local Newspaper.

And no, this is not yet another story about our much-maligned but also much-praised chancellor-in-exile, Linda Katehi, who may or may not be let out of the UC penalty box come the first of August.

Odds in Reno are currently running 50 to 1 against Katehi’s return to the educational theme park known as Aggieland, but you never know.

Similar odds were posted against Donald Trump when he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination little more than a year ago.

“Senior executives at the University of California who want to serve on corporate boards, consult for companies or otherwise moonlight must first explain how UC would benefit from the work under conflict-of-interest rules that the system’s Board of Regents approved Thursday,” begins the story under the byline of Nanette Asimov of the San Francisco Chronicle.

“The revised conflict-of-interest rules apply only to executives who request permission to do outside work from now on,” the story goes on. “About 50 of UC’s 165 senior executives already have such gigs and are exempt from the new rules.”

In other words, if you’ve already established a relationship with this cash cow, you can continue to milk it for all it’s worth.

For the full article, click on the link below.
[Source]: Davis Enterprise