Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

July 5, 2002

Woteki adjusts use of Ag endowment funds

by Anne Krapfl
College of Agriculture Dean Catherine Woteki is the first dean to respond to President Gregory Geoffroy's request for a review of all agreements and expenditures associated with endowments in their respective units.

In her June 24 letter to more than 30,000 college alumni and supporters, Woteki said a review of 259 endowment accounts in the College of Agriculture is under way. She also reported on several changes made following her review of agreements associated with the college's research and demonstration farms.

For example, the College of Agriculture will repay an endowment account $205,839 over three years for income spent on non-scholarship or non-research items, which Woteki deemed not in line with the donor's criteria.

In another case, endowment income was used to pay maintenance expenses on a car purchased for use by the dean's office, also not in sync with Woteki's interpretation of the donor's intentions. Woteki ordered the car sold and proceeds returned to the appropriate Ag Experiment Station account (from which funds came to buy the car in 1995).

And about $4,600 has been moved to the appropriate accounts for use in operating the college's research and demonstration farms. Over the last five years, this amount, received from crop chemical and seed rebates, was not deposited in college accounts but instead spent on non-farm expenses such as meals, retirement gifts, framed certificates and funeral flowers.

"In cases now or in the future where changes must be made to ensure we are doing the right thing, I will not hesitate to make them," Woteki concluded, pledging honest stewardship of the college's gifts and resources.

Geoffroy responds
That same day, Geoffroy expressed his support for the college's review and Woteki's decisions. In a released statement, Geoffroy applauded Woteki's "taking swift, corrective actions based on the findings of the review."

"As president of Iowa State, I have made it clear that earning and maintaining the trust of donors and Iowa taxpayers is absolutely essential for our future success. The work of the Committee to Review Endowment Expenditures and this report from Dean Woteki reflect our pledge to be responsible and accountable stewards of the taxpayers' money and the generous donor gifts made to the university," he said.

The text of Woteki's letter is online at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/news/6-02letter.html. Geoffroy's statement is at: http://www.iastate.edu/news/today/02/jun/statement.html.