When the phrase, "it would take an act of congress" is used to describe something, it usually means that something is going to take an inordinately long amount of time and will be excruciatingly difficult to achieve.
On Thursday, the board of trustees received a letter from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee, requesting all documents related to the termination of former AU President Benjamin Ladner and in the preceding investigation of his finances. The letter informed the trustees that the committee would be investigating the board's decision to award Ladner a $3.7 million severance package as part of a larger crackdown on charities that abuse their tax-exempt status.
Talk about quick turnaround.
While it is certainly a relief to know that someone (or in this case, a group of someones, known as the U.S. Senate) is going to do something about this ridiculous excuse of a board. That would be the hope anyway. While we would not always expect Congress to do what we hope, or even do what seems right, Grassley's pointed language would seem to indicate that the Senate does not take kindly to irresponsible spending by the institutions that are aloud to skip out on taxes.
We do approach the Senate investigation of the board with caution; we don't but expect this particular incarnation of the federal government to be that effective in solving problems, especially when it deals with corruption, and even more so when there are big-money donors involved. But here's the kicker: since Congress chartered AU, it has a certain amount of oversight over our board of trustees. While the Senate Finance Committee may not be running the show as far as firing and appointing board members, whatever Congressional body is would probably take into account any penalties the Senate committee doles out to AU as a result of its investigation.
Furthermore, all eyes are on AU. The Senate investigation shows that this is about more than just Ladner and the board of trustees, and it's about more than our university. The problems that have plagued AU in past months cannot be confined to just out campus. AU is the test case; AU will be the national example, and the legislation that will potentially result from the Senate investigation will fundamentally change the way private universities oversee their presidents, high-level fundraisers and administrators. Now isn't the time to stop making noise.
