Take the money and run (out of state)!

Link: http://UBdumb.com

There is a lot of New York State taxpayer money being spent in California these days. A rather amusing irony arises considering the fact that those who would save Buffalo’s failing economy take THEIR money and spend it out of state. UB2020’s chief architects — President Simpson and his would-be interim president — both consider California not Buffalo their “homes.” The actual payroll and continuing retirement compensation moving out of state is hard to track because much of the money comes from ‘hidden’ sources, but some online estimates have put President Simpson’s financial compensation from UB at over $700,000 per year. Ditto Simpson’s interim president designate who reportedly earns $300,000 per year on the regular payroll alone. The #2 man (soon to be #1 if the administration has their way), according to well-publicized sources, only resides in Buffalo during the weekdays and commutes to his California home each weekend. And of course there’s always the money paid to that pricey California consulting firm that helped develop the grand plan with the two masterminds. UB2020 may not help save Buffalo, but New York State taxpayers are sure helping California’s ailing economy.

More on the California connection (just a couple of quick examples to wet your appetite):

• California consulting firm hired to engineer and orchestrate the failed UB2020 plan (no comment should be needed, but just in case you still don't get it, you can start here),
• California architect hired to design UB's new super-sized solar array (come on guys, nobody at UB's School of Architecture could handle the job of laying out a few grids?), and
• California consulting firm hired to locate candidates for UB's new president (OK, you may have had to go out of Buffalo for this one, but certainly somebody in New York State could have managed this task; better yet, how about taking out a few advertisements in the national newspapers, academic magazines, and professional journals read by potential candidates? Do you really think that some high-priced California placement agency has a secret database of people searching for university president positions? Come on, anybody worth leading UB through another one of our crises reads [the Sarah Palin types aside) the professional journals including the employment advertisements!).

The UB administration continues to waste money in despotic give-a-ways that could instead be used to offer more undergraduate classes. The kick-back and patronage game continues unabated, networking being a synonym for corruption, no MBA required.