Volume 44, Issue 7. Today is
Tickets to China bought despite Glasper’s freeze
MCC Business Institute spends $18,000; refuses to commentDespite a recent freeze on MCC international travel funds, Pinny Sheoran, director of the Business and Industry Institute purchased $18,000 in plane tickets for a faculty only trip to China.
Sheoran did not comment, leaving a few questions unanswered. What is the purpose of the trip, its urgency, and of what value is it to students?
Several attempts were made to contact her; after this reporter introduced himself over the phone, there was click and silence on the other end. Attempts to reach her immediately following disconnection reached her voicemail.
Chancellor Rufus Glasper “put a hold on international travel pending an audit determining an expense to benefit ration of these trips. He wants to be fair, he thought they should be halted until more information is available,” according to Chris Chesrown, public spokeswoman. “He’s a very busy man.”
Regarding the tickets, Chesrown said that often trips are paid for long in advance, due to the fact that as dates near, the cost of plane tickets goes up, as does the cost to the school.
She said that they were purchased for a reasonable price, despite the freeze. At the time the tickets were purchased, Glasper was at an Arizona Town Hall Forum at the Grand Canyon.
Employees are allowed to request an exception to the freeze from the chancellor, but it is unclear who approved the trip in his absence.
Whether the trip will go on as planned, or if the money is to be reimbursed is not known at this point. When asked, Chesrown said that she did not know if the tickets were refundable.
“No decision will be made until the review is completed,” said Sonia Filan, director of Institutional Advancement.
Attempts to reach President Larry Christiansen for comment were unsuccessful.