The perks of being a chancellor
Luxury on the university's dime
Gregory Royal Pratt
Issue date: 3/1/10 Section: News
Media Credit: UIC NewsA world class university, a world class home for the Chancellor.
The University of Illinois at Chicago has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating and furnishing the chancellor's home, according to records obtained by the Chicago Flame.
In 2006, a pioneering surgeon named Olga Jonasson passed away and left UIC her 128-year old million dollar townhouse, located at 1514 West Jackson Boulevard. It was designated as the official chancellor's residence on July 24, 2008, at a Board of Trustees meeting by the then-President of the University, B. Joseph White, and the then-Board of Trustees. At that same meeting, Paula Allen-Meares' appointment as Chancellor of UIC was approved.
Many universities have official residences for Presidents and Chancellors, which is true for University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry. Donors recently donated a home to the UIUC campus for their chancellor, and previous University of Illinois system chancellors received housing allowances to make up for the lack of an official residence. But Jonasson House is the first official UIC chancellor's residence and Allen-Meares is the first to live in it and decorate it.
It is unclear from documents obtained by the Flame when the renovation of Jonasson House officially began, although it appears to have begun in earnest during the summer of 2008. The university has spent $500,424 dollars on renovating the house, including $112,411 for an interior decorator and furnishings for the house. The university signed a contract with Eva Quateman Interiors Ltd. on August 25, 2008, to provide design services.
There are three sets of records. The first contains project financials, including budgets, some itemized inventories, lists of contractors and services provided by those contractors, requests for service filed with UIC facilities, and bills on the house. In the second set, you can see invoices from expenditures. In the third, you can see receipts. It would be impossible to list every single expenditure in this article but some of the furnishings stand out.
According to an itemized listing of inventory and costs, the university purchased a $6,240 rug for the house; a $8,810 dining room table for the chancellor's residence; two coffee tables, one costing $2,219 and one costing $583, and a tea table, costing $2,730; two armchairs and six side chairs that cost $6,771; a left and right arm chaise for $9309.91; a $1,310 game table; an $8,671 sofa; another sofa, this one at $8,124; and a third sofa, costing $950; they also purchased a $4,420 lounge chair and footstool; a $1,381 orange ottoman; a $6,371 loveseat; two Queen wing chairs costing $5,075; a red chair, costing $600; an "antique corner chair" at $2,219; three lamps, totaling $1,683; and an antique chandelier for $1,199.
In addition, they spent $5,395 on window treatments, $2,968 on artwork, and $1,260 on a sound system.
The university has made several other purchases for the chancellor's home, including $4,896 spent on two desktop computers and a laptop; $379 for a printer; $2,040 for Roman window shades; $1,499 for shades, blinds and draperies; $630 for silverware and table linens; $599 on stainless plates; $576 on 9 inch plates; $486 on appetizer plates and wine glasses and a storage set; $215 for a teapot, $130 for a sugarpot, and $104 for a creampot. Smaller items include a corkscrew to open wine bottles that cost $6.61 and a set of classical music CDs for $21.76. An extensive listing is online.
Most, if not all of these purchases were made tax-free. The university is exempt from paying the Retailers' Occupation Tax, the Service Occupation Tax, and the Service Service Use Tax because it is "organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes."
It is not clear who at the university ultimately decides what items to purchase. We asked the university who decided, for instance, that it would be best to purchase the $6,240 rug, but we received no response to that particular question. It certainly seems lavish for a public university. Does the chancellor's residence need a $6,240 rug? Does it need $8,000 tables and couches? Couldn't the university have bought something cheaper?
There are other questions to be asked. Many of the purchases for the house were made online but some were made by staff members who were sent to stores to buy them in person. The Flame asked the university if that was an appropriate use of staff time and resources. The university defends having staff members go out to buy items for the house.
"It is wrong to suggest that a University employee should not, as part of their work responsibilities, go to a store to purchase items to furnish an official University facility," said Walt Knorr, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the University of Illinois, in a memo to the Flame.
But on July 13, 2009, a university staff member took time out of her day to buy a corkscrew for the house to open wine bottles. Is that really the best use of staff time and service?
Further to the point, the Flame asked UIC Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Mark Rosati whether or not the cost of furnishing the house was excessive. He responded with a question of his own. "[O]ther than you, who is criticizing this project? We have heard no criticism from any quarter."
The Chicago Flame has spoken to several professors and students about the expenditures listed in this story. Most students and some faculty were unaware that the chancellor had her own official residence, and none knew any particulars about university expenditures on furnishing the house. But when the Flame shared the cost of some of these expenditures, like the $6,240 rug, one professor visibly blanched and said, "I just spent fifteen dollars on a rug."
Besides paying for the furnishing of the home, UIC also pays Jonasson House's bills and any other expenditures related to the house, including air conditioning repairs. The university also spends thousands of dollars to have cleaners come over to clean the house, and covers all service requests. Some expenditures would be funny if they weren't so bizarrely priced. On January 7, 2009, the university spent $563 to "relocate" a fridge in the basement and install fire extinguishers. One student joked to the Flame that she knows guys "who would do it for a six pack of beer." On January 12, 2009, the university spent $20,503 to remove and replace a door. These are testaments to the costs of operating in such a heavily-unionized city, perhaps, but they're heartbreaking to people who don't have $20,503 to spend on removing and replacing a door.
Beyond the furnishings and their pricing, there are other questions to be raised about the necessity of renovating the house. In an article published by UIC News on March 5, 2008, the Vice Chancellor for Development, Penelope Hunt, said the house was in "fantastic condition -- Olga kept it in beautiful shape. She was very diligent about updates, so we were fortunate to receive the house in excellent condition. It's ready to move into tomorrow."
But apparently it wasn't.
Paula Allen-Meares arrived on campus to begin her service to UIC on January 14, 2009, but left Chicago to spend the weekend in Michigan on January 16 as "Jonasson House was not ready," according to her travel records. (That trip cost $242.) We asked the university why the house was not ready. Contrast Hunt's words with Walter Knorr's, who wrote in a message to the Flame that "The 128-year-old Jonasson House was vacant for several years before it was conveyed to the University. Infrastructure renovation and redecorating were required to make the historic landmark district house suitable for its intended purposes, and to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."
ADA compliance costs totaled $173,500, according to Knorr. You can see a breakdown of remodeling costs online.
For its part, the university insists that no state or tuition dollars were used, only institutional costs, which are defined as "costs recovered from grants and contracts, private unrestricted gifts, royalties, and educational and administrative allowances." But the question remains: should someone who is already making 375,000 a year receive such benefits? Are the costs of the house and its furnishings too luxurious for a public institution? UIC is a university with over 6,000 students who receive MAP Grants. Some buildings are crumbling. Professors are taking furloughs and colleges are cutting courses and programs. Faculty members haven't received raises in some time. Do we need a world-class rug and renovation?
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The University of Illinois at Chicago has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating and furnishing the chancellor's home, according to records obtained by the Chicago Flame.
In 2006, a pioneering surgeon named Olga Jonasson passed away and left UIC her 128-year old million dollar townhouse, located at 1514 West Jackson Boulevard. It was designated as the official chancellor's residence on July 24, 2008, at a Board of Trustees meeting by the then-President of the University, B. Joseph White, and the then-Board of Trustees. At that same meeting, Paula Allen-Meares' appointment as Chancellor of UIC was approved.
Many universities have official residences for Presidents and Chancellors, which is true for University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry. Donors recently donated a home to the UIUC campus for their chancellor, and previous University of Illinois system chancellors received housing allowances to make up for the lack of an official residence. But Jonasson House is the first official UIC chancellor's residence and Allen-Meares is the first to live in it and decorate it.
It is unclear from documents obtained by the Flame when the renovation of Jonasson House officially began, although it appears to have begun in earnest during the summer of 2008. The university has spent $500,424 dollars on renovating the house, including $112,411 for an interior decorator and furnishings for the house. The university signed a contract with Eva Quateman Interiors Ltd. on August 25, 2008, to provide design services.
There are three sets of records. The first contains project financials, including budgets, some itemized inventories, lists of contractors and services provided by those contractors, requests for service filed with UIC facilities, and bills on the house. In the second set, you can see invoices from expenditures. In the third, you can see receipts. It would be impossible to list every single expenditure in this article but some of the furnishings stand out.
According to an itemized listing of inventory and costs, the university purchased a $6,240 rug for the house; a $8,810 dining room table for the chancellor's residence; two coffee tables, one costing $2,219 and one costing $583, and a tea table, costing $2,730; two armchairs and six side chairs that cost $6,771; a left and right arm chaise for $9309.91; a $1,310 game table; an $8,671 sofa; another sofa, this one at $8,124; and a third sofa, costing $950; they also purchased a $4,420 lounge chair and footstool; a $1,381 orange ottoman; a $6,371 loveseat; two Queen wing chairs costing $5,075; a red chair, costing $600; an "antique corner chair" at $2,219; three lamps, totaling $1,683; and an antique chandelier for $1,199.
In addition, they spent $5,395 on window treatments, $2,968 on artwork, and $1,260 on a sound system.
The university has made several other purchases for the chancellor's home, including $4,896 spent on two desktop computers and a laptop; $379 for a printer; $2,040 for Roman window shades; $1,499 for shades, blinds and draperies; $630 for silverware and table linens; $599 on stainless plates; $576 on 9 inch plates; $486 on appetizer plates and wine glasses and a storage set; $215 for a teapot, $130 for a sugarpot, and $104 for a creampot. Smaller items include a corkscrew to open wine bottles that cost $6.61 and a set of classical music CDs for $21.76. An extensive listing is online.
Most, if not all of these purchases were made tax-free. The university is exempt from paying the Retailers' Occupation Tax, the Service Occupation Tax, and the Service Service Use Tax because it is "organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes."
It is not clear who at the university ultimately decides what items to purchase. We asked the university who decided, for instance, that it would be best to purchase the $6,240 rug, but we received no response to that particular question. It certainly seems lavish for a public university. Does the chancellor's residence need a $6,240 rug? Does it need $8,000 tables and couches? Couldn't the university have bought something cheaper?
There are other questions to be asked. Many of the purchases for the house were made online but some were made by staff members who were sent to stores to buy them in person. The Flame asked the university if that was an appropriate use of staff time and resources. The university defends having staff members go out to buy items for the house.
"It is wrong to suggest that a University employee should not, as part of their work responsibilities, go to a store to purchase items to furnish an official University facility," said Walt Knorr, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the University of Illinois, in a memo to the Flame.
But on July 13, 2009, a university staff member took time out of her day to buy a corkscrew for the house to open wine bottles. Is that really the best use of staff time and service?
Further to the point, the Flame asked UIC Vice Chancellor for External Affairs Mark Rosati whether or not the cost of furnishing the house was excessive. He responded with a question of his own. "[O]ther than you, who is criticizing this project? We have heard no criticism from any quarter."
The Chicago Flame has spoken to several professors and students about the expenditures listed in this story. Most students and some faculty were unaware that the chancellor had her own official residence, and none knew any particulars about university expenditures on furnishing the house. But when the Flame shared the cost of some of these expenditures, like the $6,240 rug, one professor visibly blanched and said, "I just spent fifteen dollars on a rug."
Besides paying for the furnishing of the home, UIC also pays Jonasson House's bills and any other expenditures related to the house, including air conditioning repairs. The university also spends thousands of dollars to have cleaners come over to clean the house, and covers all service requests. Some expenditures would be funny if they weren't so bizarrely priced. On January 7, 2009, the university spent $563 to "relocate" a fridge in the basement and install fire extinguishers. One student joked to the Flame that she knows guys "who would do it for a six pack of beer." On January 12, 2009, the university spent $20,503 to remove and replace a door. These are testaments to the costs of operating in such a heavily-unionized city, perhaps, but they're heartbreaking to people who don't have $20,503 to spend on removing and replacing a door.
Beyond the furnishings and their pricing, there are other questions to be raised about the necessity of renovating the house. In an article published by UIC News on March 5, 2008, the Vice Chancellor for Development, Penelope Hunt, said the house was in "fantastic condition -- Olga kept it in beautiful shape. She was very diligent about updates, so we were fortunate to receive the house in excellent condition. It's ready to move into tomorrow."
But apparently it wasn't.
Paula Allen-Meares arrived on campus to begin her service to UIC on January 14, 2009, but left Chicago to spend the weekend in Michigan on January 16 as "Jonasson House was not ready," according to her travel records. (That trip cost $242.) We asked the university why the house was not ready. Contrast Hunt's words with Walter Knorr's, who wrote in a message to the Flame that "The 128-year-old Jonasson House was vacant for several years before it was conveyed to the University. Infrastructure renovation and redecorating were required to make the historic landmark district house suitable for its intended purposes, and to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."
ADA compliance costs totaled $173,500, according to Knorr. You can see a breakdown of remodeling costs online.
For its part, the university insists that no state or tuition dollars were used, only institutional costs, which are defined as "costs recovered from grants and contracts, private unrestricted gifts, royalties, and educational and administrative allowances." But the question remains: should someone who is already making 375,000 a year receive such benefits? Are the costs of the house and its furnishings too luxurious for a public institution? UIC is a university with over 6,000 students who receive MAP Grants. Some buildings are crumbling. Professors are taking furloughs and colleges are cutting courses and programs. Faculty members haven't received raises in some time. Do we need a world-class rug and renovation?
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 6
Elmore's Shutters
posted 3/01/10 @ 1:38 PM CST
They must have shopped at the same place the military goes for its stuff. If nothing else they certainly didn't do any comparison shopping and, if those pictures above are after the renovation, they did an absolutely hideous decorating job (sorry Ms. (Continued…)
vince romano
posted 3/01/10 @ 8:11 PM CST
Greg,
Take a lo0k at the TaylorStreetArchives.com. UIC: Flawed History. Will send u Statement of Purpose, which challenges the integrity of the UIC Board and Hull House Director, if I can find your email address. (Continued…)
Jerry
posted 3/02/10 @ 6:30 AM CST
Perhaps getting in touch with someone in the UIC's accounting department would help to really know where the funds came from. There are account codes and for internal/auditing purposes I'm certain they're linked to a pool of funds or a budget. (Continued…)
Scholar
posted 3/03/10 @ 8:34 AM CST
Finally - while I'm not surprised and don't expect anything will change, this kind of waste needs to be reported again and again so these people can suffer the public shame they deserve. (Continued…)
Concerned Community Resident & UIC Alumna
posted 3/10/10 @ 6:07 PM CST
I was told by a UIC official that the dumpster that sat right next to the back yard of the chancellor's residence for MANY months, belonged to a "private contractor developing a property unrelated to UIC. (Continued…)
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