Audit faults UNCG official; No-bid contract was worth $431,925

A UNC-Greensboro vice chancellor inappropriately hired a technology contractor who was paid $431,925 in state money over two years, including $65,000 in expenses for commuting to Greensboro from Los Angeles and Las Vegas, according to a state audit released Thursday.

The payments included $212,000 in student fee revenue to the contractor, whose billing rate was raised from $150 to $200 an hour during the period. The contract was executed by the vice chancellor for information technology services without following university policies, the audit said.

The job, which was to ensure that a new administrative computing system was implemented on time, was not posted or competitively bid. In violation of university procedure, the university's top legal and business officials did not review the contract, according to the audit.

The vice chancellor who approved the contract was not named in the audit, nor was the independent contractor.

The investigative audit disclosed the contractor's excessive reimbursements for meals, including 22 meals over $50 and two purchases of alcoholic beverages, which is against state policy.

The amount paid to the contractor was 83 percent more than the equivalent hours of salary and benefits of a university employee who had comparable duties, the audit said.

"In our opinion, a more cost-effective solution could have been obtained," the audit said.

In a letter to State Auditor Les Merritt, UNCG Chancellor Patricia Sullivan took issue with the audit's findings. The contractor had valuable expertise not available among university staff, she wrote.

"We want to emphasize that no malfeasance or wrongdoing occurred and the outcomes were excellent," Sullivan's letter said. "Our own review of the facts, circumstances, and results achieved with regard to the contract expenditures at issue shows that the State received excellent value. UNCG hired the best contractor to help to manage a difficult, mission-critical, systems implementation."

Sullivan said the university would implement new procedures for outside contracts, ensuring proper review and competitive bidding for most projects.