Give 'Em Hell, Janet! Former AZ Governor, Head of DHS, Now Cleans Up Higher Education in California

In an article  yesterday that appeared in Pro Publica
by Charles Ornstein
ProPublica, May 2, 2016, 12 p.m
University of California Regent Violated Ethics Rules, Review Finds

A secret 2015 report found that a doctor on the UC board of regents tried to negotiate a deal between his eye clinics and UCLA, and engaged in discussions in which he had a financial interest. He denied wrongdoing but resigned as chair of the regents’ health committee.A March 2015 letter from Daniel M. Dooley, who was appointed by the UC to oversee the investigation of whistleblower complaints against De La Peña, summarized the findings of an outside investigator hired by UC. Dooley concluded that De La Peña violated the board’s conflict of interest rules and that his behavior “clearly constitutes an improper governmental activity.”
Copies of the letter, which was obtained by ProPublica, were sent for possible action to UC President Janet Napolitano and then-Regents Chairman Bruce D. Varner, but the findings were not made public.
In a May 10, 2015 letter to Napolitano and Varner released by UC, De La Peña strongly disputed the investigation’s findings. He said that it was UCLA itself that first raised the possibility of leasing space from his eye clinics. And he said he spoke to the university’s general counsel, Charles F. Robinson, and told him “I did not want to do anything that was wrong or inappropriate under UC’s policies.”
The findings on De La Peña come as the University of California is reeling from a string of scandals at its prestigious campuses.
Just last week, Napolitano placed UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi on investigative administrative leave amid “serious questions” about Katehi’s role in campus hiring and pay raises for her relatives, potential improper use of student fees and the hiring of consultants to downgrade online references to a 2011 incident in which a university police officer pepper sprayed students.
UC Berkeley has been buffeted by accusations that it hasn’t taken complaints of sexual harassment seriously, leading to the resignation of the law school dean, a prominent astronomy professor and an assistant men’s basketball coach. The campus’s provost, who was criticized for his handling of harassment complaints, also resigned last month.
And at UCLA, students and faculty have complained about the university’s decision to let a history professor continue teaching despite being accused of sexual harassment.
[Read more in the link at start of this post]Charles Ornstein

Charles Ornstein is a senior reporter for ProPublica covering health care and the pharmaceutical industry