University and Prosecutors Are Looking For $500,000 Donation

by Gary Snyder

The City University of New York is investigating whether a recent $500,000 donation intended to bolster the humanities and arts at its flagship school may have been improperly diverted. 

Federal prosecutors are also looking at the $500,000 donation spending of propriety, because such funds are typically earmarked for research.

In May, The Times reported that the foundation had paid for some personal expenses of the president, Lisa S. Coico, such as fruit baskets, housekeeping services and rugs when she took office in 2010. 

According to documents reviewed by The Times, City College faculty members learned in July — about a month after the donation — that the fund had been depleted. 

“We are deeply concerned about the practical, ethical and legal implications of the situation,” the department leaders wrote on Aug. 9. “Funds dedicated to a certain purpose in a binding legal agreement between the college and the donor have been removed for purposes unknown to us, and we believe, to the donor.” (nytimes.com)

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