The external audit of Binghamton University’s athletic program will cost $520 per hour, which will be initially covered by SUNY through the Research Foundation, according to a spokesman.
The Research Foundation provides human resources, payroll, purchasing and other administrative services to campus-related organizations within the State University of New York.
This funding “enabled [retired Judge Judith] Kaye to begin her work immediately and to ensure a comprehensive investigation,” said David Henahan, spokesman for SUNY. “Contracting through the state would have taken much longer.”
According to Henahan, Kaye and firm she is working with, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, are charging a combined rate at a 20 percent discount, although he couldn’t comment on what has already been spent. SUNY maintains close contact with the firm.
The partners of the firm responsible for the investigation include partner David Zornow, who deals with white collar criminal defense and related matters; partner Jeffrey Mishkin, who works with antitrust, sports law and business litigation; and partner Christopher Gunther, who deals with white collar crime.
According to his biography, Gunther regularly conducts internal corporation investigations and advises boards of directors and audit committees in connection with allegations of corporate malfeasance.
“The public must have faith in the people conducting the review and investigation, and the decision to retain Judge Kaye, who was selected on the basis of her experience, ability and integrity, reflects the importance of this matter to Binghamton and to SUNY,” Henahan said.
According to Henahan, at the conclusion of the review and investigation, SUNY will be reviewing the expenditures with BU, so no burden will be placed on the taxpayers or students in terms of tuition.
On Oct. 2, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher announced that SUNY would oversee the review of BU’s athletic department.
The announcement came shortly after six BU men’s basketball players were dismissed from the team, including Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben, who is now facing drug charges. Specific reasons for the removal of the other five players is still unknown, but officials attributed the dismissals to commitment issues.
Earlier this semester, adjunct lecturer Sally Dear received a letter notifying her that she would not return for the spring semester. Dear said that the link between her speaking to The New York Times regarding the pressures she felt to overlook absences of athletes, namely basketball players, and her being dismissed was “indisputably strong.”
According to Gail Glover, spokeswoman for BU, Dear has been rehired for next semester “while the SUNY board of trustees executive committee conducts its overall review of the Binghamton University athletic program.”
BU’s athletic department also made headlines earlier this year when BU employee Elizabeth Williams filed a lawsuit against department employees Jason Seigel and Christopher Lewis and BU boosters Larry Hollander and Michael Marcus, alleging sexual harassment.
The two BU employees were given unpaid suspensions after a three-month BU investigation, though they appealed the action.