UT-Austin Pres. Greg Fenves broke school rules by flying on premium airfare tickets, audit finds

[TexasTowelie]

by Shannon Najmabadi, Texas Tribune


University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves and his wife violated school policy by flying first or business class “multiple times” without a regularly approved reason, a University of Texas System audit says.

After the audit recommended that the president’s office stop “purchasing premium airfare,” the school promised that Fenves and his wife would comply with the rules going forward. A university spokesman, Gary Susswein, also told The Texas Tribune on Monday that Fenves will reimburse the university about $27,000 for the cost added by the premium airfare.

"The trips identified by the audit were taken for official university business," Susswein said. "They were not paid for with tax or tuition dollars, but with gift funds specifically donated for presidential expenses. We acknowledge the audit results and the need to follow university rules."

The February audit reviewed the travel expenses of Fenves and his spouse between June 2015 and June 2017 – a period in which Fenves also proposed back-to-back tuition increases for UT-Austin’s students. University officials said Fenves flew business class around 50 times during that span. His wife, Carmel, did so about 40 times.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/02/26/ut-austin-president-greg-fenves-broke-school-rules-flying-premium-airf/