8/22/2011: This fool is still protesting his innocence. Steve Duin asks why he is not being prosecuted for theft:
In a telling series of e-mails with Don Olcott, head of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education in London, Burton engages in the most blatant horse-trading to secure “an excuse to visit” London for his stepdaughter’s 50th birthday.
After
Burton asks Olcott to find him “a conference of some sort,” Olcott
promptly replies, “Any chance you could get me in for a half time
special assistant position for 6-9 months so I could get benefits and
30K. I can work on a conference for you here in London.”“We’ll
work something,” Burton promises in July 2010, even as he continues to
press, “Meanwhile, any chance of a gig for me in London in the Fall?”A
brief review of Burton’s bio is in order. At the time he was
negotiating for this free lunch — or a virtually free 11-day swing
through Europe — Burton, 70, was drawing an annual salary of $143,136
at PSU. …And
he has the gall to ask PSU to reimburse him $4,500 — including a $140
per diem for meals — for a trip in which he has only two morning
meetings, Burton admits in an e-mail, and “the rest of the time is
mine.” …
The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education. Nice one.
This sort of “travel theft” is endemic to UO. I’ve witnessed faculty exchanging tips on how to best game the system. I’m willing to bet that this sort of behavior stretches back to the beginning of Burton’s career.
I’ve been at association meetings where people discussed whether, say, having the annual conference in Chicago in fucking January was really the best way to encourage people to attend. And I get plenty of announcements for legitimate conferences in nice places that play up the culture, weather, etc.
Some conferences are just obvious shams – Greece in April, we guarantee your paper will be accepted – etc. But I have never known a faculty colleague at UO use state funds for a sham conference of that sort, much less make up a fake conference to justify a vacation or family trip. And I don’t think I’m naive. Maybe it happens, I’ve never seen it.
Theft of services is an art form among the privileged class.
One employee’s UO Diary:
Male faculty member – fathered child off-shore. In violation of OAR, his Dean advanced three months of paid sick leave so he could visit his off-spring.
An Officer of Administration used clerical staff time to provide support for their private consultancy.
Using staff time, an Executive processed an international adoption and habitually shopped on-line during business hours.
Widespread use of UO email addresses to transact personal business.
An Executive ditched his subordinate co-workers at the beginning of an out-of-state conference – not seen again until the group was at the airport traveling home.(In wasted conference fees, car, air, per diem his golf trip cost a lot more than $4K.)
If you’ve been in the trenches you’ve seen this type of thing and wondered.