New MSC head on tap

Business dept. audit continues

February 21, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The University of Alaska today will announce its pick for an interim director to lead Mat-Su College in the wake of last week's abrupt resignation of former college director Paul Dauphinais. The interim director will serve until a permanent replacement is found.

Dauphinais is currently on administrative leave, awaiting reassignment within the University of Alaska. University spokeswoman Megan Olson said the details of his reassignment are yet to be determined.

Olson declined to comment as to why Dauphinais resigned as college director on Friday afternoon, amidst an ongoing internal investigation of the Mat-Su campus. The investigation includes an audit of practices in the business department.

On Monday, Debbie Dickey, MSC business manager and 23-year employee, indicated that she still has no explanation about why she was placed on administrative leave Feb. 10. Last week, Dickey said she was ordered to turn in her university credit card and keys and told to leave the college. As of Monday, she is still on indefinite leave, with no other information regarding her departure.

Dickey refused to answer further questions Monday regarding the audit investigation.

&#8220You will have to talk to my attorney,” she said, referring to Anchorage attorney Robert Woofter Jr.

Dickey would not say why she hired Woofter, and calls to his office were left unanswered.

The investigation at MSC began when the University of Alaska authorized an audit after a faculty union alleged numerous payroll errors were left uncorrected for more than a year. While the audit is not complete, university officials acknowledge that a handful of faculty were over- and underpaid due to payroll errors.

In a letter to MSC faculty Feb. 10, then Director Dauphinais stated that the college first asked affected employees to pay back overpayments in September 2004. They were asked again in February 2005. The February letter stated that individuals were to make acceptable arrangements for repayment within 30 days, and advised that failure to do so would constitute cause for termination of employment.

Last week, union officials from Alaska Community College Federation of Teachers said Mat-Su faculty first brought the payroll problems forward to them a year ago. After investigating the issue and failing to resolve the problems with college leadership, ACCFT suggested that the university's Division of Internal Audit authorize an investigation.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.