By Neil Offen
noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646
DURHAM -- It might take three more weeks before an institutional review of an internal memo that alleges hundreds of thousands of dollars were taken from an educational consortium based at N.C. Central University will be completed, Chancellor Charlie Nelms said Wednesday.
Nelms had previously indicated that he had hoped to release the results of the review this week, but told the university's Board of Trustees "we will not let speed get in the way of deliberateness and accuracy."
The university, he said, is "working diligently to complete this as expeditiously as possible. Our objective is to complete it hopefully in the next three weeks or so."
The chancellor gave a brief summary to the trustees of the controversy that erupted last week over the internal draft document that alleges nearly $200,000 in funding for the campus-based Historically Minority Colleges and University Consortium was diverted to the personal account of one of the agency's leaders.
The chancellor has called the draft report -- which wasn't supposed to be released to the public -- "sloppy, unprofessional and unacceptable," and has since fired the internal auditor who compiled it.
He pointed out to the trustees that the consortium "first and foremost" has done good work in helping minority students across the state close the achievement gap.
Still, he said, "we're going to look at everything, and once we've looked at everything, we're going to share it with you, and we're going to share it wherever we need to share it, and we're going to share it with the public."
Trustees Chairman Glenn Adams said the university was working with UNC General Administration and with outside auditors, brought in by GA, as well.
"We are going to take care of this," Adams said. "The chancellor is working hard on this. He understands his responsibility. I have no doubt the chancellor really wants to get to the bottom of this, and that he will."
UNC system President Erskine Bowles has informed the State Auditor's Office and the attorney general that NCCU and the GA have launched an investigation into the allegations.
