From the Ely Campus Center and Dining Common to the Woodward Athletic Center, university employees declined to comment on President Evan S. Dobelle’s spending woes, but the students and workers who did express opinions said they were disappointed by the financial controversy surrounding Dobelle.
WESTFIELD – Disappointment was expressed Thursday by several people interviewed at Westfield State University on the controversy over President Dobelle’s spending on travel and expenses.
While many declined to comment, those who spoke said they were disappointed in the situation.
State Education Secretary Matthew Malone is pushing the university’s Board of Trustees to act after an auditing firm’s report showed Dobelle and other top administrators violated campus credit card and travel policies by using the cards for personal purchases and by exceeding reasonable transportation and hotel costs.
Dobelle has said any inappropriate spending was an unintentional “mistake,” personal expenses were repaid, and travel was designed to increase donations to the school and bolster attendance by foreign students.
Katherine E. Baldiga, a sophomore who commutes to campus from her home in Chicopee, said her initial reaction to the news was to give Dobelle the benefit of the doubt, but now she is unsure.
“When I first heard about it I thought it wasn’t so bad, but as more information came out I became a little more skeptical.”
Since Dobelle’s arrival in 2008, millions of state and federal dollars have been funneled to WSU for major construction projects on campus. It is a fact, Baldiga said, that should not be overlooked.
“In the years since he’s been here he’s done a lot,” she said. “The question is, does this mistake outweigh all he’s done. That’s the question that should be asked.”
“I don’t understand how someone can continue to make the same mistake over and over again,” said Morgan Clark, of Westfield, who is a cook for Sodexo, which provides dining services on campus.
Clark was referring to the fact that before Dobelle came to Westfield he was ousted from his position as president of the University of Hawaii by the Board of Regents amid spending complaints. Their move was later rescinded, and Dobelle resigned with a severance package. The regents cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Others said Dobelle fell victim to politics in Hawaii after backing a candidate who failed to secure the governor’s seat, according to Associated Press reports at the time.
Danielle J. Girard, of Westfield, an employee at the Dunkin Donuts in the Ely Campus Center, said she cannot understand how Dobelle could have allowed a spending issue to become a problem again.
Among those withholding comment is the Student Government Association, which earlier this month issued a statement saying, “The Student Government Association, at this time, refrains for commenting on the ongoing investigation involving university administration.”