Emails reveal Linda P.B. Katehi invited public relations firm to meeting to clean up UC Davis reputation in light of 2011 pepper-spraying

The Sacramento Bee received documents Wednesday night from the UC Office of the President supporting UC President Napolitano’s claims that UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B.Katehi may have made “material misstatements” to the media.

In a two-page letter to Katehi, Napolitano raised concerns of misrepresentations that Katehi made with regard to her knowledge and involvement of at least $175,000 spent to bolster UC Davis’ public image through removing references to the 2011 pepper-spray incident from the Internet.

“Despite public statements to members of the media, as well as to me, that you were not aware of or involved with these particular contracts, documents prepared in response to a Public Records Act request indicate multiple interactions with one of the vendors and efforts to set up meetings with the other,” Napolitano said in her letter.

The new documents, obtained by The Bee after filing a California Public Records Act request six weeks ago, showed that Katehi requested to meet with David Nevins from the reputation firm Nevins & Associates of Baltimore.

While the records do not confirm if Katehi met with Nevins, UC Davis did sign an agreement with the firm that, according to the documents, would “expedite the eradication of references to the pepper spray incident in search results on Google for the university and the Chancellor.”

In one email to Katehi’s Chief of Staff Karl Engelbach on Oct. 16, 2012, Nevins outlined his plan to improve UC Davis and Katehi’s online reputation.

“This plan will separate both the university and Chancellor Katehi from the events that occurred last November, and it will strengthen the university’s brand against reoccurring backlash,” Nevins said in the email.

In a statement published April 18, Katehi accused the contract language for being “unrealistic and ridiculous.” Additionally, in a meeting with The Bee, Katehi also denied requesting the university to clean up her online reputation. She claimed to The Bee that she had not seen the contract’s language prior to its release, calling the documents “inappropriate.”

On Wednesday night, Katehi’s attorney Melinda Guzman released a statement defending Katehi’s reputation.
“This smacks of scapegoating and a rush to judgment driven purely by political optics, not the best interests of the university or the UC system as a whole,” Guzman said. “The Chancellor welcomes an independent, objective investigation and a full release of all relevant documents and public records.”

UC Davis also hired the Sacramento firm IDMLOCO to work with UC Davis’ strategic communications department and monitor online stories about Katehi, especially in recent weeks when Katehi came under fire for previously accepting positions on two for-profit boards.

IDMLOCO reviewed Twitter posts from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who has called for Katehi’s resignation, as well as online activity from several journalists.

“As you might expect, predominantly negative sentiment on this, but relatively contained to just a few hundred shares in social media,” Idmloco co-founder Bryan Merica wrote in an email March 1 to Engelbach. “We’ll keep an eye on this tomorrow to see where it goes.”

The release of these documents follow Napolitano’s announcement on Wednesday that Katehi would be suspended for a 90-day period in order to launch an investigation regarding this matter, as well as other controversies. UC Davis Provost Ralph J. Hexter is serving as acting chancellor during Katehi’s suspension.

“Information has recently come to light that raises serious questions about whether Chancellor Katehi may have violated several University of California policies, including questions about the campus’s employment and compensation of some of the chancellor’s immediate family members, the veracity of the chancellor’s accounts of her involvement in contracts related to managing both the campus’s and her personal reputation on social media, and the potential improper use of student fees,” Napolitano said in a statement.

In her letter to Katehi, Napolitano questioned the employment of Katehi’s immediate family members, including her husband, son and daughter-in-law, at UC Davis. The salary of Katehi’s daughter-in-law Emily Prieto-Tseregounis was also criticized for being increased by over $50,000 within the past two-and-a-half years.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a member of the UC Board of Regents, called for Katehi’s resignation on Thursday. The Board of Regents plans to discuss Katehi at their meeting on May 11-12.

Written by: Alyssa Vandenberg – campus@theaggie.org

The resolution criticized Katehi’s controversial behavior, including recent moonlighting activities and $175,000 spent to censor the 2011 UC Davis pepper-spray incident

On Thursday, April 28, ASUCD Senate voted in support of a resolution calling for the immediate resignation of Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi.

The vote, held in the Mee Room of the Memorial Union, occurred at 9:40 p.m. The senators present unanimously voted 10-0-2 to pass the resolution. ASUCD Senator Ricardo Martinez was absent and Senator Mikaela Tenner resigned from her post prior to the start of the meeting, resulting in two abstentions from the resolution.  

Authored by Senator Joshua Dalavai, Senate Resolution (SR) #16 listed over 40 arguments for the chancellor’s resignation, including her recent moonlighting activities with DeVry University and Wiley & Sons publishing company, her use of $175,000 to censor the 2011 UC Davis pepper-spray incident from online Internet searches and recent issues of employment and compensation of members of the chancellor’s immediate family.

“Chancellor Katehi’s long history of physical and disciplinary aggression toward student political activity, irresponsible connection to and pecuniary interest in exploitative corporations and universities, and attempt to cleanse UC Davis’ history of her wrongdoing is wholly unbecoming of the Office of the Chancellor,” the resolution stated.

Prior to the vote, Harley Litzelman, former director of the Office of Advocacy and Student Representation and fourth-year history major who co-authored SR #16, presented the resolution to senate, explaining its importance.

“This resolution is about recognizing what [Chancellor Katehi] has come to represent: the all-consuming manipulation of the public good for the private interests,” Litzelman said. “This chancellor’s resignation is the first step, first small step to showing that we will not accept this.”

The resolution, which will act as ASUCD’s formal recommendation for Katehi to resign, was questioned by ASUCD President Alex Lee for its effectiveness.

“I think the resolution brings up good points, but I don’t know how effective it will be,” Lee said. “[The UC Office of the President] has probably already made up their mind on Katehi. Usually what happens is that they do a due process before they put someone on leave. They haven’t done this before — put someone on leave before investigating. They’ve reversed it, so that probably tells you already what Napolitano is thinking.”

Senator Parteek Singh shared why he voted to advocate for the chancellor’s resignation.

“I’ve been in support of [the Fire Katehi] movement since the day it began early on,” Singh said. “I came in to fully support the student protesters and all the work they’ve done and support this resolution and I do not want Chancellor Katehi to sit around for 90 days and take our tuition money. She needs to resign now.”

Written by: Ivan Valenzuela, Emma Sadlowski – campus@theaggie.org

Hexter holds press conference one day after former UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B.Katehi placed on paid investigative leave

One day after University of California (UC) President Janet Napolitano placed former UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi on a 90-day paid investigative administrative leave, current acting Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter held a press conference to address the news.

The conference, which was held at 2:30 p.m. on the south steps of Mrak Hall, addressed topics such as Hexter’s knowledge of Katehi’s investigation, his plans during the 90-day investigation and his views on Katehi’s alleged violations of UC policy. No students were notified of the press conference aside from student media outlets.

“This is a very unexpected development. It is with a heavy heart that I take on the position as acting chancellor given the circumstances,” Hexter said. “I think Chancellor Katehi is a tremendous leader. She has lifted up the university. It’s a great university. One of her great skills was to send the message internally and abroad that we have so much to be proud of.”
In his opening remarks, Hexter affirmed that transparency between administration and students will be his utmost goal during his temporary tenure.

“I certainly want transparency to be one the watch words of what I do,” Hexter said.

Hexter also addressed his lack of knowledge regarding Katehi’s actions during her tenure at UC Davis. Hexter confirmed that last night was the first time he was alerted of Napolitano placing Katehi on leave.

“I am not privy to all the materials that [Napolitano] has or the discussions that she had. I was in many ways disappointed. I am very sorry that our chancellor has had to step down,” Hexter said. “I think Linda Katehi is a fantastic leader. I understood why [Napolitano] feels this is the decision she has to make. In my discussions with the chancellor, I think the chancellor expects only an investigation will clear her name.”

Hexter, who was appointed as provost by Katehi and began his term on Jan. 1, 2011, was previously president of Hampshire College. As provost at UC Davis, Hexter served as second-in-line to Katehi if she were unable to fulfill her role as chancellor.

“There are have been so many discussions about the future path that I would be less than honest to say that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, that at some point I would have to, under certain circumstances, have to step up and be acting chancellor,” Hexter said.

When asked if he is prepared to take on the role as chancellor, Hexter responded that, while he has worked closely with Katehi, there are some duties he is unfamiliar with.

“There are many things that I know about because we work on them together,” Hexter said. “Frankly some areas that I know less well because the chancellor has her area and I have mine.”

In a statement released yesterday, Napolitano noted that Katehi will be placed on leave as a third-party investigation looks into possible violations of UC policy, including questionable employment of immediate family members and potential inappropriate use of student fees.

Though Hexter declined to speak on the possible validity concerning Katehi’s recent allegations, he expressed that an investigation is an effective way to settle the controversy. He  also said that he has not seen Napolitano’s documents pertaining to Katehi’s investigation.

“I think that an investigation is always a good thing. It brings things to light, and if things are wrong, it corrects them,” Hexter said. “I don’t think we’re ever afraid of light being shown on what we do.”

In regards to the students who occupied Mrak Hall for 36 days throughout March and April, Hexter said he was relieved to see the sit-in end.

“I never thought of [the protestors] as representing all of the students. I know there are a tremendous amount of supporters who are by nature more silent,” Hexter said. “The occupation caused a tremendous amount of stress to the chancellor, but, above all, the staff that works here.”

Hexter also confirmed that he will be appointing an acting provost who will take over his previous role while he serves as chancellor, in addition to affirming that he will hire UC Davis’ new athletic director in the coming months.

“I serve at [Napolitano’s] pleasure and I will serve as long as she wants me to serve,” Hexter said.

Written by: Lindsay Floyd – campus@theaggie.org