Brian K. Powell: UC Merced has corrected many problems found in audit

An opinion piece published recently by the Merced Sun-Star takes UC Merced to task for a variety of issues in personnel practices that were identified in a series of independent and internal audits ordered by Chancellor Dorothy Leland from 2014-16.

The author, who was clearly interested solely in calling out the university’s shortcomings, failed to mention the many changes our campus has made in light of these audits’ findings. The audits helped greatly in identifying areas of improvement, consistent with the purpose of internal audits.

Importantly, the identified areas have been addressed. Search committee members now undergo training on implicit bias; clear roles and responsibilities of the hiring manager and hiring authority were defined; controls have been implemented to ensure that applicant pools are properly screened by Human Resources before candidates are interviewed; and offers of employment are approved by Human Resources before a formal offer letter is extended to any candidate, whether internal or external.

UC Merced administration recognized areas of concerns in our hiring practices, we thoughtfully conducted internal audits to learn more, we addressed the findings and made changes that were re-tested, and we proactively and comprehensively communicated these changes to our employees. These facts were notably absent from this very one-sided opinion piece.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Brian K. Powell: UC Merced has corrected many problems found in audit."