A state legislator told UAPB officials last week that an additional employee should be fired in connection with a misappropriation of funds detected in the STEM program in 2010.
Marlo Thomas — while an administrative assistant to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff — prepared three requisitions for unauthorized, non-university-related payments totalling $5,400 in the names of her three children, according to the 2010 audit report prepared by the state Division of Legislative Audit.
Thomas was fired on Nov. 18 and has since repaid the university, according to the report.
The misappropriation was discussed during a Dec. 8 meeting of the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee education subcommittee.
Rep. Danny Altes, R-Fort Smith, asked questions of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Mary Benjamin, who oversees the STEM program, which is funded through federal grants from the National Science Foundation and some state funding.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Altes noted that while the audit found that Thomas wrote the requests for the unauthorized expenditures, it also found that the requests were approved by a supervisor.
Benjamin said that Verma Jones approved the expenditures, serving as Benjamin’s designee while she was out of town.
Altes asked if Jones still works for UAPB. Benjamin said yes, and Altes asked if Jones has been reprimanded.
“I had an in-depth conversation with her, and at this point, I no longer allow her to be a designee on federally funded projects for which I am the budget officer,” Benjamin said.
Altes asked if Jones is still allowed to oversee budgets of programs funded by state funds, and Benjamin said yes.
“So she could approve other similar transactions?” Altes said.
“If I could, could I give you the rationale for that?” Benjamin said. “She has more knowledge of traditional academic programs. The grants are more innovative and she does not have the close up day-to-day knowledge of what is being implemented in the federal grants.”
Altes asked if there was a rationale behind Jones’ approval of Thomas’ requests. Benjamin said it was “to be able to move along the requisition in a timely manner while I was out of town.”
“Well, I personally think that Dr. Jones needs to go where Ms. Thomas went: unemployed,” Altes said. “If they’re going to approve $5,400 for just, somebody’s children, this doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Benjamin did not respond and the committee moved on to other business. Attempts to interview Benjamin for this article were unsuccessful because of scheduling conflicts.
The Commercial first reported on the misappropriation in January. At that time, Benjamin declined to identify the employee, the amount involved or the date of the incident, citing an ongoing investigation by the University of Arkansas System Internal Audit Department.
Subsequent Freedom of Information Act requests filed with the office of Chancellor Lawrence A. Davis Jr. for information regarding the issue and access to the fired employee’s personnel file were denied.
The goal of the STEM program is to increase the number of minority graduates who are prepared to go into technical careers; to help ensure the United States’ global competitiveness in technology-based fields; and to create a reservoir of STEM professionals to fuel economic growth, particularly in the Arkansas Delta, according to previous articles on the program.