UH says donations for salary customary
By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i did not ask the state Ethics Commission to review head football coach June Jones' $800,016 employment contract, because the practice of paying salaries with public money and private donations "has historic precedence" at the university, a spokeswoman said yesterday.
Carolyn Tanaka said the university "did not inquire with the Ethics Commission because the practice of supplementing the compensation of a wide range of university employees — including faculty, researchers, endowed chairs and coaches — has historical precedence."
Under the terms of Jones' contract, made public Thursday, $400,008 of his base salary is paid by the university, and the other $400,008 comes from private donations made through the University of Hawai'i Foundation.
Although UH Athletic Director Herman Frazier has said "10 to 12" individuals agreed to contribute between $25,000 and $100,000 each every year to help pay Jones' contract, Tanaka said yesterday such "earmarking" of charitable donations is prohibited.
Instead, she said, "the donations are designated for the UH Football Coaching Staff Support Fund. The purpose of the fund is to support UH football coaching staff salaries and programs and was established in 1998."
The university and UH Foundation have declined to identify donors to the fund, but an executive with First Hawaiian Bank said yesterday that a charitable arm of the bank committed to donating $25,000 per year for five years — the life of Jones' new contract — through the UH Foundation.
Bank chairman Walter Dods, an active supporter of the university and its athletics program, said in July that he had pledged the money to help underwrite Jones' new contract.
Yesterday, bank spokesman Gerald Keir said the commitment was made to the UH Foundation by the First Hawaiian Foundation.
Keir, asked if the donation was made with the expectation that the money would help pay for Jones' contract, said: "I wasn't privy to the conversations (about the donation), so I don't know."
Earlier this year, Ethics Commission Executive Director Daniel Mollway said compensation packages for state officials that combine public and private money should be reviewed.
"Once you start going down the road of having the private sector pick up the tab of government officials, I think it does create serious, serious problems, and they ought to be brought to the Ethics Commission," he said then.
On Thursday, Mollway said he could not discuss Jones' contract situation specifically, but the commission would have jurisdiction to examine a situation in which a state employee's salary includes money from public and private sources.
Jones is the highest-paid public employee in Hawai'i, but he is not required to file a financial disclosure form with the Ethics Commission.
Mollway said numerous high-ranking UH officials must file such forms with the commission, but in the athletic department, only Frazier and his deputy are required to file.
