Auditor lauds Roxbury Community College's improving finances

The long-troubled Roxbury Community College has turned a corner, according to the state auditor's office. After years of bungled finances, a report released last week by the state auditor found that the Boston school had made significant progress with its finances and operations.

''Roxbury Community College has complied with most of my previous recommendations and has greatly improved its administration of student financial aid and other areas," state auditor A. Joseph DeNucci said in a statement. ''There are some issues that still need to be addressed, though, and I anticipate the college's continued cooperation."

DeNucci lauded the school for strengthening oversight of student financial assistance programs and updating internal financial controls. He noted that utility bills incurred by the Reggie Lewis Center, the college's indoor athletic facility, had been paid on time; the college had run up delinquent utility bills of almost $170,000.

The college was on the brink of ruin in 2001 when state officials discovered multiple financial missteps by school officials, including an inability to account for the college's $3.5 million student aid budget. Three state audits were launched and Grace C. Brown, college president, resigned after state officials told her to step down or face removal for poorly managing the school's finances.

The new president, Terrence Gomes, appointed in 2003, is to be lauded for much of the turnaround, said Glen Briere, a spokesman for the state auditor. ''We are very pleased with the auditor's comments," said Alane Shanks, the college's vice president of administration and finance who started in January, coming from Harvard Medical School, where she was associate dean for educational administration and finance. ''I am confident that moving forward, we will be able to continue this progress."

A few heads turned last week when Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn, announced that they are donating $1.25 million to Boston University, after their twins graduated from the school last year. Could the gift signal that Katzenberg might be willing to return to the board of trustees?

Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation SKG, quit the board of trustees in October 2003. Katzenberg, who was behind ''Shrek" and other animated movies, left during the debate over whether the university would fire Dan Goldin, incoming president. Goldin was dispatched with a $1.8 million settlement.

Katzenberg didn't say why he left the board, but a source at the time said he concluded the board's authority had been usurped by a group of John Silber allies on the executive committee. Neither Katzenberg nor a spokesman for him returned calls last week. BU spokesman Steve Burgay said the gift had nothing to do with Katzenberg's relationship with the trustees.

''There's nothing more than meets the eyes," he said. ''He and his wife just made a number of good relationships at the schools their kids attended. They just thought this was a meaningful gesture in recognition of those relationships."

The gift will be directed to the schools within BU that their children attended, the College of General Studies and the College of Communication.

Diversity ranking: Tufts University came out on top of a recent survey by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, which looked at the percentage of black faculty members in economics departments at 30 top-ranked universities. Tufts clocked in at 9.5 percent, although that is two black professors out of 21 in the department.

Overall, the number of black economists identified in the journal's survey was dismal. According to the journal, only Yale had three black economics professors, and the University of Michigan and Tufts had two. Harvard came in with one and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with zero.

The journal noted that many black economics PhDs are lured away by better-paying corporate jobs. The chairwoman of the Tufts economics department, Lynne Pepall, said the two black professors, Linda Loury and Edward Kutsoati, are among the most active and talented researchers in the department. She also said her department has more women and more minorities overall than competitors.

Tufts started hiring a lot of female economists ''in the early 80s, when other institutions were asleep," she said. She credited not just recruitment efforts, but also a pleasant environment that makes people want to stick around.

''We are a very collegial department. Nobody is a prima donna," she said. ''Our talent is homegrown, and very loyal."

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