Moeser: Salary Decision Was a Mistake

"The arrangement in my view was an error in judgement on my part," Moeser said in a meeting with reporters. "I have to accept that responsibility."

In October, Moeser and Ehringhaus agreed on a salary deal that will provide her with almost $320,000 for eight months of unrelated work in Washington, D.C., beginning Jan. 1 and a year of teaching at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law from September 2003 to August 2004.

In the end, Moeser said that in formulating the agreement with Ehringhaus, he failed to recognize the larger impact his deal would have on both the UNC-CH community and the state.

Moeser's decision has resulted in harsh criticism and backlash from UNC-CH workers and state legislators, many of whom think the deal creates a poor perception of the University's fiscal priorities during troubled economic times.

And the chancellor said he acknowledges those concerns, although "to retroactively renegotiate ... would not be fruitful." In a statement he distributed at the meeting and intends to send to UNC-CH's faculty and staff, Moeser wrote, "It is important to admit mistakes, to learn from those mistakes, to resolve not to repeat them and to move on."

Moeser also admitted that his decision to reorganize the University's legal counsel office led to Ehringhaus' resignation from her post. "It was my decision that it was time for a change in the structure of the legal office," he said.

The decision had nothing to do with Ehringhaus personally, but rather, Moeser said, he sought to modify the nature of the position. "I wanted to have my own team," he said. "I came to the conclusion that change would be good for the University."

Officials say Ehringhaus' pay will come from unrestricted private funds from the UNC-CH Foundation and not from state money. "This period of leave is not unlike the research leaves accorded to other senior administrators before they transition back to faculty status," Moeser said.

It is unclear, however, if Moeser ever asked Ehringhaus to resign. "It's not a question of who asked whom," Ehringhaus said in an interview Monday. "He has to organize his office the way he sees fit. It's appropriate for the chancellor to decide to reorganize his office."

Ehringhaus said that she already had been thinking about leaving her post when former Chancellor Michael Hooker died in 1999 and that with Moeser's intentions for her office and the resulting agreement, the timing was right.

In his statement, Moeser wrote that he decided to restructure the position and then approach Ehringhaus. "After informing the Board of Trustees in closed session, I communicated my decision to Vice Chancellor Ehringhaus and asked her to work with me on a smooth transition."

BOT Chairman Tim Burnett said Moeser discussed his decision with the board at its last two meetings. But he would not elaborate on how Moeser articulated his decision. "I'm not going to discuss what he said to the board."

There are explicit policies for faculty leaves at UNC-CH, but Moeser said there are "minimal" guidelines for the severance of senior administrators. "This is uncharted territory," he said. "I would have been assisted by clear policies."

UNC-system President Molly Broad on Monday called the Ehringhaus pay agreement "inappropriate" and said her office will be working to draft concrete guidelines regarding similar negotiations with outgoing administrators.

When asked in the past how common salary packages such as Ehringhaus' are, Moeser has said those deals are normal but could not cite specific examples.

But he did confirm Monday that Sue Kitchen, former vice chancellor for student affairs, will be compensated with her full $150,000 salary -- all in state funds -- while she is on research leave for the year. The reasons for her departure, which came shortly after a lengthy administrative review last semester, are unclear at this time, and Moeser would not say whether he requested her resignation. Kitchen did not return a phone call Monday night.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.