By Solé Scott
Editor-in-Chief
Terrence Cheng, the current chancellor of the four CSCU’s, who was appointed on May 7, 2021.
The chancellor of Connecticut State Colleges & Universities was caught in hot water amid an investigation into misuse of funds.
The news hit the airwaves on Oct. 24, 2024, that Terrence Cheng who is chancellor of Connecticut’s largest public college system, was excessively spending student tuition and taxpayer dollars for personal use.
According to CT Insider, Cheng spent student and taxpayer money on food, private chauffeurs, alcohol and had outstanding missing receipts that is difficult to grasp how much he actually spent in total.
This information was not made public until CT Insider filed a complaint for CSCU to release documentation of this problem.
This is an extreme issue as CSCU’s are trying to avoid more tuition hikes and budget cuts that have been plaguing the system for years.
Nursing major Kiara Bishop-Reid, a freshman, shared her thoughts on this serious issue.
“I feel like it’s genuinely unfair to the students that attend these colleges because we should be putting this money towards benefiting the colleges of Connecticut but he’s judging the usage of the money for his expense which is arbitrary,” Bishop-Reid said.
On Oct. 25, Governor Ned Lamont and the state comptroller Sean Scanlon launched an investigation into Cheng and his excessive spending.
“We are going to do a pretty strong audit to see exactly what’s going on over there to see if this is just a one off or something more serious,” Lamont said.
Even more information was provided to the public about the kind of expenses Cheng was using.
“The things we found range from expensive meals, to delivery services, to room service, to dry cleaning, to improper tickets to events that were not school-related functions,” Scanlon said.
Cheng released a statement during a press conference on Dec. 19.
“I take personal accountability, responsibility for my role in that and it’s my job to do better personally,” Cheng said.
The financial burden CSCU is under right now is immense. Tuition hiked up 5% for the 2024-25 school year.
“All I can say is that I’ve learned lessons, I will not make the same mistakes again, and that we will continue to do everything we can to fight for the best educational experience for our students,” Cheng said.
To add on, Connecticut State Community College faculty and staff recently voted 31-2 “no confidence,” according to CT Insider.
This vote is concerning, and we could see a transition in leadership if more questionable antics are made aware to faculty and staff.
“This report highlights what we already know – that consistent controls, improved training and clearer policies are needed to increase accountability and transparency – which is why the CSCU system office is actively working on new system-wide p-card and travel policies,” CSCU statement said.
Correction- This is volume 64 and Issue #15
