Today in Student Journalism

Students at the University of Florida Independent Florida Alligator engaged in some magnificent shoe leather journalism, and discovered that Former UF president Ben Sasse spent like a drunken sailor, throwing money at friends and political allies:

In his 17-month stint as UF president, Ben Sasse more than tripled his office’s spending, directing millions in university funds into secretive consulting contracts and high-paying positions for his GOP allies.

Sasse ballooned spending under the president’s office to $17.3 million in his first year in office — up from $5.6 million in former UF President Kent Fuchs’ last year, according to publicly available administrative budget data.

A majority of the spending surge was driven by lucrative contracts with big-name consulting firms and high-salaried, remote positions for Sasse’s former U.S. Senate staff and Republican officials.

Sasse’s consulting contracts have been kept largely under wraps, leaving the public in the dark about what the contracted firms did to earn their fees. The university also declined to clarify specific duties carried out by Sasse’s ex-Senate staff, several of whom were salaried as presidential advisers.

The university said Sasse’s budget expansion went through the “appropriate approval process” but did not answer questions about how Sasse bankrolled his splurges, where the funds originated or who authorized the spending. 

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But the senator-turned-university president quietly broke that promise in his 17-month term at the university’s helm, hiring six ex-Senate staffers and two former Republican officials to high-paying, remote jobs at the university. 

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Citing his wife’s recent epilepsy diagnosis, Sasse abruptly resigned from his post in July — leaving the future of his UF inner circle unclear. The university did not respond to questions about whether his political appointees were fired, non-renewed or resigned following his departure.

Fuchs, who began as interim president Aug. 1, kept a relatively small staff of less than 10, compared to Sasse who employed more than 30 in his office. 

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Citing his wife’s recent epilepsy diagnosis, Sasse abruptly resigned from his post in July — leaving the future of his UF inner circle unclear. The university did not respond to questions about whether his political appointees were fired, non-renewed or resigned following his departure.

Fuchs, who began as interim president Aug. 1, kept a relatively small staff of less than 10, compared to Sasse who employed more than 30 in his office.

"Abruptly resigned," usually means got caught with his hand in the till.

And who could have helped him if he were corrupt?  Maybe these guys:

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During his presidency, Sasse spent $7.2 million in university funds to consultants for advice on his strategic planning and to fill leadership gaps — over 40 times more than Fuchs’ total consulting expenses over his eight-year term.

Sasse paid nearly two-thirds of the $7.2 million to McKinsey & Company, where he once worked as an adviser on an hourly contract. The firm carries prestige as one of the “big three” management consulting giants, but is notoriously secretive about its dealings and shielded its work from public view using records laws protecting trade secrets.

I have come to the conclusion that the hiring of  McKinsey & Company is an indicator that an organization is corrupt, or that people in that organization are incompetent, or both.

This is what McKinsey did with Purdue Pharma, where they advised the world's largest drug pusher on how to better hook their customers, while they were consulting with various US agencies to fight the opioid crisis.

Jail, please?