One week after vowing to stay in his post, UCF President Dale Whittaker bowed Tuesday to intense pressure and offered to resign amid investigations into the misappropriation of nearly $85 million for construction projects.
Whittaker, less than eight months into his tenure, is being forced out by a scandal involving the misuse of state funds that has drawn rebuke from the Legislature and the Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system.
He has maintained he didn’t know leftover operating funds couldn’t be used on new buildings. In a letter to University of Central Florida trustees on Tuesday announcing he would resign, Whittaker said one of his goals was to “repair and restore the public’s full trust in UCF.”
His letter went on to say that “it has been made clear to me that one additional step is needed. … I have concluded that for UCF to succeed with our state leaders in the future, new leadership will be required.”
He and other university officials didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The Board of Trustees will meet to discuss the matter soon, Chairman Robert Garvy wrote in a letter to his colleagues. Whittaker had been expected to testify at a Florida House Public Integrity and Ethics committee meeting Tuesday afternoon in Tallahassee, but the hearing was canceled abruptly Monday night with little explanation.
The Board of Trustees selected Whittaker, 57, last March to become the university’s fifth president — succeeding John Hitt, who held the job for 26 years — after a national search that spanned five months. Whittaker, who had been the university’s provost since 2014, was the only internal candidate who applied for the post. An inauguration ceremony planned for next Tuesday has been canceled.
As recently as last week, a majority of the trustees said they wanted Whittaker to serve out the remainder of his four-year contract, and the new president seemed determined to stay.
“UCF has a bright future, and I am in it for the long haul,” he wrote on Feb. 12 in an email to the Orlando Sentinel.
Some state lawmakers, including House Speaker Jose Oliva, cheered Whittaker’s decision to leave. Oliva called it “a major step” toward repairing the relationship between the Legislature and the university.
“While there are several who shoulder more of the blame for the improper spending that occurred at UCF, President Whittaker knows, ultimate responsibility rests with the executive.” wrote Oliva, R-Miami Lakes.
Earlier this month, the House Public Integrity and Ethics committee sent subpoenas to Whittaker, Hitt, former Board of Trustees Chairman Marcos Marchena, former Chief Financial Officer Bill Merck and 10 other current or former employees. Committee staffers interviewed several university employees late last week in meetings that were closed to the public. Whittaker, Marchena and Merck were expected to testify Tuesday.
Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, said Whittaker’s decision to step aside was “for the good of the institution.”
“I echo the sentiments of the Speaker and reaffirm our commitment as an investigative committee to leave no stone unturned in seeking the facts and holding the right people accountable,” Leek wrote. “I believe President Whittaker was placed in his position at an inopportune time and much of what occurred was already underway. But as the Speaker said, ultimate responsibility rests with the executive.”
Rep. David Smith, who also serves on the committee and whose district borders the 68,000-student university’s main campus, said he has spoken with Whittaker many times about the university’s misappropriations.
“I think I was surprised by Dr. Whittaker’s resignation,” said Smith, R-Winter Springs. “And I believe he’s doing it because he believes it’s in the best interests of UCF.”
Last week, Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, floated shutting down the university for five or 10 years, but then told the Orlando Sentinel later in the day he didn’t intend for people to take his suggestion literally. But Smith said he thought Fine’s comments “put people on edge” about the university’s relationship with lawmakers.
Others said they hoped Whittaker’s resignation would placate lawmakers.
“My only hope is that the Florida Legislature moves on from attacking UCF & instead applies the same passion for transparency to private corporations, too,” Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, wrote on Twitter.
A statement from the university’s faculty union thanked Whittaker for his resignation, saying he was “always willing to meet and hear our issues” while he was the provost and before he became president.
“His quick exit, however, and UCF’s inability to successfully transition from one presidency to another shines a spotlight on the complexity and depth of the challenges we as faculty face,” the statement read. “The decisions, actions, and inactions of many among UCF’s administrative leadership and Board of Trustees created a sense of distance and broken trust between faculty and the UCF administration.”
On campus, student Helen Cavanillaz said she was disappointed about Whittaker’s resignation.
“I feel like maybe he didn’t have the opportunity to show potential,” she said. “Maybe if he was president longer he could have fixed it, but sometimes the circumstances are too overwhelming.”
The problems with the university’s construction spending first came to light during the summer, when the state auditor general’s office found that the university had budgeted $38 million intended for operating expenses to build Trevor Colbourn Hall, an academic building that opened in August. Whittaker told the Board of Governors in September that Merck had taken “immediate and full responsibility” for the misspending. He resigned that day.
Since then, university leaders have acknowledged the school spent or planned to spend a total of $84.7 million in leftover operating funds. Last month, Whittaker said four high-ranking administrators would be terminated after a law firm hired by the university to investigate the matter determined they were involved in the decision to misuse state money.