University of Hawaii Execs Score $22,000 in Tickets To Their Own Games
UPDATED 7/26/11 9:21 a.m.
University of Hawaii executives received nearly $22,000 worth of season tickets to UH sporting events over the past year, according to a Civil Beat analysis of gift disclosures.
Although the tickets are technically coming from “in-house,” eight university officials reported them as gifts with the state Ethics Commission.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Les Kondo said state officials and lawmakers disclose what they feel is required under the state’s . The law requires they “disclose annually a gift or gifts that exceed $200 in value received from a single source, if the source … has interests that may be affected by discretionary action taken or not taken by the state official or employee.”
The priciest tickets were season tickets for the UH Manoa’s men’s basketball team, valued at $1,080, given to UH Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.
Not surprisingly, UH system President M.R.C. Greenwood accepting the highest value of tickets — $13,140 — for “various collegiate sporting events” from the UH Manoa Athletics Department.
Hinshaw the second-highest value of tickets — $3,570 total. In addition to the men’s basketball tickets, she also received season tickets for the university’s football, women’s volleyball and baseball games.
The UH system’s chief financial officer, Howard Todo, got tickets at $1,660. Those included men’s basketball season tickets, valued at $540, as well as a $200 season parking pass for football games.
Linda Johnsrud, executive vice president for academic affairs, football season tickets and a parking pass, valued at $930 total.
Both Brian , in charge of capital improvement projects, and Karen , an associate vice president, received $820 worth of season tickets. They both got tickets to see women’s volleyball and football games, as well as football parking passes.
The university’s vice president for research, Jim Gaines, season tickets to men’s basketball games, valued at $540.
Even Carl Clapp, UH Manoa’s associate athletics director, football tickets as gifts, valued at $290.
Clapp’s boss, Athletics Director Jim Donovan, did not any tickets as gifts.
Updated: University of Hawaii spokeswoman Lynne Waters provided Civil Beat with a copy of its policy regarding sports event tickets. The policy requires employees report complimentary sports tickets on their annual gift disclosures. The rules were drawn up following over travel expenses for UH staff and guests to attend the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
