UALR Seeks $11,480 in Travel Expenses From Former Business Dean Anthony Chelte

An internal audit of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business has found more than $15,300 of duplicate and unauthorized travel expenses by former dean Anthony Chelte, who was demoted in January and resigned from the university in April.

The audit report (PDF) recommends that the college seek $11,480 in reimbursements from Chelte, who incurred more than $75,500 in travel expenses during his 18 months as dean.

In a separate report (PDF), auditors questioned more than $16,300 in "apparent unreported leave time" by Chelte, and made recommendations to strengthen UALR’s internal controls for documenting leave time and reporting travel.

(More PDFs are available for viewing including a timeline related to the audit and correspondence with Chelte, Chancellor Joel Anderson and the audit team.)

In all, Chelte took 45 UALR-funded trips, including at least seven to France. Of those expenses, the audit found more than $2,700 that "were either unauthorized or non-university business related" and $8,762 in duplicate travel expenses, where Chelte requested and received from UALR reimbursements that were also paid to him by other entities.

While dean, Chelte was a mentor and presenter for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. In those roles, he made 10 trips to Connecticut, Florida and France.

According to the report, UALR reimbursed Chelte for $19,925.13 in travel costs for those trips. But the AACSB and RYLA also reimbursed Chelte $12,612.

Ticket Swap
 
The audit also found instances where Chelte exchanged tickets or upgraded his airline seating, a violation of university policy.

One trip cost $1,696 and was purchased using the university’s business travel account. The ticket was for a trip to Germany, where Chelte was to teach at a university. But the audit says Chelte "exchanged and used the ticket for a trip to Hawaii unrelated to university business."

The report said there were at three other instances totaling $822 in which Chelte exchanged tickets for new destinations on non-university business or for preferred seating on an airplane.

Demotion

UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson announced in January that he had relieved Chelte of his duties as dean but did not explain why. Chelte remained on staff as a tenured faculty member. The university appointed Jane Wayland as dean.

According to the audit report, Anderson asked for an internal investigation of Chelte’s expenses in November, after business college faculty and staff contact UALR’s interim provost with allegations regarding the dean’s travel expenses, "reporting of leave time and use of staff for personal projects."

On Dec. 1, the day he was notified of the audit, Chelte repaid UALR $3,850 for a June 2010 trip to France. The university is seeking an additional $11,480.80 for Chelte’s duplicate and unauthorized travel expenses.

According to UALR, Chelte has been on sick leave and then unpaid leave since his demotion. He resigned effective April 30.

More

UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson has referred its audit report to the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney in case the former business college dean does not agree to reimburse travel expenses.