Flying is hard

[SpokaneCY]

That apology was hilarious. Saying that he didn't break any rules but can see how it might appear to be improper. Keep in mind the internal audit didn't claim to dig in to whether or not all flights themselves were lawful.
It's pretty sad that such as the NCAA flight he can commit fraud by acting as though all costs for the trip were business related, along the way violating state law by using state property for personal use, and only after getting caught reimburse ISU and provide a non-apology. The lesson here is that it's OK to break LAWS (not just ISU policy) and if you get caught just pay for what you used and all is well.
I don't think this is over, an internal audit where you say we will clarify policy isn't probably going to do the trick.
I have not interacted with Leath, but since all of this has started I have heard several involved with SEZ and knoll projects that have had only terrible things say about Leath and more specifically Mrs Leath, who has been given decision-making power on these projects. When seeing the comments in the city view article about why the ISU Foundation Presidents were fired, it sure seems like they think they are royalty.

It is good to be the king.

 

[jkclone]

December 13, 2016





Dear Iowa State Community:



For nearly three months, there has been significant media coverage about ISU Flight Service and specifically my use of university aircraft. I understand why there have been many questions and concerns. I take very seriously my role and responsibility to adhere to university and Board of Regents policy and to be open and transparent. That is why I welcomed the Board’s decision to conduct a comprehensive internal audit, and I offered my full cooperation.



The Board of Regents Internal Audit report concluded there were no violations of university or Board policy, but there are clearly things I could have done differently and I am sorry for that. I take full responsibility for the issues raised. To avoid any perception of impropriety, I have paid for the following: the use of the Cirrus for training to obtain my instrument flight rating, which was required by the university insurance policy; the amount attributed to my brother and his partner on the flight to and from Elmira, NY; and two trips to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for medical procedures, which required use of the plane so I could make it back to Ames in time for university obligations.



We recognize there are policies and practices that need improvement, and the audit has provided valuable recommendations. Our plan to move forward includes:

· I will no longer fly the Cirrus or any state-owned aircraft. Because of this decision and the fact that our head pilot is retiring soon, we plan to sell the Cirrus.

· We are implementing new guidelines for all users of university aircraft and requiring the purpose of all trips be clearly documented.

· The ISU Flight Service’s operations manual is being overhauled to contain specific instructions for accurate, detailed record-keeping and billing.

· Flight Service rates are being examined as part of our budget planning process.

· And we are conducting a comprehensive review of ISU Flight Service to determine the cost-benefit of retaining this unit.



One of things I enjoy most about my job is meeting people and developing relationships to benefit Iowa State. For the past five years, we have been in the quiet phase of our largest-ever capital fundraising campaign, Forever True, For Iowa State, with a goal of $1.1 billion. As a result, I have been traveling a lot. I saw the university planes as useful, convenient tools that allowed me to meet with donors and cultivate new support across the state and the country in an efficient manner.



I recognize now that I used the university planes more frequently than was absolutely necessary, and I should have been more transparent about my use. I will change this practice, and I will do better to ensure that any time the university planes are used it is in the very best interest of Iowa State.



I truly love my job and I am honored to be president of this great university. Iowa State has the potential for unprecedented impact in the years to come. I am fully committed to moving our university forward, to focusing on the objectives of our strategic plan and successfully pursuing our historic fundraising campaign.



I appreciate your support. And I look forward to working with you.



Sincerely,



Steven Leath

President

Assuming this is from today. Not that I really expected anything different but it is still disappointing.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Assuming this is from today. Not that I really expected anything different but it is still disappointing.

Email sent to the "ISU Community".

 

[jkclone]

Email sent to the "ISU Community".

I see my copy now.

 

[pulse]

December 13, 2016





Dear Iowa State Community:



For nearly three months, there has been significant media coverage about ISU Flight Service and specifically my use of university aircraft. I understand why there have been many questions and concerns. I take very seriously my role and responsibility to adhere to university and Board of Regents policy and to be open and transparent. That is why I welcomed the Board’s decision to conduct a comprehensive internal audit, and I offered my full cooperation.



The Board of Regents Internal Audit report concluded there were no violations of university or Board policy, but there are clearly things I could have done differently and I am sorry for that. I take full responsibility for the issues raised. To avoid any perception of impropriety, I have paid for the following: the use of the Cirrus for training to obtain my instrument flight rating, which was required by the university insurance policy; the amount attributed to my brother and his partner on the flight to and from Elmira, NY; and two trips to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for medical procedures, which required use of the plane so I could make it back to Ames in time for university obligations.



We recognize there are policies and practices that need improvement, and the audit has provided valuable recommendations. Our plan to move forward includes:

· I will no longer fly the Cirrus or any state-owned aircraft. Because of this decision and the fact that our head pilot is retiring soon, we plan to sell the Cirrus.

· We are implementing new guidelines for all users of university aircraft and requiring the purpose of all trips be clearly documented.

· The ISU Flight Service’s operations manual is being overhauled to contain specific instructions for accurate, detailed record-keeping and billing.

· Flight Service rates are being examined as part of our budget planning process.

· And we are conducting a comprehensive review of ISU Flight Service to determine the cost-benefit of retaining this unit.



One of things I enjoy most about my job is meeting people and developing relationships to benefit Iowa State. For the past five years, we have been in the quiet phase of our largest-ever capital fundraising campaign, Forever True, For Iowa State, with a goal of $1.1 billion. As a result, I have been traveling a lot. I saw the university planes as useful, convenient tools that allowed me to meet with donors and cultivate new support across the state and the country in an efficient manner.



I recognize now that I used the university planes more frequently than was absolutely necessary, and I should have been more transparent about my use. I will change this practice, and I will do better to ensure that any time the university planes are used it is in the very best interest of Iowa State.



I truly love my job and I am honored to be president of this great university. Iowa State has the potential for unprecedented impact in the years to come. I am fully committed to moving our university forward, to focusing on the objectives of our strategic plan and successfully pursuing our historic fundraising campaign.



I appreciate your support. And I look forward to working with you.



Sincerely,



Steven Leath

President

Seriously Leath, you are full of ****. You shouldn't have included all the extra goop defending yourself, it's insulting to the intelligence of the ISU community.

Anyway, I can't say I blame you for all the trips since you technically stretched and used the system that was provided, because you thought nobody would pay attention. Which they wouldn't have if you wouldn't have crashed a University plane. Just a word of advice, don't sell the Cirrus to a buddy for 100 bucks, because that's the type of thing you're probably thinking about.

 

[jsb]

Leath is very scummy like the Rat and Bransted.

 

[Cycsk]

So, why is he not flying the plane anymore? That seems like overkill if his only real mistake was using the plane too much. Unless there is more to the story such as a huge insurance increase if he does fly.

 

[wxman1]

So, why is he not flying the plane anymore? That seems like overkill if his only real mistake was using the plane too much. Unless there is more to the story such as a huge insurance increase if he does fly.

Because insurance says no. If something catastrophic were to happen and he puts it into someone's house or something the insurance policy would not cover anything leaving the university and state open to be sued for damages. That is an amount of liability that makes actuaries heads spin.

 

[istater7]

I'm confused; he flew himself to and from Mayo Clinic for medical procedures?

 

[cyclonestate]

Not sure this is over. I thought I read some time ago that the state auditor's office is doing their own audit. I'm guessing they will find he ventured way past "the gray area".

 

[LutherBlue]

It doesn't really matter whether or not we have a problem with it, using state property for personal use is against the law, and only after it was brought to light did he non-apologize and pay. Most of these things on their own are not a big deal on an individual case basis, but combined along with the appointments of VPs without searches, and shelling out $1 M to can two ISU Foundation presidents, including one that by all accounts appears to have been effective and well respected with no provided cause looks bad.

You've posted this a couple of times and I don't believe it is strictly true. State employees use state resources for personal use all the time - personal calls or emails on state systems and many other circumstances where there is virtually no impact or cost.

The appropriate question is whether his use of the plane was prohibited or in what circumstances he was expected to reimburse for its use. And those appear to be the questions addressed in the audit. But don't throw around the assertion that all personal use of state property is illegal like it's some open and shut case. It's not that simple.

 

[cyclonestate]

Landing a university plane outside of New York so you can pick up relatives to take to a basketball game and then landing there again to drop them off is illegal, period. Nothing "gray" about that. Calling it two fuel stops is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

Now there are questions about whether the state auditor is going to follow through on her earlier statement that her office was going to conduct it's own audit. I'm so sick of the corruption I could spit.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-audit-into-leaths-plane-use-unclear-20161213

 

[Trice]

Landing a university plane outside of New York so you can pick up relatives to take to a basketball game and then landing there again to drop them off is illegal, period. Nothing "gray" about that. Calling it two fuel stops is an insult to everyone's intelligence.

Now there are questions about whether the state auditor is going to follow through on her earlier statement that her office was going to conduct it's own audit. I'm so sick of the corruption I could spit.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-audit-into-leaths-plane-use-unclear-20161213

State auditor is an ISU grad and a Republican, for what it's worth.

 

[cyclonestate]

State auditor is an ISU grad and a Republican, for what it's worth.

Yeah. One of her staffers initiated an audit as soon as the hard landing became public. Then the Board of Regents Office calls the State Auditor's Office and the audit is halted.

Then the Board conducts their own "audit", says Leath ventured into the "gray" area, but no policies were violated, so everybody move on.

I sincerely hope the DM Register's "investigative reporters" do their freaking jobs and shed light on this shining example of corruption.

 

[Trice]

Yeah. One of her staffers initiated an audit as soon as the hard landing became public. Then the Board of Regents Office calls the State Auditor's Office and the audit is halted.

Then the Board conducts their own "audit", says Leath ventured into the "gray" area, but no policies were violated, so everybody move on.

I sincerely hope the DM Register's "investigative reporters" do their freaking jobs and shed light on this shining example of corruption.

The reporter from Iowa City has done a pretty decent job with the story. I believe he's a Press-Citizen reporter but it's a Gannett paper so they share content. But the AP reporter is the one who has really driven the story.

 

[AuH2O]

You've posted this a couple of times and I don't believe it is strictly true. State employees use state resources for personal use all the time - personal calls or emails on state systems and many other circumstances where there is virtually no impact or cost.

The appropriate question is whether his use of the plane was prohibited or in what circumstances he was expected to reimburse for its use. And those appear to be the questions addressed in the audit. But don't throw around the assertion that all personal use of state property is illegal like it's some open and shut case. It's not that simple.

It is pretty open and shut. Email and phone are the exceptions stated, for which use should be incidental. Everything else is illegal, regardless of cost. You can't take a state owned TIG welder home over the weekend and use it, even if you don't damage it and there is no cost incurred by the state. There doesn't need to be clarified by ISU policy, the law is clear. Taking unnecessary trips with the plane or deviating from the business purpose along the way incurs additional cost at best case and creates opportunities for massive financial risk using state owned property.
I guess this means I can get a car from ISU transportation, do my work activities, then drive it around town to run errands the rest of the day.

 

[LutherBlue]

It is pretty open and shut. Email and phone are the exceptions stated, for which use should be incidental. Everything else is illegal, regardless of cost. You can't take a state owned TIG welder home over the weekend and use it, even if you don't damage it and there is no cost incurred by the state. There doesn't need to be clarified by ISU policy, the law is clear. Taking unnecessary trips with the plane or deviating from the business purpose along the way incurs additional cost at best case and creates opportunities for massive financial risk using state owned property.
I guess this means I can get a car from ISU transportation, do my work activities, then drive it around town to run errands the rest of the day.

That's not true. Iowa Code 721.2 refers to personal use of state property "to the detriment of the state." If the state is reimbursed, there is a real question about whether there is any "detriment." Nor does there appear to be a clear ISU policy prohibiting what he did.

If you want to be critical about the guy's lousy judgment, go right ahead. But if you're not honest about the standards, it's hard for me to say you're any better than he is.

 

[cyson]

Were the 'hard' landings detrimental to the various planes or the Universities insurances rates?

 

[Trice]

That's not true. Iowa Code 721.2 refers to personal use of state property "to the detriment of the state." If the state is reimbursed, there is a real question about whether there is any "detriment." Nor does there appear to be a clear ISU policy prohibiting what he did.

If you want to be critical about the guy's lousy judgment, go right ahead. But if you're not honest about the standards, it's hard for me to say you're any better than he is.

Am I correct in recalling that he didn't reimburse the state/ISU for any of this until all of this came to light? So sure, he ultimately made it right, but he clearly would not have done so without the negative publicity around this.

 

[LutherBlue]

Am I correct in recalling that he didn't reimburse the state/ISU for any of this until all of this came to light? So sure, he ultimately made it right, but he clearly would not have done so without the negative publicity around this.

And for that, I agree that he deserves at least some ridicule, maybe a lot.