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Stevens Institute of Technology and Chief Face Accusations - NYTimes.com
Now, charges are swirling over Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. The state attorney general has sued the institute and its president, Harold J. Ravech, accusing him of plundering the endowment and receiving $1.8 million in illegal low-interest loans for vacation homes, with half of them later forgiven.
The institutes trustees tripled Dr. Ravechs salary over a decade, to $1.1 million last year, higher than presidential salaries at Harvard, M.I.T. and Princeton, and, the lawsuit says, Stevens used multiple sets of books to hide its deteriorating financial condition.
We found extensive misconduct going back years, a pattern of misinformation to the board and misuse of the endowment, the attorney general, Anne Milgram, said in an interview this month. Stevens Institute needs real reform.
The Stevens board has rejected calls by the faculty for an independent audit. On Sept. 2, Ms. Milgram met with the board at the campus, outlining her accusations and offering to negotiate a settlement if Dr. Ravech and the chairman, Mr. Babbio, would step down.
Instead, the board went to court seeking, unsuccessfully, to persuade Judge Thomas P. Olivieri of New Jersey Superior Court to seal the proceedings in her lawsuit to avoid devastating consequences that could result from it. Stevens has not yet responded to the states specific accusations.
Now, charges are swirling over Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. The state attorney general has sued the institute and its president, Harold J. Ravech, accusing him of plundering the endowment and receiving $1.8 million in illegal low-interest loans for vacation homes, with half of them later forgiven.
The institutes trustees tripled Dr. Ravechs salary over a decade, to $1.1 million last year, higher than presidential salaries at Harvard, M.I.T. and Princeton, and, the lawsuit says, Stevens used multiple sets of books to hide its deteriorating financial condition.
We found extensive misconduct going back years, a pattern of misinformation to the board and misuse of the endowment, the attorney general, Anne Milgram, said in an interview this month. Stevens Institute needs real reform.
The Stevens board has rejected calls by the faculty for an independent audit. On Sept. 2, Ms. Milgram met with the board at the campus, outlining her accusations and offering to negotiate a settlement if Dr. Ravech and the chairman, Mr. Babbio, would step down.
Instead, the board went to court seeking, unsuccessfully, to persuade Judge Thomas P. Olivieri of New Jersey Superior Court to seal the proceedings in her lawsuit to avoid devastating consequences that could result from it. Stevens has not yet responded to the states specific accusations.
