A Cal State San Marcos dean is under audit by the California State University system for some extravagant spending.
Michael Schroder is the dean of extended learning and associate vice president for international programs at the school. Since 2017, he's been racking up expenses that he said were 'business related' in places like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Seattle and Northern California, not to mention international destinations like Bahrain, South Africa, Nepal, Kathmandu, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Things like:
- First class airfare
- Stays at luxury hotels
- Chauffeured car rides
- Expensive meals (including a $948 meal at Mastro's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C).
The San Diego Union-Tribune reviewed the expenses and reimbursements and they want to know why the university approved them, some of which exceeded the University's limits for business expenses. But the university says they are not allowed to comment regarding the spending while it's under investigation. See one of his expense reports here.
According to the Union-Tribune review, Schroder made 18 trips on behalf of Cal State San Marcos, including six international trips to 15 different countries. Total cost to the university....$82,000. You can read all the details in the Union-Tribune's report.
Schroder is currently on leave for medical reasons and the vice president who approved these extravagant expenses retired in June, just days after they received a complaint about Schroeder's spending.
All of this comes at a time when the university has been raising student fees. Staff and students at the school aren't happy about the news saying it's excessive for a public university and unfair to students who are already struggling.