<p>WASHINGTON (AP) – American University has suspended President Benjamin Ladner while outside lawyers and auditors investigate his personal and travel expenses.</p>
<p>Provost Cornelius Kerwin will serve as acting president while Ladner is on administrative leave, according to a brief statement by Leslie Bains, chair of the university’s board of trustees.</p>
<p>The statement, issued late Wednesday, did not include any details about what particular personal and travel expenses are being investigated. The university’s board said last month that the investigation was prompted by an anonymous letter sent to several board members.</p>
<p>The Washington Post reported that it had received a similar letter alleging Ladner and his wife charged the university for a personal chef, vacations, presents for their children and maintenance on their home.</p>
<p>Ladner took over the 11,000-student school in the nation’s capital in 1994 and has been credited with increasing fundraising and improving academic standards.</p>
<p><a href=“http://us.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/08/26/au.president.suspended.ap/index.html[/url]”>http://us.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/08/26/au.president.suspended.ap/index.html</a></p>