<p>This is so sad, and it is even sadder when you read barrons’ link to her accomplishments. NSF young researcher, first female head of an engineering college…
She had been a target of investigation, and I don’t know all of the rights and wrongs of it, but it needs to be put into the context of a series of articles in the Chronicle on the deals that UC has made in order to compete for top faculty and administrators in a university system that has seen a dramatic decrease in state funding and a rise in student fees. The crux is that some of these deals were made in the course of job recruitment without approval by the Regents, and sometimes contrary to their rules.</p>
<p>From the articles I’ve read, it is not clear that she did demand $600,000 in rennovations to her home, though she did demand some. It should be noted that $600,000 is about the median home price in Santa Cruz these days. She took the most heat for the deal that secured a job for her partner. I have not read anything about whether or not her partner was doing a good job for the university or not, but I do wonder whether Denton saw this as a gay rights issue. I don’t think it’s uncommon for people sought after by universities to bargain for positions for their spouses, or at least the university’s help in finding a position.
In any case, what a loss.</p>