by James A. Bacon
For policy junkies following the tit-for-tat between members of the General Assembly and the University of Virginia over the controversial $2.3 billion Strategic Investment Fund, I am providing some of the documentation underlying the ongoing reporting on the subject (such as this article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch today.)
First, a letter from Patrick D. Hogan, chief operating officer of the University, responding to a request for information from 13 members of the General Assembly.
Second, the legislators’ response to Hogan’s response.
The conflict at the moment centers on which documents the university should make available. Hogan argues that the original request was unclear and burdensome, and, further, that the university was not in possession of records belonging to the University of Virginia Investment Management Co. (UVIMCO), which manages the Strategic Investment Fund. Nevertheless, he said, the university was making every effort to comply with the information request.
The legislators were not satisfied with the response. They retorted that the solicitation of documents was not a Freedom of Information Act request, which allows various exemptions, but a legislative request. The Code of Virginia, the letter reminds Hogan, provides that “the rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia shall be at all times subject to the control of the General Assembly.”
As for the failure to turn over UVIMCO documents, the legislators said:
We find it difficult to understand why UVIMCO has been placed off-limits regarding requests for information and documents. We observe that organization is called the University of Virginia Investment Management Company with over $7 billion in assets, and exists solely for the benefit of the University. We also note that Mr. Hogan sits on its board and oversees a chief executive officer who appears to have earned over $2 million managing university funds in 2014. In light of these facts, we restate and insist on full compliance with our original legislative request….
In other developments… Former rector Keith Martin had an op-ed published in the Washington Post defending the university administration and current Rector William H. Goodwin Jr. Much of the op-ed repeated familiar talking points, but Martin did provide new details (new to me anyway) on the origin of the Strategic Investment Fund.
To support a AAA bond rating in the face of fluctuations in the value of the endowment and political uncertainties such as the inability of the state to formulate a budget on time, UVa had to maintain 330 days of liquidity. That required UVa to set aside a large sum of money as a reserve. In large part, Martin explained, the investment income from that reserve is what will fund the strategic, university-enhancing investments.
