Vice President of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez has held a series of meetings with executives of The Students of Georgetown Incorporated to discuss his concerns over the corporation’s expenditures. Specifically, Gonzalez raised questions about the amount of money that The Corp spends each year on alcohol for social events.
“I have expressed concerns to them that … the word on the street is that they spend $25,000 on beer and keg parties,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez clarified that he currently has no intentions of taking more control over The Corp’s accounts.
The Corp?the largest student-run corporation in the United States?is a financially independent from the University, but through its contract with Georgetown, Gonzalez is permitted to view the accounts of Uncommon Grounds, which was originally a joint project between the University and The Corp. A stipulation in the lease provides for financial audit by the administration.
Eric Rivers (CAS ‘02) Corp board member stated that The Corp was completely open to having Gonzalez review the accounts of Uncommon Grounds.
“Although The Corp is completely independent of the University, we encourage him to look at the books. However, because of the status of The Corp, there is little action he can take,” Rivers said.
The Corp is governed in part by a board composed of seven members, three members of The Corp and four who are unaffiliated. According to Rivers, this structure ensures good business practices.
“We run a good company,” Rivers said.
Gonzalez has also expressed his concerns regarding The Corp’s procedures regarding this past December’s Holiday Gala. According to Gonzalez, The Corp rented the Corcoran Gallery for $3,000 to hold the event, but due to the excessive amount of alcohol spilled on the floor, the Corcoran charged The Corp an additional $5,000 in damage fees. Gonzalez said that the Corcoran also called him to complain about the situation.
“Even though The Corp is independent from the University, since they have ‘Georgetown’ in their name, they still represent the University in a certain way,” Gonzalez said.
The Corcoran could not be reached for comment before press time.
Although there has been a history of tension between the University and The Corp, both Gonzalez and The Corp executives say that they are working to foster a friendly relationship.
According to The Corp President Justin Pytka (CAS ‘04), The Corp has no problems with Gonzalez viewing their accounts.
“In order to help both the University and The Corp reach their goals, it is important to make sure that we are on the same page,” Pytka said.
In the past, The Corp has experienced its share of financial management problems. The Voice reported in 1998 that $9,000 had disappeared from The Corp’s safe. 35 people were reported to have access to the combination.
Melissa O’Keeffe (MSB ‘99), the president of The Corp at the time, was quoted as saying that she had no idea where the money had gone. Lie detector tests were used, and The Corp hired a private investigator, but no arrests were ever made.
Gonzalez has also had his share of exposure to student-run corporation’s financial problems. Before coming to Georgetown, Gonzalez held the position of Associate Dean of Students at California Polytechnic State University?a position that he held until the summer of 2000?which allowed him to work closely with a student-run corporation similar to The Corp. Associated Students Incorporated, is a $10 million non-profit organization that is, according to its bylaws, subject to the supervision of the university president. According to Gonzalez, ASI was experiencing serious financial problems when he began his term at Cal Poly, including two embezzlements.
“They lost control of their accounting abilities,” Gonzalez said. “I have a history of saying that if you can’t control money, I’ll find a way to do it.”
Gonzalez said that the university president assigned him with the task of cleaning up the financial situation of ASI when he arrived at Cal Poly. Gonzalez said that he ultimately took the accounting and payroll responsibilities away from the students of ASI and handed them over to an independent, external corporation.
“The Students wound up saving money … it just got professionalized,” Gonzalez said.
