INVESTIGATION: PSU President Wiewel uses University House for For-Profit Company

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Brendan Murray, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Portland State University President Wim Wiewel; courtesy pdx.edu

A GoLocalPDX investigation has found that Portland State University President Wim Wiewel has been using his publicly owned $2 million home to run his for-profit consulting firm since 2009.

According to Wiewel’s Statement of Economic Interest forms, which public officials are required to submit each year, Wiewel has been operating a for-profit consulting business out of the President’s house, located on SW Military Road in Portland.

The house, appraised at more than $2.1 million by Zillow.com, has been listed as the address for Wiewel Consulting on the SEI’s since 2009. In Wiewel’s contract, which outlines his more than $400,000 in base pay and thousands more in perks and benefits, he is allowed to provide consulting services, as long as they do not conflict with his duties at the university. His total compensation annually is approximately $600,000.

There is no clause, however, allowing Wiewel to operate his for-profit venture from university property.

Not Illegal, but Unethical?

The Oregon Ethics Laws prohibit public officials from using public resources to conduct private business under ORS 244.040. As the Oregon Ethics Commission's "Guide for Public Officials" states:

"A governmental agency’s supplies, facilities, equipment, employees, records or any other public resources are not to be used to engage in private business interests."

According to the Oregon Ethics Commission, however, Wiewel is exempt from this provision; a use of a public official's official compensation package can be an exception to the statute.

Kate Titus, Executive Director of Common Cause Oregon, a good government group, told GoLocal that while Wiewel's business dealings do not break the letter of the law, they violate the spirit of the law.

“It’s a tricky situation,” she said. “It may warrant more attention to that law, to make sure that it’s in the spirit of having public officials be accountable to the public.”

She also said that the law “may need more definition,” in cases such as this.

Portland State University's President's House; courtesy Bing maps

Students Say It's "Irresponsible"

Trevor Jacobson, University Affairs Director of the Associated Student of Portland State University, who organized protests of the school's tuition hike in March, told GoLocal he was "surprised" that Wiewel would operate his consulting firm at the residence.

He also said he thinks Wiewel should have to refund any costs he avoided by using the home as his business address.

"I think it would be appropriate for him to repay any overhead associated with running the business that was paid for by the university," he said. "It would also be appropriate for the university to make sure he wasn't operating his non-profit while billing the university for hours."

Kate Stubblefield, a PSU student with the Portland State Student Union, a horizontal advocacy group which campaigns for the rights of PSU students, said she thought Wiewel should not be using the home as a business address.

"Whether or not he is contractually permitted to run his consulting business out of his University home, I feel like it is irresponsible for him to do so," she said. "Especially if he is hosting business associates or clients in his home."

University Responds

Scott Gallagher, the University's Director of Communications, told GoLocal that Wiewel's consulting firm is not only allowed by his contract, it is encouraged.

"This is typical of all university presidents and many faculty," he said. "It is the expectation that he will publish books and do some speaking...It helps raise the profile of the university."

He said Wiewel would also be allowed to use his office for consulting work if the work aligned with his contractual requirement for writing and speaking engagements that raise the profile or statute of the university.

"If he is working on a book or a speech that he collects royalties on that also fulfill those requirements, he is certainly allowed to do those things in his office."

Gallagher defended Wiewel's use of his university-owned house as the address for his consulting firm. He said that the President is required to reside in the home as part of his contract, and as such, it is only natural that he would use that address.

"That consulting firm exists because he collects royalties on books and things like that," he said. "If he is going to write a book, of course he would sit at home and work on it there."

While Gallagher admitted that there is no clause specifically allowing Wiewel to use the address for a business, he also refuted the notion that Wiewel's use of the address was an abuse of his benefits as President.

“There is nothing in his contract that says he cannot use that address for a consulting firm,” he said. “The same is done by many faculty members.”

Editor's Note: Chris Broderick, Associated Vice President for Communications in the President’s Office at Portland State University, submitted a Guest MINDSETTER™ in response to this story. Read it here: http://www.golocalpdx.com/news/portland-state-university-responds-to-golocals-coverage-of-president-wim-wi

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