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EDITORIAL

With Motley gone, UMass Boston deserves clarity

University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley. PAT GREENHOUSE / GLOBE FILE PHOTO/Globe Staff

Poof! Like magic, Keith Motley is gone as University of Massachusetts Boston chancellor.

At the end of this academic year, Motley will step down to take a year’s sabbatical, at a salary of $355,059. After that, the plan is for Motley to return to the UMass campus as a faculty member at a salary of $240,000.

This chancellor disappearing act may be convenient for Martin T. Meehan, the president of the entire UMass system; for the UMass board of trustees; and even for Motley. It allows everyone to save face, without revealing details about the circumstances that led to Motley’s departure. While that’s standard operating procedure in the private sector, it’s an insult to the public, which foots the bill for UMass Boston and deserves more transparency about its vaguely described financial problems, including a deficit of “up to $30 million.”

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According to the Globe’s Laura Krantz, warnings about mounting fiscal problems go back to 2011. As chancellor, Motley was the chief recipient of those warnings. Still, according to the Globe report, in 2012, the central UMass office was also warned of fiscal problems. That suggests accountability beyond Motley.

Meehan was appointed president of the entire UMass system in July 2015. His predecessor, Robert L. Caret, held that position from July 2011 to June 2015.

The UMass website describes the president as the chief executive officer of the UMass system. According to an organizational chart on the website, the five UMass campuses — including UMass Boston — report to the president, who reports to the board of trustees. Under Massachusetts law , the board of trustees must vote to approve budgets plans submitted by the chancellors of each of the five UMass campuses, and all such plans must include “a 3-year retrospective description of performance and a 5-year plan for future goals.”

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At Meehan’s direction, an independent, external auditor is currently conducting an audit of campus finances and operations. UMass expects to have the results of that audit in time for the board meetings in June, which are public. At next week’s board meeting, the trustees will receive an update on the UMass Boston fiscal 2017 budget situation. UMass officials now say the financial challenges on the Boston campus were discussed by boards and presidents, going back several years. The expectation was that Motley, a charismatic and popular leader, would be able to resolve them. Indeed, he submitted a budget for fiscal 2017 that projected a $2.3 million surplus and assumed the implementation of $25 million in budget solutions that never materialized.

Maybe Motley was the problem and maybe Meehan is the one who is trying to salvage this mess. But there still should be guarantees going forward that a president and board of trustees won’t look the other way when problems build on a chancellor’s watch, no matter how popular or charismatic that chancellor may be.

There’s a lot at stake, beyond individual reputations. The UMass Boston campus is one of the few places where a truly diverse community comes together in this city. That community deserves candor, and the general public deserves answers.

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