Donald O. Pederson, vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Arkansas, will retire June 30, the university announced. He’s held the role since 1998. He became a vice chancellor in 1985. (I had some details of his administrative career wrong in the first post.) He oversees a staff of 750. Chancellor David Gearhart praised him in a university release as a “key individual in the growth and development” of the UA. He joined the UA as a physics faculty member in 1972.
This last year has had rough spots. Pederson — and what he said, did and told others about financial problems in the university’s advancement division — put him on a hot seat before legislative auditors and under review by a local prosecutor. He was cleared of criminal wrongdoing. The UA release credited him for tight budget policies that produced annual budget surpluses at UA. The UA release commented on this year’s controversy:
In the last few years, Pederson directed the investigation into a $3.9 million deficit in the Division of Advancement’s budget. That investigation determined the causes of the deficit spending, and Pederson implemented several measures to prevent this kind of problem from recurring. Subsequent audits by state and University of Arkansas System auditors confirmed that Pederson’s conclusions were correct and supported the enhanced budgeting protocols.