After facing fire from faculty and staff over a new travel authority approval process that put veto power in the hands of the administration, University Provost Arnett Mace is giving that judgment call back to college deans, he told The Red & Black Tuesday.

“I have delegated the approval of all out-of-state and international travel to deans using the criteria that I set,” Mace said.

But he still will review travel requests from faculty who seek funding from the $200,000 venture funds set aside by the University this year.

“I do not know of a good way to allocate the resources among the schools and colleges that would be equitable to them,” he said, “because some units travel more than others.”

Mace said his approval would be the “fairest” means of divvying up the funds.

In response to some faculty who said they had been denied travel permission for trips that would cost the University nothing, Mace said he did not think that was accurate.

“But I’m like everyone else in the world. I do make mistakes.”

Mace said all faculty travel funded from sources outside the University will be approved.

Some faculty responded positively to the changes Tuesday afternoon.

“I am surprised and pleased” with the change, said Bonnie Crammond, a professor of educational psychology. “I don’t know what motivated the change, but I hope this is a sign that the administration is listening to faculty concerns.”

Also on the chopping block in light of budget cuts are scholarly journals from the library.

The University is seeking faculty, staff and student input into which journals will be cut, but it is difficult to pick and choose specific titles, Mace said.

Publishers often bundle their subscriptions – which can include several titles – so cutting one may mean cutting several.

Budget cuts are not new to the University, as recessions during the 1990s and early 2000s forced similar actions to be taken.

“This is the third large budget cut I’ve been through,” said Tom Jackson, vice president for public affairs. “Something different always bubbles up to the top as the hot button issue.”

Mace also responded Tuesday to the settlement Terry College made with Professor Barbara Carroll in January.

Carroll issued complaints in 2007 to the Office of Legal Affairs that she was paid less than faculty sharing similar job responsibilities. The office found no truth to her claims, according to documents obtained by The Red & Black.

Carroll was found in violation of the non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy in June 2007. She signed a settlement agreement, release and covenant not to sue with Terry College for a pay raise from a 9-month $87,660 salary to a 12-month $144,667 salary and agreed to retire by Jan. 1, 2011, according to documents.

Mace said the legal settlement was the most “efficient” means of handling the situation to avoid a costly lawsuit and benefit facutly and students.

“We, in our best judgment, believed we would be sued by Dr. Carroll,” he said. “Like in any negotiation, there was give and take.”

Mace said Carroll’s harassment violation would have warranted him to initiate the process to revoke her tenure status, but Carroll probably would have sued anyway.

“It was a decision between (Dean Robert T. Sumichrast) and myself after a long negotiation,” he said, “and it was the most efficient and most economical way to resolve the issues with Dr. Carroll.”

To revoke her tenure could have taken one to three years, Mace said.

“It’s in the best interest of the institution to find a way to get past it with such a settlement,” Jackson said.

The Board of Regents only reviews such agreements if the settlement exceeds $100,000 on a yearly basis. Carroll’s settlement awarded her about $57,000 more in salary per year until her retirement.