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Evergreen: Travel funds missing

College says professor has not accounted for $50,000 collected from students in past 4 years

By Venice Buhain | The Olympian • Published February 18, 2009

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OLYMPIA – An audit at The Evergreen State College revealed that a professor with a study-abroad program to Chile hasn't accounted for at least $50,000 in student fees and other college money, and that he misrepresented the college by signing contracts with a Chilean company partly owned by his family.

Evergreen investigated professor Jorge Gilbert's academic travel program to Chile for about 10 months and released its findings Tuesday.

Gilbert, who has taught at Evergreen since 1988, teaches courses related to Latin American studies, international studies and political economy, according to his faculty Web site. He also is an honorary consul of Chile.

The college has forwarded the information from the audit to campus police, the Thurston County Prosecutor's Office and the college's human resources department for review.

"What's important is for the process to take place, so there's a thorough and fair process," said Rich Wood, spokesman for the Washington Education Association. United Faculty of Evergreen, the faculty union, is affiliated with the teachers union.

A representative of United Faculty of Evergreen is assisting Gilbert with the human resources investigation, Wood said.

A person who answered the phone for the local Chilean consulate said Gilbert was out of town and could not be reached. Gilbert did not respond to a message left at his Evergreen office.

Evergreen internal auditor Maryam Jacobs listed several "concerns and exceptions" in her report, including:

• The audit could not find expenses or disbursements to support at least $50,000 in travel payments from students and the college that Gilbert has collected in the past four years.

• Gilbert entered into contracts on behalf of the college with a company owned by his family members, which "may have violated the Washington State Ethics in Public Service law."

• Gilbert bypassed the college systems pertaining to cash handling by having students submit the money for the program to a bank account, for which he was the sole signer.