The board last week accepted Whittaker’s offer of resignation, which stemmed from investigations into the misuse of tens of millions of dollars in state operating funds.
The settlement includes $165,000 in a severance payment and $435,000 “for relinquishment of his tenure at UCF,” according to a copy posted on the university’s website. The university would pay legal costs for Whittaker, who also is resigning as a tenured faculty member.
Whittaker, who had served as UCF’s provost and executive vice president, became president July 1 after the retirement of longtime President John Hitt.
But the scandal erupted in September when an audit revealed that the school had improperly used $38 million in state operating funds to build the 137,000-square-foot Trevor Colbourn Hall. The money was supposed to be used for activities like instruction, research, libraries, student services or maintenance.
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This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2019.