The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page A7

Des Moines Sunday Register Page 7A TRAVELING FOR DOLLARS away from the Iowa City ampus. Leath was away from he Ames campus 215 ays out of 517, or 42 per- ent of his time. total travel osts were $40,672.30, hich includes some osts for her husband, en. total costs ere $22,368, which inc ludes some costs for his ife, Janet. The two pouses frequently trav- led with them, and their osts were picked up by ither the university or its oundation.

Most state a gencies prohibit paying he expenses of state em- family members. rips where Sally and Ken ason traveled together ost $16,301. Trips that teve and Janet Leath ook together cost $9,328. Over the past five ears, the of I and Iowa tatespent $1.4 million on ravel agents, who booked lights and hotel rooms or all university employ- es, including Leath and ason. Regent: We want residents to travel The Iowa Board of Reg ents, which oversees the three universities a nd hires and fires their residents, encourages ravel by the eaders, Regents Presi- ent Bruce Rastetter said.

A large part of their job is communicate the vi- ion, mission and value of he universities, he said. No one can better car- the message of the uni- ersity and the value of ach university than the Rastetter aid. he inc reased travel mirrors a ational trend. University residents today spend ess time on campus than hey did five years ago, a hange pushed by the hift away from public unding and toward pri- ate money, according to a annual survey of presi- ents by the American ouncil on Education in ashington, D.C. I 2010, tuition money eplaced state funding as he biggest source of the 2.5 billionin annual reve- ue that universi- ies use for daily opera- ions.

efore 2010, the major- i ty of the unding came from the tate. ith mounting press ure to not increase tu- i tion on Iowa families, niversities and their residents have turned to ther funding sources. There have been re- arkable shifts in the ay presidents spend heir time, with a growing hare of their time spent i fundraising, and state a nd federal government elations said olly Broad, president of he American Council on ducation. Abig part of job: hief fundraiser The shift in university residents responsibil- i ties has meant esponsibilities on camp us have increased. rovosts interact daily ith faculty and students campus, while presi- ents crisscross the state a nd nation to promote acc omplishments and high- ight needs of the univer- ity, said Veronica Dark, aculty senate president a Iowa State.

rovosts have tradi- ionally moved on to the office. But ome today choose not to ursue the presidency, ecause of the sharp shift i presidential duties a way from campus, said road, of the American ouncil on Education. The reason they went i nto academics and the niversity is because of heir passionate commit- ent to education and re- earch and their disci- she said. he importance of undraising is reflected in he annual goals for Mas on and Leath. In 2013-14, eath is expected to raise a least $100 million.

Mas on is working toward aising about $600 million 2017. hat means leaving ampus to meet face-to- ace with potential don ors. Many of those don ors live in California, Ari zona and Florida, states eath and Mason visited a otal of 11times in the 17- onth period reviewed the Register. he Regents board embers have also told residents to spend more ime traveling in Iowa, pecifically visiting Iowa awmakers and communi- leaders. The goal: high- ight the impact universi- ies have on communities a nd build public support hat results in stabilized tate funding, which de- lined by 25 percent bet ween 2009 and 2011.

I think a critical art of their said astetter, the resident. he review travel records showed hat 27 percent of rips were within Iowa, as ere 43 percent of rips. he Register did not eview the travel of the niversity of Northern I president. Former resident Benjamin Allen etired in May; new presi- ent William Ruud took he helm June 1. Uof Mason goes verseas twice Mason, who travels on ommercial planes, most requently visited Chic ago and Washington, the rev iew showed.

ason, 63, also visited A sia and Italy. Such visits are part of he overall process of uilding long-term, trong relationships with a reas of the world that ave emerging econo- ies, creating research artnerships and estab- ishing agreements with ducational institutions university pokesman Tom Moore aid. visits to China a nd Taiwan were des igned to build ties in a re- ion with growing econ omic clout, university fficials said. of I stud ent enrollment from Chin a has boomed to 2,062 in 2 012, a 57 percent inc rease since 2009. Intern ational students help eep tuition costs low for I owans because they pay ore than twice as much i tuition than state resi- ents.

eath, a licensed pilot, id not travel interna- ionally but made more requent use of private lights. He used a univer- ity-owned plane and at east twice traveled to a egents board meeting on a private plane owned by astetter. Leath, 56, ometimes flew himself a university or private- leased plane, usually or one-day trips within he state. Presidents: Big hauls warf travel cost Travel expenses of a ew thousand dollars are warfed by the potential or donations at events in unny locales such as Ariz ona, where many Iowans ith money to give choose spend their winters, eath and Mason said. he first weekend of ovember 2012, Mason isited alumni at a Women i Philanthropy event in edona, Ariz.

She had just a nnounced a scholarship rogram, the Golden ledge, in which the uni- ersity would match the roceeds from gifts of at east $100,000 for the next ive years. hat weekend, the uni- versity secured two dona- ions worth $210,000. The niversity has raised ore than $4.2 million. That was a pretty ood Mason aid. felt really good a bout A few months later a nd about 120 miles south Sedona Leath spoke about 120 alumni and upporters in Phoenix.

he crowd that filled the esert Botanical Garden ad already given $17 mill ion to the university. A mong the re- arks: His goal is to raise 150 million toward schol- a rships over the next five ears. the end of the night, I SU Foundation officials ad secured a $150,000 ift for scholarships. The niversity has raised 50million toward schol- a rships since September 2 012, when Leath an- ounced his $150 million oal. These are the people hat provide a bulk of our Leath said.

They get a chance to eet the president, meet he deans, find out first- and, face-to-face, what our plans Most-visited city in I owa: Des Moines Within Iowa, Mason a nd Leath have most often isited Des Moines, usual- to meet lawmakers and usiness leaders. Mason a lso went to Cedar Rapids a nd Ames frequently and eath to Iowa City. eath sometimes made everal stops during a sing le-day swing, the rec- rds show. At times, he sed a private plane to ravel more quickly and isit more communities. ne busy day, May 22, 2 012, took him from Ames Carroll in the morning a nd Atlantic and Des oines in the afternoon.

finished in Omaha, then flew back to A mes, his calendar hows. At 7 a.m. the next ay, Leath had boarded a lane to Minnesota to eet donors and alumni in he Minneapolis area. I travel more often han like, but a bal- a said Leath, who be- ame president in Janu- a ry 2012. still trying learn the state, and rying to raise the profile Iowa State in Iowa and ake sure people know hat ason, on the job since 2 007, often spends several ays in one location.

On A pril 1, for instance, she topped in Des Moines for wo days. She attended an a lumni and donor recep- ion at the Iowa Historical uilding in the evening. he next day, she met ith five legislative lead- rs, both Republicans and emocrats. his summer, Mason aid her Iowa visits have i ncluded Council Bluffs, ort Dodge, Muscatine, edar Falls and Waterloo. ason City is on her list.

a pretty full sched- Mason said. cheduled out for many, any Iowa State University President Steven Leath has a license and sometimes flies a university plane on trips to raise money and spread the message of the mission. He often makes several stops in one day. RODNEY REGISTER FOR ISU CHIEF, NO ECEIPTS UNDER $75 Iowa State University provided no receipts to the Register for $2,479 in ravel expenses paid to President Steven Leath. because the university has a olicy that allows most travel costs under $75 to be reimbursed without a receipt, which is consistent with Internal evenue Service record-keeping policies.

Most state government travel, however, requires original receipts for almost very reimbursed purchase. Most organizations find the $75 level oo high, according to information from the Institute of Finance Management, an advocacy organization based in ennsylvania. Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des Moines, said the absence of receipts for pur- hases under $75 could open the door for abuse. should be visible when a public Gaines said.

Clayworth University of Iowa president Sally Mason visited Sedona, one weekend in 2012 and secured two donations worth 210,000. She and Iowa State University President Steven Leath both frequently visit Arizona. RODNEY REGISTER Travel agencies were paid more han $1.4 million by two of the niversities in the past five years argely to book travel, The Des Moines egister found as part of its review of niversity travel expenses. he University of Iowa paid Mea- ham Travel Services an average of 164,128 in each of the last five fiscal ears, largely to book air travel, which enerally costs an extra $35 a seat hen done through an agency. I owa State paid an average of 116,472 in the past five years to the maha-based Travel and Transport.

he company generally charges the chool $30.50 per transaction. I that a wise use of public dollars in a era when travel can easily be ooked on the Internet? fficials at the universities said the a services help the institutions ind the best rates and most efficient ravel schedules. Agencies can also elp resolve issues like cancellations a nd offer after-hours assistance. A ISU, the travel agency makes it asier to shift credit from unused ickets to future purchases, said Karen imon, ISU Foundation spokeswoman. This is not always possible with an in- ividually purchased ticket over the I she said.

eople and businesses can book lights online for free using a number websites. a popular option, ut many companies still use travel a gencies for many of the same reasons ited by Iowa university officials, said icole Crane, vice president of govern- ent relations for the Iowa Associa- ion of Business and Industry. he use of travel agencies remains ommon among large organizations. ixty percent of respondents said they sed a travel agency, according to a 2 012 survey of 100 major organizations Travelport, an airline ticketing firm ased in Atlanta. Travel agencies re- ain popular because other booking ethods are difficult to use, the report aid.

ep. Ruth Ann Gaines, D-Des oines, said the amount of money pent with travel agencies warrants urther review. I guess the question is: Can we be ore she said. Clayworth a nd Jens Manuel Krogstad FEES ADD UP Uof ISU pay $1.4 million over five years for professionals to arrange travel TRAVEL Continued from Page 1A.