Statement From Assistant Vice Chancellor for Communications Morgan Hook

“Unfortunately the conclusions OSC has reached about the University’s use of the law firm Hogan Lovells to assist with a project relating to the Research Foundation seem to point to a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature and scope of our medical university centers.

“The law firm was selected as specialized counsel for SUNY in 2009 under a full competitive selection process overseen and approved by the Office of the State Comptroller. SUNY’s use of the firm for this project was still within the parameters of the contract because the institutions most affected by the Research Foundation’s management and structure are the SUNY health science centers.

“SUNY cooperated fully with the Comptroller’s staff in its inquiries on the Hogan Lovells contract and provided our explanation of the procurement and the procurement record. OSC's press release makes no mention of this or the fact that SUNY has an OSC approved contract with Hogan Lovells. Had SUNY done another six-month procurement of legal or other services, it would have allowed the RF situation to worsen. Considering OSC has seen fit to conduct separate audit of the RF, SUNY should be commended, not denounced, for going after the matter quickly.

“Moving forward, OSC's additional red tape will be felt primarily by the vendors who provide services and goods to SUNY. Quick Pay enables vendors to get paid significantly more expeditiously rather than experiencing the delays caused by the standard voucher process. This will punish New York state businesses that are already subject to myriad requirements in performing services and selling products to the State.

“While SUNY disagrees with the conclusion of the Office of State Comptroller, we do pledge to continue to cooperate with the ongoing audit of the Research Foundation.”

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 467,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu 

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