THE SPECTRUM VOL. 68 NO. 06 | SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
UBSPECTRUM
Elton John ignites KeyBank Center with an evening of nostalgia
Former Republican Congressman emphasizes free enterprise approach toward climate change
UB remains undefeated: Buffalo defeats Eastern Michigan 35-28
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UB Counseling Services reports increased use of services
UB projects manager charged with grand larceny James Spratz plead guilty to stealing $15,000 from university MAX KALNITZ SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
GRAPHIC BY PHUONG VU
Services see an increase in appointments compared to last year MAX KALNITZ SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
UB’s Counseling Services department is seeing more students than ever before. From 2012 to 2017, the office had a 20 percent increase in the number of students seeking services, according to Senior Director of Counseling, Health and Wellness Sharon Mitchell. Counseling Services has a budget of $3.3 million. In the past four years, Counseling Services added four new counselor positions and a full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner, according to Mitchell. The increased demand for services at UB is in
line with a national trend. During the 2017-18 school year, Counseling Services provided 14,277 counseling appointments to 2,335 students, Mitchell said. The numbers represent a 15 percent increase in how many students the department sees and a seven percent increase in the number of attended appointments compared to the previous year. The office reduced the maximum number of individual counseling sessions per academic year from 14 to 10 in fall 2017 due to more students seeking services. For several years, about 80 percent of students seen at Counseling Services attended one to 10 sessions, with the average number of sessions being six, Mitchell said. “Our mean number of sessions is consistent with national norms, so we
adjusted the sessions offered accordingly in order to serve more students,” Mitchell said in an email. “There was not a change in the average number of sessions students attended [after reducing the number of available sessions during the academic year].” For schools of 25,000 to 30,000 students, the average number of students who seek counseling is 2,210, according to Mitchell. The average number of total counseling sessions offered each year is 10,192 and the mean staff size is 13 fulltime counselors, Mitchell added. “While we do have limitations on our individual and couples counseling per academic year, students can attend weekly counseling groups in an unlimited manner,” Mitchell said. “Our counseling center is actually well-staffed compared to > SEE COUNSELING | PAGE 6
UB paid former President John Simpson roughly $60,000 after full-time retirement Simpson paid for part-time duties as university adviser from 2012-14 BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR
UB paid former President John Simpson $60,237 for part-time work after he retired from his full-time role in 2011. Simpson was paid from 2012 to 2014 as an “executive officer” for the university, according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada. The part-time position ensured Simpson compensation for serving “as needed” as a university adviser. “Under terms of the employment contract negotiated in 2004 by John Simpson and former SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King, former president Simpson was paid a part-time salary in 2012, 2013 and 2014 per the contract,” DellaContrada said. “His duties were to provide advice and counsel to the university on internal and external matters as needed. The topics typically focused on university matters related to his tenure as president.” The Spectrum found Simpson’s part-time earnings on SeeThroughNY, a site that compiles data reported by state institutions to the
THE SPECTRUM STOCK PHOTO Former UB President Simpson received $60,237 from UB for his work as an executive officer. As executive officer, his job was to “provide advice and counsel” to UB “on internal and external matters as needed,” according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada.
New York State Comptroller’s office. In his three years as an executive officer at UB, Simpson received $30,785 in 2012, $26,569 in 2013 and $2,883 in 2014, according to SeeThroughNY. DellaContrada confirmed the site’s numbers. In 2011, The Spectrum wrote about Simpson’s post-retirement compensation. DellaContrada said Simpson’s contract provided him a “pro-rated full-time annual sal-
James Spratz, project manager for Facilities Design and Construction, was arrested Wednesday for defrauding the state and stealing over $15,000 in wages. He recorded hours for his university job when he wasn’t working, including times when he worked an outside job with private employers. The 53-year-old Lancaster native, was arrested and charged with Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, five counts, and Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, all felonies, according to a report from Erie County District Attorney John Flynn’s office. He was released pending his reappearance in court on Oct. 10. An investigation by Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott found that between June 17, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2017 Spratz falsely clocked-in hours at UB when he was not at work. During that time, he worked for and received compensation from private outside architectural design and construction management firms. As a result of his alleged intentional misrepresentations, Spratz illegally earned wages from the State totaling $15,622.30. Spratz’s arrest comes just over a year after former Vice President Dennis Black pleaded guilty to stealing roughly $320,000 from UB and $22,238 from the New York State Taxation and Finance Dept., and former Director of Campus Living Andrea Costantino pleaded guilty to stealing > SEE UB
PROJECTS | PAGE 2
Scott Ludtka still UB employee, no longer UB Facilities Interim Director University will conduct national and internal job search for replacement MAX KALNITZ SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
ary from March 17, 2011, through Dec. 17, 2011,” separate from his part-time work as an executive officer from 2012 to 2014. Simpson received a total compensation of $262,921 from UB in 2011, according to SeeThroughNY. email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com twitter: @BenjaminUBSpec.
Former UB Facilities Interim Director Scott Ludtka is still working for the university after being placed on paid leave in April. Ludtka’s current title is “Hazardous Materials Technician,” according to UB spokesperson Katherine McKenna. Ludtka served as Interim Director for three years. Joseph Raab took over as UB Facilities Interim Director on April 9 after UB demoted Scott Ludtka and put him on paid leave. Raab is still Interim Director, but McKenna said the university plans on starting an internal and national search in “the next few months.” email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Max_Kalnitz