UPDATE: October 21
Attorney Lloyd Snook sent C-VILLE a four-page response to UVA’s audit of the Virginia Quarterly Review on behalf of editor Ted Genoways, to address some of the audit’s financial and managerial findings.
The audit’s mention of a $2,000 payment to "subsidize printing costs" for Genoways’ poetry is "misleadingly vague," writes Snook, who says Genoways asked managing editor Kevin Morrissey in 2008 to make the payment from a research account. "It was apparently made in about April, 2010, from a VQR account," writes Snook, who says the difference in accounts "surely can get resolved quickly."
With regards to undocumented payments from a credit card held outside of UVA, Snook writes that Genoways was told that "the total amount of money for which documentation is inadequate totaled less than $400, out of a total amount of money being audited of more than $1 million."
As for Genoways’ management, Snook writes that his client "has never been told of any specific complaint that any of his staff has had," and adds that "there was never any personnel action taken against Ted."
"We expect that Ted will be meeting with senior University management to better understand these issues, and to address whatever questions they have," writes Snook.
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After interviews with 25 individuals and a review of more than 23,000 e-mails pertaining to the Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR) and its divided staff, UVA released nine pages of findings from its audit (in PDF) of the 85-year-old literary journal. The audit results arrive nearly three months after the suicide of managing editor Kevin Morrissey and allegations of workplace bullying against editor Ted Genoways.
In the report, auditors say there were "no specific allegations of bullying or harassment prior to July 30," the date of Morrissey’s death. Reports from previous years concerning office courtesy and respect "were mostly viewed by others as conflicts between a creative, innovative manager and persons who did not share the editor’s aspirations."
While the audit calls the leadership and management of Genoways "questionable," it also describes oversight of the VQR operation by additional UVA personnel and offices as "inconsistent," and calls for a more efficient reporting system for employee-supervisor complaints. According to a response from UVA President Teresa Sullivan, Susan Carkeek, Vice President for Human Resources, will be charged with creating a HR system that protects employees from potential retaliation from supervisors, and guards supervisors against the possibility of unfounded complaints.
In response to the audit’s call for "appropriate corrective action" regarding Genoways, Sullivan responds that the personnel issue "will be handled confidentially."
The financial component of UVA’s audit turned up "no inappropriate transactions" concerning UVA accounts, and concludes that VQR focused more on "generating new investment funds than on being frugal with the current funds." A separate investment account and credit card lacked complete documentation of transactions, and a $2,000 payment by VQR "to a publisher to subsidize printing costs" for Genoways’ poetry "merits further inquiry."
The audit also mentions a "noted decline" in the documentation of VQR transactions as of January. As C-VILLE reported in September, Morrissey was alleged to have struggled with compiling financial information for the journal’s planned transition to the Office of the Vice President of Research (VPR), an allegation debated by some at VQR who say ultimate financial authority lies with Genoways. UVA plans to move ahead with the transition of the journal and its funds to VPR.
