The same scandal that took down the Baltimore’s mayor has now seemingly shaken the University System of Maryland Board of Regents.
Regent Bob Pevenstein, appointed to the board by Gov. Larry Hogan in 2015, stepped down Monday in the wake of revelations of rampant self-dealing within the University of Maryland Medical System’s board, of which he was a member before he resigned from that post last month.
The system’s Board of Regents hasn’t provided a clear reason for his departure, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The Board of Regents oversees educational, financial and administrative operations for its 12 member institutions, including the University of Maryland.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who had also been a UMMS board member, resigned earlier this month after The Sun’s reporting revealed the medical system paid her $500,000 for her minimally-circulated, self-published series of children’s books.
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Pugh was just one of many UMMS board members with hefty contracts from the system, several of which never received a competitive bidding process. Several other medical system board members, in addition to Pevenstein, have stepped down, and investigations are underway within the FBI, the state prosecutor’s office and Baltimore City’s ethics board.
Pevenstein and his firms made over $100,000 from contracts with the system in both 2017 and 2018. He’s said UMMS board executives approached him about consulting for the system in 2018, which contributed to what he earned.
Pevenstein’s son, too, made more than $100,000 in commissions as a result of UMMS board members enrolling in Aflac supplemental benefit insurance programs, according to The Sun.
His departure could once again change the landscape of the board, which has seen large amounts of upheaval in recent months as a result of events at this university.
After the Board of Regents investigation into the death of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair — who died of heatstroke suffered at a team workout — concluded that then-football coach DJ Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans should stay, the body received immense public backlash from students and state officials alike.
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Reports later surfaced that the regents pressured university President Wallace Loh to retain Durkin as coach, or risk losing his job.
In the ensuing days, board chairman James Brady stepped down. The new chairwoman, former Lockheed Martin executive Linda Gooden, apologized for the board’s personnel recommendations shortly after her appointment.
In April, Hogan signed legislation aimed at making the board more transparent. Among the changes were expanding it from 17 to 21 members, and requiring it to livestream all of its public meetings.
