Cal State Group Asks for Probe of Munitz Rehire

A group of California State University professors has asked state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to investigate the university’s decision to rehire Barry Munitz, the Cal State system’s former chancellor. Munitz quit under pressure in February as chief executive of the nonprofit J. Paul Getty Trust, amid controversy over his spending and leadership. A state investigation of the trust’s finances is pending.

Cal State officials said in April that Munitz would return to the university as a “trustee professor” and earn $163,776 in his first year, nearly 50% more than top salaries for other professors. Cal State faculty union leaders this week urged Lockyer’s office to look into the circumstances of Munitz’s rehiring and what they termed his “lavish salary.” A spokesman for Lockyer said he could not discuss the complaint, beyond saying that it had been received.