UNDER FIRE

UC Davis Chancellor Placed on Leave

Over school spending, controversial board seats.

The University of California announced it has placed the chancellor of its Davis campus, Linda Katehi, on indefinite leave after questions were raised over her leadership and ethics, including the school’s spending on image consultants as well as her acceptance of controversial board seats. UC President Janet Napolitano issued a statement Wednesday saying the school would also launch an independent probe to look at whether the 62-year-old violated several school policies, such as the compensation of immediate family members. Katehi has come under fire for accepting a seat on the board of the for-profit college, DeVry Education Group, as well as a textbook publisher. She also ordered the university spending of $175,000 on an online image enhancement campaign after she was criticized for the use of pepper spray against protesters in 2011. UC Davis Provost Ralph Hexter will serve as an interim chancellor, Napolitano said.