The UNM Board of Regents is looking to amend the University’s per diem policies, which could mean traveling faculty would have to pay out-of-pocket for food.
Regents Gene Gallegos and James Koch, members of the Regent Audit Committee, are concerned about following state law and making sure faculty have a clear per diem policy, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said.
“Regent Gallegos and Regent Koch believe that our current policy is inaccurate or doesn’t exactly reflect what state law intends, and they want to look into that,” she said.
The Board of Regents discussed changes to the policy at a June 27 meeting, but the issue was tabled until August.
Faculty Senate President Timothy Ross said the regents’ decision could cause difficulty for traveling faculty.
“Our Board of Regents claim that we’re really not following state law in terms of per-diem allocations when we travel,” he said.
“If somebody is in Washington, D.C., and they’re only allowed to spend what you can spend according to state law — a lot of people are going to suffer an economic hardship.”
UNM pays faculty federal per diem rates for the cost of meals, which are more than twice the rates of state per diem laws.
Federal rates pay up to $71 a day for meals, while state rates only pay $30 a day.
The regents decided to discuss the per diem policies after the Albuquerque Journal began investigating travel reimbursements.
The Journal reported June 17 that UNM has spent more than $10 million in the first 11 months of the fiscal year on travel reimbursements.
“When I looked at this, I was at a loss to understand why we don’t respect state law,” Gallegos said.
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McKinsey said faculty and fiscal concerns will be evaluated in the fall before making a decision on the per diem policy.
“The faculty wants to make sure they don’t get in a position where they have to pay out of their own pocket in order to do their research and work for the University,” she said. “On the other hand, we have to be very conscious of what the state law is. I think it’s how we interpret the law and there are several interpretations right now, and we’re looking at it and will probably come up with some variation.”
