U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Circumstances Surrounding the Teaching of Out-of-Town University Courses by General Counsel

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO investigated the circumstances surrounding the teaching of courses at the University of Pennsylvania, during the 1996-97 academic year, by the General Counsel for the Commission on Civil Rights, focusing on: (1) how much authority the Commission Chair, Mary Frances Berry, had in deciding who would teach the university courses; (2) whether Dr. Berry had authority to discontinue the teaching assignment before all responsibilities were fulfilled; (3) whether other Commission employees had been denied permission to teach; and (4) the impact the absence of the General Counsel had on the backlog of projects at the Commission.