Husband of UI president paid to be fundraiser

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The husband of the University of Iowa's president will be paid about $54,000 this year to attend school fundraisers, although officials who supposedly approved the position have no recollection of it.

Ken Mason was appointed in 2007 as both a "presidential fundraiser" and a lecturer in the biology department - jobs that pay a combined $107,000 a year - according to the university.

Sally Mason was hired in June 2007 with an annual salary of $484,000. University spokesman Tom Moore told the Des Moines Register that Ken Mason's hire was part of the negotiations to lure his wife away from Purdue University.

Moore said former Board of Regents President Michael Gartner and former Executive Director Gary Steinke agreed to the deal, but both men told the newspaper that they don't remember approving Ken Mason's hire.

"I hired Sally Mason, I made that deal," said Gartner, who served as a regent from 2005 to 2011. "To the best of my recollection - and my recollection could be way off - the issue arose as to whether her husband would have a teaching job. And I think the answer was that if he was qualified - and he is qualified - and there was an opening, he'd be considered for a post."

Ken Mason earns $53,000 a year as a part-time lecturer in the biology department, typically teaching two courses in the fall and one in the spring.

As a fundraiser, Ken Mason is required to attend on- and off-campus events. The position averages about 20 hours a week and is funded by the University of Iowa Foundation, whose purpose is to raise money for the university.

Foundation officials said Ken Mason is the only university staffer whose work is funded by the foundation. Spokesman Forrest Meyer declined to explain why the foundation is funding his position.

Ken Mason did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment, and the university said Sally Mason was unavailable to comment.