 "Photo: Matt Binter")
The National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition Commercialization, NISTAC, recently announced that its board of directors will be asked to oversee an in-depth review of the recent findings published by Grant Thornton LLP, in the exit audit prepared for K-State.
The audit indicated there was concern with issues arising due to conflicts of interest in the personnel, shareholders and board positions.
“Under the guidance of the NISTAC board chairman, Dr. Ron Trewyn, the board will be putting into place a thorough process to review the Grant Thornton report and to make recommendations to the full NISTAC board for best practices and improvements that can be made to the organization and its operating procedures,” said Kent Glasscock, president of NISTAC. “It will be important to let that process take its course.”
In 2004, NISTAC was the new name given to the Mid-America Commercialization Corporation, marking the expansion of the program into other regions throughout the nation. This program’s design was to match non-profit entities with their complementary ideas and projects.
According to Trewyn, when the MACC began, corporations could donate intellectual projects and portfolios to non-profit groups for development.
“An idea that brings in only a few million dollars worth of revenue may not be of interest to large corporations, but it would be to a small city in Kansas,” Trewyn said.
Concerns have risen in the community since the audit was published, and citizens have written to the city, trying to find out what they think is the “true story.”
One man trying to voice a point of interest for city council members and citizens is City Commissioner Loren Pepperd, who was elected to the Manhattan City Commission in April for a four-year term.
“The bottom line is that the property, NISTAC, is owned by the city and it’s only as good for us as the people that run it,” Pepperd said.
Pepperd said his main concern is that when the audit came out, it noted flaws in the policy of NISTAC. Since there are many university heads, members of the chamber of commerce and city heads, there are many areas where conflicts of interest are occurring. Another of his concerns is the return to taxpayers and whether what is being accomplished with NISTAC is worth the investment.
“I am very happy with the way President Schulz is handling [the audit],” Pepperd said.
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