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Sherry Zane, a professor-in-residence of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, is accused of misappropriating $58,000 over 187 travel days across 19 trips from June 2021 to December 2023, according to police.
UConn authorities said Zane provided doctored receipts to justify the expenses. She was placed on leave in November.
A joint statement from state Republican Sens. Rob Sampson, Henri Martin, Heather Somers, and Stephen Harding called for an immediate investigation into how she was able to carry out the alleged scheme for so long.
"Where there’s smoke, there’s fire," their statement said. "Republicans are calling for a full review and audit of all government-funded travel expenses in higher education."
They also suggested the issue was widespread.
"We are seeing this a lot in Connecticut higher education, aren’t we?" they wrote. However, they did not cite any additional examples in the state.
They also demanded Zane’s immediate termination.
UConn President Radenka Maric said in a statement that the university "takes its ethics and compliance responsibilities very seriously, and it is critical that we always hold ourselves and our workforce to the highest standards of accountability."
She also said the university has "multiple mechanisms" to alert accountants and auditors to potential mismanagement. Maric added that those systems ultimately uncovered Zane's alleged scheme.
UConn's current faculty travel policy requires pre-approval and only reimburses transportation, lodging, meals, and other expenses that support teaching, research, and educational objectives, the school said.
Zane was arrested on Feb. 13 and was released on a $10,000 bond, authorities said.
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