I was getting worked up about Peter Kohler’s accepting $120,000/year from Texas Pacific to be on the board of Portland General Electric when he’s already receiving $600,000/year from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), until I did a little further digging.
The legislature recast OHSU as a public corporation in 1995 and essentially told it to go out into the world and look for money. OHSU has done that successfully: in 2003 less than 5% ($48 million out of just over $1 billion) of its funds came from the state. Good for OHSU and good for Dr. Kohler, I said to myself; it’s private industry at work.
But then I came across this passage of Oregon law, and my happy spirits evaporated. I’ve italicized some bits that caught my eye:
ORS 353.270 Compensation of officers and employees; conflicts of interest. (1) Oregon Health and Science University may authorize receipt of compensation for any officer or employee of the university from private or public resources, including but not limited to income from:
(a) Consulting;
(b) Appearances and speeches;
(c) Intellectual property conceived, reduced to practice or originated and therefore owned within the university;
(d) Providing services or other valuable consideration for a private corporation, individual or entity, whether paid in cash or in kind, stock or other equity interest, or anything of value regardless of whether there is a licensing agreement between the university and the private entity;
(e) Performing public duties paid by private organizations, including university corporate affiliates, that augment an officer’s or employee’s publicly funded salary. Such income shall be authorized and received in accordance with policies established by the university; and
(f) Providing medical and other health services.
(2) The university shall not authorize compensation, as described in subsection (1) of this section, that, in the university’s judgment, does not comport with the missions of the university or substantially interferes with an officer’s or employee’s duties to the university.
(3) Any compensation described and authorized under subsection (1) of this section shall be considered official salary, honorarium or reimbursement of expenses for purposes of ORS 244.040. If authorization or receipt of such compensation creates a potential conflict of interest, the potential conflict shall be reported in writing in accordance with policies of the university. The disclosure is a public record subject to public inspection.
(4) The university shall adopt standards governing employee outside employment and activities of employees, including potential conflicts of interest, as defined by the university and consistent with ORS 244.020, and the public disclosure thereof, and procedures for reporting and hearing potential or actual conflict of interest complaints. [1995 c.162 §24; 1999 c.291 §10]
Take a look at subsection (2). As I read it, OHSU cannot authorize Dr. Kohler to receive compensation from PGE if PGE’s goals don’t comport with OHSU’s goals, even if Dr. Kohler’s duties for PGE don’t interfere with his work for OHSU. OHSU and Texas Pacific have some good lawyers who have undoubtedly looked at this provision, but it would be fascinating to read how the justification was presented to the board — and it’s a public record; OHSU is subject to the Public Records law.