UC Irvine Nepotism Probe Clears 5 Cases

An investigation into five cases of possible nepotism in hiring at UCI Medical Center found nothing improper, university officials said Wednesday. A sixth case is still being investigated.

UC Irvine’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity said it found no violations in the hiring of a sister and cousin of interim hospital Chief Executive Maureen Zehntner; the daughter of former hospital Chief Executive Dr. Ralph Cygan; and the son and daughter of medical school Dean Dr. Thomas Cesario.

With the investigation probing allegations of nepotism in the hospital and medical school’s highest ranks, its report showed that in several instances, UCI chose family members for jobs out of large candidate pools.

In one case, Cesario’s daughter was elevated to residency director of the dermatology department “although no formal selection process took place,” the report said.

In another, Cygan’s daughter was chosen from 56 applicants.

In addition, Zehntner’s sister was the only candidate interviewed for a position in the dean’s office.

The UCI inquiry was announced last month after The Times reported possible nepotism involving UCI’s top medical administrators.

University of California rules permit someone’s close relative to work in the same department only when it is “in the best interests of the university” and the hire has been approved by the campus chancellor’s office. The hiring of Cesario’s children received that approval.

But the UCI investigation report suggested that the step was unnecessary because none of the five hires reported to or worked in the same departments as their relatives.

That argument isn’t acceptable, said Kirk O. Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “Every individual is in the same department as the CEO of an organization,” he said. Top executives, he said, must “fulfill the spirit as well as the letter of the rules” in anti-nepotism policies.

The employment of Zehntner’s brother, Bruce V. McGraw Jr., remains under investigation, UCI spokeswoman Susan Menning said.

McGraw has followed his sister from job to job. He was hired at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange in 1993 while Zehntner served as chief operating officer there.

He moved to UCI Medical Center in Orange in 1999, three years after Zehntner was hired as chief operating officer. He earns about $55,000 annually as a network development officer, distributing brochures to outside doctors and updating them on new hospital services.

UCI hired Zehntner’s sister, Veronica J. Hogue, in 2001 as an administrative analyst for Iris Ingram, then an associate dean in the School of Medicine.

The report said no evidence was found that Zehntner had played a role in Hogue’s employment. The report also said “no information is available” on how Ingram identified Hogue as a candidate for the job.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Ingram said she hired Hogue part time on Zehntner’s recommendation.

Several months later, Cesario hired Hogue, Ingram said.

Ingram worked at UCI for three years in a newly created position to increase oversight at the medical school. She left after concluding that her position was little more than “window dressing” and that the school’s dedication to reform was cosmetic.

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Times staff writer Christian Berthelsen contributed to this report.