The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "college construction" ...
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Billions to Spend
"This story follows the leaders of the $5.7 billion campus rebuilding program of the LA community college system that wasted tens of millions of dollars through poor planning, shoddy workmanship and frivolous spending."
Tags: community college; campus funding; college construction
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Taj Mahal on the Trinity
"This story dealt with the out-of-control construction costs of public county community college urban campus." Also, the errors made by the district, the demands for more money, and failure to oversee the project until the costs estimates were up to "half-billion dollars with less than one-third of the project complete." Further, a great deal of citizens turned against the project, due to the large amount of taxpayer dollars being used.
Tags: education; facility; FOIA; Tarrant County; college district; construction; costs; colleges
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Master's Degree of a Mess; TCC's Money Machine; Illegal to Erase
These stories were part of a year-long investigation of the Tarrant County College District's four-year mismanaged project to build a long-awaited downtown campus in Fort Worth, Texas. In includes investigation into the roles of the chancellor and the board of trustees in the debacle.
Tags: Higher education; mismanagement of funds; Texas; construction projects; urban planning; sunshine laws
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Lab Rats
A New Times investigation reports on "a litany of veiled, disingenuous and sometimes fraudulent financial schemes that badly damaged the university's other primary missions." On the basis of internal financial records and memos provided by professors and former administrators, the story depicts a "history of misspending of state revenue bonds and federal grants," as well as "a history of university administrators destroying the careers of those who complained..." The University of Arizona succeeded in becoming one of the top 20 public research institutions in the country, after a massive effort in this direction, which started in the 80s. However, the reporter finds, it slipped "in critical categories such as faculty salaries and student retention."
Tags: public records; higher education; universities; colleges; fraud; construction; debt; Large Binocular Telescope project; life sciences
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Wreck the Halls
Because of rising enrollment, construction began on two new dorms on the Middle Tennessee State University campus in 1972. At the time MTSU administrators decided to cut the necessary ventilation system from the dorms, saving the university $26,000 at the time. Two years later after the dorms were completed the director of housing and residential life began getting complaints about moisture problems in the dorms, causing books, clothes, and furniture to mildew. Over the next 27 years the problem worsened, with asbestos being discovered in the dorms, and concrete chunks falling from the ceilings. In 1999 MTSU finally evacuated the dorms, but is unable to renovate or destroy the dorms, while housing students continue to pay for the construction cost from 1972.
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1998 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape.
The 1998 TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape is a compilation of 12 investigative stories. 1.) "Tomb of the Unknowns," CBS News. A 13-part series that forced the government to face the truth about how it defaced one of the nation's most sacred shrines and denied a grieving mother the truth about her son. See #15332. 2.) "The Deadly Trade in Fake Medicine," CBS News, 60 Minutes. Substandard medicine marketed by a secret network of manufacturers, peddlers make fortunes and regulators have failed to stop this deadly trade. See #15241. 3.) "Abuse of Power." ABC News 20/20. The U.S. military's power to strike back at personnel who are critical. Whistleblowers who expose misconduct, waste, fraud and abuse are told they are mentally ill. See #15282. 4.) "Shell Game." NBC News Dateline. A hidden camera investigation inside a plant that processes 2 million eggs a day, reveals eggs up to a month old, are mixed in with fresh eggs, rewashed, repacked and sold like new. See #15236. 5.) "Doublecross." ABC Primetime. This investigation reveals how the United States government turned a drug smuggler into a top informant and then allowed him to distribute cocaine into the United States. See #15251. 6.) "Fake Doctors, Real Dangers." CBS-2 News, Los Angeles. This series uncovers fake doctors all over Southern California running illegal clinics. See #15259. 7.) "Impact: Forced Sterilization." WXYZ investigates into the sterilization of thousands of men, women and children by the state government in Michigan. See #15373. 8.) "Oath of Silence." WMAQ. This four-month investigation exposes secret malpractice settlements that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars. See #15373. 9.) "Troubled Transit." WTXF, Philadelphia. This three-month investigation of the Septa Public Transit in Philadelphia reveals some of the transit workers are not doing the jobs the taxpayers are paying them to do. See #15221. 10.) "Olympic Bribery Scandal." KTVX. Salt Lake Olympic Organizers have been spending thousands of dollars to pay the college tuition of international Olympic associate's relatives. See # 15201. 11.) "Stadium Investigation." WCPO, Cincinnati. Hamilton County in Cincinnati have spent more than a billion dollars to build and finance a new stadium, promising more business for minorities and women. A five-month investigation uncovers many broken promises. 12.) "Mismanagement 101." KWTV, Oklahoma City. Millions of dollars in overspending, fraud, waste and allegations of cover-up. Example; 50 construction employees were diverted from air conditioning the elementary school to building an all automatic, high-tech bathroom located just outside the superintendent's office. See # 15303.
Tags: TAPE; Vietnam; Freedom of Information Act; FOI; Computer Assisted Reporting; CAR; IRE; no transcripts.
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No title (id: 5104)
Chicago Reporter reports that taxes supporting the City Colleges of Chicago jumped 40 percent over four years while enrollment plummeted and buildings were empty; plans for costly construction continued, November 1987.