In April 2016, following the widely publicized pepper-spraying of protesters by campus police, the Chancellor of University of California Davis, Linda Katehi, was criticized for spending $175,000 on outside consultants for Internet search optimization in order to diminish online references to the incident so the public would see a more favorable image of UC-Davis. Later that month, Chancellor Katehi was placed on paid administrative leave amid allegations of nepotism, inappropriate involvement on corporate boards, and gross financial excess. Subsequently, the communications budget was increased by $1.6 million, including $800,000 allocated to social media, web development, videography and news. Another $1 million was spent to publicize the University’s contribution to California agriculture. Still, reputational damage to the university was unavoidable.

July 10, 2016 ・ From Inside Higher Ed