"It is superfluous at this point," Resnick said. "It's meaningless. It's not going to happen."
Calls to a Morgan spokesman asking to speak with Richardson were not returned.
Resnick said Richardson is evaluated "extensively" by Morgan's regents every year and was found to be not responsible for the problems uncovered in the audit.
"We've had about $300 million worth of construction under his leadership," Resnick said. "To have during that period of time just one negative thing happen, that's almost incredible."
Richardson has, in fact, resisted large pay increases, Morgan officials said. In July 2007, Richardson urged his board to reduce a proposed pay increase, according to Resnick, who owns the banquet firm Martin's Caterers.
"We offered him more, and he cut it back to a 7.5 percent" raise, Resnick said, adding that he doesn't recall how much the board offered.
The typical merit pay increase among presidents in the University System of Maryland has been "anywhere from 2 [percent] to 5 percent" said Kathleen M. Ryan, special assistant to the chancellor.
Last month, Richardson announced his plan to step down in December 2009, after 25 years at Morgan's helm. A 2004 addendum to his contract might shed light on the timing of the retirement. Under the deferred incentive payment plan, colloquially known as a "golden handcuffs" provision, if Richardson stays through the middle of next year he will receive a lump-sum payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
