Ex-chancellor to leave UC, pocket cash

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

When Robert Berdahl resigned in 2004 as chancellor of UC Berkeley, he was given a yearlong leave at his chancellor's salary with the understanding he would return to teaching.

Now Berdahl says he'll leave in May -- after teaching one semester -- to run an academic trade group. But UC officials said he won't have to pay back the $355,000 he earned on leave because UC made an "exception to policy.''

The disclosure is the latest in a string of revelations about UC's employee pay and benefits that have prompted both UC and the state Legislature to launch investigations. The Chronicle reported late last year that the university often paid employees more than was publicly reported.

Eat your heart out Enron.