CALIFORNIA, Pa. — The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education says an audit shows California University of Pennsylvania inappropriately used university employees to raise money for its private foundation and improperly diverted nearly $6 million to the same nonprofit.

The report released Thursday also questioned the financing of the university’s new $59 million Convocation Center.

The education system fired university president Angelo Armenti Jr. on Wednesday.

California University trustees chairman released a response to the audit late Thursday. In that document, Armenti calls the findings “baseless” and “unfounded.”

One complaint that prompted the audit claimed the university made fraudulent funding projections for the Convocation Center. The audit found the university had said it had $12.3 million in cash on hand and donations for construction but only a fraction of that figure was actually available.

Pa. unemployment rate keeps droppingHARRISBURG — The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania dropped slightly last month as more people found work, but the overall size of payrolls remained relatively flat.The state Department of Labor and Industry said Thursday that the unemployment rate stood at 7.4 percent in April, down from 7.5 percent in March.The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in April.Meanwhile, the agency estimated the number of nonfarm jobs fell by 600, leaving the total at just below 5.73 million. Resident employment was up 27,000, for a total slightly above 5.95 million.Pennsylvania payrolls dropped below 5.6 million after the recession began in December 2007 and remains below the peak of 5.8 million jobs in 2008.

Sears shows profit; plans store spinoffHOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings said Thursday it returned to a profit in the first quarter as it benefited from a gain on the sale of underperforming stores. The troubled retailer also said it would spinoff a stake in its Canada unit to focus on turning around its U.S. business.The Hoffman Estates, Ill., company, which runs Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End, said it earned $189 million, or $1.78 per share, for the period ended April 28. It lost $170 million, or $1.58 per share, a year ago.The current quarter included a $233 million gain on the sale of 11 U.S. stores, three Canadian stores and leasehold interest.Excluding store closing costs and other items, Sears lost 31 cents per share from continuing operations. That was better than the loss of 67 cents per share analysts expected.Sears shares rose $1.55, or 3 percent, to close at $52.42 Thursday.Earlier this year, Sears also announced that it was spinning off its smaller Hometown and Outlet stores as well as some hardware stores in a deal expected to raise $400 million to $500 million.