Audit Finds ‘Severe Noncompliance’ at Utah State University

A state audit released Friday found a litany of issues at Utah State University, including “patterns of financial noncompliance” among university leaders and staff, and poor oversight by the Utah Board of Higher Education. The audit offered 26 recommendations for improvement.

“The nature and number of financial issues identified during this audit were concerning,” the audit noted.

Notably, the report detailed how the university moved ahead with renovations to former president Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell’s office without securing funding beforehand. (The audit doesn’t name Cantwell, but The Salt Lake Tribune reported on the incident.) The original plan to spend $10,000 on basic upgrades, such as new paint and carpet, ultimately ballooned to $300,000. Cantwell’s project, “questioned both externally and internally,” continues to go unfunded, according to the audit.

The report raised other issues, as well, including Utah State contracting vendors who have professional ties to leadership, or procuring work without a competitive process, and university personnel spending on costly accommodations during work travel.

“Based on the documentation we were able to review, there has been a pattern of severe noncompliance within the university for many years,” the audit read. “University leaders are not held accountable for violating university policy, which undermines the effectiveness of existing internal controls.”

The audit did however acknowledge that the board hired a new president, Brad Mortensen, “who has a record of good leadership.” Mortensen, the former president of Weber State University, took over in November. The board has also instituted new rules for reviewing presidential spending.