Lawmakers are ordering a broad audit of spending processes at Utah State University after an initial review discovered several concerns at the Logan-based institution.
Utah’s Legislative Audit Subcommittee on Tuesday unanimously supported a motion to prioritize a performance audit of USU’s governance and procurement processes.
The call for a deeper analysis of USU’s policies and practices follows a limited review from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General of the school’s President’s Office.
“The goal was to understand the level of risk in how the president spends money and whether any spending could be considered excessive,” auditors noted in their survey.
The survey from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General examined several USU procurement areas — including the school’s spending policies; purchase orders for legal, professional and consulting services; procurement card transactions from the President’s Office; and asset tracking related to the president.
“We were asked to do a survey on Utah State University, specifically the President’s Office,” said Jesse Martinson, senior performance auditor at the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.
“And as we did our survey, we found some indicators there that led us to believe that a full audit should be recommended.”
Auditors’ survey: Structure, governance and leadership concerns at USU
In their report to lawmakers, state auditors identified “several risks” that suggest a full audit at USU is in order:
• Structure concerns: There are issues with the design and implementation controls of procurement policies, according to the auditors. For example, the report noted, some executive staff committed the university to contracts ranging from $52,000 to $430,000 before completing the purchasing process.
• Governance concerns: The board of trustees and senior leadership may not be providing sufficient oversight on key procurement and administrative matters, the report noted.
• Leadership concerns: Over the past two years, according to the report, purchase card transactions with the President’s Office have significantly increased compared to the previous five years.
“These purchases may be concerning due to the nature of the purchases, the dollar amounts involved, and the level of oversight.”
Additionally, there are issues with the amount spent on presidential motor vehicle assets in the last two years “being almost triple the amount for the five years before.”
“These findings, along with staff interviews, raise concerns about USU’s governance, leadership, and culture of policy noncompliance,” the report noted. “A complete audit would be needed to fully understand these risks and determine if there are any official audit findings.”
A deeper analysis at USU, according to the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, should include a review of the school’s current procurement policies, its controls over open purchase orders, a further analysis of the President’s Office spending and assets and, finally, an evaluation of whether “governance and leadership at USU have the appropriate structure, tools, process, culture and personnel in place to ensure success.”
The search for USU’s next president continues
At the moment, USU is an institution searching for a president.
A committee made up of Utah Board of Higher Education members and USU trustees, faculty and students is working to select the school’s next leader.
In February, then-USU President Elizabeth Cantwell stepped down from her position at the head of Utah’s only land-grant university.
Cantwell, who was hired at USU in 2023, resigned after being selected as president of Washington State University.
Alan L. Smith was named as USU’s interim president shortly after Cantwell’s departure. He reportedly plans to return to his position as dean of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services when the new president is selected.
During Tuesday’s legislative subcommittee meeting, USU board of trustees Chair Tessa White said the school welcomes a broader audit.
“There are areas that we are aware of and taking aggressive steps to remedy — and we hope that by the time that your audit is done, we will have a whole list of things completed that will give you greater confidence in the school,” said White.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, acknowledged struggles at USU, adding he’s looking forward to working with new leadership at the school.
“We very much want to work together collaboratively to make sure that we are in a good spot with Utah State,” said Schultz. “Because ultimately, it’s the citizens of the state that will benefit from that — and our kids and grandkids that get educated there.”
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