How exactly each president of a public college or university in Utah personally spent taxpayer dollars over the past year will now be the subject of a formal audit.
The change comes after concerns over some of former Utah State University President Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell’s particularly lavish purchases during her short time in office, including a $750 bidet and a $28,300 climate-controlled golf cart.
The overarching Utah System of Higher Education, or USHE, which oversees the state’s eight traditional public institutions, will lead the reviews. It is the first significant audit of presidential spending here for at least the last decade, as school leaders have increasingly been awarded higher salaries.
Geoff Landward, the commissioner over the system, told state lawmakers last week that the point of the audit is to see “if there’s a gap in statewide policy” for what a president’s office can purchase and for how much.
Currently, most of that is up to each school to set a policy. But the system could institute new rules or regular checks for all institutions, Landward said, if needed.
“This is an opportunity for the system to institute better practices,” Landward added.
The USHE audit will run concurrently with a full audit approved by lawmakers specifically at Utah State University. Staff with the Utah Office of the Legislative Auditor General did an initial “assessment” of executive spending at the Logan school following reporting by The Salt Lake Tribune and concerns raised by whistleblowers about Cantwell’s expenditures during her brief 18-month tenure.
Read more at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.