A “culture of policy noncompliance” at Utah State University has led to largely unchecked spending by executive staff — with a finger pointed, in particular, at the expenses of former President Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell — according to a critical new state assessment released Tuesday.
Auditors found that unnamed executive staff members at the northern Utah school were unilaterally approving contracts up to $430,000 without completing a set purchasing process.
And the president’s office, they said, “significantly increased” purchases over the past two years, including spending three times as much on new cars.
Utah lawmakers requested the review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General after reporting by The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this year raised concerns about Cantwell’s spending during her brief 18 months at the helm of USU.
Through public records requests, The Tribune tracked $661,800 that Cantwell spent on new cars, an apartment in Salt Lake City, extensive national travel and lavish furnishings for her office — including a $750 bidet.
Cantwell stepped down in March to serve as president of Washington State University.
When The Tribune published its reporting shortly after, it noted there appeared to be little oversight of her spending by the university’s board of trustees, which is responsible for overseeing the school’s finances and auditing all spending.
Read the rest of the story 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.
