CACHE COUNTY, Utah — An audit of Utah State University found “patterns of financial noncompliance by repeatedly bypassing requirements in Utah Code and university policy.” In 2025, issues were reported regarding presidential spending and non-compliance with rules.
The Office of the Legislative Auditor General conducted an audit and found multiple issues with leadership and accountability at Utah State University.
“Leadership has also provided inadequate oversight of USU’s statewide operations, enabling instances of asset misappropriation, misconduct and favoritism,” read the report.
The audit presented to the leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate showed issues with spending by the previous president, from initially planning for a $10,000 remodel of her office, which grew to almost $300,000 by the end -- that the university still hasn't paid for fully.
Auditors also found that the administration had selected vendors without going through the proper channels, including instances of conflict of interest.
Looking at leadership travel expenses, there were $10,000 documented in travel expenses without providing specific details, like a trip to Ireland for $12,791, a short term rental in Salt Lake City during the 2025 Legislative session for $5,531, and $13,637 for hotel costs in New York City, where the audit found the leaders spent significantly more on hotel costs that other USU staff members who stayed at different hotels.
Brad Mortensen is the president of Utah State University now, and has been in office for less than three months.
"The leadership at Utah State University understands that when appropriate polices aren’t followed, when financial and budget models aren’t aligned with the appropriate outcome, when there’s a lack of leadership accountability, when decision making isn’t transparent or properly coordinated, when all of those governance lapses penetrate the culture of the institution, we're not being good stewards of public resources,” said Mortensen.
He said they are working on these issues and are already making changes.
"Being very transparent with the budgets and expenditures that are happening, hopefully over time, we can regain that public trust and confidence,” said Mortensen.
“USU’s current budget model does not incentivize effective teaching or program development,” the report read.
President Mortensen said they are working on one-time budgetary changes to meet the needs, but the goal is to make it standard practice and add that to future budgets as well.
The audit recommends that the Utah System of Higher Education increase their presidential oversight and work to make improvements at USU and statewide.
Another finding was that other campuses across the state might feel left out and without the same resources as people in Logan. President Mortensen said he values the statewide campuses and recognizes their importance in being a strong community anchor. He wants to improve communication there and focus on addressing their needs as well.
Lawmakers said they do think President Mortensen is turning things around. "The reports that I’m hearing, by and large, are nothing but positives,” said House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper. “I know it’s not been easy and I know there’s been some tough decisions,” he also said.
The 26 recommendations from the auditors focus on increasing oversight, providing financial training, improving budget models, and more.
"The board of trustees, the president, the state board, the unified effort, there can be nothing for the future but success,” said Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
There’s still the question of whether USU will get 70 percent of the funds from the university’s strategic reinvestment plan. The audit was just one step of that process, but still up to the executive appropriations committee that meets in February to make that decision. President Mortensen said he is optimistic that the funds will come through.
