State Board of Higher Education calls for audit

Written by Adam Sprengeler Tuesday, 27 October 2009 08:00

The same meeting which decided the interim president of NDSU did more than just elect a new leader. In the search for answers to the controversies surrounding President Joseph Chapman the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education called for an audit of both NDSU and UND’s president’s houses.

All the members of the board were in agreement that an audit, meaning a careful look into the spending on both president’s houses, was an important procedure. The debate came up as to how to go about conducting the audit.

“I’m just concerned we overreact to poor communication and don’t want to put too strict of rules on building development,” SBHE member Michael Haugen said. 

The audit, which passed with the board’s approval, will delve into the specifics of both houses. The significance of the audit could lead to looking into other past projects, such as the NDSU Technology Park, and future ventures.

“I feel the need for more transparency,” Board President Richie Smith said.

The North Dakota State Auditor will be conducting the audit. This decision brought more discussion to the table than the actual decision of performing the audit. Haugen wanted to see an independent firm come in and crunch the numbers, as he felt this situation should be devoid of emotion.

“The state auditor’s political position could have political influence,” Haugen said. “The scope of the audit needs to be on the actual numbers, not the decisions made.”

However, other members of the board felt that a simple look at the numbers would not be good enough and more detailed information was crucial in preventing these controversies again.

“A simple number audit does not answer the question as to how we go about avoiding the situation again,” SBHE Vice President John Backes said.

The board pointed out that Chapman’s resignation letter had a request for a audit of the president’s home. The board also noted that the goal of looking at the numbers closely was just one of the ways to prevent future problems. 

Backes also issued a recommendation to perform audits on other past projects already completed.

“It is my belief that we must confirm the numbers to be accurate,” Backes said. “The budget finance committee recommended that they look into more presidential projects at UND and NDSU. We feel there is reason to believe that several foundation funded projects are over budget, therefore, we should look into all projects completed over the last 24 months.”