Dive Brief:
- Utah lawmakers released $8.8 million in withheld state funding to Utah State University last week, following a legislative audit of the university's governance and spending controls.
- On Thursday, Utah State President Brad Mortensen said in a public message that the unanimous vote by the Legislature's Executive Appropriations Committee reflects “positively on USU’s response to the audit.”
- State lawmakers called for the audit last year after an initial legislative review raised concerns over Utah State’s “governance, leadership, and culture of policy noncompliance” during a former president's tenure.
Dive Insight:
While attending the committee's Wednesday meeting, Mortensen “could be seen sighing in apparent relief from his seat in the audience” as members moved to release Utah State’s funds, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
The newly freed money represents 70% of the university's appropriations tied to a state initiative that pushed public universities to make cuts, including to programs, and reinvest in areas of strategic priority to Utah.
Prior to Wednesday's vote, USU only had access to 30% of the state funding since December, according to Mortensen. The appropriations committee withheld the rest while it waited for final results of the audit.
Late in January, the Legislature’s auditor general released its 100-plus-page audit, which detailed numerous governance and oversight issues at the university.
Among them were “patterns of financial noncompliance and poor decision-making” by Utah State’s leaders, a budget model that “disincentivizes effective teaching and program development,” and a lack of governing board oversight of the institution’s presidents.
The audit, however, also said Utah State had cooperated fully with the process and commended it for hiring a new president who “has a record of good leadership.” Mortensen, previously president of Weber State University in Utah, was named president in October.
Cache Valley Daily reported last March on heavy spending at the university during the tenure of Elizabeth Cantwell, Utah State's last president. That included a roughly $300,000 office remodel that came with $184,000 in furniture costs and a $750 bidet toilet. Cantwell abruptly departed Utah State in February 2025 after a year and a half, the shortest presidential tenure in the university's history.
The audit detailed hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by the president’s office — but didn't specify when — on a vendor with past professional ties to university leaders. It further flagged spending without financial vetting as well as alleged efforts by the president’s office to change the outcome of a competitive bid process in favor of a preferred vendor.
In addition, auditors pointed to governance issues, including a board of trustees that “has not acted in its full authority and needs more support” and an overreliance on the university’s chief counsel for governance decisions.
To help prevent future problems from cropping up, the audit recommended that Utah State adopt a formal accountability system for institutional spending and increase the frequency of comprehensive presidential evaluations.
During the audit, the university’s board approved measures to tighten its budget oversight processes and address presidential spending. In a Jan. 23 letter to auditors and lawmakers, Mortensen and USU’s board chair said the university planned to make additional progress on that front in response to the audit.
Mortensen concurred with the audit findings and described them as an opportunity to build better systems. “Strong policies alone are insufficient without clear leadership expectations, consistent oversight, and a culture that reinforces accountability at every level of the institution,” he told employees in Jan. 30 email.
