This email was sent to academic and administrative leadership:

October 10, 2023

Dear colleagues:                                                                                                                

I am writing to share some changes to the university’s internal audit function.

Leah Ladley, Chief Auditor, has notified us of her intent to leave the university. Leah’s last day will be Friday, November 3. During her tenure she has built trust with university partners thanks to her technical competence, collaborative approach, and integrity. While we are sad to see Leah go, we respect her decision to pursue new opportunities.

Since Leah notified us of her departure several weeks ago and given that we have two other vacancies in the Office of Internal Audit, we have been focused on determining the best course of action as it is essential that we maintain continuity and effectiveness of the internal audit function. To ensure continued delivery of high-quality audit activities, we have decided to partner with an outside firm that brings expertise in audit work, including IT, risk, governance, and contract compliance. We are working through the procurement and contracting process now. The outside firm will report directly to our Board of Trustees as our internal audit function currently reports both to our board and to me. Kelly Wolf, Associate Vice President for Business Affairs and University Controller, will serve as the liaison between the selected firm and university stakeholders. Kevin Reed, Vice President and General Counsel, will continue to receive and monitor allegations and reports received via EthicsPoint, the university’s anonymous hotline through which suspected issues of fraud and waste can be reported.

In the coming months, we will evaluate the scope of the Office of Internal Audit and will launch a search for our next Chief Auditor.

Questions about audit-related issues may be directed to Kelly Wolf (kbwolf@uoregon.edu).

Thank you.

Karl Scholz
President