Letter from the President

November 12, 2020

Dear ACUA Colleagues,

It is my honor to serve as ACUA’s 63^rd President in the year ahead. Together we will explore new possibilities for our industry and profession as we continue to help higher education and our universities. I am confident ACUA will meet and embrace the opportunities of our changing environment during these unprecedented times.

Over the past year, we strengthened our ACUA governance and operations, while also reorganizing our Kellen management team. Due to the help of an army of volunteers, we launched our virtual environment successfully, which brought us all together. We will seek to improve ACUA’s governance, process, and operations continuously, as to create a lasting impact for our future ACUA leaders and strengthen our membership for many years to come.

Due to the virtual programming shift this year, we connected with more people than ever before—a major accomplishment to recognize and appreciate. Next year we will continue to expand our diverse networks in higher education, both at our institutions and within ACUA, through our newly established Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Committee. I am grateful that Deidre Melton, from Florida A&M University, agreed to lead this crucial committee.

In addition, I look forward to teaming up with our ACUA past presidents, faculty, and ambassadors to enhance our advocacy programs. We are all higher education and ACUA advocates and have an important job in protecting the value of higher education, one of the most important industries in the world. Our adaptable, collaborative, knowledge-sharing community enables ACUA members to provide invaluable advising and partnership to our institutions to successfully navigate risks and identify opportunities.

We should be proud of our accomplishments. Making improvements to governance, creating new friends and colleagues, and making sure there is a deep appreciation of the value of higher education, as well as protecting it, are great successes.

I am looking forward to working with all of the dedicated ACUA volunteers. We will work together to embrace new possibilities and celebrate successes.

Thank you for the privilege to serve.

Sincerely,

Patricia A. Snopkowski
ACUA’s 20/21 President

About the Author

Patricia Snopkowski

Patricia “Patti” Snopkowski is the chief executive of audit, risk and compliance for Oregon State University. Patti leads a team that evaluates and improves the effectiveness of the risk management, control, and governance processes. The audit team provides independent and objective assurance and consulting services that improve operations and protect organizational value. The compliance team continually improves the productivity and safety of the university environment by overseeing the university’s compliance and ethics program. In addition, the office facilitates the university's enterprise risk management, which evaluates mission-critical risks and formulates effective mitigation strategies for the university's board and senior leaders. Patti reports administratively to the president and functionally to the Executive and Audit Committee of the OSU Board of Trustees through routine communication practices.

Patti’s prior experience includes serving as chief audit executive for the Oregon University System and in other leadership roles at the University of Washington, Cornell University, the Pennsylvania Auditor General’s Office, and SAFECO Corporation. Patti is a member of various accounting, auditing, and higher education organizations including the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Association of College and University Auditors (ACUA), and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) serving as a presenter, in various committees and leadership roles, and as a contributing author. Patti is a recipient of ACUA’s Outstanding Professional Contributions Award recognizing her contributions to the profession of internal auditing in higher education. Patti received her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Pennsylvania State University and her Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University. Patti is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP), and Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP).

patricia.snopkowski@oregonstate.edu

Articles
Letter from the President
Letter from the President
Letter from the President