Letter from the President
Publication Date: July 1, 2021
Dear ACUA Colleagues,
Summer is upon us! You all deserve a long-awaited vacation with family and friends. I sincerely hope you take some time to kick back and celebrate all that we have accomplished and the new beginnings to come.
If you joined us for the first annual virtual spring membership meeting, you already learned about the initiatives ACUA volunteers have been working on to continue to move our industry forward. The advocacy program, diversity and inclusive leadership efforts, and our new fall conference platform will help position ACUA and our industry for long-term success.
Similarly, I hope this edition of the ACUA Journal provides some insight and inspiration as we look ahead to the next academic year. The articles collected here tap into the accumulated expertise of our ACUA community. Please consider taking the time to reach out to the authors to thank them for sharing their knowledge. You may get an idea for a future audit or article of your own or build upon your ACUA network.
Our volunteers made the ACUA community thrive during the pandemic, and they deserve a special note of thanks. It is a pleasure to work with such a great community, and I hope to see many of you at ACUACon, whether you attend in person or virtually.
Sincerely,
Patti Snopkowski
ACUA 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).