NAU President Rita Cheng will repay part of travel spending criticized by audit

After a state audit criticized Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng's travel spending, Cheng will personally pay back some of the money highlighted by auditors.

Cheng said a trip to Russia, which incurred the highest costs, benefited the university in several ways, however.

In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Cheng said she would reimburse the Northern Arizona University Foundation for the difference between coach and business-class tickets after the Arizona Auditor General flagged the high price for that trip and other travel expenses paid by the university.

"I felt like this needs to get behind us," Cheng said. "I need to take responsibility for the lack of documentation pertaining to the ticketing of my travel, and I'll be repaying the foundation for the cost of difference between the business and coach travel."

Cheng and the university previously had not commented beyond a written response to the audit's findings.

The audit found NAU paid more than $40,000 in travel expenses for Cheng and her husband that didn't comply with university travel policies and weren't properly documented. The spending included more than $30,000 for airplane tickets to Russia for the Chengs.

The NAU Foundation, a nonprofit funded by private donations intended to support the university, reimbursed the university $37,785 to cover the airfare to Russia, Tom Cheng's airfare to Israel, Russian visas and early check-in fees, the audit said.

The audit's findings sparked outrage among some students and alumni of NAU. A state lawmaker also proposed a law to require state officials to travel coach.

The exact amount Cheng will reimburse the foundation isn't yet determined, she said, as the final figure is not yet calculated.

"At this point, I feel like I think people expect and I expect that I take a leadership position and get this behind us," she said. The Chengs also are donors to the NAU Foundation.

The president has already reimbursed NAU $179 for a duplicate hotel stay found by the audit.

Cheng explains high ticket cost

The last-minute flight changes were necessary because the trip was tightly packed and there was a missed connection, which required rebooking to get to Russia, she said. The trip took place in mid-March 2019.

"We had a lot invested in this planning and this trip and we needed to make sure that we got there," Cheng said.

She said the university also is still working to get a refund from British Airways for the canceled tickets that stemmed from flight delays, which has proven difficult.

Cheng said taxpayer funds and tuition dollars weren't used to pay for business-class tickets for the trip. International travel is funded through the university's Center for International Education, which comes from revenue from international partners and fees from international students, she said.

For domestic travel, she never uses business class, Cheng said. But for international travel, she evaluates the intensity of the trip and whether it could be necessary. The trip to Russia was 24 hours, she said.

"We packed so much in that we felt that the business class was more appropriate so that I wasn't exhausted at the beginning of the week," she said. "I certainly was exhausted by the end."

Her husband, Tom Cheng, travels with her when he has a purpose. In this instance, he was an international student and can speak to that experience, and can meet with donors and partners as a sort of ambassador for the university, President Cheng said. Tom Cheng is employed by NAU as an "entrepreneur-in-residence."

"He also staffs me and I travel with a very light entourage only because he can help me with all of the logistics as a presidential spouse role," she said. "He has ... multiple hats."

Rickey McCurry, the executive director of the NAU Foundation, previously told The Republic that he followed the normal approval process for the reimbursement to the university.

The money for travel comes from a foundation fund called the “presidential fund for excellence,” he said. The funds are unrestricted, meaning donors did not designate specific purposes for their dollars to be used. The president can seek support from this fund, he said.

What the audit found

In addition to the Russia trip, the audit flagged a ticket to Israel for Tom Cheng and hotel stays that were above state reimbursement rates but lacked proper documentation.

NAU didn't follow university and Arizona Board of Regents' travel policies properly, which "put public monies at potential risk of misuse" and "set an unfavorable tone that policies do not need to be followed," the audit said.

Aside from the Russian travel, a trip to Israel included a $5,862 round-trip business-class ticket for Tom Cheng, despite an offer from the event sponsor to pay for coach airfare for both the president and her husband, the audit said.

It's unclear if Cheng will reimburse for the difference in cost for the Israel ticket as well as the Russia tickets.

Additionally, Cheng received more than $2,000 in reimbursements for her and her husband's expenses on items not allowed by university policies, like visas to Russia, early check-in fees, valet parking and room service. In one instance, she was reimbursed twice for a hotel stay, which she has paid back.

13 hotel stays that year cost more than the allowable state government rate. The overages totaled $1,751, the audit said.

Of these, NAU said nine stays were in the Phoenix area, where rates can exceed the allowable government rate, especially during the spring's peak season, which coincides with the Arizona legislative session. NAU believed the higher rates were justified, but couldn't provide the documentation to show that.

Russia trip detailed

The university also shared the itinerary for the Russia trip, which The Republic requested via public records laws. The trip included stops in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tyumen and Sochi. Listed meetings included the Duma, U.S. Embassy, Moscow Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Sochi State University and the Roza Khutor Olympic Center.

Cheng met with then-U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, Russian congressional leaders and Moscow city officials. The meeting with Huntsman was to discuss student and faculty visa situations and U.S. grant opportunities for Russian student and research projects, NAU documents say.

The visit also involved the opening of a joint forest biosecurity research lab between NAU and Tyumen State University. Tyumen, which is in Siberia, has similar ponderosa pine forests to those found near NAU, Cheng said.

The university said the trip had five outcomes for NAU:

Negotiations over a Russian Center at NAU, which could open this spring, "directly tied" to meetings Cheng had with Russian leaders on the trip.

The opening of the joint lab, which led NAU forestry faculty to apply for a $2.5 million grant for forest ecology and fire mitigation in eastern Russia.

Final stages of a student exchange agreement with Sochi State University.

A potential agreement between NAU and Moscow State University for bilateral exchange.

Internship opportunities for NAU hospitality students in Sochi.

"The outcomes of this trip had huge benefits to NAU and Arizona," Cheng said.

Regents defend Cheng

In a written statement, the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees the three in-state universities, defended the Russia trip and said it was working with NAU to improve its procedures.

The statement from board chairman Larry Penley said the audit "uncovered weaknesses and vulnerabilities that exist in NAU travel documentation." The board directed Cheng and NAU to strengthen their procedures for travel.

"Strengthened policies and procedures in NAU’s travel documentation are critical," he said. "The board is working closely with NAU to take every precaution to prevent any future lapses.”

Penley also said the trip to Russia made sense for Cheng and NAU.

“The board expects Arizona’s public universities to have national and international collaborations that promote the best interests of Arizona," he said. "We appreciate President Cheng’s strategic engagement with partners in Russia that enhance research critical to the needs of Arizona for healthy forests."

Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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