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Iowa audit shows money concerns at UNI’s Study Abroad Center

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June 7th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A state audit has found nearly $7,000 in improper and unsupported payments and undeposited collections at the University of Northern Iowa’s Study Abroad Center.

The audit found the problems from July 2011 to June 2014, when the program was run by Yana Cornish. Cornish left UNI in 2014 to become the director of education abroad at the University of Georgia.

Iowa State Auditor Mary Mosiman says the audit shows $5,768 in payments that did not comply with UNI policies, including hospitality and catering costs and a visa for a trip to Russia for Cornish’s daughter. The audit also found $922 in undeposited collections related to air travel costs that Cornish had paid with university procurement card. UNI withheld that amount from Cornish’s final salary payment.

The audit has been sent to various authorities, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and state and local prosecutors.