Nicole Blanchard and Chris Banyas
Editor-in-Chief/Staff Writer
Howard Grimes, vice president for research and economic development at ISU, was the subject of a travel audit at Washington State University, where he worked prior to coming to Pocatello.
According to an article on KREM.com, WSU’s president, Elson Floyd, requested the audit after Grimes spent $27, 545.64 on travel during an academic year.
The article went on to say that Grimes’ travel expenses during a six-month period in 2011-2012 “exceeded the allowed amount by $4,388.25.”
Allowable per diem spending was paid by the university, which receives state funding, while the overages were taken from university donations. Grimes was often accompanied during travel by his now-wife Heidi Jarvis, another WSU/ISU employee.
According to KREM, records submitted to Floyd detailed missing receipts and expenditures exceeding the university’s per diem travel allowances, among other things.
Grimes would not comment except to say that audits are routine and that the audit in question found no evidence of illicit activity.
Reese Jensen, director of internal audit at ISU, declined to comment on the situation, including the allegedly routine nature of travel audits.
In addition, internal auditors at WSU declined to comment. Instead, WSU spokesperson Kathy Barnard deferred to the aforementioned KREM article.
“The quotes and information in the [KREM] article speak for themselves,” she said in an email.
No spokesperson could be reached to determine whether Grimes’ travel and spending habits at ISU have been similar to those at WSU.
