Trisha Burnett may not be a completely new face on campus, but she has a critical new role.

President Michael H. Schill has named Burnett chief auditor in the Office of Internal Audit, a role she has held on an interim basis since November. The position reports dually to the president and the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon.

In a memo to senior leadership shared Feb. 11, Angela Wilhelms, secretary to the board, and Greg Stripp, the president’s chief of staff and senior advisor, wrote, “Trisha has served the university with distinction since joining us in January 2015. She has served in the role of interim chief auditor since November and continued the positive forward momentum of this relatively new function.”

The internal audit function was chartered in fall 2014, and the office works to provide “independent, objective assurance and advisory services that add value and accountability while driving improvement to the operations of the university” through a “systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, internal controls and governance processes.”

A CPA, CIA and CFE, Burnett and holds a master’s in accounting from Western Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. 

In her 15 years of professional experience, Burnett also has served in roles with the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor and the North Carolina community college system and as the director of internal audit for UNC Asheville.

--By Tobin J. Klinger, University Communications