UND Reporton Conflict Investigation

#2000291273 & 2000291259
March 27, 2024
President Andrew Armacost
University of North Dakota
264 Centennial Dr. Room 300
Grand Forks, ND 58202
Dear President Armacost,
Two anonymous complaints were submitted through the NOUS Fraud and Compliance system on
January 18, 2024, regarding concerns about a vendor sponsored activity UNO Facilities employees may
have attended, in addition to other potentially improper relationships with vendors. The main concern
was regarding whether a vendor paid for a fishing trip in whole or in part and in accepting such a trip,
was the employee (s) in violation of a policy.
The concerns stated that Mike Pieper, AVP for Facilities, Brian Larson, Director of Construction
Management, Tom Bures, Assistant Director of Real Estate & Space, and Matthew Fohr, Senior Project
Manager attended a fishing trip sponsored by the JLG Architect firm the week of January 15, 2024.
Investigation {see attached )

Through the investigation, it was confirmed that members of Facilities had in fact attended a fishing trip
sponsored by JLG the week of January 15, 2024, and that neither UNO nor any of the employees
involved paid for their portion of the trip.
Conclusion
The actions violate State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) Policy 308.1.6 Officer and Employee Code of
Conduct specifically:
"Excluding only de minimus contributions, such as purchase of a meal at reasonable value as part of a conference or other event
with no conditions attached to such purchase and as permitte d under applicable federal and state laws, SBHE members, officers
and employees may not accept entertainment, gifts, or personal favors that could influence, or appear to influence, decisions for
any person or organization with whom or with which the NOUS or NOUS institution has, or is likely to have, business dealings.
Similarly, SBHE members, officers and employees may not accept any other preferential treatment under circumstances that
because of their position with the NOUS, the preferential treatment may influence or be perceived as influencing their official
conduct. SBHE members, officers and employees may not receive payment or compensation of any kind from any source for
NDUS duties and responsibilities, except as authorized under applicable law or NOUS pay policies. Specifically, the acceptance of
kickbacks or commissions in any form from vendors, suppliers or others is prohibited. "
Action Taken
I recommend the following:
UNO works with vendors to ensure that they understand the above SBHE policy and remind
them not to offer gifts that could unduly influence or be perceived as influencing decisions
regarding contracts and work that vendors may provide to UNO. This may come in the form of a
memo from VPFO Stewart on an annual basis.
Background Information:
On January 18, 2024, I received two complaints through the NDUS Fraud and Compliance system
regarding conflict of interest and rumors regarding a fishing trip taken January 14-17, 2024, by
employees working in Facilities. Comments relating to participating in a fishing trip that was paid
for by a UNO vendor, JLG Architects. The only directly reported information provided was regarding
the trip, however speculation in one of the reports stated that "improper relationships with vendors
resulting in personal benefit appears acceptable based on rumors of various incidents." Not having
specific information regarding other possibilities, we looked for information regarding the fishing
trip for this specific complaint.
Investigation:
On February 23, 2024, Mark Johnson, Director of Operations, and I, Associate Vice President, Peggy
Varberg, met with Brian Larson, Tom Bures, and Matt Fohr. We asked them about the fishing trip,
and they confirmed there was a fishing trip to Lake of The Woods, MN with the JLG team and they
attended from January 15 -17, 2024. Both Tom Bures and Matt Fohr confirmed that they had gone on
the trip. Brian Larson shared that while he was invited, he attended a pre-planned skiing trip with
his family. We asked Tom and Matt about the logistics of the trip. They said there was lodging,
food and fishing. The fishing trip did not have a g uide, but they were taken out onto the lake and
fished. When I asked if they had personally paid or if UNO had paid for any of what was provided,
lodging, food, fishing, they stated that they did not pay nor did UNO pay for any of the costs and JLG
paid for the trip. When asked if Mike Pieper attended the trip as well, they confirmed that he did.
Prior to the meeting I verified through the Time and Labor system that none of the three, Mr. Larson,
Mr. Bures or Mr. Fohr, had submitted annual leave to account for the time not working. I then
asked them during this meeting if they had and they indicated that they had not. I explained that
this was not work time for Mr. Bures and Mr. Fohr and they were required to put annual leave time
into the system for January 16th and 17th• January 15th was a UND holiday and thus were closed and
they received holiday pay for that date. I also told Mr. Larson the same, he needed to submit
annual leave time for his personal trip.
At this point Mark and I asked if they viewed this as an appropriate trip to attend. Each was unsure.
We spoke about State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) Policy 308.1.6 Officer and Employee Code
of Conduct, and this was violation of that policy. Mark reminded them that they received required
annual training on this very policy on two separate occasions, NOUS Fraud, Waste and Abuse and
the UNO Annual Notification of Policies. We reminded them that these training courses exist to
educate and remind employees about these policies and to deter them from accepting or
participating in activities that would violate these policies.

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#2000291273 & 2000291259

March 27, 2024

President Andrew Armacost

University of North Dakota

264 Centennial Dr. Room 300

Grand Forks, ND 58202

Dear President Armacost,

Investigation {see attached )

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