The University of Florida on several occasions used money intended to pay for “indirect costs” associated with research for other purposes, such as buying office furniture or catering services, The Gainesville Sun reported, citing a recent report by the university’s auditors.
Indirect-cost funds are awarded with federal and state grants, and grant recipients have some leeway in how to spend the money, as long as the expenditures are tied to research. The auditors intentionally looked at expenditures that might be questionable, and the audit does not indicate pervasive problems, according to Tom Walsh, the university’s director of sponsored research and compliance. Given the scale of Florida’s research enterprise, he told the newspaper, it’s impressive the auditors found so few areas of questionable compliance. —Charles Huckabee
