Leah Ladley has been named the University of Oregon’s new chief auditor, a position that reports to both the president and UO Board of Trustees.

Ladley comes to the university from Memphis, Tennessee, where she has served as chief audit officer for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She will begin Feb. 26.

As the UO’s chief auditor, Ladley will lead internal audit activities aimed at ensuring the university and its processes are efficient, effective and transparent. The Office of Internal Audit was created at the UO in 2014.

The office helps the university accomplish its mission by evaluating and identifying opportunities to improve the effectiveness of governance processes, risk management and internal controls. The office also manages Ethics Point, an anonymous hotline through which suspected issues of fraud and waste can be reported.

“I’m very excited to join the University of Oregon and to lead the continued growth and development of the Office of Internal Audit,” Ladley said. “I look forward to meeting leadership and providing consulting and assurance services to the U of O. I hope the UO community feels comfortable reaching out to me and the team in internal audit to let us know what questions or concerns they have. Together, we can help you and the university achieve departmental and institutional objectives.”

At St. Jude, Ladley led her team in developing and executing an annual audit plan, executing audit and consulting projects, developing relationships across the institution, and communicating effectively to management, executives and the board.

Ladley received both her MBA and bachelor’s degrees from Mississippi College. She is a certified public accountant, certified internal auditor and certified fraud examiner, and she holds a certification in risk management assurance. She follows Trisha Burnett, who left in August after serving more than four years as chief auditor.