AMES, Iowa ― Auditors say an agricultural law expert at Iowa State University collected $278,000 in speaking and consulting fees that should have been deposited with the school.
A report issued Tuesday by the state auditor says Roger McEowen had a “clear conflict of interest” that university officials failed to recognize or manage for years.
McEowen was director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation until his resignation in January. He also owned a private company that provided many of the same educational and legal services as the center.
The report says McEowen received fees for dozens of seminars and speaking engagements in Kansas, North Dakota and elsewhere. It says that money should have gone to the center because he did them on university time, using the center’s staff and materials.
