The new office combines the compliance office and the internal audit office into one department. It will be responsible for the development of the MSU ethics and compliance program, focusing also on identifying and managing risk.

Tarrant will replace Nick Wittner who was appointed in July as chief compliance officer of the then-new Office of Enterprise Risk Management, Ethics and Compliance. 

Continuing to serve as a senior compliance advisor, Wittner will also return in January to his full-time teaching position at the MSU College of Law.

“This appointment completes the work we began in June to develop an office of compliance and integrity,” Engler said in the press release. “Marilyn’s experience and leadership skills impressed both Nick and myself, which resulted in my decision to implement an organizational structure that is used at other leading universities and will likely become the model for all universities in the future.”

Consolidated audit and compliance offices are commonplace and used at schools like Duke and Harvard, the press release said.

Engler said when he worked with Tarrant and Wittner it became clear the two offices had the potential to overlap responsibilities.

Wittner said in the press release that the missions of the two offices go hand-in-hand and combining them is most efficient way to maximize oversight efforts.

“It’s been a whirlwind start to setting up the compliance efforts at the university and we’ve accomplished a lot in the last few months,” Wittner said.  “I have immense confidence in Marilyn and am pleased to see this new structure maintains reporting directly to the board along with the president, which is a ‘best practice’ and essential for independence.”

Three deputies report to Tarrant, as a part of the new organization: Ryan O’Rourke, internal audit, finance and operations director; Steven Kurncz, information technology internal audit director; and an institutional ethics and compliance director.

An internal investigator and other positions will be added soon, according to the release.

Tarrant, a certified public accountant, came to work at MSU in 2015. She served as assistant vice president of internal audit and corporate compliance at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois for 13 years, according to the press release.

“I see this as an important time for the university. We have the ability, the resources and new personnel to really make an impact on our operations with an enhanced focus on ethics and compliance,” Tarrant said. “I feel my background makes me uniquely suited to accept this new position and take on the challenge. I look forward to the continued support of the university leadership and trustees.”