Scathing audit says MUN ignored asbestos, mould in favour of overspending on laptops and a tractor

Memorial University's campus renewal fee was designed to pay for the institution's most pressing deferred maintenance projects like its asbestos-riddled tunnel system and mould. 

But a scathing auditor general report released Tuesday says MUN used the funding to hand out computers and even heavy machinery to its staff.

Newfoundland and Labrador's auditor general, Denise Hanrahan, noted the university used $10 million earmarked for campus renewal on 196 laptops and a $45,675 tractor for Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.

Typically, the campus renewal fee is included in student tuition, but the province temporarily offset it in 2023. 

In her latest report, focused on Memorial University's facility management, Hanrahan decried the school's weak policy environment, poor space management practices and questionable deferred maintenance procedures.  

"In fact, I feel Memorial has a serious facilities management problem," Hanrahan said. 

Many of MUN's buildings are over 60 years old. As of March 2024, they have $481 million in deferred maintenance liabilities altogether.

The report found that one liability — exterior lighting infrastructure costing $208,000 — was 37 years past its action date when it was removed through reassessment. 

The campus renewal fee is the only dedicated funding source to address the nearly half-billion dollar deferred maintenance liability. When paid by students, the fee generates $7.8 million annually for infrastructure projects.

Hanrahan said the funding collected by the fee is insufficient, and said MUN couldn't specify what was or was not an eligible expenditure from the campus renewal fee fund. Deferred maintenance liabilities are not budgeted separately. 

The university spends nearly $10 million on routine maintenance every year, but Hanrahan said the sum doesn't go very far. 

"We know [the school] needs to spend significantly more than that," Hanrahan said. 

Despite Memorial's need for improvement, the university's footprint is growing. Between 2012 and the fall of 2023, MUN expanded its facilities by 1.3 million square feet, while its student population decreased by 1.4 per cent. 

Hanrahan said MUN has more space than it needs.