Dear colleagues,
Donna McNeely, executive director of the University Ethics and Compliance Office, will retire at the end of January after nearly three decades of exemplary service to the University of Illinois System. Dave Grogan will serve as interim executive director of ethics and compliance, and Traci Rolf will serve as interim ethics officer until a search is conducted to fill the position permanently.
Donna began her career as a certified public accountant before joining the Office of University Audits in 1995. In 2003, she was chosen to lead the newly created university-wide Ethics Office and became the system’s inaugural ethics officer. The position continued to evolve under her tenure, becoming the University Ethics and Compliance Office and assuming responsibility for development and administration of all annual ethics training for the nine public universities in Illinois; administration of Title IX training for all faculty, staff, and students; and oversight of international, federal, and state compliance efforts.
Under Donna’s leadership, the office promoted a culture of compliance across the entire U of I System and reviewed a wide range of high-visibility compliance areas, including the Clery Act, Title IX, U.S. and international privacy, violence prevention and emergency response, the protection of minors, financial aid, foreign gift and contract reporting, and fraud prevention. The office also routinely provided guidance to the system community on topics such as the general gift ban, prohibited political activity, and other ethics and policy matters. Donna reports to the president of the U of I System but works closely with the board of trustees, system officers, and leadership and staff from each of the universities.
Donna has reported to six presidents over her time with the system and has been awarded the Lincoln Presidential Award for dedication to excellence in ethics. She serves as the liaison to the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor and the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission. Donna has served on many system-wide committees and leveraged her leadership and expertise to engage across the enterprise to further enhance the overall ethics and compliance culture of the U of I System. She is also an alumna of the President’s Executive Leadership Program.
I would like to express my deep appreciation for Donna’s tremendous work and congratulate her on her years of service to the U of I System. We wish her and her family all the best in this next chapter.
Dave received his undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary, his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, and his Master of Laws from The George Washington University Law School. Dave retired from the U.S. Navy as a judge advocate (attorney) prior to joining the Ethics and Compliance Office in 2014 in his current role as the associate director of university compliance.
Traci is a system alumna, having received both her undergraduate and Masters in Education degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has extensive experience in training administration and implementation of Illinois Ethics Act requirements and has been with the University Ethics and Compliance Office since its formation.
Please join me in thanking Dave and Traci for assuming these critical roles on an interim basis.
Sincerely,
Tim Killeen
