After serving in an interim capacity since January 2023, Susan B. Smith was named Temple University’s chief compliance officer last month. In this role, Smith leads the Ethics and Compliance Office as it focuses on upholding a high level of integrity across all university operations. In order to ensure neutrality, the chief compliance officer reports directly to the Board of Trustees.

“I am excited to carry on the work of my predecessor, Alejandro J. Diaz. Our outstanding staff of compliance professionals will improve on the university’s already solid ethics and compliance program,” said Smith. “My personal focus is on continuing the office’s support and engagement across university functions, while innovating existing processes to generate more information and to provide structure and stability for university operations at every level.”

While Temple has always had compliance functions throughout the university, it formally created the Ethics and Compliance Office in 2019, in part to provide a central point for ethics and compliance matters and concerns. The office currently focuses on four main areas: identifying, managing and responding to enterprise-level risk; reviewing and responding to ethics and compliance inquiries and complaints; ensuring regulatory and policy compliance; and verifying outward-facing data emanating from across the university.

Smith said she and the ethics and compliance team will prioritize responsiveness and building positive relationships within the Temple community, and they are happy to answer all questions and concerns regarding ethics and compliance. The office maintains a helpline that is available 24-7 for online, text and phone inquiries. The resource allows people to ask simple questions or submit detailed reports regarding possible violations of applicable laws, university policy, standards or procedures. Helpline reporters may choose to maintain anonymity.

Before joining the Ethics and Compliance team, Smith worked for more than two decades as a lawyer in Temple’s Office of University Counsel, where she handled a broad array of matters from regulatory and research compliance to environmental health and radiation safety. Smith graduated with a BA from Syracuse University and a JD from George Washington University.

Smith said she looks forward to supporting acting President JoAnne A. Epps to ensure the university’s continuous commitment to strong and unwavering ethical standards. Smith already has enjoyed a collegial relationship with Epps during her prior roles as law school dean and provost.

Epps was named acting president on April 11. Other recent leadership announcements at Temple include Ken Kaiser continuing in his role as senior vice president and chief operating officer, and the hiring of Jose Aviles as vice provost for enrollment management as of May 1.

Learn more about Temple’s Ethics and Compliance Office at temple.edu/about/ethics-compliance. 

- Wendy Ramunno