Office of the Vice President
About the Vice President
Betsy Bowers is the vice president for Finance and Administration at the University of West Florida. Previously she served as associate vice president for Internal Auditing and Management Consulting, and she directed internal auditing for more than 20 years. She also has served as an adjunct professor at UWF, teaching an upper-division course on White Collar Crime.
She is a past national president of the Association of College and University Auditors (ACUA) and presently serves as chair for the Awards Committee. Ms. Bowers has served on the Board of Directors, as editor of the College and University Auditor journal, Professional Education Committee, and a track coordinator for ACUA’s Annual conferences. Recently, Ms. Bowers was honored with one of ACUA’s highest honors: Member of Excellence in Service Award that recognizes a member who has made outstanding contributions to ACUA through exceptional volunteer service in fulfilling its mission. She has presented internationally on the topic of higher education internal auditing.
Ms. Bowers has worked in higher education for more than 30 years, as a grant accountant, internal auditor, and internal audit director/chief audit executive. In 2014/15, she served as the interim vice president for business, finance and facilities at the University of West Florida. Prior to coming to Florida, she worked at East Tennessee State University and Northeast State Technical Community College (NSTCC), where she launched the internal auditing function at NSTCC. She also served as a legislative auditor for the Tennessee Division of State Audit.
Ms. Bowers received her BBA in Accounting and her MBA from East Tennessee State University. She holds Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) and Certificate in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) designations.
A past president of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) chapters in Tennessee and Florida, Ms. Bowers serves on the Board for the Northwest Florida Chapter and is an instructor for IIA seminars. In 2008, the Northwest Florida chapter established the Betsy Bowers Scholarship with the University of West Florida for students who pursue internal auditing careers. Two $500 scholarships are given each fall semester. Ms. Bowers is a past president of the Northwest Florida chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and serves now on the Board of Directors.
Ms. Bowers has experience in the Institute of Internal Auditors in quality assessment methodology and completed the IIA’s course titled Performing an Effective Quality Assessment. In recent years, she performed Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP) reviews at the following higher education institutions: Florida State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Houston System, Boise State University, UNC-Asheville, East Carolina State University, Appalachian State University, Western Carolina University, Saint Leo University, University of North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Wichita State University, and Georgia Southern University.