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I work at a large university and have a computer supplied by my employer.

There is apparently some sort of remote management that the help desk can use if I call them and accept their request to log onto my computer. Program updates are also pushed out automatically.

The machine runs Mac OS X, I have admin privileges and can install any software I want.

(Note that this is a technical question, not a policy one. Also note that I understand any computer can be hacked. This question is more pointed towards assessing typical threats from my friendly sysadmins and their equally benevolent bosses.)

I would like to find out whether my employer is snooping or can snoop on my files or activity on my computer. Can I find that out? How would I go about?

trmdttr
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Something a lot of people don't seem to get is this one simple thing:

Unless you personally own the computer, and you are the sole individual authorized and responsible for its configuration and maintenance, the computer is not your computer. So don't bother thinking it is, let alone treating it as such.

Yes, your employer can - and generally has every ethical and legal right to - monitor everything you're doing on the system.

No, you cannot expect to be able to detect whether your employer has installed monitoring tools even if you have full Administrator rights to the system. Many monitoring tools, including some marketed towards employers, are specifically engineered to avoid detection.

Yes, you should assume your employer is monitoring everything you do on the system.

No, you should not install any software which has not been explicitly authorized by your employer nor should you use the system for any personal purposes.

Some more information is available in a similar question on IT Security - though that one was tagged "Windows", the same conditions apply.

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