Which came first, Haynes or the job? Documents suggest no one else had a shot at Chatt State job

photo Dr. Jim Catanzaro, head of Chattanooga State, right, speaks to Lisa Haynes, left, and Mitch Patel, CEO of Vision Hospitality Group, during the CEO Speaker Series in January at the Double Tree hotel in downtown Chattanooga.

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Two days before Lisa Haynes formally interviewed for a top administration job at Chattanooga State, the college initiated the process to secure a visa that would allow her to work in the United States.

The months-long process to bring Haynes to Chattanooga was started on Aug. 21, 2013. She and two other finalists interviewed for the position of senior executive assistant to the president on Aug. 23, 2013, according to a Times Free Press review of documents and correspondence between the college and the U.S. Labor and Homeland Security departments.

That time line, along with a narrow job description that seems tailored to Haynes -- whom Chatt State President Jim Catanzaro had met while vacationing in Barbados -- suggests the controversial administrator may have been selected well before she was offered the job in August 2013.

Almost four months before that, she had applied unsuccessfully for the college's top fundraising position.

But she was a perfect fit for the new position of senior executive assistant to the president.

That job description, written and approved by Catanzaro, required an individual with knowledge of the educational systems of the Caribbean and British Commonwealth nations and called for someone who could manage and extend the college's anticipated partnership with the University of the West Indies in Haynes' native Barbados.

On Aug. 27, Catanzaro sent a formal letter to Haynes offering her the job at an annual salary of $90,000. She later was promoted to chief innovations officer and her salary was raised to $108,000.

Since then, Haynes' hiring has become a lightning rod for criticism. Two state agencies have launched investigations into Catanzaro's hiring practices and ethics, the Chatt State campus is in turmoil and the partnership with the Caribbean university appears dead.

Haynes was hired without an official bachelor's degree -- a requirement of her job description. After back-and-forth between Chatt State and her alma mater, Duquesne University, Haynes was granted a retroactive degree in September. But faculty members have jumped on the issue, calling Haynes underqualified and saying her appointment represented a pattern of abusive hiring practices.

Two days before Haynes and two other finalists interviewed for the senior executive assistant position, HR Director Tom Crum began the application process for an H1-B visa by sending papers to the U.S. Department of Labor. On the same day, another HR staffer emailed Haynes asking for personal information "in anticipation of your future employment."

On Friday, Crum verified the timeline but didn't say why the visa process was started prior to Haynes' interview.

H-1B status from the federal government allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations for temporary stints. The work status requires a college degree. As a substitute, three years of work experience or training may be considered equivalent to one year of college. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, the college made the case that Haynes' knowledge would be crucial to its partnership with the University of the West Indies.

"Ms. Haynes demonstrated exceptional knowledge of education and training opportunities in Barbados and Caribbean nations, as well as the cultural distinctives and education practices of these nations," Catanzaro wrote on Oct. 7, 2013. "We deem her critical to the successful launch of this major college initiative. So important is Ms. Haynes to this partnership, she will report to me directly as President of the college."

Emails show Catanzaro also called on the U.S. ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, Larry Palmer, whose son is a Chattanooga State employee.

After weeks of back-and-forth, the Department of Homeland Security accepted the college's petition for non-immigrant worker status on Oct. 16. That allowed Haynes to receive an H-1B visa from the consulate office in Barbados.

In his Oct. 7 letter, Catanzaro said Haynes would spend at least 75 percent of her time coordinating with the University of the West Indies. But the partnership between the two institutions hasn't gone anywhere. The two colleges have not participated in any exchanges or cooperative efforts, as was outlined in a July 2013 agreement before Haynes was hired. Through a college spokesperson, Haynes declined to comment Friday on the status of that work.

Since coming on board, Haynes has taken on other responsibilities, including oversight of the continuing education division and the Small Business Development Center.

Haynes' hiring was never approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents, which oversees all community colleges in the state. A TBR policy approved in September 2013 says the appointments and terminations of executives who report directly to a college president must receive TBR approval. Though her visa status hadn't been approved, Haynes was officially offered the job on Aug. 27, 2013, before that policy went into effect.

She started the job in November 2013, according to payroll records.

Even if TBR had reviewed Haynes' hiring, it likely wouldn't have noticed that she was without a degree, Vice Chancellor Warren Nichols told Chattanooga State staffers on a trip to the campus last week.

"That's the responsibility of the college to vet that," he said, according to an audio recording.

Nichols said during that campus visit that TBR is wrapping up its inquiry into Catanzaro and should have some decision on the president's fate soon.

"We know we can't let this just drag on forever," he said. "We know this college is suffering."

"We need to fix and heal this campus. We need people to get back to the main thing, which is taking care of our students."

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249

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