Cook: How the Chattanooga State column happened

photo David Cook

In the last three weeks, my colleague Kevin Hardy has written three news reports about the questionable practices of Chattanooga State President Jim Catanzaro. I've written two - now three - columns.

It began in September.

The newspaper was contacted by a source who suggested we investigate the ways in which Catanzaro hired Lisa Haynes, the college's chief innovations officer, who did not have an official college degree at the time.

So we did.

Then, another source came forward.

And we kept investigating.

Along the way, we discovered that the Tennessee Board of Regents was investigating, too.

"Do you have firsthand knowledge of any instances or occurrences that you feel were unethical or improperly handled by upper management?" the TBR auditor asked faculty members. "If so, please share as much information as possible."

By now, we've got sources coming out of the woodwork, every last one of them with the same story.

"Please continue your investigation," one person said.

Thursday morning, Catanzaro called the newsroom, alleging that my column, not our reporting, was unethical.

That this was all about something else.

My sister.

She was an applicant for the job Lisa Haynes got, Catanzaro told an editor.

In 2013, Laurie Cook Stevens applied to be the senior executive assistant to Catanzaro. She formally applied on Aug. 6, interviewed two weeks later, and then in September, learned the outcome.

"We have decided to move forward with a different candidate," Chattanooga State emailed her.

That other candidate was Lisa Haynes.

And Catanzaro believes I'm big-brother ticked off because of it and that's why I've criticized him.

Oh, where to begin.

First, my sister is a tough, independent entrepreneurial woman who can take care of herself.

She doesn't need my help influencing anyone to see the good in her.

Second, she interviewed 14 months ago.

I'm not Don Corleone, patiently plotting for the right time to strike. If I wanted revenge, wouldn't I have written something last year?

God knows there have been opportunities: the campus goose massacre last July, the Middle Age-ish cathedral Catanzaro proposed earlier this summer, or even his college's single-digit graduation rate -- 8 percent, the National Center for Education Statistics reports.

Catanzaro claimed I called him during the interview process, trying to persuade him to hire Laurie.

"He ... told me the candidate was from an influential family and I would be wise to hire her," he said to my editor.

(The Cooks? An influential family? I'm sure my dad -- a public school teacher -- will be thrilled to hear that.)

Third, Catanzaro said he's digging up phone records to prove all this.

Let me help.

Yes, I called Catanzaro.

It was last year, when I was writing heavily on gang issues, and wanted to know if he had any ideas on a work-study program for folks coming off the streets.

Did we talk over the phone? Was it just a voice mail?

I don't remember.

But I do know this: It wasn't about my sister. (Or my other sister, an adjunct who taught racquetball and tennis between 2007 and 2011 at Chatt State. Does that matter too?)

I can't believe I'm even writing this.

But I figure, if he's saying this to my editors, soon enough, he'll be saying it to you, too.

Which is fine, I guess.

Every man needs a story to tell, especially desperate men grasping for any distraction they can find.

Contact David Cook at dcook@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6329. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter at DavidCookTFP.

Upcoming Events