Lisa Haynes and Jim CatanzaroIt's barely a week into new leadership at Chattanooga State Community College and already two top administrators are gone: Human Resources Director Tom Crum and controversial Chief Innovations Officer Lisa Haynes.
Their departures represent the latest fallout from the departure of longtime college President Jim Catanzaro, who retired Dec. 31 in the midst of campus discontent with his leadership.
Interim President Warren Nichols fired Haynes on Monday -- his first day on campus. Her hiring by Catanzaro played a central role in his downfall after nearly 25 years at the helm.
"It was just one of those things that, frankly, I believed we needed to get concluded so the college could focus on what's truly important, which is our students," said Nichols, a vice chancellor with the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Crum, who participated in Haynes' hiring, submitted his retirement papers Monday.
Altogether, Haynes' brief employment at Chattanooga State cost the college some $150,000, including her salary, moving expenses, travel and visa costs. Since her promotion from senior executive assistant in the summer of 2013, Haynes had been earning $108,000 annually.
Catanzaro met Haynes on vacation in Barbados, where he planned to build a college partnership with the University of the West Indies. He hired Haynes though she had not earned a bachelor's degree as required. Her 2013 appointment, widespread faculty questions about her role and qualifications, and subsequent college-funded trips by the two prompted a Board of Regents investigation into his leadership.
That audit, released Dec. 15, detailed how the college failed to confirm Haynes' degree status and failed to verify her previous work success. The audit found that Crum started Haynes' visa paperwork before she or other candidates even interviewed for the post. Collectively, TBR suggested that college leadership concocted a mock hiring process that had the sole purpose of bringing Haynes to campus in defiance of policies designed to ensure a fair, open hiring process.
A separate audit from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has yet to be released.
It's unclear when Haynes was last on campus, though Nichols' letter to her Monday said she should turn over all keys, cards and electronic equipment that day.
"Please take all your personal belongings with you when you leave today," he wrote. "If you are unable to do so, please contact me directly for a mutually agreeable time to pick them up."
Nichols terminated Haynes on Jan. 5, but the college will pay her until Feb. 5, along with any accrued leave time, and furnish a federally required flight back home to Barbados, if she chooses. With Haynes will go the college's focus on "innovations," Nichols said, though new presidents will determine future priorities.
On Wednesday, TBR will announce another interim president who will serve until a permanent leader takes over in the summer. While some faculty and staff are still revisiting past issues with Catanzaro's leadership, Nichols said most are ready to move forward.
"As quickly as we can, we really want to focus all our attention on the future of Chattanooga State, the students and the community," he said.
Faculty Senate President Kenneth Goldsmith said faculty members were relieved when the interim president delivered the news of Haynes' departure.
"The number one question from the faculty's mind was, 'what's the status of Lisa Haynes?'" Goldsmith said. "And we've gotten a pretty good answer on that. It's pretty clear."
He said faculty members, many of whom voted no confidence in Catanzaro's leadership, now feel more positive about the school's trajectory.
"This opens the door to rebuilding the culture and really forming a strong, positive culture," he said. "Faculty seem very upbeat now. We really feel that it's going to be important."
Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
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