Catanzaro says he'll try harder with Chattanooga State Community College faculty

photo Jim Catanzaro

Embattled Chattanooga State Community College President Jim Catanzaro on Friday apologized for poor communication and promised to seek reconciliation with his disenchanted faculty, who a day earlier issued a scathing indictment of his leadership.

"We have an excellent faculty," he said in a short statement Friday afternoon. "They have raised some important issues that we will work through together as expeditiously as possible."

Catanzaro had planned a meeting with faculty Friday morning, but canceled at the last minute.

In the last few weeks, after it was publicized that he was the focus of a pair of state investigations, Catanzaro has made it a personal mission to win back faculty favor. He called meetings with all departments to defend himself and lay out his larger vision for the college and, ultimately, transforming higher education.

The faculty is concerned with his appointment of Chief Innovations Officer Lisa Haynes, who was hired in August 2013 and promoted this summer. She earns $108,000 but was hired without a college degree, a requirement of both her visa and the job description.

At one of his meetings with faculty, Catanzaro defended his vetting of Haynes, according to an audio recording of the meeting provided to the Times Free Press. He said he was looking for an entrepreneur, which calls for different skills than an academic position.

"When you read all this stuff in the paper, it's nonsense," he said. "We looked for different measures. We had a day-and-a-half of interviews, instead of one hour of interviews. It was matched with two other interviews via Skype to zero in on the person who really had entrepreneur skills."

Catanzaro, 77, has led Chattanooga State for 25 years. In his statement Friday, he admitted that his efforts to convince faculty had failed.

"I apologize for not being sufficiently clear in presentations of my vision for the college in a time of fiscal constraint and change in higher education," he said. "I understand faculty concerns and I will endeavor to be more direct with the faculty."

On Thursday, about 75 faculty senate members approved a vote of no-confidence by a margin of 79 percent.

"We as the faculty of Chattanooga State Community College no longer have confidence in Dr. James Catanzaro in his capacity as the president of the college," their motion read.

Tennessee Board of Regents spokeswoman Monica Greppin-Watts said the agency wouldn't comment on the situation until after its audit of Catanzaro is complete.

"The TBR System Office takes this information seriously and as part of an ongoing process," she said. "While we await official communication from the faculty and the results of the complete audit report before issuing a response, we should all continue to focus on the students and their success in all we do."

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury also is investigating Catanzaro's practices.

The Board of Regents oversees Chattanooga State, and Gov. Bill Haslam is the official chairman of the board. His spokesman, David Smith, offered a brief statement Friday.

"The governor is aware of the situation," he said.

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

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