Dive Brief:
- Angela Haynes, former vice president of business and finance for St. Augustine’s University, claims she was fired in retaliation for informing the university’s board about management issues.
- Haynes gave the board emails and documents showing instances of mismanagement, including a failure to cut expenses during a budget crisis, according to the News & Observer.
- A week later, the university’s president, Dianne Boardley Suber, fired her, telling her she wanted someone who was more experienced who would work with her. Haynes, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, had worked at the university since 2006.
Dive Insight:
Suber has also issued a statement saying that the university has received negative attention for poor oversight in finances and grants management, and needs to be “vigilant in assuring that every administrator on the team shares both the mission and the vision of the University.” The News & Observer reported that a 2013 audit management letter found disorganized accounting functions and questionable check-writing procedures. Tuition revenue dropped $3 million, and a lawsuit accused the school of failing to pay a contractor on the school’s unfinished football stadium.