Bredesen says TSU president showed poor judgment
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The governor was responding to the results of a state audit last week that showed Hefner “exploited his position” by accepting 2001 Super Bowl tickets from ARAMARK Corp., which holds the contract to provide food service at the university.
The auditors found Hefner tried to cover up how he got the free tickets by saying he paid ARAMARK $200 for them. Auditors say that story changed a few times after Hefner was confronted.
“Clearly Dr. Hefner had a serious lapse of judgment in what he accepted and the way he handled it after that, and I’m obviously concerned,” Bredesen told reporters after an evening speech to the Tennessee College Association.
Bredesen said he had talked to Charles Manning — chancellor of the Board of Regents which oversees TSU and 44 other campuses — about the audit results but did not offer any suggestions as punishment for Hefner. He also said he believed any talk of resignation or firing was “very premature.”
“It’s in the hands of Chancellor Manning and the Board of Regents,” said Bredesen, who as governor serves as the Regents’ chairman. “If they feel something more is warranted, they certainly have the capability of doing that.
“They are not in any way trying to brush over it. They’re trying to handle it properly and appropriately.”
Auditors determined the Super Bowl tickets were not a kickback because Hefner was not directly responsible for granting ARAMARK its contract.
Hefner has not made any public statement directly addressing the audit’s findings, but did defend his record in a letter to TSU students, faculty and staff over the weekend.
“I deeply regret if anything I have done has cast this office or Tennessee State University in unflattering light,” he said.
Local prosecutors are reviewing the audit, which was prompted in 2001 by allegations from fired athletic director James Smith of kickbacks, thefts and improper gifts at the school.
A separate audit released on the same day found mishandling of funds at the school’s foundation.
Auditors had said Hefner “exceeded his authority” to fix foundation accounts that were running negative balances.
The foundation ran up a $2.6 million deficit in scholarship accounts by awarding scholarships without making sure there was enough money to cover the awards, despite years of warnings. Also, about one-third of honors scholarship recipients from July 1, 2000, through Dec. 31, 2003, weren’t eligible.
Bredesen said that despite Hefner’s actions, the TSU president has “been a successful president for well over a decade there, and has done a lot of good things for the school.
“Part of the job of the Board of Regents is to take these things, balance them and evaluate them, and see what exactly is the appropriate action,” he said.
University presidents have come under increased scrutiny since last August when John Shumaker resigned as UT president amid questions about lavish spending and his relationship with the UT Foundation.