NOTE: State College of Florida President Lars Hafner subsequently resigned on Oct. 30, 2012 with a $363,000 settlement agreement. The board voted 7-0 in January 2013 to hire a new president, Dr. Carol Probstfeld, formerly vice president for business and administrative services at the college. Carlos Beruff, a realtor, remains on the board. Sigh.
Go quietly or I will ruin you
The Bradenton Herald reports that the college’s board of trustees voted 5-2 this week to ask Florida’s Attorney General to investigate an allegation of forgery against SCF President Lars Hafner.
Hafner says the vote stems from a campaign of bullying by SCF board chairperson Carlos Beruff. He recounted a private conversation with Beruff about nine months ago in which Beruff allegedly told Hafner, “If you don’t go quietly, I’m going to ruin you and ruin your reputation.”
Beruff has accused Hafner of forging former board president Steve Harner’s name on a 2010 state grant application for SCF’s Collegiate School charter school. Hafner contends he signed Harner’s to the document with Harner’s permission.
Hafner accused Beruff of risking the college’s reputation for the sake of what Hafner called Beruff’s personal and political agenda against him.
“This has been nine months of, basically, a witch hunt, and of you bullying me,” Hafner said to Beruff. “You’ve been doing it in private so other board members were not aware of what you’re saying or doing.”
At a special board meeting called by Beruff , Beruff presented an affidavit from attorney Greg Porges, whom Beruff had hired privately to research the forgery question, in which Porges said Harner did not authorize Hafner to sign the grant application in his stead.
Hafner presented an affidavit directly from former president Harner, in which Harner stated he believed that in up to four instances he had authorized Hafner to sign his name on Harner’s behalf and with Harner’s “direction and instruction.”
Meanwhile, board member Jennifer Saslaw, one of two board members to vote against taking the case to the attorney general, said Harner told her that Hafner’s signature on the application was made with Harner’s approval.
Joe Miller, the other board member to vote against involving the attorney general, questioned whether Beruff was attacking Hafner at the behest of Gov. Rick Scott, whose has proposed eliminating tenure for university employees and cutting the pay of university and college presidents.
Judge Ed Nicholas, a member of the SCF Foundation, accused the SCF board of “destroying the morale of this school” and driving away donors. “Ever since you’ve been chairman, you’ve done nothing but attack this college or attack the staff,” Miller said. “I’m not sure who’s running things, the governor or this board.”
Hafner also said he was exploring whether Beruff violated state statutes by sharing information about Hafner’s evaluation.
One can’t help but wonder whether at any point the above officials considered other options to settle their difference? Say, mediation? Counseling about the proper role of the administration versus the board? A duel?
