Jeb's Boy

Frank Brogan, Bush's man in academia, must defuse the FAU scandals. But where is he?

Comments (0) By Eric Alan Barton Thursday, Mar 27 2003

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Criticism of the president's house and the tuition increases have been described in the University Press, discussed on college websites, and argued over under the cement breezeway where students congregate. Coleman says she hasn't heard any of it. "No students have contacted me," she says. "If they did, I would tell them that it was a different time when we began constructing the Baldwin House. We weren't facing cutbacks and we had plenty of money."

Nine days after that February tour, Coleman's ideas of how to spend money would become the center of a law enforcement investigation that became one focus of Brogan's new job. The probe centers on a $42,000 check cut by Coleman on July 11, 2002, from a university bank account. The check was funneled through a Boca Raton design company that worked on the Baldwin House. The money was then passed along to Sara Catanese, wife of ex-president Anthony Catanese. Two weeks later, Anthony Catanese bought himself a red Corvette that several university employees say was his parting gift. (He left to become president of the Florida Institute of Technology in Daytona Beach.

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The gift might not have gotten employees so riled up had Coleman in August not requested a 31 percent pay raise that would bring her salary to $185,000 a year. She also asked for and received, increases for her assistants of as much as 20 percent. Professors, meanwhile, made do with raises last year of 2.5 percent, which, when inflation is taken into account, means a decrease in their salaries. Irate employees complained to trustees, and board chairman Zoley ordered the investigation into the Corvette.

According to Zoley, Coleman initially avoided questions about the gift. He ordered her offices shuttered to protect against a cover-up. "We went as far as we could from the administration standpoint without subpoenas," Zoley says. Coleman and two dozen of her employees were sent home on paid leave. With Brogan's approval, before he had even begun his first day on the job, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called in to assist campus police in the probe, and the university hired KMPG, an international accounting firm, to conduct a forensic audit looking for criminal activity in the foundation's bookkeeping. Coleman resigned last Friday.

The controversy presents Brogan with two major issues. The most obvious is finding out whether the gift was handled improperly. The second issue and perhaps most important task is making sure potential donors aren't scared away. Brogan declined to discuss the specifics of the investigation because it's ongoing, but said he aims to protect the "sacred covenant" between donors and the university.

Several university employees say the inquiry will also question the lack of accountability of the FAU Foundation, which is run by Coleman and charged with collecting money for the university. Operating as a private nonprofit, the foundation is free from most open-records laws and can collect and spend money without direct oversight of the university trustees and officials. The foundation has its own board, which is not answerable to the trustees; this is a standard practice for Florida university foundations. Critics of the alleged Corvette gift say spending money improperly belies promises made to donors that their gifts will go to the university. Two of Florida Atlantic's biggest givers have already said they're considering withholding millions in promised cash. Tom Oxley, whose name is on the athletic center because of the $4 million he's pledged, and Eleanor R. Baldwin, whose name graces the president's mansion for her $2 million gift, have said they're worried about where Florida Atlantic spends donations.

Florida Atlantic officials say Brogan won't start full-time until May, though the scandal now looks as if it could potentially cost the university millions. For what it's worth, Brogan has political connections, which he can call on. It isn't clear how much time Brogan spends as president while in Tallahassee, but Zoley said he last week tentatively secured $10 million for oceanographic studies in Dania Beach.

During his first day on March 3, Brogan, a compulsive positive-thinker, repeated his optimistic mantra several times, perhaps as an indication of his scandal-proof political connections: "Is this a great country, or what?"