KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Numerous warning signs existed about Dr. Lee Waldrep's background as the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design considered whether to hire him as an academic adviser, newly released records show.
But it appears a college hiring committee either never saw them or disregarded them.
Waldrep was fired in December 2018 after the college learned in news reports that he'd resigned abruptly in August 2017 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He'd been at Illinois eight years and was administrator there for undergraduate student services in the School of Architecture.
UT and UT Architecture Dean Scott Poole stated at his dismissal in December 2018 that a UT hiring committee had failed to take one very important step: No one checked Waldrep's references before hiring him.
But there were other signs that Waldrep's background deserved more digging, including his own acknowledgement on an electronic UT form that he'd been fired for cause previously or forced to resign.
And the list of references that he provided featured no one from the University of Illinois. Further, his Illinois personnel file, which 10News obtained through a public records request, included his 2017 resignation agreement from Illinois as well as other documents critical of his time at Urbana-Champaign.
The resignation agreement showed the University of Illinois was in the process of "investigating potential violations by Dr. Waldrep of the University's nondiscrimination policy and recently issued Dr. Waldrep a letter of expectations in response to a possible violation of the University's conflict of commitment and interest policy."
10News was seeking comment Wednesday from UT about the newly released records, received through a public records request..
As a result of the Waldrep hiring and firing, Dean Poole informed faculty and students that workshops would be held this semester for faculty and staff "regarding hiring practices and the roles and responsibilities for search committee members and the college."
OVERQUALIFIED
Waldrep looked excellent on paper, and the UT College of Architecture and Design was in a hurry to fill a position in 2017, records released this month show.
The college hoped by the end of 2017 to replace a departing academic adviser. Emails show they ultimately couldn't bring anyone in to interview for the job until January 2018.
Waldrep was overqualified for the job, as members of the hiring committee would note. He had a doctorate, years of experience working with students, and was a published author of numerous articles and presentations.
He'd also written "Becoming An Architect", a textbook available for public purchase that's been used and taught to students on the Knoxville campus.
Waldrep actually learned about the job opening before it was posted, emails show.
He met Julie Beckman, the director of student development at the architecture college, on Oct. 14, 2017, at a job and career fair in Chicago.
He followed up Oct. 17, 2017, with a personal note expressing interest in the job, and she replied Oct. 26 with the message, "Just posted today. Check it out and please feel free to share."
Beckman didn't know that Waldrep had left the University of Illinois two months prior as it was reviewing allegations of sexual harassment involving female students against him.
Waldrep didn't reveal that, either. Records suggest he'd only said he'd left because he felt underappreciated.
Later, in his termination letter, Poole would write that Waldrep had claimed he'd been furloughed from UIC, with his position being terminated for financial reasons.
In fact, the Press-Gazette in Champaign and Illinois Public Media would report in December 2018 that eight young women had come forward in March and April 2017 to accuse him of behavior that included touching and giving unwanted attention.
Waldrep had filled out an online employment questionnaire for UT that covered questions such as if he had a valid driver's license, if he'd worked at a UT campus before and if he was "legally eligible" for employment in the United States.
The fourth question asked: "Have you ever been terminated for cause or asked to resign in lieu of termination?" He responded, "Yes" records show. Beside that is the typewritten message: "There was no explanation from employer."
To the right of his response was the notation, "To Be Verified."
Along with his resume, Waldrep had submitted a list of three references: a professor at the architecture school in Maryland where he once worked; the president of the Construction Management Association of America; and a woman at a psychotherapy practice in Greenbelt, Maryland.
He listed no one at the University of Illinois.
Waldrep was one of two first-tier candidates to apply for the UT advising job, records show. He and candidate Henry R. Hollander visited the Knoxville campus in January 2018 for interviews and presentations.
Committee reviewers gave Waldrep high marks. Some, however, thought he actually was overqualified and wondered if he wouldn't be ready to move on soon to another job.
Waldrep emerged as the clear front-runner, records show, and he soon was offered the job.
Beckman wrote to Waldrep on Jan. 30, 2018: "Super excited for the next chapter of this place. Great news all around."
Katherine Ambroziak, professor and chair of the search committee, sent Poole a note Feb. 2, 2018, announcing that the committee was recommending Waldrep.
"We appreciate the opportunity to serve the College and conduct the search for a professional advisor to join our Student Development team," she concluded. "We value the role that the person in this position plays and the influence he or she has on our students. We truly believe that Dr. Waldrep will prove to be an asset both in advising and professional development."
He was hired at an annual salary of $75,000, documents show.
Waldrep appeared anxious in February 2018 to get started. A court background check took a little longer than expected.
In a Feb. 13, 2018, note to Waldrep, Dean Poole observed, "The state of Illinois just doesn't want to let you go."
The next day, however, a court background check cleared, showing nothing of note.
THE UIC PERSONNEL FILE
No one apparently had checked with the University of Illinois for its personnel records.
Obtained by 10News earlier this year in a public records request, the file includes Waldrep's Aug. 10, 2017, resignation letter. It gave no reason for his departure.
"Thank (sic) for the opportunity to serve the students of the School over the last eight years," he wrote.
Waldrep and others also signed a confidential separation agreement in mid August laying out the terms of his departure.
It included a note that "The University currently is investigating potential violations by Dr. Waldrep of the University's nondiscrimination policy, and recently issued Dr. Waldrep a letter of expectations in response to a possible violation of the University's conflict of commitment and interest policy."
Waldrep had been hired by UIC in 2009 at a salary of $85,000, according to records.
Waldrep was cautioned twice, in 2012 and in 2013, because he'd been referring to himself as assistant director when his actual title at Urbana-Champaign was administrator of undergrad student services.
In November 2013, documents show, the director of the school, David Chasco, reprimanded him for having included a flyer that promoted his book in information packets that went out to prospective students.
Chasco wrote that Waldrep had ignored his instructions not to include the flyer in student packet information in October 2013. Chasco then specifically laid out his expectations for Waldrep, with an explicit caution to improve his conduct in the coming months.
"You can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I learned that on or around October 8 you instructed staff to disregard my directions and to include your promotional materials and other flyers in the recruitment packets," he wrote. "Your actions represent insubordination and are unacceptable."
Chasco then laid out specific expectations for Waldrep, with an explicit caution to improve his conduct in the coming months.
"A HORRIBLE ARTICLE"
Waldrep's time at UT appeared uneventful until December 2018 when the News-Gazette in Champaign printed a story on Sunday, Dec. 16, based on Illinois records about accusations that had been made against him.
Illinois Public Media also published a story.
Word of the stories quickly reached Knoxville, emails show.
That same day several people started forwarding copies of the story to the UT Communications Department and to architecture school staff.
Marleen Davis, distinguished professor at the school and its former dean, sent a note to Poole and Beckman with a link to the News-Gazette story.
"Julie and Scott, I hate to send this, and you two are the only persons I will send it to -- I guess this is horrible news, and you will have to figure it out.
"It's a horrible article, and once out, wow, I can picture people passing it on. A Cornell friend from Chicago sent this to me."
Beckman and Poole traded messages that Sunday afternoon.
At 8:30 p.m., the dean sent her a note with a question: "Were calls made to references by the search committee? I need to have precise information for Lela. If so, who was contacted?"
Beckman, a search committee member, replied about an hour later: "Scott -- I just confirmed with Katherine (who served as chair of the search committee) that no references were called. The reason being that we had only two primary candidates, one of which had very low confidence from the committee. In addition, Lee's references were from University of Maryland and others related to his work experience prior to UIC, so unlikely to have unearthed or corroborated any of this type of behavior. ... He basically told me that he felt undervalued at UIC and decided it was time to move on..."
UT Provost David Manderscheid also got involved in the email discussions, and by Monday morning Poole let him know that a pre-termination agreement was in the works.
Some students also contacted the architecture staff, wondering about Waldrep's status.
On Dec. 21, as students and staff were well into the holiday break, a message from Poole was posted to the college's listserv. Waldrep had been fired that day, according to the posting.
"I've asked HR to conduct a series of workshops for our faculty and staff next semester regarding hiring practices and the roles and responsibilities for search committee members and the college," his statement reads. "My goal is to prevent a similar situation in the future and improve our processes going forward."