Amid Pending Investigation, President of St. John’s Says He Will Retire
By Kevin Koczwara
His retirement comes amid a pending inquiry requested a few months ago by the board of trustees into possible financial improprieties involving officials at the university, in Queens. In announcing his retirement, effective July 31, Father Harrington, 67, alluded to the successful and difficult chapters during his 24 years as president. “St. John’s has been transformed and stands today a truly world-class global university,” he wrote Friday to the trustees, but, “the difficulties for everyone during the past year have convinced me, after much prayer and reflection, that the time to leave the presidency has now come.” In the fall, the former dean, Cecilia Chang, was on trial, accused of stealing more than $1 million from the university and using foreign scholarship students as her personal servants. Prosecutors said she had created bank accounts in the students’ names in a scheme to pocket tens of thousands of dollars. During the trial, in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Father Harrington testified that he had traveled several times with Ms. Chang, as part of a delegation from St. John’s, to Asia, where they stayed at opulent hotels. He also acknowledged accepting gifts, like a designer watch and suits custom-made in Hong Kong, from Chinese businessmen. He testified that Ms. Chang had convinced him that it was customary in Chinese culture to give gifts and that it would be rude to refuse them. Ms. Chang, 59, was found dead in her Queens home a day after she testified in her own defense. The suicide cut the trial short, but the allegations that surfaced in the wake of the proceedings continued to plague Father Harrington, as some students and faculty members questioned his leadership, and support waned. The inquiry requested by the board is focused partly on Ms. Chang, Father Harrington and his chief of staff, Robert Wile. The investigation, according to reporting by New York magazine, includes a look at $370,000 in interest-free loans that Mr. Wile received from St. John’s and people with university connections. In the wake of the new allegations, the board retained Frank Wohl, a former federal prosecutor, to conduct a review of Mr. Wile’s financial and business ties to the university. Mr. Wile submitted his resignation this week; his last day will be June 30, said Dominic P. Scianna, a St. John’s spokesman. Mr. Wile, through Mr. Scianna, declined to comment. Last month, 66 faculty members sent a letter to the St. John’s board calling for an open review of the allegations surrounding Father Harrington and Mr. Wile, a detailed forensic audit and the creation of an oversight committee that would include students, faculty and alumni. “Because the board of trustees has not been able to meet its fiduciary responsibilities to monitor the financial status of the university and the actions of the administration,” they wrote, “we fear the possibility that there has been a ‘serious violation of the public trust’ as defined by New York State.” On Friday, as news of Father Harrington’s retirement spread, supporters praised him. “Father Harrington transformed St. John’s from a really good university to a great one,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. “As an alumnus of its law school, I’ve witnessed with pride as Father Harrington strengthened St. John’s academically and physically with new facilities and buildings, while holding fast to the Vincentian mission.” The board said in a statement: “The tenure of Father Harrington as president has been a period of unrivaled growth, expansion and achievement for our university. He has been a transformative leader.”
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