The president of Southern Union State Community College, Susan E. Salatto, has been placed on leave by the chancellor of Alabama’s system of two-year colleges, who said he wants her fired, the Associated Press reported today.

The chancellor, Bradley Byrne, said an investigation of problems at the college had found “extraordinarily poor performance” by Ms. Salatto, resulting in alleged violations of college policy, such as a failure to provide basic services to students. The investigation also turned up alleged nepotism and violations of bid law. Ms. Salatto, who was told to clean out her desk today, could be fired at the next meeting of the system’s governing board, in two weeks.

In a written response to the allegations, Ms. Salatto said she had inherited many of the problems from her predecessor. She has been president for 1½ years and has worked at the college for 33 years.

The suspension is part of a long-running shake-up following scandals in the Alabama system. —Paul Fain