Audit turns up financial problems at NCCU

State auditors cited N.C. Central University for "significant deficiencies" in the university's handling of its finances for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.

Among the trouble spots were overpayments to employees of more than $13,000 and underpayments of $6,200, which occurred during calculations for retroactive pay related to salary adjustments.

Auditors noted that the mistakes occurred while NCCU was experiencing "significant turnover" in the university's payroll division that led NCCU to hire "temporary employees to perform crucial payroll functions."

While the overpayments and underpayments are small in the context of a $117 million budget, a spokesman for the Office of the State Auditor the fact that they occurred at all is cause for alarm.

"The amount is not as relevant as the fact that the weakness is there," said state auditor spokesman Dennis Patterson. "It's the fact that there is a weakness, a hole in the armor that might allow for greater loss."

In a statement, NCCU said, "Chancellor Charlie Nelms and the entire NCCU leadership team are fully committed to resolving all internal control issues identified by the Office of the State Auditor."

Auditors found that the university did not properly manage students' accounts. The deficiency resulted in ineligible students being allowed to live on campus and register for classes and the university's accounts receivable balance being misstated.

An examination of 40 student accounts receivable balances found among other things that nine students were allowed to register even though they had a combined balance of $33,194. Policy requires students to pay all of their prior balances and one-half of their current charges before they are allowed to register. Auditors reported that they were unable to determine who was responsible for allowing the students to register.

NCCU officials said steps to resolve the deficiencies include "reviewing and re-engineering the student account process and by strengthening interdepartmental communication and holding ourselves to a higher level of accountability."

Auditors also identified weaknesses in the university's information system's access policy, which they believed could lead to unauthorized or inappropriate transactions.

Those weaknesses included:

- Multiple employees in the information technology systems unit who can log in to the information system under a single user name. This single user name accesses the security form that creates/modifies user accounts, grants access to security classes, sets up passwords and locks/unlocks user accounts. With multiple users having the ability to log in using a single name, there is no way to trace activity to the responsible employee.

- Several individuals having unnecessary access to forms and security classes, even though they had no job responsibilities that required them to have access to some of the forms and/or classes.

In response, NCCU said the items identified by auditors were immediately resolved by "significantly reducing the number of people who are granted access to the information system."

"To further strengthen controls, management has initiated a restructuring program in IT to review and monitor the university security system," the statement said.

Tuskegee's Payton to retire in 2010

Dr. Benjamin F. Payton, the fifth President of Tuskegee University, informed the school's Board of Trustees this week of his intent to retire on June 30, 2010. Payton has served as university president for 28 years.

Payton had made it clear that he would only stay on to complete several major objectives such as the University's decennial reaffirmation of accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as certain specialized accreditations of professional programs, such as architecture, veterinary medicine, nursing, teacher education, and engineering, as well as the completion of major renovation and new construction plans.

Speaking for the entire Board of Trustees, Dr. Andrew F. Brimmer, Chairman of the Board, observed that Dr. Payton's "transformative and clear sense of what Tuskegee University could and should become, and his solid leadership, including his enormous fundraising capacities, have enabled him to achieve all of these goals by mid-March 2009.

"He has led the University through some very tough times - to its current status of financial stability, academic excellence and even distinction in athletics," Dr. Brimmer said.

JSU faculty votes "no confidence" in president

The Jackson State University Faculty Senate has taken a vote of "no confidence" against President Ronald Mason.
The measure was adopted by 11-4 vote, wit six senators abstaining.

"We have had some issues for a while," said assistant sociology professor Mahasin Owens-Sabir, secretary of the Faculty Senate executive board. "The Faculty Senate kept hoping that we would be able to work out those issues, but we finally reached the conclusion that they wouldn't be worked out."

The primary concerns cited by senators centered around a proposed unpaid leave program, the school budget, hiring practices and transparency.

JSU has approximately 450 faculty members.

"If this really is reflective of the faculty as a whole, then it's an issue I'd certainly have to deal with," Mason said. "First, we need to know what's behind it - who and why."

Mason took over at Jackson State in 2000. When Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat retires in June after nearly 14 years as school leader, Mason will be the longest serving of the sitting presidents at Mississippi's eight public universities.

Similar resolutions have preceded the resignations of three presidents at Mississippi universities in the past 10 years: Lester Newman at Mississippi Valley State University, Clyda Rent at Mississippi University for Women and Shelby Thames at the University of Southern Mississippi.

But Mason said he thinks his case represents "the perceptions of some members of the Faculty Senate executive committee."

"The Faculty Senate executive committee and I have not always agreed," he said.

During his tenure, JSU has grown from about 6,700 students to about 8,500. The operating budget has swelled from $116 million to more than $182 million.

Since the fall, Mason has been promoting a proposal that calls for the faculty and staff to take four unpaid days off a year to create the fund that will be used to benefit the school. He has said repeatedly that the fund would not be created without a two-thirds vote in favor of it. He repeatedly has asked for suggestions on creating a better proposal.

Upon meeting with campus groups last week, he decided that faculty would vote whether to create a similar voluntary fund, he said. "(The resolution) is factually inaccurate," he said.

Mason said he has a standing meeting with the Faculty Senate executive council once a month. "Every one of these issues has been discussed," he said. "The budget is a public document."

But Owens-Sabir said the Faculty Senate stands behind the concerns outlined in the resolution.

"We would not go this far strictly on emotions," she said. "It's not just something that originated this year."

With SACS visit on the horizon NCCU missing files

With a once-a-decade, three-day accreditation visit by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools scheduled to take place next month, N.C. Central University is search for missing credentials of 126 of its faculty members.

The university submitted materials to the agency in advance of the April visit, but was notified that their was incomplete information on the credentials of some faculty members.

Until just a month or two ago, the faculty info was on file within NCCU's human resources office.

But that office just relocated, and the faculty files have not found their way yet to a new home. They're in boxes somewhere on campus, said Pauletta Brown Bracy, NCCU's director of university accreditation. They just need to be found and produced before the SACS team arrives April 14.

Bracy said she isn't worried about the credentials of the NCCU faculty; it's all just a matter of misplaced records.

"I think we're in good shape," she said. "We have to make sure they're all accessible."

While it appears a simple matter of unearthing records from boxes, it will be no small matter if the paperwork isn't all in order when the SACS accreditors review it, said Bernice Johnson, NCCU's assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.

"If they pull your documentation and your CV is not there, the entire university is out of compliance," she said.

Essentially, SACS is making sure that faculty members have the proper background -- advanced degrees, experience, etc. -- for the courses they are teaching.

Hampton sues pharmacy accrediting agency

Hampton University has filed suit in federal court seeking to stop the Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education from placing the school's pharmacy program on probation.

Provost Joyce Jarrett confirmed the suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Newport News last week after she was told by the council that there was no appeals process.

According to the lawsuit, Hampton University maintains they met almost all 30 measures for accreditation by the council but was cited for being only partially compliant with faculty salaries and not having an adequate number of faculty members.

The council had noted the faculty issues in a previous evaluation. Hampton University has been accredited since 2002.

Officials at the council's office in Chicago could not be reached for comment. The university remains accredited and probation status does not impact students currently enrolled in the program, Jarrett said.

The university wants a judgment declaring the council's decision null and void, enjoining the council from revoking the school's accreditation status or taking any other action against Hampton for two years, and awarding "compensatory damages in an amount that presently cannot be calculated" but in an amount not less than $100,000.

The lawsuit states that the council has placed the university in an "impossible situation" because the school must meet a June deadline to recruit new faculty members.

"With the stigma of probationary status, it will be virtually impossible for the school to attract faculty - much less excellent faculty - under the cloud of the public threat that the pharmacy program will lose its accreditation in less than six months if a sufficient number of other faculty are not simultaneously and immediately recruited," the suit states.

Growth moves FVSU forward during tough economy

While the foundering economy has caused some historically black colleges and universities to make drastic cutbacks, Fort Valley State University is chugging forward.

Its aggressive capital improvement campaign is on track, and the university plans to open the recently completed $19.3 million phase of Wildcat Commons — its state-of-the-art, 370-bed dormitory — within the next month.

A new $16.8 million science academic building is expected to open as early as this fall, and the Board of Regents has approved several master’s degree programs in education and biotechnology.

Other historically black colleges and universities in the Georgia aren’t faring as well.

Clark Atlanta University laid off 100 employees due to declining enrollment. Morehouse College did not renew contracts for 25 adjunct professors. And Spelman College eliminated 35 positions and announced plans to phase out its college of education.

FVSU officials say the times are still challenging. This year, the university had to cut its budget by 10 percent, and the university’s endowment has dropped below $5 million.

“We are not immune to what is going on in the rest of the world economically,” said Melody Carter, vice president of external affairs.


Ft. Valley expects to enroll an additional 800 to 1,200 additional students in fall 2009. The more students we add, the beter off we'll be, said FVSU President Larry Rivers. The reason we've not had to lay anyone off is due to our growing enrollment, he said.

The university enrolled 3,106 students in fall 2008.

Adding students means increased revenue from tuition and fees that offset reductions in state funding.

Freshman Dominique Nichols had his eye on an Atlanta college. He wanted to attend Morehouse, but he changed his mind when FVSU offered him a full ride and he got a chance to take in the campus atmosphere as a potential student.
“Something seemed different that made me fall in love with the campus,” said Nichols, who had visited FVSU before during summer camps.

Rivers said he remains optimistic that support from the community, his colleagues, the local legislative delegation and the Board of Regents will keep FVSU moving in the right direction.

“I’m feeling really good about Fort Valley State University right now,” Rivers said.

Morris Brown building auctioned to pay debt

Morris Brown College was unable to keep one of its buildings off the auction block Tuesday.

Jordan Hall was sold for $900,000 in a foreclosure sale on the steps of the Fulton County courthouse. The proceeds from the sale will be deducted from the college's $13.1 construction loan debt for the building.

Jordan Hall houses classrooms and an art gallery and had twice before been scheduled for auction in January and February.

It is the latest in the school's setbacks as it struggles to emerge from $30 million in debt. Last month, Morris Brown was granted an extension on $214,000 in overdue water bills.

Supporters say the sale will not close Morris Brown. Dorms will remain open and students and faculty will continue to report to classes.


The building was sold Tuesday for $900,000 in a foreclosure sale on the steps of the Fulton County courthouse.

The proceeds will be deducted from the college's debt from a $13.1 million construction loan for the building.

Jordan Hall houses classrooms and an art gallery and had twice before been scheduled for auction in January and February.

It is the latest in the school's setbacks as it struggles to emerge from $30 million in debt. Last month, Morris Brown was granted an extension on $214,000 in overdue water bills.

Supporters say the sale will not close Morris Brown. Dorms will remain open and students and faculty will continue to report to classes.

Fisk forced to trim budget by 15 percent

Beset with financial troubles before the nation’s economy began a free fall last year, Fisk University is signaling tougher times ahead.

In a “Family Letter,” dated Feb. 20, Fisk President Hazel O’Leary told the Fisk community the school has lost 11 percent of its enrollment since last August, and that annual donations are down by more than 40 percent for the year. “

To “bring our expenses in line with our reduced revenues,” O’Leary said the school’s board of trustees had approved a 15 percent cut in the school’s budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year ending June 30.

“Our mission to cultivate bright young people of high intellect and character cannot be underestimated in an adverse economic climate,” O’Leary said. Echoing an argument made this time a year ago, O’Leary said ending the fiscal year without a deficit was crucial to maintaining the school’s accreditation.

Estimates, based on published data, put the student revenue loss in excess of $150,000 and donor revenue off by several million dollars. While O’Leary’s statement made no reference to the school’s endowment, which was estimated between $6 million and $8 million at various times during 2008, most endowments are down in value by 20 percent to 40 percent because of the stock market crash. Fisk long ago mortgaged nearly all of its real estate assets to stay in business.

O’Leary said “all areas” of the university have taken steps to cut expenditures, including a freeze in hiring and entering new service and professional contracts, except essential ones, a freeze on nonessential travel, elimination of reassignment of adjunct faculty to merge class sections, cuts in purchases for supplies and operations and cost sharing for critical services.

A&T president resigns abruptly

After serving as the Chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University for a mere one year and seven months, Dr. Stanley F. Battle announced that he is resigning from his position.

According to a university press release, June 30 will be Battle’s last day as the university’s president. Battle's resignation caught faculty and students and North Carolina's largest HBCU off guard.

Officially, Battle is stepping down due to personal and family reasons. However, the resignation came amid apparent tensions over his managerial style and opposition to his efforts to raise admission standards at the university, according to interviews with faculty, staff, administrators and alumni.

But the leader of the school board of trustees said Battle left on his own accord.

“It was a shock to me and a shock to the board,” Franklin McCain said. “But when he gave his reasons as family and personal, we have to respect that.”

McCain said the board has not discussed replacing Battle.

A source close to the administration said there was “no big thing” that forced him to step down.

“There’s just a bunch of little things,” the source said. “Sometimes you just get tired of dealing with it all. His mother died at Christmas, the things at work — sometimes you ask yourself, 'Is this what I want to do?’ ”

Whatever drove him to leave, Battle’s departure will bring renewed instability to a university that has experienced considerable turnover in the chancellor’s office.

Battle’s replacement will be A&T’s fourth leader since Edward Fort retired in 1999.

“Stability is extremely important and I hope the next chancellor is able to work with the culture and the politics in Greensboro and Chapel Hill,” said Ralph Shelton, a former chairman of the A&T board. “I think the students deserve better.”

Battle has served as chancellor since July 2007, earning $273,156 a year.

In his short tenure, Battle pushed to raise A&T’s admissions standards by seeking students with higher grade point averages and higher SAT scores.

The SAT scores of incoming freshman have risen in each of the past two years, narrowing the gap between A&T and UNC’s systemwide average. The gap — and the high number of A&T students on academic probation when Battle arrived — had been a source of criticism in the past.

However, according to some interviewed Wednesday, the improvements put Battle at odds with those who believe A&T, as an historically black university, should accept and work to improve all students who want a college education.

Campus officials said the conflict started soon after Battle arrived. The board apparently gave Battle a list of mandates; accomplishing them, he told staff, would require raising standards.

Others on campus questioned Battle’s managerial style. Some described him as passionate and hands-on; others as a hard driving micro-manager who favored results over tradition.

None of the 20 faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, trustees and community leaders interviewed agreed to speak about these issues for attribution. Many sources on campus said they had been told by university officials not to speak with the media.

Like many others contacted Wednesday, UNC system President Erskine Bowles declined comment. His staff referred questions to the system’s public affairs office.

UNC would have nothing more detailed to say about Battle’s departure than the brief statement of praise and best wishes that Bowles had released earlier in a press release, said Joni Worthington, the 16-school system’s vice president for communications.

Battle had told Bowles in advance about his decision to step down, she said.

S.C. State strives to diversify student body

South Carolina State University president George Cooper says he plans to market the historically black school to students of all races as a way to increase enrollment in tight budget times.

Cooper told The Associated Press he expects diversity to increase as soon as next year. Currently, about 97 percent of the students at SC State are black.

He says the school has an opportunity to recruit and educate students of other races, particularly as the state's Hispanic population grows.

More than 4,500 students currently attend South Carolina State. Cooper expects enrollment to top 6,000 within three years.

First Lady visits Howard to discuss Women's issues

First Lady Michelle Obama visited the Howard University School of Business Wednesday to kick off a panel discussion on the challenges for women of balancing a professional career and family.

Mrs. Obama told a crowd of 250 students, faculty, staff and administrators that even she still struggles with the challenge of balancing work and family.

"There isn't a day that goes by, particularly after having kids, that I don't wonder or worry about whether I'm doing the right thing,” she said, “for myself, for my family, for my girls."

Obama said that as women move through the various phases of their lives, their priorities and their decision-making process will change.

"There is no right way or wrong way to do any of this,” she said. "The question I hate most that we ask of young people is 'What are you going to be when you grow up?' And the truth is, I still don't know, and I'm 45!"

After the hour-long discussion and question-and-answer period, Mrs. Obama shook hands and spoke with students and faculty before heading outside where she was greeted by hundreds of students waiting for just a glimpse of the First Lady.

CAU cancels classes amid layoffs

On the heels of a mid-semester "restructuring" that left 70 faculty members and 30 other staff unemployed, officials at Clark Atlanta University Monday abruptly cancelled classes. University officials classes were cancelled as it prepares to revise class schedules. The school said that all physical education classes had been canceled for the semester.

A letter to students from the university’s academic affairs office said that class schedule changes in the School of Arts and Sciences “will be made available to you shortly,” but that class schedules in the schools of Education, Business and Social Work would remain unchanged.

Clark Atlanta isn’t the only higher educational institution feeling the sting of a floundering economy.

On Friday, Clark Atlanta president Carlton E. Brown announced that an “enrollment emergency” exacerbated by current economic conditions required 100 faculty and staff members to be laid off.

Monday’s unscheduled holiday didn’t give any joy to some students.

“I’m very concerned,” said Carlos Leavitt, 24. “I’m worried Clark Atlanta is going to implode.”

A graduate student who is finishing his master’s thesis in American history, Leavitt was one of more than a half-dozen students and university employees interviewed on campus Sunday.

Ernest Moore, the university’s director of student housing and judicial affairs, called the staff reductions “a necessary action to address some old issues.

“It’s something that schools across the country are dealing with,” Moore said. “It’s regrettable, but necessary.”

This decade has been a difficult one for Clark Atlanta. A series of financial difficulties led to complaints and periodic protests. The university eliminated its engineering program over faculty and student objections. Enrollment has fallen from more than 5,000 at the start of the decade to less than 4,000 now, and about 200 students didn’t show up for this semester, citing financial difficulties.

Senator moves to rename ASU arena

Trustees at Alabama State University say were caught off guard by an attempt to restore a former Board chair's name to the ASU arena.

Just last May, trustees had voted to remove Joe L. Reed's name from every inch of the building after the Board claimed Reed was giving the university too much negative publicity and was wasting taxpayer's money filing frivolous lawsuits.

Now a state senator has filed a bill to restore Reed's name to the arena. Alabama State University says the bill, "sets a bad precedent and opens the doors for members of the Alabama Legislature to randomly rename buildings at other state colleges and universities, without the person authoring the legislation having any affiliation or association with the school whose building is being renamed."

The Board also contends the bill totally usurps the University's authority.

Court backs AL Gov. in lawsuit over AAMU trustees

The State Supreme Court today dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block four Alabama A&M University trustees appointed by Gov. Bob Riley from sitting on the board.

Riley appointed the four, including Huntsville developer David Slyman, last year, but they were rejected by the state Senate. Riley re-appointed them after the Legislature went out of session. Several taxpayers sued to block those appointments.

Today's high court ruling dismissed that suit on the grounds the taxpayers had no grounds to sue.

"Our position from the beginning has been that the plaintiffs did not have standing to bring this case and, therefore, the court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction over this case," Riley said today. Today's decision is a confirmation of our position. I'm hopeful now that the board will come together as a functioning board of trustees and conduct its business for the university in a manner in which they are bound to by their fiduciary duty."

"We have lost a battle, but not the war," said plaintiffs' attorney Troy Massey of Montgomery. "These four trustees must still be confirmed by the Alabama Senate during the current session. I am disappointed, but not really surprised."

The suit contested Riley's appointment of trustees David Slyman Jr., Leroy Richie, Edward May, and the Rev. Clyde McNeil.

No-shows foil AAMU's attempt to name new leader

The lack of a quorum stymied Alabama A&M University trustees attempt to name a new president Saturday. Five trustees didn't show up to Saturday's board meeting leaving those who did attend the meeting "furious". The AAMU board will try again on Monday.

At least two of the AWOL trustees were unrepentant saying they would not support a meeting to choose a president for A&M held 100 miles from the campus and shrouded in secrecy.

"I am outraged that these board members are not here," said Carol Ann Watkins of Birmingham, vice president of A&M's national alumni association. "If they don't think enough of the university to show up, they need to get off the board."

"I'm as disappointed as I've been in anything since I've been on the board," said trustee Dr. Raymond Burse. "Not fulfilling the highest and most important fiduciary duty of a board member speaks volumes. The more we delay, who gets hurt? A&M."

The five trustees who didn't show are Velma Tribue of Dothan, James Montgomery of Anniston, Madison County District Judge Lynn Sherrod, Robert Avery of Gadsden and Emma Melton of Tuscaloosa.

Melton was having none of the criticism.

"I was concerned about meeting off-campus," she said later. "I was concerned about all of the secrecy surrounding the meeting and the process. All of the board members should have had all the relevant material well in advance, and we did not. And the search agency, which is an excellent agency, was never approved by the full board."

"I have a problem with doing it off-campus," agreed trustee Robert Avery of Gadsden. "If they'll meet on campus, I don't have a problem."

The process that picked the finalists - Dr. Lawrence Davenport of Florida, Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. of South Carolina and Dr. Rodney Smith of Virginia - began with the trustees naming a search committee last April.

That committee met repeatedly with the private search firm and interviewed candidates, but the meetings were not announced and no records were kept, according to A&M attorney Rod Steakley.

Houston accountant Odysseus Lanier, a former trustee and vice chairman of the search committee, angrily defended the panel.

Every constituency on campus was represented, he said, and the committee was not dominated by board President Pro Tem Dr. Shefton Riggins or anyone else.

"No matter what you hear, no matter what you read, we had no puppet master in this process. ..." Lanier said. "We announced to the full board, regardless of what some members may say, what was taking place with the selection process.

"I have taken great pains to hold this process in the center of the freeway with full disclosure, and that's what we have done."

Lanier went on to warn the board about issues raised while narrowing the field from 21 candidates to a final three.

"The market ... is speaking to you right now," Lanier said. "This is a pivotal decision to be made. We got a group of good candidates, but it took a long time to get 'em because of the perceived turmoil at Alabama A&M University, and you need to understand that."

The board listened to brief statements from each finalist Saturday and left citing bylaws that allow it to adjourn one day at a time until a quorum is reached. Riggins said the board won't meet today, but will attempt to meet Monday at a time and location to be announced.

Ala. A&M board to interview finalist in presidential search

Alabama A&M University Board of Trustees plan to meet in Birmingham this Saturday to consider and possibly choose the university's new president.

The presidential search at AAMU has bee narrowed down to three finalist --- Dr. Lawrence Davenport, Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr., and Dr. Rodney Smith.

Davenport has served as Executive VP at Florida Atlantic University, while Hugine was most recently president of South Carolina State University, and Smith serves as VP for Administration at Hampton University.

Alabama A&M has been without a full-time president since last March, when the board fired former president Dr. Robert Jennings. The search for a replacement was complicated for months by a fight between Gov. Bob Riley and the state Senate over seating four of his appointees to the trustee board.

The state Supreme Court resolved that fight in Riley's favor last month.

Former A&T Chancellor cleared of wrong doing

Former North Carolina A&T Chancellor James C. Renick and Anna Anita Huff, a program manager, were accused of misusing university funds, but now both are not found to be in violation of any laws nor did they personally spend the misused funds. Renick left the university in 2006 to take a position at the American Council on Education in Washington.
“The funds in both cases were spent for the good of the university and any violations of UNC system policy did not rise to the level of breaking the law,” Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson said.

The State Bureau of Investigations was called in and now months later both Renick and Huff have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Following a through audit and months of investigation, where several employees including Huff had been fired and charged with criminal offenses. The audit showed the Renick and Huff spent the money in question for legitimate expenses, including stipends, tuition, travel insurance and laptop computers according to the report.

SU comes to terms with B.R. Chancellor's contract

The Southern University System Board and Baton Rouge Chancellor Kofi Lomotey have come to terms on his contract. The Southern board had been fighting over the original stated length of four years and whether to make him an at-will employee who can be fired at any time.

After a behind-the-scenes sit downs with Lomotey, the board leadership agreed to a compromise 30-month deal that runs through the end of 2010. The deal gives Lomotey the same $295,000-per-year pay package he was originally given.

Board member Richard Caiton, of New Orleans, was the only dissenting vote. He had wanted Lomotey to be made an at-will employee.

Lomotey said he was “elated” to finally have the controversial issue behind him.

Also see: Board questions chancellor's contract

TSU must cut $9M from budget

Tennessee State University could face furloughs and layoffs in the next year as the school faces a proposed 15 percent cut in state money as well as declining student revenues.

TSU President Melvin Johnson delivered the news last week in his "State of the University" address.

In TSU's report to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission this week, the school planned to use layoffs, voluntary furloughs and possibly larger classes to reach the $9 million in cuts to the school's budget. State higher education funds overall probably will decrease at least 15 percent, or $181.6 million, in the next fiscal year.

Johnson did not give specifics when asked about layoffs or furloughs, only saying all plans were on the table. The school laid off 10 employees last year.

After Johnson's address, faculty and staff members proposed possible cuts and savings, including an online warehouse for departments to keep running inventories of office supplies and renting out university spaces for conferences.

Revenue from students will be increasingly important, Johnson said, as state appropriations decrease. Johnson displayed a chart that showed $57.1 million, or 56 percent, of the school's budget came from student tuition and fees.

The tuition revenues were down $6.8 million from last year as enrollment dropped nearly 700 students to 8,400 this fall. Johnson fired the financial aid director and reassigned several top officials after students complained about student services.

As of late Thursday, about 750 students had not paid or had not confirmed their registration on the school's intranet, meaning their schedules for the spring semester would be dropped. The school switched to the Banner student registration system in the fall, resulting in confusion over changes in requirements.

All students who had not paid or confirmed their registration by mid-December were notified by e-mail to their TSU accounts and by phone, said Cynthia Brooks, TSU vice president of business and finance.

Candace Carr, a senior nursing student, received an e-mail from the school when she hadn't confirmed her schedule. She took care of it that day.

"It went smoothly," Carr said. "My sister had the same system at her school (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga), so she told me I needed to confirm my classes."

Cuts shave $2 million from Southern budget

Ten Southern University (Baton Rouge) faculty will lose their jobs as result of state budget cuts this month.

Most of the faculty members losing the jobs contracts ended in December and were not renewed. Southern had sent letters to as many as 100 faculty members on Christmas eve notifying them that they would be laid off.

“Rather than under-notified, we over-notified,” explained Chancellor Kofi Lomotey apologetically as to why termination letters were hurriedly sent out to too many employees, including a handful of tenured faculty.

Southern had braced itself for an expected $4 million in mid-year cuts, but were relieved to only be hit with a $2 million cut.

Still, Lomotey warned additional layoffs could be necessary after the spring semester if budget cuts increase.

To deal with the budget cuts, Southern imposed a hiring freeze that will save nearly $500,000 in the spring, according to Lomotey’s budget reduction proposal. Another nearly $900,000 will come from saved salary and benefit costs from personnel reductions. The last $600,000 in savings will come from cutbacks in travel and supplies and equipment purchases.

Classes cut
The budget situation forced Southern to cut about 125 class (sections) from the spring semester, about half of those were in the College of Science.

SUBR Chancellor Kofi Lomotey said students enrolled in the classes are being counseled and moved into other course offerings. Any impacted students set to graduate will be offered independent study to ensure no one is kept from graduating on time, he said.

Water restored at Morris Brown, for now

A judge ordered the City of Atlanta Friday to reconnect water service that had been off since Dec. 12, but he said the Department of Watershed Management had court-approval to cut off service again if the school did not make it’s next scheduled payment of $214,000 by Feb. 17.

On January 4, the dorms open for the spring semester, which starts in less than two weeks, because the water was on.

Still, the school is facing another crucial deadline. On Tuesday, Jordan Hall, which contains classrooms and the Ruth Hall Hodges Art Gallery, is to be auctioned on the Fulton County Courthouse steps to satisfy several liens against the property by the city of Atlanta, a real estate broker and a plumbing contractor.

“The issue of the water problem is not the only problem at Morris Brown College,” said acting President Stanley J. Pritchett Sr.

Pritchett said negotiations continued with the bond holder to delay the sale to settle those liens. He said selling the property now would not reflect the true value of Jordan Hall, which sits on the edge of the Morris Brown campus.

By Saturday evening, donations of more than $47,000 for the day had been tallied. That number did not include a stack of checks still to be counted or the $10,000 four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner Angelo Taylor has promised the school he graduated from in 2006.

“It’s home,” Taylor said. “This school holds a great tradition.”

Also see: Water shut off at Morris Brown

UDC Law students investigate fees

Most students know that the cost of enrollment at college involves more than just tuition. Every year, the University of the District of Columbia charges a variety of additional fees, including the student activity fee. The purpose of the fee is to fund student activities and fund student support budgets.

Some UDC students are concerned the math doesn't add up and that there is money missing from the budgets funded by student fees.

The problem started in 2006, when the UDC Board of Trustees voted to increase student activity fees from $25 to $35 for undergraduates, and from $110 to $210 for law students. Although the fee went up, the amount accounted for by the University's annual budget did not. Over the last two years the fund imbalance has grown to an estimated $2.2 million for the undergraduates, and $60,000 for the law school.

Students have been told by law school administrators that the unaccounted funds are not available to fund the activities of student organizations, because it has been "absorbed" into the university's budget.

Robert Maxwell, UDC Law student, has requested six years of budget history on the student activity fees. These requests, however legitimate, has not been honored. Maxwell has been asked by the law school's Student Bar Association to form a task force of students to pursue this investigation and solve the unexplained budget problems. To accomplish this, he may have to look for answers beyond the UDC administration, since the university's budget is actually approved by the D.C. City Council.

Nevertheless, holding the university accountable for the money is a priority for students. Alexander Beraud, a second-year law student and senator in the Student Bar Association, sees this as a matter of deep concern. "We need to quell the vast outcry among the student body," says Beraud, "and ensure that the student organizations, which represent the interests of students, are properly funded."

Final bell may have tolled at Morris Brown

After enduring the conviction of its president on charges of embezzlement Morris Brown College has managed to endure. It has kept going despite losing its accreditation and seeing its enrollment, once near 3,000, plummet to 56 students.

Now, Morris Brown faces additional challenges to pay $1.5 million in critical bills may not make it.

Stanley Pritchett, acting president of the 127 year-old school said Saturday, they lack money to pay faculty and staff salaries, utilities and other operating expenses.

The school’s financial troubles intensified last week, when the city of Atlanta shut off water service to the campus.

The city said Morris Brown owes about $380,000 in water bills, some dating to 2004. When the school fell behind on a payment plan to reduce the debt, the city cut off the water — and, perhaps, Morris Brown’s future.

The campus simply cannot reopen unless the water comes back on, Pritchett said. “You’ve got to have basic services.”

School officials are scheduled to meet with bankers on Monday, hoping to secure a short-term loan, said Rhonda Copenny, a Morris Brown trustee. The college continues to work on a long-term restructuring of its $32 million debt.

Without “bridge financing,” Copenny said, the school is no more than three weeks away from closing permanently.

Even with a short-term cash infusion, the college faces tough obstacles, court records indicate. Contractors have filed several liens over unpaid bills.

A real-estate broker hired to arrange commercial development on campus has put filed a $230,000 lien. A plumbing company that had already filed a $116,000 lien escalated the case by suing the school Dec. 17.

The city, too, filed liens to prevent Morris Brown from selling property before making good on its water bills.

On Dec. 12, the last day of the fall semester, city officials told the school to pay the full $380,000 immediately or they would terminate water service, Pritchett said. City workers turned off the spigots Dec. 15.

Pritchett said he has appealed for leniency from Mayor Shirley Franklin and has talked with two of her aides, “but as of this date, I have not been able to get any kind of flexibility in resolving it.”

City officials say they gave Morris Brown plenty of chances. Once a customer defaults on a payment plan, though, the account becomes due in full.

“The city doesn’t renegotiate,” said Janet Ward, a spokeswoman for the Watershed Management Department.

Franklin’s spokeswoman, Beverly Isom, said, “This problem has been apparent for some time. I don’t think it’s because they don’t have water that Morris Brown has financial problems.”

This potentially fatal blow comes as Morris Brown has begun something of a rebirth. Last spring, the General Assembly allowed the school to begin accepting students who receive the state’s HOPE scholarship. Enrollment this fall more than doubled to about 240.

“The institution has been a major part of the landscape of this community,” Pritchett said, “and it certainly deserves to remain a viable part of the community.”

Lawmakers suggest Elizabeth City consider name change

A NC state lawmaker asked the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees to study a possible name change for the university to reflect ECSU’s regional appeal.

State Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, emphasized that his recommendation is only that ECSU officials study a name change.
“I’m not suggesting anything other than they look into it and weigh the pros and cons,” Owens said.

It’s unknown what type of reception Owens will get. Already, four key alumni leaders have signed a letter opposing changing the school’s name.

The school’s name has changed a couple of times in the past. After starting out in 1891 as a Colored Normal School, the school was renamed Elizabeth City State Teachers College in 1937 before again being renamed Elizabeth City State College in 1963. In 1969, the college’s name was changed again — this time to ECSU.

Although one proposed name for the university is the University of North Carolina at Elizabeth City, others such as Northeastern North Carolina University have been suggested, Owens said.

The lawmaker said other campuses in the UNC System have benefited from name changes. When Pembroke State University, for example, changed its name to UNC-Pembroke the school saw a dramatic increase in enrollment, Owens said. A similar change for ECSU might make it easier to raise money and to recruit faculty and staff, he said. ECSU trustees should talk to UNC-Pembroke about its experience with the name change, he said.

ECSU is making great strides in the past few years, adding master’s degree programs and growing the enrollment, Owens said. He added the school had benefited from $100 million in capital improvements during the last several years. Owens said he wanted to see both ECSU and College of The Albemarle continue to grow and become stronger. City Councilwoman Betty Meggs, a member of the university’s Board of Visitors, said Saturday she hadn’t made up her mind about the proposal to study changing ECSU’s name. “I can see pros and cons in it,” she said. Meggs said she had heard the argument that a name change might make it more likely that someone from, say, Chicago might choose to attend the university.

“Nobody knows where Elizabeth City is if they’re from way off from here,” Meggs said.

Travis Faulcon of Littleton, one of the graduates at ECSU’s commencement ceremony Saturday, said following the ceremony that the name of the university wasn’t important to him.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Faulcon said. “I got the best education possible here. So the name change — it doesn’t matter.”
Faulcon earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and plans to become a public health director.

Morehouse takes on saggy pants, cursing

Morehouse President Robert Franklin, who was named president last year, instituted the practice of giving every freshman a tie and a blazer in the college’s primary color, maroon, as a tangible symbol of the image of a gentleman in higher education.

Morehouse is one of several historically black colleges taking action recently to improve dress on campus. Overt dissent on the Morehouse campus has been minimal, but a smattering of bloggers nationally have suggested that schools might be trying to take away students’ freedom of expression.

Profanity and exposed boxers are not exactly part of the stereotype of Morehouse, whose distinguished alumni have included actor Samuel Jackson, director Spike Lee, theologian Howard Thurman, Olympian Edwin Moses, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, current Morehouse President Franklin. And, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sagging pants seem inconsequential in comparison, but dress and language help create the campus atmosphere, Franklin said.

“The fact is a significant percentage of our students arrive at Morehouse with a preppy orientation and understand the importance of presentation of themselves,” Franklin said. “Some of the students themselves are surprised to discover a small number of students who arrive with a different, almost thuglike, orientation in dress, speech and social behavior.”

Some students don’t seem to be aware of their language, said William Tweedle, director of Hubert Hall at Morehouse. “They don’t know they’re cursing. They don’t know they’re using the n-word the way they use it.”

Likewise, Tweedle said, “I understand that baggy pants and a certain level of sagging is part of culture, but showing your drawers, your underpants, is unacceptable.”

Tweedle and Franklin’s efforts predate the recent presidential election. But President-elect Barack Obama’s win has boosted the backlash against the sartorial and linguistic byproducts of the hip-hop culture.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, an activist, former presidential candidate and radio host, is among those taking note. Sharpton, long a critic of vulgar rap lyrics, recently told the Chicago Tribune, “You can’t be using the b-word, the n-word, the h-word when you have Barack Obama redefining overnight the image that black people want to have.”

“Obama Won; Now Pull Up Your Pants” was the headline on a post-election column by Justin M. LaGrande, lifestyle editor of The Gramblinite, the newspaper of the historically black Grambling State University in Louisiana. “Obama isn’t sagging his pants,” LaGrande wrote.

Obama himself said in an MTV interview shortly before the election that he opposes laws and ordinances — such as one proposed by an Atlanta city councilman last year — that would control dress.

“Having said that,” he added, “brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing.”

Morehouse freshman Gregory Brito, 18, looks to the president-elect as a role model, but he is struggling to live up to the image.

Brito, who is from New York, doesn’t wear sagging pants but, he said, “I’ll be honest. I curse. I say ‘n…..’ I need to have time to transition from using the word to not using it. I come from an urban area. That’s the way we talk.”

Some African-Americans have argued that by using the racial epithet themselves, they take away its power to be used against them. To Brito, it’s just a slang term of address.

But since being at Morehouse, and especially since Obama’s election, he said, he would prefer not to hear or say it.

“African-American men and men of color can’t make excuses anymore,” Brito said. “It’s hard, though.”

Ray Hayes Jr., a 20-year-old Morehouse junior from Chicago, said he gave up sagging pants and the n-word in high school.

“A lot of guys use profanity here,” he said. “A lot of guys sag their pants. They say it’s a fashion statement.”

Hayes disagrees with some observers who say the vestiges of hip-hop culture were already going out of style.

“I don’t think it was going out of fashion at all,” he said. “I think it was going to get worse as time went on. Guys who weren’t doing it would fall into the trap and start doing it.”

The Morehouse campaign is effective, said freshman Paul Daniels, 17, of Raleigh, because it is linked to the college’s illustrious legacy.

Franklin, he said, “doesn’t condemn the n-word or sagging or cursing. … He’s teaching us why we shouldn’t do it.”

When freshman Ryan Hobbs, 19, of Fayetteville wears his maroon blazer, he’s conscious of its message. Receiving it was a rite of passage, he said.

“The blazer and the tie made me feel like I was really a man of Morehouse, accepted into the brotherhood,” he said. “Morehouse has produced great, great individuals. I want to be another added to that list.”

Norfolk State joins Apple's ITunesU

Norfolk State University is now on Apple iTunes U, which allows users to easily search, download and play course content. NSU is the first institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia to be listed in the universities and colleges directory on the main iTunes U site.

Students, faculty and staff can access the latest news and events, lectures and student productions on the iTunes U store front. Using computers or media players, the campus community can connect to NSU at anytime from any location. Learning can take place inside or outside the classroom—on-the-go or from the comfort of a residence hall, office or home.
Currently, the site offers training tutorials, 90-second lectures from NSU faculty, appearances by guest lecturers and the Spartan Report, the university’s weekly Webcast.

You can visit Norfolk's ITunes site by clicking here

Georgia Senator recommends merging two HBCUs

The chairman of a key state Senate committee wants the University System to consider merging historically black public colleges with nearby white-majority schools to save money.

Georgia Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Seth Harp to recommending merging two of the state's three historically black public colleges as cost savings move. Harp suggested Savannah State University be merged with Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah, and Albany State be merged with Darton College, both in Albany.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” said Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), who has taught political science at two historically black private colleges, Morehouse and Morris Brown.

But Harp said the University System, which has 35 public schools and a $2.3 billion state budget this year, will have to make some hard choices to come up with budget cuts that could top $200 million.

And he said in two cities, Savannah and Albany, white- and black-majority schools are part of the legacy of segregation.

“The white schools were begun as segregation schools. It’s time Georgia closed that ugly chapter,” Harp said during a hearing on the University System’s budget Monday.

Consolidating the schools would reduce administrative costs and potentially cut duplication of similar academic programs.

System Chancellor Erroll Davis (an African American) said the decision won’t be based solely on financial considerations.

“You can make obvious arguments about the economics of it, but I don’t think economics will drive the decision,” Davis said. “It’s going to be a political decision, not an economic decision.”

Davis said if the “body politic” wants the Board of Regents to look at mergers, it will.

Fort asked why Harp doesn’t suggest merging Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, since they are so geographically close.

He predicted Harp will get a stiff fight from the alumni of historically black schools if the idea moves forward.

“Alumni associations for these blacks schools are very protective of their legacy,” he said.

Michael Lomax, the former Fulton County Commission chairman who now serves as president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, said the idea of merging colleges is not a “thoughtful or timely suggestion.”

State leaders should be trying to see that every college is operating at capacity, Lomax said.

“Fill up those seats and you have fewer beds to fill in jail,” he said. “Fill up those seats and you have fewer people seeking public assistance.”

The idea has come up before. Twenty-five years ago, former Gov. Joe Frank Harris suggested the state consider merging historically black colleges with other nearby state colleges to achieve court-ordered desegregation.

The state instead made a commitment to make other changes including enhancing facilities on the three historically black campuses and encouraging students at the two-year Darton College to transfer to Albany State for four-year degrees.

Southern Board questions chancellor's pact

Southern University Chancellor Kofi Lomotey’s job was threatened Friday during a Board of Supervisors meeting when some Southern board members took issue with the longevity of his employment agreement.

A handful of board members said that Lomotey should be an “at-will” employee, who can be fired without cause, as opposed to having a three or four-year guaranteed contract.

“If he (Lomotey) doesn’t accept it,” said board Chairman-elect Tony Clayton of Port Allen, “then we move on and find another chancellor.”

The board ultimately decided to postpone a decision until the Dec. 12 board meeting.

In September, the board approved a $295,000 a year pay package in an employment letter for Lomotey that included a four-year term.

Southern University System President Ralph Slaughter said some board members decided four years guaranteed was too long.
Lomotey agreed to shorten his term to three years, Slaughter said.

Clayton and board members Dale Atkins, of New Orleans, and Johnny Anderson, of Baton Rouge, who first brought the issue up Friday, criticized Slaughter for not bringing a formal written contract back to the board for approval.

“There was never a consensus on the term and length,” Anderson said, noting that previous chancellors at Southern have been at-will employees and “served at the pleasure of the board.”

Slaughter said Lomotey’s employment letter, which was approved by the board in September, amounts to a contract.

Board Chairman Myron Lawson, of Alexandria, said he never signed any employee agreement. But Lawson said he wants Lomotey to have a formal, written contract.

Board members asked board attorney, Winston DeCuir, if there is a valid contract agreement with Lomotey.

“You’re asking me to make some very important decisions without a lot of information,” DeCuir said.

“It makes me wonder if we have a Watergate or a Southern-gate,” Anderson said.

Clayton also asked Lomotey for a “cease and desist” on all hiring and firing at the main Baton Rouge campus until they can discuss the direction of the university.

Lomotey has made several administrative changes since taking over as chancellor in July.

Howard nursing students & faculty at odds

Fifty Howard University nursing students took to the streets with picket signs and a list of demands concerning problems they were facing with their curriculum.

Within 24 hrs after the protest, College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences and Howard University President Sidney Ribeau met with students to work toward a resolution to the students call for a better education and a responsive administration.

According to SGA Vice President Kellen Moore, the meeting with Ribeau tackled the list of demands presented by the nursing students at Tuesday’s protest.

Among the nursing students concerns were the ineffective teaching methods of professors.

In addition, the meeting worked toward prioritizing the students’ concerns. At the town hall meeting, students and administration participated in an open dialogue.

“It is now time for the college’s administration, faculty and students to work together to ensure the success of the program,” said HUSA General Assembly Vice-Chair Corey Briscoe. “The outcome depends on everyone meeting in the middle and upholding their responsibilities.”

In 2007, nursing students walked out of examinations, which threatened accreditation, in protest of the shoddy education they believed they were receiving.

VUU president to resign

Virginia Union University President Belinda Childress Anderson announced today that she plans to step down to pursue new opportunities.

Anderson, the 11th president of the small, historically black university in Richmond, did not give a reason for her decision.

In a statement, she said she wanted "to make way for the university to secure new leadership positioned to meet new challenges."

Morehouse police chief faces assault charges

Morehouse College's chief of police is facing charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and pointing a gun at another person in Lamar County.

Vernon Worthy was booked into the Lamar County Detention Center after a warrant application hearing on Monday that lasted nearly four hours before Chief Magistrate William Thomas. He was expected to be released on $5,000 bond.

Worthy was not arrested in the incident, which happened earlier this month in Barnesville, but his accuser, Nathaniel Rooks, filed an application for a criminal warrant.

No date has been set for a grand jury hearing in the matter. Worthy was ordered by the judge to have no contact with Rooks or his family as a condition of his bond.

Charges dropped against former A&T employee accussed of embezzlement

Prosecutors have dropped embezzlement charges against a former N.C. A&T official, Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson said today.

Rodney Harrigan, A&T's former vice chancellor for information technology and telecommunications, had been charged with embezzlement for allegedly misusing more than $70,000 in university funds.

Harrigan approved purchases that appeared to have no business purpose, according to an audit.

Prosecutors determined that there was no criminal intent and that Harrigan did not realize personal gain, Henderson said.

"The money was used for a variety of purposes," Henderson said. "But it never went into his pocket."

In September 2007, Henderson sent the audit to the State Bureau of Investigation to examine. He received their findings late last week and said he will review the report before deciding whether any more criminal charges will be filed.

Lincoln U (PA) receives $4M NIH grant

Lincoln University (PA) has received a 5-year/$4M award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at improving its research infrastructure. The award began on September 30, 2008 and ends on the 30th of June 2013.

The overarching goals of the award are to strengthen the research capability and infrastructure of Lincoln, to create a group of well-trained faculty researchers with expertise in biomedical research with emphasis on cancer, stroke and other diseases that disproportionately affect minorities, and to generate a pipeline of minority students who will choose to continue their education in biomedical research, allied health and medicine after graduation. An increase in the pool of minority biomedical researchers and health-care professionals will contribute significantly to the elimination of health disparities.

Specifically the award will enable Lincoln University to do the following:
1. To strengthen the research administrative structure at Lincoln University.
2. To expand the academic programs that impact manpower development in health disparities including the introduction of a B.S. degree program in Nursing.
3. To establish academic research programs in health disparities. The number of faculty engaged in quality research focused on health disparities will increase. In the first year of the grant, three new projects will be started. In subsequent years, the grant will award three faculty up to $25,000 each to carry out research in areas related to health disparities.
4. To enhance research facilities and technological environment. This award will enable Lincoln University purchase a Quadropole Time of Flight mass spectrometer (Qq-ToF), a cryostat, bioanalyzer, neuroimaging system and other research equipment. In addition, Neuroscience and Scientific Writing courses will be introduced at Lincoln University.
5. To enhance student competencies and preparedness to pursue advanced studies after graduation.
6. To promote educational experiences and opportunities that encourage students to pursue research careers.

Jackson State prez gets Ed Leadership Award

Ronald Mason Jr. , Esq, President, Jackson State University was recently honored the 2008 Education Leadership Award presented by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Mason, has been president of JSU since 2000 and holds a bachelor's and juris doctorate from Columbia University. He has led JSU through an impressive academic restructuring and campus revitalization that has expanded into the West Jackson communtiy . Most recently, Jackson State University announced plans to creating a mixed-use development center adjacent to the campus.

The Educational Leadership Award is the highest individual award presented to a sitting president or educational leader of a public HBCU. It is presented annually to an educational leader who has demonstrated outstanding business, academic and visionary leadership through effective management of his or her institution. Nominees are submitted by philanthropic, board, government, alumni, students and educational leaders nationally.

"Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr. has a decorated career in Higher Education and Community Development that directly supports one of our nation's gems and member university, Jackson State University and its 9,000 students," said Dwayne Ashley, President and CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund. "He has demonstrated the outstanding business, academic and visionary leadership of Justice Thurgood Marshall, making him a fitting choice for Educational Leadership Award recipient."

UDC President disbands faculty senate in power struggle

Allen L. Sessoms did not take long to make his presence known at the University of the District of Columbia. Less than a month after taking office as the university’s president, Sessoms announced that he was disbanding the faculty senate. The group had been established in 1995 to enact bylaws and advise the provost and president. Sessoms claimed that the group did not perform the duties with which it was entrusted and did not keep records of what went on at senate meetings.

Some members of the faculty stated that the action was taken in retaliation for criticisms of the manner in which the presidential search had been conducted. Sydney O. Hall, professor of public health and leader of the faculty senate, was the only member of the trustees’ presidential selection committee to vote against hiring Sessoms.

Prior to taking his new position, Dr. Sessoms was president of Delaware State University.

Rivers taking FVSU to new heights

In what can only be classified as a "State of the University" address, Fort Valley State President Larry E. Rivers summed up the university’s status Tuesday in just eight words.

“Fort Valley State University is solid and sound,” Rivers told a gathering that included state legislators at the Agricultural Technology Conference Center to hear an update on the university’s efforts.

This year, the university has much to tout. It broke a fall enrollment record of 3,024 students, set in 1996, with a new record of 3,055 students. That number also was a 19 percent increase over the 2,562 students who enrolled in fall 2007.

The president’s next goal is 5,000. To get that number, however, he said the college needs more money.

“I just need support and more state allocation for financial aid,” Rivers said.

In the past 30 months, the university has set out on a $110 million capital improvement plan. Ground was broken last month on the $16 million third phase of Wildcat Commons, the university’s newest dormitory.

Rivers said a fourth phase in the university’s housing plan is in the works. It would add more rooms to the Wildcat Commons as well as renovations on Huntington Hall, to be used for administrative offices, and Ohio Hall, to be used for living space.

During the presentation, Rivers asked for help from the state Legislature.

He pushed for diversity at his institution and asked the lawmakers to do so as well.

“Anyone, regardless of race, color or creed, has an opportunity to matriculate at Fort Valley State University,” Rivers said.

Rivers said he wants the university to be able to implement competitive programs such as nursing and a Department of Veterinary Medicine for large animals.

State Rep. David Lucas, D-Macon, said he has pursued getting such programs for the university before. He said they are vital in attracting the diversified student body that Rivers desires.

NC A&T fires football coach

Lee Fobbs Jr. is out as North Carolina A&T's football coach.

The school said Monday that it fired the coach, who had a 2-28 record in two-plus seasons. Running backs coach George Ragsdale has been chosen interim coach for the rest of the season.

The Aggies (2-6, 0-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) lost all 22 games during Fobbs' first two seasons before opening this season with a win over Division II Johnson C. Smith. The win snapped a 27-game losing streak.

But A&T has now lost six straight and is coming off a 42-7 loss to Delaware State. The Aggies have been held to seven or fewer points in four of their last five games. The only exception was a 28-27 loss to rival North Carolina Central, which is in the second year of its transition to Division I.

Ft. Valley breaks ground on new science building

Fort Valley State officials recently broke ground for the construction of a $16.8 million academic building that will focus on biology and chemistry.

The 59,000-square-foot facility will contain seven biology teaching labs, five chemistry labs, a geology lab and a physics lab. In addition, it will have four regular classrooms, an 80-seat auditorium and research labs for faculty, among other amenities.

University president Larry E. Rivers said the building should be completed by the middle of next year and will serve as a vital recruitment tool as the university grows toward its enrollment goal of 5,000 students.

"We need this $20 million state-of-the-art science buildng because we are growing by leaps and bounds," Rivers said.

As several speakers noted during the groundbreaking, the building has been decades in the making and was made possible through funding from the state Legislature.

State Rep. Lynmore James (D-Montezuma) said he has watched the university grow and finds it imperative that its needs, such as the science building, are brought to the General Assembly's attention.

"What we're doing is for the future of the state and for the future of this nation," James said.

Senior chemistry major Geoffrey Turner will not get to enjoy the new facility, he noted, but said the present one provided him with the foundation necessary to graduate in May and pursue pharmacy as a career.

The new building, he said, will allow those who follow to go even farther.

"I'm excited for them, but a bit jealous also," Turner said.

SSN's of thousands of Tenn. State students breached

A flash drive containing the social security numbers of more than 9,000 Tennessee State University students was recovered on Monday, September 15 after being missing for more than five days.

TSU President Melvin N. Johnson confirmed that a student, who had used the flash drive for saving a homework assignment, returned the drive at approximately 9 p.m. on Sept. 12.

Johnson did not indicate whether the student tampered with the information on the device, but informed the university that the flash drive is back in the university's possession and that state auditor would investigate further.

A financial aid counselor reported the flash drive missing Tuesday morning, Sept. 9, after discovering that it was no longer in her possession, administrators said.

The flash, which contained financial records of TSU students dating back to 2002. "The loss of this data is unfortunate," said Tennessee State Provost Robert Hampton. University personnel began notifying students the same week about the security breach, although no attempts to use the data had been discovered, administrators said.

Students’ reactions ranged from disappointment to anger.

"I think it's irresponsible. I really think that someone misplaced it, but that kind of stuff should be closely guarded," said Charity King, a senior nursing major from Nashville, Tenn.

"I feel that it is ridiculous and irresponsible for them to be unorganized, unorthodox and unprofessional," said Damarrion Fleming, a mechanical engineering major from Louisville, Ky.