AAMU falls behind on retirement payments

Alabama A&M University has fallen two months - nearly $2 million - behind in payments to the state retirement system on behalf of its 1,100 employees, retirement officials say.

Slight payment lags of a week or two are common, but no other public institution has missed two straight months, according to Donald Yancey, director of benefits for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

A&M officials blamed the state, a statement from Vice President for Business and Finance Charlie Rucker on Thursday said that "the state is about two months behind in payments (warrants) to Alabama A&M University."

If state education payments are the problem , Gov. Bob Riley asked, "Why is every other university and school system in Alabama up to date?"

The payment gap won't prevent someone from retiring from A&M with full benefits, Yancey said, because RSA routinely starts retirement payments while waiting for the last payroll deductions to catch up.

But until the shortfall is made up, Yancey said the system will not cash out any departing employee's retirement account. That means an employee leaving for another job this summer will find his or her account frozen until A&M catches up.

The shortfall includes both the 5 percent retirement contribution withheld from A&M salaries each month, plus the 11 percent matching contribution the school makes, Rucker said.

Rucker said both contributions are held in university bank accounts, "and both amounts are submitted to RSA when sufficient funds are accumulated."

A&M has an average monthly payroll of about $6 million, Rucker said. Sixteen percent of $6 million means an approximate $960,000 monthly contribution. That puts A&M nearly $2 million behind.

A&M has been dealing with the same budget woes affecting public schools, colleges and universities across the state. The university's state appropriation this year was about $45 million, down from a first proposal of almost $50 million. For next year, Riley estimates that mandated budget cuts will limit A&M to about $40 million from the state. It gets millions more from other sources, including the federal government.

Interim A&M President Dr. Beverly Edmond and A&M officials have implemented steps to deal with the budget, including monthly unpaid furloughs of 12 hours for administrators and eight hours for staff earning $30,000 a year, and a 5 percent cut in pay for summer faculty, Rucker said.

A&M is currently operating without a permanent president or an approved budget.

It has no budget because the board of trustees has not met to pass one, and the board hasn't met because of two ongoing disputes, one between Riley and legislators over new appointees to the board, and one between remaining members over A&M's next president.

Riley's spokesman said Thursday that the governor hasn't decided whether to continue to push his four nominees.

The four have failed to win Senate confirmation for two years.

"The governor is reviewing his options," said Todd Stacy, Riley's press secretary.

Martin named new chancellor at A&T

N.C. A&T didn't have to search very far to find its new chancellor, as Harold Martin, vice president for academic affairs at the UNC System office was selected as the new head Aggie last Friday morning. Martin is an A&T alum, and former chancellor of Winston-Salem State University from 2000-2006.

“It is a great pleasure to come home,” Martin told a crowd assembled at the UNC Board of Governors meeting held on A&T’s campus.

The Board of Governors unanimously approved Martin, who President Erskine Bowles called “a mentor, a colleague and a friend.”

“This is a huge personal loss for me,” said Bowles, who has leaned on Martin as his “But I understand why he missed this campus and felt called home, home to serve his alma mater.”

Bowles said he could not imagine a better man to lead A&T.

“Harold Martin is a proud Aggie,” Bowles said. “He personifies Aggie pride. He is not only a graduate of A&T - he has also been a faculty member, dean and provost at A&T he knows this institution inside and out. He is of North Carolina A&T.”

Many Aggies said they trusted Martin with the school’s future, citing his work at WSSU. While chancellor there Martin saw the school’s average incoming SAT score go up more than 70 points and doubled enrollment.

Martin said he plans to do the same at A&T, picking up on the progress of outgoing chancellor Stanley Battle, who resigned in February citing family and personal reasons.

“I want to say publicly that I thank Chancellor Battle and his staff for the progress that was made under his leadership,” Martin said.

Hampton J-School Dean stepping down

Tony Brown, the76-year-old former host of the PBS show, "Tony Brown's Journal" announced his departure as dean of the Hampton University's School of Journalism. Brown had served as dean for five years.

After all the diplomas were handed out, Brown read an excerpt from his book "What Mamma Taught Me: The Seven Core Values of Life," shared advice with the graduates, then told the crowd of about 500 he was resigning.

"He said he just wants people to understand that he's not upset about leaving," said broadcast journalism graduate Courtney Snead. "That it's just a next step in his life, just like the one we're taking."

Brown became the first dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications in 2004, and the department's third leader in three years.

Christopher Campbell resigned as director in July 2004 over differences with President William Harvey about allowing students to have free speech and press freedom in their reporting.

Charlotte Grimes, the previous chair of the journalism program, cited similar conflicts about freedom of speech when she left in 2002.

The following year, HU administrators confiscated an issue of the independently-run student newspaper, the Hampton Script, after disagreeing with the placement of a letter by the acting HU president JoAnn Haysbert.

"When he arrived, the School of Journalism and Communications was in a state of disarray," Harvey said in a statement Tuesday.

"Not only has he smoothed out the rough patches, but he has taken it to new heights. His intellect, experience, judgment, and presence will be sorely missed," he said.

Brown's exit came as no surprise to students. He had been dropping hints since January that it was his last academic year, said rising journalism sophomore Juan Diasgranados.

The broadcast major said Brown told students in his 6 a.m. grammar club it would be their last time meeting, and in late April, told his journalism practicum class "On May 10 as the seniors graduate, I'll be graduating as well."

Brown said, via HU Spokeswoman Alison Phillips, that he plans to continue speaking nationally, to complete his fourth book and to remain active promoting the need for English fluency.

Phillips said Brown will continue to serve as dean until June 30, and a replacement has not yet been selected.

Knoxville College maybe ready to seek accreditation

After losing its accreditation in 1996 over mounting financial and administrative problems, Knoxville College may be poised for a comeback.

Plans are on track for enrollment to double this fall to nearly 200 students. A complete overhaul of the school’s curriculum is under way to focus on careers in energy and the environment, and the school plans to seek reaccredidation by year’s end.

The architect of Knoxville College’s attempt to rebound is not a college administrator with a proven track record. He’s not even a full-time employee or an alumnus of the school. Dr. Johnnie Cannon is a 33-year veteran employee of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where he is chief scientist in the agency’s National Security Directorate. He ‘moonlights’ as chief operating officer at Knoxville College and does so on a volunteer basis.

“Things are pretty tough,” says Cannon, a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee University who earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cal Tech. “But we’re making payroll and paying the bills we need to be paying.

“We have a plan (for accreditation) we’re going to present in about three months,” Cannon says.

He adds, however, that the college is not yet ready for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which he calls the “Rolls Royce” of accrediting agencies.

“We just need a Honda right now,” he says, explaining that the college is exploring several other accrediting bodies.

The ambitious agenda on tap at Knoxville College is a giant leap forward for a school that just a few years ago was only seeing its problems mount with no real plan for solving them. Its enrollment was nose-diving. Today it enrolls less than 100 students, compared to nearly 1,000 students in the 1970s.

The college had also lost credibility and support among most alumni and local citizens of influence in the Knoxville community.

It was a call by interim president Robert Harvey to a friend at nearby Oak Ridge seeking help that eventually led him to Cannon and a turning point in the school’s fortunes. After some candid talks about the school’s situation, Cannon agreed in August 2005 to Harvey’s request to come on board for three months.

Cannon took the bull by the horns and has since been wrestling with Knoxville College’s problems quite methodically and successfully. As a result, he wound up staying much longer to help the college build its way back up from the bottom.

Internally, Cannon tackled the faculty lawsuit, working out an agreement for its resolution. He made some tough decisions about students who were not paying their bills, not participating in the school work-study program, and those who were misbehaving. He sent them home. He started asking tough accountability questions of the staff and students and insisted on a new sense of discipline in how the school functions.

In 2006, a group of alumni stepped forward to help the school too, asserting they would have to raise money to keeps its doors open or it would close. The 2006-2007 “Million Dollar Fundraising Campaign” raised nearly $900,000, including a $100,000 match from the Tom Joyner Morning Foundation.

The alumni association has since been giving money to the school each month and has just launched another fundraising campaign with the Jamaica Coffee Co. to sell coffee, with the school getting 40 percent of the proceeds.

Tom Joyner, the radio personality, has also stepped up to help Knoxville College. In addition to the $100,000 match for the alumni campaign, his foundation gave the school $250,000 in June 2008 to renovate a dormitory building and initiate a recruitment program (the school now has four recruiters).

In December, when Knoxville College was college of the month on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, 10 of its students got their tuition paid for the current semester by the Joyner Foundation. It has also pledged $250,000 more in assistance, payable this summer.

To meet it obligations of about $48,000 a week, the school also continues to receive about $250,000 a year in funding from the United Presbyterian Church, and participates in two state-funded programs for HBCUs in Tennessee, one administered by Meharry Medical College and the other by Tennessee State University.

Cannon, meanwhile, is working hard on recasting the school’s academic focus to one that is closely tied to 21st century needs — energy and the environment — and hopes the school can align its focus to compliment the vast opportunities at Oak Ridge.

“If he’d (Cannon) not been there, I suspect the school would not be functioning,” says Russell Sellars, a 1973 Knoxville College grad who helped spearhead the 2006-2007 fundraising effort. “ He (Cannon) was able to make the hard decisions. It’s a challenge (the college’s dilemma) that’s somewhat impossible but the school is still functioning.”

“If we can be pulled out of the water, we wouldn’t have a chance without him,” adds Harvey, who retired from Knoxville College in 1988 and is now serving his fourth stint (at no charge) as interim president of the school. “He’s (Cannon) not a lightweight. He couldn’t be any better.”

Cannon has also worked hard at repairing relations with the Knoxville community, from neighboring University of Tennessee and its Howard Baker Center for Public Policy to local business leaders whom he says are taking a renewed interest in the school.

As for the accolades, Cannon spreads them around. He credits the college’s growing base of volunteers, including its 17 alumni chapters, the Anglican church pastor who hopes to recruit 100 churches to sponsor 100 students set enrollment this fall, and the creditors and litigants who’ve agreed to give Cannon some room to try to help save the school — which still has $7 million in back debt to pay and an endowment of just over $1 million.

He’s also got the backing of the school’s trustees when hard decisions have had to be made.

“The community is now getting behind the college,” says Cannon. “There are more and more people who want to help. … I see myself as a change agent and I believe we can improve.”
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Stimulus Could Save Struggling HBCUs

President Obama’s economic stimulus package could provide a big help to thecountry’s Black colleges, which have been hit hard by the economic slump. Historically Black colleges and universities usually lack big endowments and aren’t receiving as much state funding for education, according to Reuters. Combine that with the majority of the student body coming from low- or
middle-income families means more and more of these schools are relying on tuition to keep their doors open.

Recently Clark Atlanta University laid off 70 of its 229 full-time faculty.

The $787 billion stimulus bill includes money that will help create infrastructure projects on HBCU campuses, improvements in technology, and increased federal grants for students from low-income families.

VA to issue $150 million in bonds for Hampton U.

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine has approved a $150 million bond authorization for the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute.

Kaine's actions clears the way for the way for the construction of the $225 million center which will support the proton beam treatment, research and educational facility.

Hampton U. must pay the bonds back and pay the state for the transaction, so the money is not a donation, said center spokeswoman Sarita Scott.

The bonds will be issued through the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority. The group has already issued $70 million in bonds for the proton institute in December, bringing the total Hampton has bonded to $220 million.

Kaine said in a statement that the center "will be a tremendous asset for the Commonwealth, and I am very pleased we found a way to support it's important work."

HU officials said the center will begin seeing patients in August 2010 and expect to treat more than 2,000 per year, with 65 percent dedicated prostate cancer patients.

Tn State set to recast itself as a research U.

Over the next six years, Tennessee State University plans to spend more than $36 million on a strategy it hopes will transform the university into a top research school.

TSU's plan is ambitious: to transform itself into a premier research institution, one that attracts thousands of new students and millions of dollars in endowments, donations and grants. At a time when universities across the state are cutting budgets, http://www.tnstate.edu/">Tennessee State University is dreaming big — and ready to throw millions into its plans.

Over the next six years, TSU plans to spend more than $36 million on a strategy it hopes will transform the university.
TSU's plan is ambitious: to transform itself into a premier research institution, one that attracts thousands of new students and millions of dollars in endowments, donations and grants.

The question now is whether a university that's been plagued with lackluster student service, declining enrollment and bad publicity can turn things around in the middle of the worst budget crisis to hit higher education in decades.


TSU's new 2010-14 strategic plan developed by Peter Nwosu, a strategic planning expert and a visiting fellow from the American Council on Education, establishes lofty goals.

"If we choose to do nothing, then we will be nowhere" five years from now, he said.

The plan calls for TSU to increase enrollment from 8,200 to more than 12,000 by 2015, increase fundraising revenue by 10 percent every year, and to earn a designation as a level two research institution from the Carnegie Foundation.

New academic master plan
But before TSU can begin building itself into a research hub, it needs the results of yet another planning committee that is drawing up a new academic master plan for the university — one that will begin eliminating under-performing majors and elevating a handful of programs that will be considered TSU's "flagship" programs.

What those flagship research programs will be, Nwosu couldn't say for sure. But TSU is the only land grant college in Middle Tennessee, so its college of agriculture is a likely candidate, as is its nursing program.

Becoming a major research institution "doesn't happen by prayer — it happens by work," Nwosu said.


$36M plan follows cuts

Recent state budget cuts forced TSU to trim $9 million from its budget. Paying for the $36 million plan will mean shifting millions from other programs, including the federal Title III money it receives as a designated historically black university. Nwosu said TSU will divert money away from under-performing programs and also will hope increased fundraising will provide some of the planning money.

"These are bad times, but bad times don't mean we'll just fold up the tent," Nwosu said. While painful, he said, this year's budget cuts gave the university a chance to take a hard look at its entrenched practices and programs: "We're rethinking, reorganizing and reinventing."

The most ambitious parts of the plan may take years to happen, if they happen at all. Nwosu pointed out that many goals are interlinked: You can't expect enrollment to rise until you've improved student services. You can't improve student services without launching the staff development plans. You can't work on staff development without a budget, and for that you need to get your fundraising operation off the ground.

But students may see some changes right away. Nwosu said TSU's Web site will change to suit the Web-surfing habits of its computer-savvy students. The school is pushing to go paperless, putting publications online in a move that saves not only trees but also money.

Every six months, the planning committee will come together to report on how its efforts are progressing. The final version of the strategic plan should be complete within the next month.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will review TSU's plan, along with the rest of the five-year plans its schools will submit, this summer.

Alcorn's plan for student housing hits snag

Higher education leaders say the economy has thrown a bit of a wrench into Alcorn State University’s plans for a privatized housing development.

At the state College Board meeting this morning, board members granted Alcorn President George Ross the authority to possibly use the traditional bond financing model for new student housing.

Alcorn is aiming to be the first public university in the state to use private money to finance a residence hall. Proponents say the method speeds up the process and does not add to the university's debt because the bonds are secured through the university foundation.

"The (privatized) model works," but there was no way to anticipate the state of the nation's financial market at the time, he said.

Alcorn currently is in negotiations with one bank to continue moving forward with the privatized method, but Ross said he sought approval for the traditional financing model just in case that doesn’t work out.

"Housing is desperately needed at Alcorn," he said.

AAMU board cancels meeting after failing to get a quorum

Gov. Bob Riley's office has announced cancellation of the Alabama A&M University board of trustees meeting planned for today. Spokesman Todd Stacy said the board could not reach a quorum of seven members.

Dr. Shefton Riggins, president pro tempore of the trustee board, called the meeting Wednesday. Riggins used a provision in the A&M bylaws that let him reconvene a meeting recessed in January due to no quorum.

Riggins planned to interview again the three finalists for A&M president, a university press release said. It was not clear afternoon whether the three - Dr. Lawrence Davenport of Florida, Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. of South Carolina and Dr. Rodney Smith of Virginia - had already headed here. None could be reached by phone Friday afternoon.

Trustees are expected to try again next week.

AAMU board to meet; could select new leader

After months of delays, Alabama A&M University's on-again, off-again presidential search is back on again with the announcement that the A&M board of trustees will meet this morning on the campus in Normal (AL) to possibly select a president.

The trustees will meet at 9:30 a.m. in what is being called a continuation of a Jan. 31 meeting that was closed but not adjourned. That meeting in Birmingham heard from all three presidential finalists but did not have a quorum for a vote.

The meeting announcement came one day after the chairman of the state Senate Confirmations Committee said Tuesday Gov. Bob Riley's appointees to the board of trustees are in danger of failing for a second straight year.

Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Union Grove, said that's because Riley still has not sent their names to the confirmations committee and because of opposition from the Alabama Education Association.

Riley's office has continued to delay sending the four names - David Slyman Jr. of Huntsville; Leroy C. Richie of Birmingham, Mich.; Mayor Edward E. May of Bessemer; and the Rev. Willie Clyde McNeil of Chatom - after AEA called for a public hearing.

The confirmations committee rejected all four last year, but Riley reappointed them after the Legislature adjourned in 2008. In December the Alabama Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the Riley appointees to remain on the board.

The finalists for president are Dr. Lawrence Davenport of Florida, Dr. Andrew Hugine Jr. of South Carolina and Dr. Rodney Smith of Virginia. Davenport has since taken a job at a charter school in Rhode Island. It is unclear whether he remains a candidate.

You may have missed:No-shows foil AAMU's attempt to select new leader

AAMU interviews finalist for president

Three Howard University seniors awarded Fulbright scholarships

Howard Seniors Florence Maher, Kelly McCray and Justin P. Dunnavant were named 2009 Fulbright Scholars.

Three Howard University seniors will head to Jamaica, Germany and Thailand next fall as recipients of the 2009 Fulbright Scholarship.

Justin P. Dunnavant (B.A. candidate, History and Anthropology, ‘09), Florence Maher (B.A. candidate, Political Science and Economics, ‘09) and Kelly McCray (B.A. candidate, English and Greek, ‘09) have received the coveted award. The trio brings the number of Howard University Fulbright scholars since 1998 to 22. The awards are for one year of study and/or research that can be pursued in more than 140 countries.

“The selection of these outstanding College of Arts and Sciences students as Fulbright Scholars is an indication of the high quality of a Howard University education, the effectiveness of faculty mentoring, and the enhanced strategic emphasis that President Sidney A. Ribeau is placing on global learning and internationalization,” said Alvin Thornton, Ph.D., Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer.

Dunnavant will travel to Jamaica to research African cultural retentions through archaeological data, with a goal of expanding understanding of the African experience in the Americas. Maher is headed to Germany and will explore social integration on the German-Polish border. McCray will spend a year teaching in Thailand as part of the English Teaching Assistantship program.

Hamilton Cunningham was recently named a 2009 Truman Scholar. Cunningham is Howard University’s sixth Truman Scholar since 1989. Cunningham, an economics major in the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), plans to pursue a Masters of Arts in Art Policy and Administration. He is one of only 60 students from 55 colleges and universities across the nation selected for this honor. More than 600 candidates were nominated for the award by 289 colleges and universities. The prestigious Truman Scholarship provides up to $30,000 for graduate study. It is awarded annually to students who have excelled academically and are committed to careers in public service.

U.S. Chief Justice visits NCCU Law

John G. Roberts Jr., chief justice of the United States, visited N.C. Central University's law school today. The chief justice largely avoided the limelight and the camera. Roberts spent most of his time not before a crowd but with small groups of students and lawyers. His schedule was tightly controlled, and the media - aside from one campus newspaper reporter - was barred.

For NCCU students, the visit was a rare opportunity. Roberts was on campus to preside over the school's moot court competition.

Roberts, who joined the nation's high court as its chief justice in 2005, visits just a handful of law schools each year. Two years ago,NCCU Law Dean Raymond Pierce met him at a judicial conference in West Virginia and asked him to speak at NCCU.

Roberts told Pierce that he doesn't usually give speeches but he'd preside over a moot court competition - in which teams of law students argue a case on appeal to a panel of judges.

Roberts will met with students, presided over the competition and held a U.S. Supreme Court Bar swearing-in ceremony for about 20 NCCU law alums, said Pierce, who doled out most of the 120 seats in the NCCU courtroom to students through a lottery, leaving plenty of alums and professors alike disappointed.

Roberts visits about six or seven law schools a year, often to preside over moot court competitions and occasionally for other reasons, Arberg said.

Roberts' visit is a coup for this small but well-regarded law school stuck between Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, two institutions with law schools boasting larger reach and profile. Duke has hosted U.S. Supreme Court justices at least a handful of times, and two chief justices have spoken on campus, William Rehnquist in 2002 and Earl Warren in 1963.

In the last decade, UNC-CH has hosted associate justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O'Connor.

NCCU has hosted just one in its history, associate justice Potter Stewart in 1980.

If the six NCCU students chosen for the moot court competition never argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court during their careers, they can at least say they took legal fire from the nation's chief justice. Roberts was joined on the panel by Allyson Duncan, a former NCCU law professor who sits on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Henry Frye, a former member of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Dominique Williams, a third-year law student, is one of NCCU's six participants in a case involving whether the government should be allowed to medicate a man in order for him to be considered competent and able to stand trial.

"We all have put in long nights and endless days," he said. "It's a great honor, so we've prepared very hard to make the university proud."

Bryan Nye was a second-year law student at the University of Kansas last year when Roberts presided over his moot court competition there.

Nye was wound pretty tight until he attended a question-and-answer session with Roberts before the competition. Seeing Roberts in person, joking and approachable, put him at ease.

"If you get to hear him speak, you'll realize he's brilliant, but also, he's very personable," Nye recounted recently by phone from his home in Kansas. "He's not out to get you as a law student."

FAMU grads bringing new movie to the big screen

FAMU grads Rob Hardy and Will Packer are preparing to bring their latest feature film to the "big screen" OBSESSED later this month. The film is set for release on April 24, and features Beyonce' Knowles, Idris Elba, and Ali Larter.

The story line centers around a successful assets manager Derek (Idris Elba) who receives a major promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marraige to the beautiful Sharon (Beyonce'). When Lisa (Ali Later), a temp worker,starts stalking Derek, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.

Packer serves as executive producer of the film. You can peep the movie trailer here.

You might also be interested in other movies by this talented Rattler duo: This Christmas

Stomp the Yard

Lawsuits against accrediting agencies becoming routine

Two recent lawsuits by universities against an accrediting organization underscore the sometimes-contentious relationship between the groups that monitor quality in higher education and the institutions that try to meet those accreditors' benchmarks.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education placed four universities' pharmacy programs on probation in January for not meeting some of the council's standards and gave the institutions until June to shape up or risk losing the programs' accreditation altogether.

Those actions seemed unfair and undeserved to at least some of the universities, so they fought back through legal action. In February Xavier University of Louisiana filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans alleging that the council had violated its own rules and damaged the university's reputation.

Then in March Hampton University, in Virginia, filed a similar lawsuit in federal district court in its state.

Nova Southeastern University, in Florida, also is considering legal action even as it tries to remedy the problems identified by the council.

Palm Beach Atlantic University, also in Florida, was the fourth college placed on probation by the pharmacy council this year. David W. Clark, the university's president, said in a written statement that he believes the university has "addressed all the accreditors' concerns" and expects the institution's status to be restored in June.

Legal and accreditation experts said it is not uncommon for colleges to file lawsuits against accreditors, who risk a backlash as they try to enforce standards in ways that don't damage institutions' reputations or threaten their ability to improve.

Edward Waters College, in Florida, and Hiwassee College, in Tennessee, successfully went to court in 2005 to get their accreditation reinstated while their challenges to the accreditation process were being resolved.

An accreditor's negative ruling could discourage potential faculty members from seeking employment at an institution and scare prospective students from enrolling.

Colleges must be accredited by an organization that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for its students to be eligible to receive federal financial aid. In addition, state licensing boards often require professional programs in the health fields to be accredited in order for students in those programs to be able to practice within the state.

"I think there’s a fine line the accreditors have to walk between taking actions that uphold their standards, but working with and fostering improvement in the institution," said Cynthia A. Davenport, executive director of the Association of Specialized & Professional Accreditors, a Chicago-based group representing about 50 national and regional accrediting organizations.

Xavier University settled its lawsuit with the accreditation council last month. The council rescinded the university's probation, but no other details of the settlement were made public.

Hampton University also did not meet the accreditor's standard for what it considers to be an adequate number of faculty members and was only partially compliant with the criterion for faculty salaries. The council has not filed a response to Hampton's complaint, and no hearings have yet been scheduled in the case.

Nova Southeastern was also told that it had too few faculty members and paid them too little.

Officials from those three universities argue that the benchmarks, especially for the number of faculty members, are not specifically defined by the pharmacy council. And the colleges say their situations are not unlike those at many other institutions across the country. They cited a recent survey by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, which found that faculty vacancies at pharmaceutical programs are a persistent national problem.

The main argument in the lawsuits filed by both Hampton and Xavier is that the accreditor did not follow due process, said Mark L. Pelesh, a lawyer and accreditation expert who now lobbies Congress and the U.S. Department of Education for Corinthian Colleges Inc. Courts generally give deference to the actual decisions and standards of accreditors, he said, so institutions are more likely to challenge accreditors' procedures.

In its complaint to the federal district court, Xavier said the council should have given the institution written notice that it was not in full compliance with accrediting standards before voting to place the pharmacy program on probation. Instead, Xavier said, the accreditor's board did not send that information until more than two weeks after making its judgment. The university also asserted it should have been given one year, rather than just six months, to fix the problems accreditors noted in a July letter to the institution.

Although probation is generally considered a limited action that gives the institution time to fix problems before facing more-severe sanctions, Hampton officials say that such a designation still hurts a university's reputation and that the courts are the only place for the institution to turn to repair the damage. Under the council's rules, Hampton cannot appeal probation to the accreditor's board and must place a notice on its School of Pharmacy's Web site that its doctoral program has been placed on probation.

Hampton has "no recourse, except for this suit, to challenge something that we feel is completely unfair and unwarranted," said Joyce M. Jarrett, the university's provost. "If they thought that only six months was necessary [to correct the problems], why put us on probation?"

Although students who graduate from the program while it is on probation will not be barred from practicing in Virginia, Ms. Jarrett worries that potential students might shy away from the university because of the uncertainty over whether the program will remain accredited until they graduate.

Andrés Malavé, dean of Nova Southeastern's College of Pharmacy, said that publicizing the university's probation by posting it on the Web site creates a stigma, making it more difficult to fix the very problems that the council has identified. The accreditor, he said, is saying probation "is not a negative action, but if anyone reads that we are on probation, they will not want to come here, faculty or students."

After July, Nova Southeastern will be spending about $500,000 more per year on faculty salaries, and all faculty members will be paid at least the national average for their positions, which Mr. Malavé believes will satisfy the accreditor's concern.

At the same time, the option to sue the pharmacy council is "still on the table," said Ken Ma, a spokesman for the university.

Frank B. Murray, an expert in accreditation and a professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware, said the lawsuits highlight many of the classic tensions between universities and accreditors, such as differences over whether benchmarks should be measured broadly, which allows lots of flexibility but also creates the potential for misunderstanding, or be based on more-rigid standards that leave no room for institutions to design programs that meet their particular needs.

For example, colleges and accreditors can have completely different views of how to provide adequate staffing if such a standard is not clearly defined. A college may decide to hire professionals who work in specific fields to teach part time in order to give students more exposure to real-world experience. But accreditors may want to see more full-time faculty members and accuse the college of trying to operate on the cheap.

Hampton's legal complaint raises another issue. The university noted that four historically black universities that operate pharmaceutical programs have been placed on probation by the pharmacy council over the past three years. In addition to the programs at Hampton and Xavier, those at Florida A & M and Howard Universities have been on probation.

At the same time, the pharmacy council last year gave six-year accreditation terms to two pharmacy programs elsewhere that were partially compliant or noncompliant with two of the council's standards, Hampton's complaint states, and gave two-year accreditation to seven programs that had three or more deficiencies.

Hampton is not charging the council with racial discrimination, Ms. Jarrett said. But she added that she has concerns about the council's recent actions against minority-serving institutions.

"I think one needs only look at the evidence. I am troubled that there seems to be a pattern," she said.

Southern outs president despite positive review

The Southern University System Board of Supervisors decided not renew or extend the contract of the System's President Ralph Slaughter last week by a vote of 11-5. His employment will “cease” when his contract ends on June 30.

The board will meet again April 15 to decide whether to place Slaughter on administrative leave with pay and appoint an interim.

The board voted to remove Slaughter just minutes after he was given a job evaluation “in the category of satisfactory to excellent,” said Board Chairman Tony Clayton, who was one of the 11 voting against Slaughter.

“This had nothing to do with the president’s evaluation,” said Clayton. “Just like the president of our own country, sometimes it’s time for a change.

“We will be looking for a president — a fundraiser — who’s nationally prominent, who can move us forward,” he said.

Clayton also said the decision had nothing to do with Slaughter’s 2007 lawsuit against the board that resulted in his current two-year contract that doubled his salary to $420,000 a year.

Slaughter is considering his legal options.

Just last year, the Southern board threatened to terminate SU Baton Rouge Chancellor Kofi Lomotey.

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."