HBCU Presidents give Ed Secretary an ear full

This year's annual conference of the nation's historically black colleges and universities appeared to be well timed for Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, coming just as President Bush prepared to sign into law the largest increase in federal student aid since the GI Bill. But while Ms. Spellings basked in the praise of several of the college presidents in attendance, many made clear that the Pell Grant increase approved by Congress this month was not nearly enough for their struggling colleges and students, and that they expected her to do more.

"While we applaud the increase in the Pell Grant to $5,400," Melvin N. Johnson, president of Tennessee State University, told Ms. Spellings, "I want to make sure that we truly understand the plight that our students that are attending our institutions really have."

Hundreds of academically qualified students are "purged" from historically black universities because of financial need each year, and many of those who do complete their studies face burdensome levels of loans, Mr. Johnson said.

Some presidents drew specific connections to the war in Iraq, telling the secretary that the Bush administration was spending money overseas that could be spent on colleges to help improve the American economy, and warning that even returning soldiers were not being given enough money to attend college.

The $450-billion spent so far on the war "would support 22 million scholarships at our institutions," said Joe A. Lee, president of Alabama State University.

Michael L. Lomax, president and chief executive of the United Negro College Fund, said that even if Ms. Spellings cannot force change within the administration, she could do more personally to help students understand their college-financing options. He said the continuing state and federal investigations into the student-loan industry had helped highlight abuses, but had not helped students understand what they can do to protect themselves in the face of aggressive lender tactics.

"The country hasn't learned from the mortgage-lending crisis," Mr. Lomax said. "I guess we're just going to wait until we have to learn from the education-lending crisis, when even more Americans are forced to default on loans that they never should have taken out on terms that are inappropriate."

Howard falls 8 spots in latest US News rankings

Howard University tumbled 8 spots spots in the latest rating by U.S. News & World Report. In its annual ranking of American universities Howard is ranked 96th among the nation's "national universities". A year ago Howard was ranked 88th in this category.

Howard remains the only predominately black university in the category and out ranked such well known universities as Oklahoma, Florida State, Oregon, and U of South Carolina.

Only 262 educational institutions in the country qualified as "national universities", which the magazine defined as schools which draw students from across the nation and offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Ex-Tx Southern pres. billed school for $100,000 bar tab

Former TSU President Priscilla Slade racked up a $100,000 bar tab at Scott Gertner's Skybar and Grille during her tenure and stuck Texas Southern University with the bill, prosecutors said Wednesday.

TSU routinely paid for $100 bottles of wine for Slade and drinks for her friends and staff, despite a prohibition at that time on state monies being spent on alcohol, Assistant District Attorney Donna Goode said.

Slade's former executive assistant, Erica Vallier, said that the rules for purchasing have since changed, but at the time, Slade told her not to worry about the prohibition. She said her boss drank bottles of Far Niente with her friends and staff at expensive bars, such as the Four Seasons bar and the Skybar.

Slade led the historically black university from 1999 to 2005, after being pressed into service from her post as the dean of the business school.

Slade is on trial on charges of misapplication of fiduciary property of more than $200,000, accused of spending school money on personal expenses. If convicted, she faces a punishment ranging from probation to life in prison.

ECSU enrollment tops 3,000 a year early

For the first time in its 116-year history, Elizabeth City State University has topped the 3,000 mark in student enrollment.

The Rev. Henry B. Pickett, chairman of the ECSU Board of Trustees student affairs committee, announced at Tuesday's board meeting that 3,025 students are currently enrolled for the fall semester.

That number is higher than both last fall's enrollment of 2,667 students and an earlier fall 2007 projection of 2,838 students. It also meets a goal set by former university chancellor Mickey L. Burnim, who sought to have 3,000 students enrolled by 2008.

Burnim's goal was in fact in response to a challenge by Molly Broad, the former president of the University of North Carolina System, to raise enrollment to the 3,000 mark by next year.

Not content with reaching that goal, however, Burnim's successor, current Chancellor Willie Gilchrist has called for the university to reach the 4,000 mark.

"We can't rest on our laurels," he told trustees during Tuesday's meeting. "We still need to work."

Graduate enrollment up too


The university has also more than doubled its goal for graduate student enrollment. ECSU has 118 students enrolled in graduate programs this semester. University officials had set a minimum goal of 55 graduate students.

Rappers preach financial responsibility at NCA&T

Thousands of fans flocked to N.C. A&T on Saturday to see Jim Jones, Lil' Mo and other hip-hop stars trade lines on money, cars and — FICO scores?

So went the most recent stop of the "Get Your Money Right" tour, a two-hour gathering that brought rap stars, TV personalities and financial experts together for a talk on personal finance.

The overriding themes: Work hard, believe in yourself, watch out for those credit cards and think about your future before you buy pricey stuff.

"You don't need a lot of toys to impress people," said Russell Simmons, co-chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, which ran the event.

Simmons knows a thing or two about making money. He sold his stake in Def Jam Records for a reported $100 million in 1999 and is the chairman and CEO of Rush Communications, an entertainment, fashion and marketing conglomerate.

He brought along hip-hop stars to share their experiences and advice with young people who often leave college with loads of credit-card and student-loan debt. They got lessons on FICO, a type of credit score, and the advantages of buying a home.

The artists also talked about taking responsibility with money, getting rid of debt and saving now to spend later.

"Everybody wants to make it rain, but they never have something saved up for a rainy day," said Lil' Mo, a singer and songwriter.

The stars also acknowledged that, like the audience, they like expensive things.

Jones, a rapper and businessman, told the laughing crowd, "I buy the hottest cars that come out."

Folks with more modest incomes should probably just buy something that gets them to and from work, he advised.

Singer Anthony Hamilton sheepishly admitted that he'd already been to the mall Saturday, returning with "sparkly Nikes that I purchased — on sale!"

"Them shoes you see in the windows are not as important as that light bill you've got to pay next month," Rocsi, co-host of the Black Entertainment Television show "106 & Park," told the women in the audience.

Hip-hop has been criticized for glorifying sex, violence and expensive cars and jewelry, and the audience expressed some of those concerns during a question-and-answer session. But Simmons said demand drives what the industry produces and mentioned several stars who give back through charitable foundations.

"They're good examples of what you can do when you put your head down and go to work," he said.

That didn't convince Jessica Turley, an A&T junior who called some of the comments hypocritical. The industry could put out more wholesome images if it chose to, she suggested.

"If they really wanted us to see it, they'd push for it to be seen," she said.

But Raquel Durham, an A&T sophomore, called the session "very empowering."

"These are people that we look up to," she said, "that we see on TV every day."

NCCU grad plans to donate $1M to college

N.C. Central University has received a $1 million planned gift from 1977 graduate George Hamilton and his wife, Jill.

Hamilton is president and general manager of Dow Coatings, a Dow Chemical subsidiary in Michigan. The George R. Hamilton Endowment Fund will offer support in equal measure to the operations and scholarships of the NCCU School of Business and Department of Athletics.

"This is an important gift as I believe it signals increasing confidence and enthusiasm about the future of N.C. Central University. I am immensely grateful for George Hamilton's generosity and commitment to our goal of providing greater opportunity and support for student success," said NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms.

Hamilton said he felt compelled to give back to the institution that nurtured him and provided him the tools and life lessons needed to make it to the top. "My experience at NCCU was a key enabler of my success," he said.

New engingeering program at UMES off to a great start

Maurice Lanier fell in love with science in elementary school when he saw a robot that moved when people snapped their fingers.

Now the 25-year-old from Oxon Hill is studying to be an electrical engineer, and because of state approval this year of an engineering program at the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore, Mr. Lanier will be able to finish school at his home campus.

"It was the best news I'd ever gotten," Mr. Lanier, a junior, said of the state Higher Education Commission's approval of the engineering program for the university. Before, Maryland Eastern Shore students studying engineering completed their bachelor's degrees at the University of Maryland at College Park.

The program was approved at a time when alarms have been raised nationally about the scarcity of black engineers. Only about a dozen historically black colleges have engineering programs that are independent of formerly whites-only schools, and historically black Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta closed its engineering school last year.

"This is going to help us meet the emerging markets," said Ayodele Alade, dean of the university's School of Business and Technology, which includes the new engineering program. The lack of a four-year engineering program on the Eastern Shore, he said, "has impeded the level of progress in this region.

The program will also give the university more prestige, said Charles Williams, vice president for academic affairs.

"It's going to be fantastic for this university," he said, standing outside the program's new flight simulator, where aviation and engineering students learn about the mechanics of flight.

Not everyone is excited about the program, though. The state already has one of the nation's largest engineering schools at a historically black college, Morgan State University in Baltimore. Worried that another engineering program in the state would sap resources, Morgan State opposed the creation of a full program at the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore.

"If they put a program there and don't adequately fund that program, that is a concern," said Eugene M. DeLoatch, dean of the School of Engineering at Morgan State, which also offers masters' and doctoral degrees in engineering.

Mr. DeLoatch said he worries Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore may both be fighting for the same state dollars, "so we're all going to have mediocre engineers."

"We've got to adequately invest in our educational systems," Mr. DeLoatch said. "If that program opens up with inadequate funding, it's not going to have the effect we'd like it to have. These programs are not inexpensive to run, so I just think we should keep an eye on what it costs to run these programs."

NCCU puts brakes on growth to reassess its needs

After six years of unrivaled enrollment growth, N.C. Central University's infrastructure is feeling the effects.
On a campus where enrollment has increased 50 percent in the last seven years, there aren't enough beds for all those heads, or enough staff members in several departments that serve student needs, officials say.

So NCCU, the fastest-growing UNC system campus since 2000, is now tapping the brakes. University leaders aim to enroll no more than 8,533 students this fall, the same number as a year ago, said Provost Beverly Washington Jones.

"We need to make sure our infrastructure is in place," Jones said. "It's going to be important that we look at this growth phenomenon."

NCCU officials plan to use the 2007-08 school year to reassess staffing, technology and housing issues.

NCCU's housing stock is pinched; there are 2,900 total dorm spaces on campus, and two old residence halls that, taken together, hold about 800 students, are not being used. Those halls, Chidley and Latham, are both in disrepair, their futures uncertain, said Frances Graham, NCCU's vice chancellor for student affairs.

NCCU's pause for reassessment comes as the public university system does the same thing. NCCU was one of seven UNC-system campus designated in 2000 as "focused growth" institutions. They were told to put greater emphasis on recruitment in order to increase enrollment. Seven years later, the university system is pausing as well to reflect on the enrollment boom and to re-think its growth process through an initiative dubbed "UNC Tomorrow."

"As we admit more students, we have to help more students be successful," said Alan Mabe, the UNC system's vice president for academic planning and university-school programs.

White out!: Del State president looks to shed HBCU label

At Delaware State University, the vision of President Dr. Allen L. Sessoms and the board of trustees is clear.

“The game is to grow,” Dr. Sessoms said. “Grow dramatically.

“We are going to push ourselves out there with the finest kind of facilities we can afford because if we don’t, we can’t grow. And if we can’t grow, we’re dead.”

Dr. Sessoms’ vision and the changes it has brought about have caused some concern in the past four years among certain members of the DSU alumni, NAACP, state politicians and faculty.

The vision for growth includes a 10-year plan of nearly tripling student enrollment to 10,000, competitive athletics at the Division I level, new athletic arenas, annual research grants in the range of $100 million to $150 million, and additional doctoral and master’s degree programs.

The goal is to make DSU the school of choice in the state.

“We expect to launch this university in a major way.” said Dr. Sessoms, who is beginning his fifth year as DSU’s president.

Abandoning its role?

While many cannot fault most of the goals, the fear is they will come at the expense of the university’s tradition of being a harbor for disenfranchised students.

DSU was founded in 1891 as the State College for Colored Students and has a 116-year tradition of educating the state’s black population.

Historically black colleges and universities, of which DSU is one, are institutions established before 1964 for the purpose of educating black students. Today, some have only 10 to 20 percent black population.

Dr. Sessoms said DSU will always be a historically black college, but if things don’t change, the university will be left far behind in today’s competitive market.

“So what we have decided to do is become a very different kind of institution,” he said.

“We are going to be an institution for everyone in the state.

“We are not going to be a school that caters to a certain kind of people, just African-Americans, we are going to be catering to everyone, period.

“And we are going to go for the high-achieving students and we are going to go for the students from money backgrounds.”

The school’s first two doctoral programs have been established and more are in the works.

Research grants have grown from $8 million to $34 million and the university’s endowment has more than doubled in the past two years, he said.

In 2006 the board approved a 10-year, $296.4 million master plan for improving the campus.

The first order of business is for $48 million to be spent for a student union center, wellness center and a strength and conditioning facility.

He also said if plans are not finalized in the next month for a Dover civic center where DSU would play its basketball games, the university will build a facility on its own.

Dr. Sessoms’ plan to grow has also touched the areas of administration.

Mr. Miller said the firing of black employees and the recent tendency of hiring white administrators and vice presidents has raised some red flags among the alumni.

Dr. Sessoms said he is simply hiring the best people for the job the university can afford and is not purposely trying to diversify the administration.

“I don’t care what color they are,” he said. “If they can’t do their job they’re fired and if they can do their job then we embrace them.”

Mr. Miller said that raises concerns that while the new administrators may be perfectly capable, they might also not know the culture of DSU.

“If I’m going to go teach in a school in India, yes, I might know the mathematics, but if I don’t know the culture I’m going to have a tough time.” he said.

Audit finds fraud at NC A&T; $1 million misspent

A state audit released this week documents more than $1 million in fraud, mismanagement of federal grants and misuse of money at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, including $380,000 in vending receipts that were diverted to a spending account of former Chancellor James Renick.
By UNC system policy, the vending money was supposed to be spent on scholarships, student financial aid, campus debt and student activities. Instead, it was spent on commissions for artwork, travel by Renick's wife, alumni events and a $150,000 annuity for an unnamed faculty member, the audit said.

Renick, who stepped down last year, is now a senior vice president at the American Council on Education in Washington. He could not be reached for comment Friday. A building under construction on campus was originally to bear Renick's name, but a university spokeswoman said it would be named the School of Education Building instead.

The audit caps months of investigation at the university, where several employees have been fired and charged with criminal offenses. More charges could be forthcoming. A spokesman for the auditor's office said Friday the report had been forwarded to federal prosecutors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Guilford County District Attorney's Office. Copies also went to Gov. Mike Easley and the state Attorney General's Office.

Among the findings of the state audit and internal university reviews:

* $500,000 in questionable expenses in the university's HBCU Future Engineering Faculty Fellowship Program, funded by the federal Office of Naval Research. A program manager made improper payments, including more than $66,000 in stipends in one year to her husband, who was in the program. The highest yearly stipend had previously been $23,000. The manager spent 41 nights in hotels during 2005-06 at the program's expense, at an average cost of $328 a night. The manager also hired her daughter and paid for her travel to conferences in Jamaica, California, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The manager and her husband ran up a $369 restaurant and room service tab during a two-day symposium.

* $101,000 in misuse of funds by an administrative assistant in the Natural Resources and Environmental Design Department.

* $87,000 in misappropriated funds by a former vice chancellor for information technology and telecommunications. Rebates from computer purchases were channeled into a discretionary account, and the money was spent on lunches, dinners, holiday parties, tickets to athletic events and a beach cottage rental.

* $380,000 in inappropriate transfers of Pepsi vending receipts to the former chancellor's discretionary fund. The audit concluded that 87 percent of the purchases it examined were for "unallowable purposes." The largest expense was for a $150,000 annuity for a faculty member -- nonsalary compensation that apparently had not been approved through campus policy or by the board of trustees.

'Serious allegations'

"These are serious allegations," said Chris Mears, director of public affairs for the Office of the State Auditor. "Any time you have fraud allegations, it rises to another level."

The audit triggers a 90-day warning period for the campus, which could lose budget flexibility powers if UNC system leaders aren't satisfied with progress at the university.

A new chancellor, Stanley Battle, arrived July 1 at N.C. A&T from Coppin State University in Maryland. Battle was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Mark Kiel, vice chancellor for development and university relations, said much of the audit's information came from work ordered by former Interim Chancellor Vic Hackley, who began to uncover problems last year and asked UNC President Erskine Bowles for help.

Bowles then sent in what he termed "SWAT teams" of auditors and administrators to comb through A&T's books. Jeff Davies, Bowles' chief of staff, said Friday the university had been working for months to straighten things out.
"My sense is that Chancellor Battle is very much on top of the issues there," Davies said, adding that Battle had begun to hire new administrators. "He feels very good about the leadership team in place on the campus. I think this is all about leadership."

SCSU tries to house largest freshman class

Davia Goodmon was one of several outraged parents in the vice president of student services’ office at South Carolina State University Friday. She had paid her daughter’s tuition and was set to leave her, but there was no housing.

SC State is grappling with a 35 percent increase in freshman enrollment this fall semester, and a larger than expected demand for campus housing by returning upper-classmen.

"The actual occupancy rates for residence life will be available on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, after 7 p.m. Unclaimed rooms become available to students on the waiting list on that date," SCSU stated. "The university continues to assist students who have met their financial obligation by the deadline and seek campus housing."

Six traditional residence halls and three apartment-style complexes are available for students to reside in this upcoming semester. The apartment-style complexes include the Andrew Hugine Suites, a $42 million 755-bed facility completed in 2006, and University Village Apartments, which the S.C. State Real Estate Foundation purchased in mid-2007.

The university is able to offer a total of 2,300 beds to new and returning students this semester. S.C. State’s total student population exceeds 4,600.

"They said this is the biggest freshman class, well they shouldn’t accept so many freshmen," Goodmon said. "He’s in one of the cheapest dorms on campus, but are they safe? ... I’m a mother of three. This is my first one going to college and I don’t get to see him go to college. I’m not going. This is ridiculous. Once he gets there, with so many kids, will there be enough books, enough food for everybody? When we get down there, will the rooms be there? The kids are going into a situation where they don’t know where to go, what to do, who to talk to -- it’s complete chaos. But they got my money."

Detroit's mayor tells what made Florida A&M special

By Marc Silver
US News & World Report

The mayor of Detroit is not only a mover and a shaker but a Rattler, too—a graduate of Florida A&M, one of the nation's 103 historically black colleges and universities. Kwame Kilpatrick played high school football in Detroit in the late 1980s and was courted by Bowling Green and Michigan State, but after visiting Florida A&M he says he "felt an embracing I hadn't felt before." He majored in political science, taught middle school for three years, attended law school, and was elected mayor in 2001 at age 31. U.S. News asked him about his college experience.

Let's be blunt: There's a perception that historically black schools aren't the equal of other universities.

That's one of the biggest misconceptions. It's funny to me that [some] African-Americans and whites believe if they go to Howard, it's not as good as Georgetown and they're not going to get the job. When you look at executives at companies around the world, a lot of the African-Americans went to historically black schools. They may have [earned a master's or doctorate] through Harvard or Wharton, but the schools where they started gave them the confidence to achieve a Harvard or Wharton education.

So you're satisfied with your education?

It was second to none. When I went to law school at Michigan State, I thanked God every day for the experience I had at Florida A&M: It was educational and nurturing; there was a willingness to allow you to make mistakes but not to fail.

How did Florida A&M treat its students?

The mission was clear: Mommy and Daddy are gone, and you have an obligation to prepare yourself to lead. The president, Frederick Humphries, and the faculty spoke about what we had to give back. That kept us focused in the midst of hanging out and having a good time.

Was your college experience too segregated?

You're never really segregated. You're in Tallahassee. Four blocks away is Florida State, 40,000 students of all ethnicities.

Any other skills you picked up at college?

I played football in 100-degree weather, 98 percent humidity. I learned to persevere.

FAMU fires basketball coach

Florida A&M University announced Tuesday the release of coach Mike Gillespie, Sr. from his duties as head men’s basketball coach effective November 2.

Gillespie, who has been on paid administrative leave since May, when he was arrested for misdemeanor stalking, will remain on paid leave through November 2.

University President Dr. James Ammons said in a statement Tuesday that “this employment action is in the best interest of the Men’s Basketball Program and the University.”

Athletic Director Nelson Townsend added on Tuesday that “there will not be an interim head coach appointed, rather that a committee will be formed to begin a search for a replacement, whom we hope to name early in the fall.”

Gillespie compiled a 90-94 career mark at Florida A&M from 2001-02 to 2006-07, winning a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament titles in 2004 and 2007.

The Rattlers won the 2007 MEAC Tournament crown this past March, finishing the season 21-14 overall, after finishing second in the regular season race.

Ex-CAU President expected to be named Interim Chancellor at UMass

The University of Massachusetts’ Board of Trustees is expected to name Thomas W. Cole Jr., a former president of Clark Atlanta University, as interim chancellor of the system’s flagship campus, in Amherst, The Boston Globe reported this afternoon.

The board is scheduled to vote on the temporary replacement for John V. Lombardi on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Lombardi, who will become president of the Louisiana State University system on September 1, was allegedly pushed out of the Amherst post as part of a controversial systemwide leadership shuffle. The reorganization led to a no-confidence vote in the system’s president, Jack M. Wilson, and the trustees by faculty members on the Amherst campus this past spring.

Mr. Cole retired as president of Clark Atlanta, a historically black, four-year liberal-arts college, in 2002, and was president of Great Schools Atlanta, a local education fund, from 2004 to 2006. The names of several other former university chiefs had been floated as possible replacements for Mr. Lombardi, including Evan S. Dobelle, president of the New England Board of Higher Education and a former president of the University of Hawaii.

The trustees also are expected to name a search committee to fill the chancellor’s slot, but Mr. Cole will not be a candidate for the permanent post.

Record enrollment at Clark Atlanta causes housing shortage

Record enrollment has Clark Atlanta University scrambling to find housing for some of its incoming freshmen after nearly 400 more than anticipated showed up for orientation.

More than 11,000 prospective freshman and transfer students applied, a 26 percent increase from the previous year. About 5,500 were admitted, representing another significant increase. As many as 1,400 confirmed their attendance for 2007-2008.

About 1,200 freshman arrived beginning Wednesday — a few hundred more than the school has space for on campus and more than typically commit to attending the historically black school, according to Darrin Rankin, vice president for enrollment services and student affairs.

The total number includes more than 500 who arrived without room assignments because they didn't notify the school they were planning to attend or because they hadn't yet demonstrated they had the financial resources to pay for housing, Rankin said.

Also, four dormitories are closed for renovations expected to be completed within the next year, further limiting available housing slots.

School officials had hopes of housing the overflow students in dorm spots it has at the nearby Interdenominational Theological Center, MetroPointe Lofts in Midtown, and other off-campus locations by the end of the day Thursday, Rankin said.

CAU also has eased rules that require freshmen and sophomores to stay on campus in an effort to create additional openings and provide students more options.

Fewer than 300 were on the waiting list as of Thursday afternoon.

Long lines at check-in and news that housing wasn't immediately available to some left students and their parents frustrated.

Jessica Scruggs and her mother Stella arrived in Atlanta Wednesday from their home in Washington. By Thursday afternoon, Jessica, still wearing her white new student T-shirt, withdrew and now plans to attend Delaware State instead.

"They're taking in too many students," Jessica Scruggs said. "They can't accommodate them, which is bad."

Not everybody encountered problems. Thaki Ismael of New Jersey said his daughter, Atiyah, learned of her room assignment before arriving. Said Ismael: "We had absolutely no issues."

Rankin admits the process hasn't been as trouble-free as CAU, student and parents would like, but the school hopes to do better.

"We recognize we've got issues with our process. We're trying to work those things out," said Rankin.

Donors rescue LeMoyne from vat of red ink

For LeMoyne-Owen College officials, the future is a little less bleak today.
Interim president Johnnie Watson said Thursday that the financially beleaguered school has received more than $4 million in pledges and contributions. College officials also hope for another $3 million combined from Shelby County and the state, pending legislative approval.

This means that, despite dire predictions over the school's future in recent months, LeMoyne-Owen will hold its first day of classes Aug. 20.

"There was never any question in my mind as to whether LeMoyne-Owen College would be open this year or not. ..." Watson said. "I've lived in this community over 60 years, and the community has been very responsive when needed. The greater Memphis community has responded."

That response comes as the school has suffered financial disarray for years. In the last decade, the college's debt has more than doubled -- from nearly $5.3 million in 1997 to nearly $9.75 million in 2005 -- while its enrollment dropped by more than 40 percent, to 589 this school year.

That led the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the area's accrediting body, to place LeMoyne-Owen on probation for the last two years. SACS officials will visit the campus in September before announcing a decision on that probationary status at their annual December meeting, being held in New Orleans.

School leaders believe the donations are enough to return LeMoyne-Owen to solid financial footing.

"I think (SACS) will respond positively ... It is assured that we will get (that pledged money)," LeMoyne chief financial officer Jim Dugger said. "There's a lot more work to do, and we're going to keep on pushing. (But) it makes the journey a lot more pleasant."

Added Watson: "I feel very confident that we have addressed the concerns SACS had, and I anxiously await the meeting."

While more than $4 million has been pledged to the school, only about $1.5 million is in hand now, Dugger said. The rest is expected to be paid over the next few years.

According to Dugger, the pledges come from:

The city of Memphis, which has pledged $3 million over three years. The first $1 million was delivered June 29.

The United Negro College Fund, which advanced the school next year's contribution of $292,659.

Cummins Inc., which has paid $200,000 of a $500,000, three-year pledge.

Radio host Tom Joyner, who gave $200,000.

The United Church of Christ, which has paid $200,000 of a pledged $600,000 over three years.

Four Delaware State students slain in Newark

Four people have been killed in Newark since last night, including three young people shot execution-style in a school playground, and a man in an unrelated slaying this morning.

Terrance Aeriel's sister, 19-year-old Natasha Aeriel, also was shot. She was listed in fair condition today at University Hospital, hospital spokesman Rogers Ramsey said.

Newark police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding the homicides, according to Newark Detective Todd McClendon.

All four people in the schoolyard killings were shot in the head at close range, prosecutor's office spokesman Paul Loriquet said. He said the three victims who died were lined up against a back wall of the school and shot.

The victims all are Newark residents, Loriquet said, and three had Delaware State University identification cards.

A separate shooting at 8:30 a.m. on Smith Street left one man dead, in what the prosecutor's office is calling a retalitatory shooting for an attempt on two people's lives earlier this morning in the same area.

The killings brought the number of homicides in the city this year to 60, compared with 63 for the same time last year, McClendon said

Former student files $1.2M lawsuit against AAMU

A former student at Alabama A&M University, the historically black educational institution in Normal, has filed a $1.2 million lawsuit against the university because of injuries she sustained in a fire on campus. According to the lawsuit, Renada Lee, a student from St. Louis, and her roommate in Terry Hall on the A&M campus were forced to jump from their fourth-floor window to escape a fire that had started in the hallway outside their dormitory room. Lee broke her back and ankle from the fall.

Lee claims that the university failed to maintain the building’s fire alarm system and was negligent in enforcing fire codes. The university maintains that the fire alarm system functioned as designed.

FVSU expecting boost in enrollment

All indicators show that the student population at Fort Valley State University should increase significantly this semester.
"We're expecting a large new student arrival," said Donovan Coley, interim director of admissions.

The school received 3,393 new student applications for the fall semester, which is a 62 percent increase over the nearly 2,000 applications received last fall.

The $44 million housing complex called Wildcat Commons, which will house 950 students, is filled to capacity and the school's pre-existing dorms are overflowing.

Students begin moving in today and classes begin Aug. 13.

The likely surge in new students would bolster a trend that began with last fall's increased enrollment. The university increased its freshman enrollment from 688 in fall 2005 to 867 in fall 2006. The fall 2005 freshman enrollment was the lowest the school has seen in the past 10 years.

Since then, the school has rebounded in its efforts to entice area students.

In March 2006, an energetic Larry E. Rivers arrived on campus as the school's new president. Rivers, along with his staff and faculty, has placed a heavy emphasis on recruitment of new students.

Practically everybody at FVSU from the leadership on down to the students has recruited heavily for the university, Coley said.

An aggressive marketing campaign where the school has promoted its brand and image was also cited as a contributing factor to the larger number of student applicants.

Coley says the school is also focusing on improving its customer service. For the next two weeks, the Office of Admissions, Financial Aid and Recruitment will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday to accommodate incoming students.

"We're making it convenient," Coley said, adding the school is still admitting new students for the fall semester.

Terrance Smith, vice president for student affairs, said the university is preparing itself for the influx of students. The university has implemented an enrollment contingency task force designed to ensure measures are in place to accommodate the expected surge in campus population.

Measures include opening additional class sections, employing more personnel, relocating offices to allow for space and expanding the food service area.

Plans also call for adding 350 to 400 units to the Wildcat Commons housing complex.

"We took a holistic and comprehensive approach to ensure that we're positioning ourselves to provide optimal customer service to our great students," Smith said.

Another focus is on retaining the new students who are entering FVSU, he added.

Smith cited the first-year experience center as an example. Housed in the Lottie Lyons Student Center, the center is a collaborative effort between the departments of student affairs and academic affairs.

First-year students will have access to professionals from various segments of the university. Mentoring, seminars and workshops, guest speakers and other programs and services will be available as the students transition to college life.

"We're looking to be the light of the path for many students," Coley said

NCCU welcomes new chancellor

N.C. Central University Chancellor Charlie Nelms is started work yesterday. Nelms was welcomed to campus with a ceremony in which he was handed the keys to his office amidst enthusiastic rounds of applause.

In part of a short speech, Nelms addressed students directly: "I'm here because of you. No matter how many dollars we raise, no matter how many buildings we construct, if the students don't succeed, we fail."

Nelms was most recently a vice president with the Indiana University system.

A longtime administrator who has lead two mid-sized Midwestern universities, Nelms has said he expects a busy first few weeks at the Durham campus. Nelms will need to fill several vacant administrative positions in his first few months on the job.

But first, he said will meet with university administrators, trustees, deans and student leaders, as well representatives of other area colleges and universities. Those meetings will start today.

Tx Southern regents want new interim leader

Texas Southern University regents are making plans to replace interim President J. Timothy Boddie Jr. — possibly with the chairman of its governing board — before classes resume next month, officials familiar with the matter said Friday.

The expected departure of Boddie, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, would mark the third shake-up in campus leadership since the board's predecessors fired President Priscilla Slade amid a spending scandal 14 months ago.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Glenn Lewis, the board's chairman since May and a former state representative from Fort Worth, is the leading candidate to replace Boddie. He would likely serve up to one year while the regents search for a permanent president.

When asked about the possible scenario, Lewis would not confirm or deny it. "There is not a whole lot I can say," he said. "The board has to act."

The idea of a second interim president troubled some lawmakers and community leaders, but others said the time had come for a change. Boddie could not be reached for comment.

Boddie has earned high marks for helping to persuade lawmakers to provide enough emergency money for the university to pay its bills and make repairs to aging and poorly constructed buildings.


"General Boddie restored some credibility, but we need a different set of skills now," Regent Gary Bledsoe said. "We need to give the new (permanent) president every chance to excel, and so we have to do some heavy lifting first."

Last week, the regents hired a second interim chief financial officer, replacing former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development CFO Carin Barth with Billy Owens, who sorted out the money mess at Grambling State University.

A&T scientist develops cure for peanut allergies

An agricultural researcher at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has developed a simple process to make allergen-free peanuts. The new process -- believed to be a first for food science -- could provide relief to millions of peanut allergy sufferers, and be an enormous boon to the entire peanut industry.

Doug Speight of the N.C. A&T Office of Outreach and Technology Transfer said food companies are showing a strong interest in licensing the process, which does not degrade the taste or quality of treated peanuts, and might even render them easier to process for use as a food ingredient.

Immunoassays showed 100 percent inactivation of peanut allergens in whole roasted kernels, and the processed peanuts showed no reaction in tests on human serums from severely allergic individuals. The inventor, Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, is optimizing the process further to remove allergens from other foods.

"We are extremely pleased that we were able to find such a simple solution to a vexing problem that has enormous economic and public health ramifications, both for peanut sensitive individuals, and the food industry as a whole," said Ahmedna, associate professor of food science in N.C. A&T's School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Peanut and tree nut allergies are the most severe of all food allergies, affecting approximately 3 million Americans, and causing 100 -- 150 deaths from anaphylactic shock annually and many more hospitalizations. In industrialized nations, the allergy has been rapidly increasing in children, for causes that are not entirely understood. One study showed that between 1997 and 2002, peanut allergies in children doubled in the United States. Today, an estimated one percent of all children suffer from the allergy.

Life can be stressful for families with peanut sensitive children, who must take extraordinary precautions to prevent contact with even small traces of peanuts or peanut dust. Tracking, record-keeping and labeling for peanuts is costly for industry, while schools and other institutions that serve the public have limited their use due to concerns about public health and liability.

Ahmedna's work on peanuts has been funded through a United States Agency for International Development grant. During the course of the project, he has developed many other value-added products and processes for the benefit of the peanut industry worldwide, including a process to remove a common mold toxin from peanuts, a low-fat, high protein meat substitute, an infant formula, and antioxidants from red peanut skins. The allergy-free peanut is the first in a portfolio of peanut innovations to be available for commercialization from N.C. A&T.

Ahmedna's process is expected to add value to a crop that is already economically and nutritionally important. Peanuts are the 12th largest crop in the United States, with a farm value of close to $1 billion a year. The Southeast is the main peanut producing region in the nation. Worldwide, the legume is even more important from an economic development standpoint. In developing nations, and Africa in particular, the soils and climate are especially suitable for peanuts.

Peanuts are not only important commercially, but nutritionally as well. Packed with proteins, healthy fats and a broad array of essential vitamins and minerals, they are considered an almost complete food. Their rich flavor, nutrition, fat and protein profile makes for a nearly perfect food from a food processing standpoint as well.

From his lab at Tuskeegee University in the early 1900s, the famed agricultural chemist George Washington Carver discovered approximately 300 food and non-food products from the legume. But despite their versatility, the allergy issue has caused the peanut to be viewed increasingly with caution. That might change, thanks to Ahmedna's work at NC A&T.

Iverson donates $100,000 to HBCUs

Allen Iverson did more than hold a football clinic, play in a celebrity flag football game and offer moral support to fellow Peninsula professional athlete Michael Vick over the weekend.

Iverson, a Denver Nuggets all-star guard, also handed out some serious money. Through his crossOver Promotions, Iverson gave $1,000 scholarships to two athletes at Norfolk's Booker T. High School, where his weekend events were held. The athletes are basketball player Myles Holley, who is attending Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. and hurdler Elaine Rhoades, who is attending Bowie State in Prince George's County, Md.

Both athletes were introduced to a crowd estimated at more than 1,000 who turned out to see the DeAngelo Hall stars defeat the Iverson stars 27-25, despite several tight spirals and long touchdown passes completed by A.I.

Iverson, a former Bethel star, also announced a donation of $100,000 to historically black colleges in North Carolina and Maryland. Over the past few years, Iverson, who attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., has provided scholarships for local students attending historically black colleges.

Housing problems land Ala. State in court

Alabama State University has spent $1.6 million on a campus housing project still in the bid stage and is looking at hefty legal and hotel bills connected with the work, which will be completed -- at best -- at least a year behind schedule.

University officials announced the renovation of six dilapidated dormitories nearly two years ago; so far, two of the buildings have been gutted. Plans used by the university last year to obtain financing show the same two dorms restored at this point.

Some of the students who would be living in those dormitories will stay at a hotel when they return for the fall semester in two weeks. The board of trustees is expected to approve a proposal to rent 100 hotel rooms at a meeting next month.

The university asserts it doesn't have a dollar figure for the hotel rooms because the contract isn't finalized. It's paying for the housing project with a $25 million bond it secured last year; that amount was guaranteed to cover everything from inside demolition work to new furniture.

Of the $25 million, more than $600,000 has gone to TCU Consulting Inc. for overseeing the project, now stuck in the bidding phase for more than six months. The rest of the $1.6 million was spent on architectural fees and gutting the two dorms.

TCU picked up the project after ASU fired the project's creators, Ohio-based Marous Brothers Construction and Pennsylvania developer Gil
Berry Associates. The university contended Marous Brothers and Berry inflated their fees and underestimated the project's total cost.

With TCU handling the project, the first bids came in three months ago at more than $13 million over the Marous Brothers-Berry budget. To attract lower bids, ASU pushed the completion date back six months and re-bid the project. Renovation work now won't begin until at least late next month. Even if completed on time, the first renovated dorm rooms will be more than a year behind the original timetable.

"It's not accurate to say that we're behind schedule and over budget," ASU spokeswoman Janel Bell said. "The project calendar was extended to address high bids. It's premature to say it's over budget."

Continue reading: ASU housing drama

Kentucky State added to federal list of HBCUs

The U.S. Senate has added Kentucky State University to the government's list of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The federal government provides funding to graduate programs at a limited number of historically black schools that are listed in the Higher Education Act. Because KSU previously was not included on the list, it was not eligible for this funding.


KSU, chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1886, is the state's only historically black school.

In a news release, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, who asked for KSU to be included in the list, said that Kentucky State's absence from the list was discussed when he met with KSU president Mary Sias earlier this year.

Del. State to issue $48M in bonds to fund student center

Delaware State University plans to use about $48 million in bonds to pay for a new wellness center, swimming pool and student center.

The new facilities will replace structures school officials say are outdated and undersized. DSU hopes the amenities will help recruit and retain students, who will shoulder much of the initial burden for repaying the debt through a new $200 fee each semester.

Representatives from the university detailed the projects for a state advisory board Tuesday. After the presentation, the Council on Development http://www.umes.edu/lmrcsc/del%20state%20library.jpgFinance recommended that the state issue the bonds on behalf of DSU. The school has full responsibility for repaying the debt.

The first phase of the $21.4 million wellness center, a strength and conditioning facility for student athletes, should be completed next month. DSU requested money in the state's 2008 budget to fund the second phase, which includes equipment and facilities for the general student population, employees and the public. The proposed $6 million swimming pool complex would be located next to the wellness center.

The school previously received $9.9 million from the state for the wellness center project and raised another $1.5 million on its own, said state Rep. Richard Cathcart, DSU's associate vice president of business services. DSU received $3.5 million in capital money from the state for fiscal 2008, about $13 million less than what officials requested. Cathcart, R-Middletown, said all of that money is going toward maintenance and renovation of existing buildings, meaning DSU had to find another way of financing the wellness center.

Working with the state means the bonds are issued at a competitive rate, Cathcart said.

The new student center, which is in the planning phase, would replace the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center. Cathcart said students who took part in creating the school's master plan named an upgraded student center as one of their most important concerns. He said the current structure, which features an auditorium, lounges and a canteen, is a "very aging building in dire need of an upgrade" and that engineers deemed it costlier to renovate than to replace.

"We have surplus classroom space, but our student center is below capacity for our current enrollment and when it comes to our projected enrollment, it's not even close," Cathcart said.

Members of the council wanted to know how DSU intended to shoulder the cost of issuing bonds.

"Obviously, I assume you'll either have to increase tuition or increase enrollment," council member Fred Sears said. "I assume for a $48 million bond you don't have that kind of money sitting around."

Amir Mohammadi, DSU's vice president for student affairs and university operations and acting finance director, said the school was reallocating funds toward repaying the debt and hoped the two facilities would create new potential sources of revenue, such as increased enrollment.

"The $200 fee will create about $1.3 million [a year, based on current enrollment] to payment of the debt service," Mohammadi said.

Four members of the council approved the project. Abstaining were Sears, president of the Delaware Community Foundation, former Dover mayor James Hutchison and Richelle Vible, president of Citizens Bank of Delaware and a member of DSU's board of trustees.

Miles raises $19 million for expansion

Miles College, the small, historically black liberal arts school with a place in civil rights history, has quietly raised $19 million for an expansion that would double the size of its Fairfield campus, officials said.

The school plans to add new student housing, a performing-arts center, a health center with an Olympic-sized pool and gymnasium, and a new School of International Studies that would teach Homeland Security courses and Arabic and Farsi.

Miles President George T. French Jr. said Friday that contributions from business and alumni have exceeded expectations, and the school likely will meet its $30 million fundraising goal much sooner than initially anticipated.

"We kind of underestimated our abilities," he said.

The $30 million capital campaign is part of a larger, long-term effort to raise $49 million for campus expansion and scholarships. It already is the most successful fundraising effort in the college's history, he said.

French said corporate support in particular has been impressive. The Alabama Power Foundation has agreed to contribute $1 million, the single largest contribution to date, and EBSCO International Inc. has promised $500,000.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, with which Miles is affiliated, has established a goal of raising $1.2 million.

In a prepared statement, Alabama Power Co. Vice President Steve Spencer said the company's foundation chose to back the Miles expansion because it believes Birmingham will benefit from a stronger, historically black college that serves students who otherwise might not pursue education after high school.

"It's a jewel that has been overlooked for far too long," he said.

Lloyd Noland site:

Most of the expansion would be on 41 acres just north of the existing 35-acre campus, said Miles spokesman Ricky Lee. The college bought the property, formerly occupied by Lloyd Noland Hospital, from HealthSouth Corp. last year. The old hospital will be demolished, Lee said.

Miles officials also are considering building a child-care center that would be open to students and the community at large. The expanded campus would straddle the Fairfield public-housing community now on its northern edge.

The college has 1,735 students now, and expects to have 2,000 in the fall, when work on the expansion could begin. Within five years the student population is expected to be 2,500 to 3,000, Lee said.

"We're going to need some place to put these students," he said.

Former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, a Miles alumnus and academic dean at the school 1966-70, said the expansion will help the college continue to raise its academic standards, and help recruit both students and faculty.

Of particular significance is the planned International Studies program, he said, because it is expected to have direct ties to the Department of Homeland Security and the Central Intelligence Agency.

"It will become a resource for those agencies, providing students who are potential employees," he said.

The expansion would mark the school's high point since recovering from serious financial problems in the 1980s, when enrollment dipped to just 400 and the school owed the federal government $4 million. In recent years the school, which hosted meetings and launched marches during the civil rights era, has established a much more solid financial footing, building an endowment of more than $12 million.

In addition to its place in civil rights history, Miles has produced numerous political leaders. In addition to Arrington, its alumni include Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid, U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon and current and former members of the Birmingham City Council.

Hampton breaking ground on $200M cancer center

The financing for it isn't complete, but Hampton University has lined up enough support for a planned $200 million cancer center to break ground, according to the school's president.

The center will be open by 2011, President William Harvey vowed in an interview this week, despite the school's failure so far to win the $20 million in state and federal funding he has sought for the project.

Harvey said major banks are advising the university and that bonds will be issued to complete the financing.

In the meantime, Hampton has been lining up support from local health providers and complet ing a contract with Armada Hoffler to build the facility. The private, historically black school plans a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, with construction set to start in August.

The facility will provide a radiation-type treatment that offers the promise of more effectively destroying diseased tissue with fewer side effects.

"We're bringing this to Virginia because there's such a tremendous need," said Harvey, noting that one of its special ties will be treating prostate cancer, which disproportionately kills black men.

There are five such centers in the country: California, Texas, Indiana, Florida and Massachusetts. Another is under construction at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Ultimately, Hampton University projects that it will treat 125 patients a day at the facility.

"There are some patients for whom protons are the only answer," said Dr. Christopher Sinesi, president of Oncology Associates of Virginia, who has agreed to be the center's medical director. He said he has had patients travel thousands of miles for such treatment. "It's such a momentous thing for Hampton Roads to have this.

The therapy differs from conventional radiation because of the way that protons interact with body tissues, said Cynthia Keppel, a Hampton physics professor and cancer researcher who is the scientific and technical director of the center. Protons are subatomic particles that essentially travel harmlessly until they reach a peak and release their energy. Using a highly specialized and expensive machine called a cyclotron, scientists can control when and where the protons will release their energy - in this case, against a cancerous tumor.

Keppel said the treatment can be especially valuable in lung and pediatric cancer cases.

"There's nothing experimental about it. It's very well known," said Sinesi, a radiation oncologist. "The problem with it has been the cost and complexity of starting up these centers."

Former UMES President Hytche dies at age 78

William Percy Hytche Sr., the former president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore who was a national advocate of historically black colleges and universities, died yesterday morning of unknown causes at his home in Princess Anne. He was 78.

Under Dr. Hytche's leadership, the university added 32 degree programs at bachelor's, master's and doctorate levels, saw its student enrollment more than double to 3,200, and its campus expanded and beautified.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, described Dr. Hytche as a mentor for himself and other younger educators.

"He understood what it meant to be educated and appreciated the power of education to transform lives," Dr. Hrabowski said, recalling Dr. Hytche's positive attitude, humor and smile.

Talladega begins search for new president

A job description for the next Talladega College president has been outlined and the search is getting under way.

Board of Trustees Chairman James Thornton said the search committee has been compiled, and includes three board members, including himself, a faculty representative, an alumni representative and a student who was elected from all the campuswide student organizations. The next step is to have the advertisement displayed in nationwide publications for higher learning.

“Our plan is to aggressively begin screening resumes in order to find a replacement for Dr. (Oscar) Prater,” he said. “We feel confident we still have his leadership until we find the next president of Talladega College.”

After announcing his “re-retirement” on May 10 in a letter to alumni, students and faculty, Prater, whose contract officially ended on June 30, has agreed to stay on until a new president is chosen.

Prater made his first venture into retirement in 2001 when he stepped down as president of Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

After coming to Talladega College in January 2005, Prater made it clear his intentions were to lead his alma mater through its probationary period with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for its longtime financial instability. The college was given two years of probation to either remedy the more than $1 million debt or, in turn, lose its accreditation and federal funding.

Prater was able to follow through with his promise and Talladega College received a clean bill from SACS in December 2006.

“It’s a platform or a runway, if you will, where an individual can leverage off that success and build on the rich history of the college,” Thornton said.

Aside from experience and educational credentials, the board chairman said one of the most important attributes the future president needs to exhibit is a “successful track record when it comes to fundraising.

“Someone who will continue to build on the successes Dr. Prater has brought,” he said.

Also at the top of the list is a leader who can build strong relationships in the community with both businesses and citizens; an individual who enjoys the students and is interested in “what the whole life of academe brings to bear;” and someone who is a visionary who can “link with the past while mapping out the future.”

“We just need a champion to tell that story,” Thornton said.

Some applications have already come in and the group has set the cutoff date for some time in August.

Hackley named interim chancellor at Fayetteville State

Vic Hackley, who led N.C. A&T State University for the past year, was named Thursday as interim chancellor at Fayetteville State University. His appointment, effective July 23, was announced by UNC President Erskine Bowles.
Hackley, a former FSU chancellor, UNC system vice president and N.C. Community College System president, will serve until a permanent chancellor is chosen.

He succeeds T.J. Bryan, who announced this week that she would resign amid a number of problems at the campus.

Hackley is credited with uncovering serious financial abuse and mismanagement at N.C. A&T State and helping clean up the problems. A team of UNC officials and auditors was sent to the campus at Hackley's request.

A retired U.S. Air Force officer with a doctorate in international relations from UNC-Chapel Hill, Hackley is the founder of a firm that focused on ethics, leadership and community and character development.

In a statement Thursday afternoon, Bowles said Hackley "tackles every challenge handed to him with full commitment, great passion and absolute integrity."

Dillard president charged with DWI

Dillard University President Marvalene Hughes was arrested and booked with misdemeanor drunken driving in April after sideswiping another car and causing an accident, according to court records. Hughes was visiting the California city where she used to live.

She has pleaded innocent. Her case will go to court in Modesto on Tuesday, but she signed a waiver so her attorney could resolve the case without her, according to The Modesto Bee.

Hughes has been Dillard's president since July 2005. Before that, she was president of California State University, Stanislaus, for 11 years.

She still has a home in Modesto, according to The Bee

Estate of the late Ray Charles & Albany State at odds

Six years after music legend Ray Charles donated $3 million to Albany State University to build a performing arts center in his name, his estate wants to know why $2 million of the donated money was used for scholarships.

At issue is whether that money was explicitly earmarked for the center, since no written instructions accompanied the $2 million gift, given to the historically black college in Charles' hometown after he was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2002. Albany State maintains that while the school does plan to name the center after Charles, the money was an unrestricted gift to the college.

Construction on the performing arts center, which was also to include a theater named for Charles' late mother, Reatha Robinson, has not yet begun.

"We're not particularly interested in getting the money back," said Ivan Hoffman, general counsel for Charles' estate. "We are interested in having Mr. Charles' wishes fulfilled. But if it's not going to be used for that specific purpose, we want our money back."

Charles gave two gifts of money to Albany State: $1 million in 2001 and $2 million in 2002. Hoffman said the money was always intended to help build the center, even though that was not put in writing.

"Mr. Charles always expressed, and the university always acknowledged, that Ray Charles was going to make a gift for the construction of the performing arts center and the theater in his late mother's name," Hoffman said.

The project will cost at least $23 million, said Albany State University spokeswoman Sophia Glover. The $3 million from Charles' estate is the only money contributed toward the center so far, she said.

"It has always been clear that we would use (the money) for our most immediate need, and that would be scholarships for students to attend the university," Glover said. "In return for the gift, to show our appreciation for Ray Charles, we wanted to name the fine arts building for him."

In a letter dated June 22, 2006, to Charles' longtime manager, Joe Adams, Everette Freeman - then the president of Albany State - wrote that state Board of Regents did not recommend the project be forwarded to the Legislature for funding.

"Consequently, we likely will not see funds appropriate (sic) for the building until at least the fiscal year beginning in July 2008, if we are lucky," Freeman wrote.

The letter said the $1 million gift is in a bank, and that the balance "was used for Presidential Scholarships."

"I was unable to locate any document restricting the way or manner the gift could be used, although the intent remains to use the ... funds alongside state appropriations, when made available, to construct the Ray Charles Fine Arts Building on the ASU campus," Freeman wrote.

Subsequent press releases and other references to the gift by Albany State said the donation "will support the university's efforts to educate young people."

Glover said the school considers the $3 million gift an honor, and that the situation is a misunderstanding.

Ex-TSU president wants trial moved

Attorneys for former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade say media coverage has made finding a fair jury impossible in Harris County and want her upcoming felony trial on charges of misusing university funds moved elsewhere, possibly to Travis County.

They also want evidence seized at her home last year suppressed, saying officers overstepped their authority when taking items.

Slade is charged with two counts of misapplication of fiduciary property over $200,000. She denies the allegations. Jury selection is scheduled for Aug. 10.

"The trial needs to be moved because of pervasive negative publicity," said Mike DeGeurin, her attorney.

Prosecutors said a fair jury can be found.

"Harris County has a large jury pool and we can find 12 people who are unbiased in this case," said Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.

Experts said change of venue requests are usually very difficult to obtain because they are costly and convincing judges that unbiased jurors can't be found is difficult.

"A lot people don't follow the news and know nothing about the case," said Sandra Guerra Thompson, law professor at the University of Houston Law Center. "And people who know a little about the case, will still under oath be able to tell a judge they can be fair."

Harris County is large enough, most judges think, that fair jurors are available, said Robert Hirschhorn, a jury consultant.

"The vast majority of judges believe," Hirschhorn said, "that in a city with 4 million people you can find 12 people who are unbiased."

Defense attorneys hired Richard Murray, a political scientist who directs surveys at the University of Houston Center for Public Policy.

The random sample of 85 potential jurors was conducted in late June. It included residents of Galveston County and about 25 people who live in Travis County.

"There's a lot of pre-knowledge here," Murray said of the Houston-Galveston area. "And a lot of it is negative. That case has a lot of resonance here. Travis County would provide a much more impartial jury."

Monday, Judge Thomas heard arguments regarding the defense motion to suppress evidence taken from Slade's home in the 200 block of Terrace Drive during a search May 19, 2006.

Defense attorneys state in their motion, filed June 20, that law enforcement officers overstepped the scope of the search warrant when they seized a laptop computer that was not named in the search warrant. They want information on the laptop and other items seized in the search suppressed.

Slade, 55, was fired in June 2006 after attorneys hired by the university concluded that she failed to follow university policies and state laws while spending more than $260,000.

A Harris County grand jury indicted Slade and three aides on allegations of misusing school money on personal expenses.

Quintin Wiggins was convicted of misapplication of fiduciary property over $200,000 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May. Bruce Wilson's trial is scheduled for Sept. 28. Prosecutors had tried to delay or combine Frederick Holts' trial with Slade's but the judge denied their request and his case was was dismissed.

Fayetteville State chancellor resigns

Fayetteville State University Chancellor T. J. Bryan announced today that she will resign, effective July 23.

Bryan, who arrived at Fayetteville State in July 2003, said in a statement that she had mixed feelings.

“I love Fayetteville State University, and I am honored to have been able to serve as its Chancellor for four years. We have the best students in the world; they are bright, talented, and respectful. We have dedicated faculty and staff who give 100 percent to the university,” she said.

“I am stepping down as Chancellor so that the university may pursue its core mission of educating students.”

Mrs. Bryan was reportedly asked to resign after meeting with UNC President Erskine Bowles and Fayetteville State Board Chair Friday morning at his office in Chapel Hill, sources said.

FSU has been in the news recently for controversy with its nursing program and a state audit of its finances.

Dr. Lloyd D. Hackley, a former chancellor of FSU and N.C. A&T, is being discussed as a possible interim chancellor, the sources said.

Coca-Cola Foundation donates $200,000 to La. HBCUs

The Coca-Cola Foundation announced today that it will continue its mission to assist Hurricane Katrina victims by providing Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Gulf Coast region with a $200,000 grant. Ten students from each of the HBCUs selected – Dillard University, Grambling State University, Southern University System Foundation and Xavier University of Louisiana – will receive $5,000 to further their education. Ingrid Saunders Jones, chairperson of The Coca-Cola Foundation, will present the award to the HBCU Presidents during the 2007 Essence Music Festival Presented by Coca-Cola in honor of the landmark event’s return to New Orleans.

“We are inspired by the perseverance of those affected by Hurricane Katrina who remain steadfast in the journey to complete their education,” said Ms. Jones. “We at Coca-Cola hope this gift will encourage students not to allow the disaster to destroy their dreams of becoming the best and brightest, no matter what career path they choose.”

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners shipped more than 30 million servings of filtered water, juice, sports drinks and other beverages to relief organizations including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency and foodservice partners such as Aramark, and pledged $5 million in cash to organizations such as the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army and the Coca-Cola System Hurricane Katrina Employee Relief Fund.

Howard-Vital to lead Cheyney University

Dr. Michelle R. Howard-Vital, interim chancellor of Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, N.C., has been selected to serve as the next president of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Board of Governors made the selection today at the conclusion of a national search. Dr. Howard-Vital will begin her tenure at Cheyney on July 30.

She will replace Mr. Wallace C. Arnold, who has served as the University’s interim president since January 2004.
Dr. Howard-Vital was named interim chancellor at Winston-Salem in July 2006. Previously, she was associate vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She also spent two years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, as dean of University College and associate vice president for academic programs. She began her academic career in 1975 as an English instructor at Central YMCA Community College in Chicago.

“Dr. Howard-Vital has had a long, distinguished career in higher education,” said Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth M. Jarin. “The experience she brings to Cheyney will be invaluable as she prepares to lead the University into the future.”

Dr. Howard-Vital earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in English education from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Bank of NY establishes endowed scholarship at Spelman

The Bank of New York has put up $1 million to provide financial support to academically deserving women studying computer and information sciences, economics and mathematics at Spelman College. The endowment will also create a lecture series to expose students to prominent speakers on a broad range of topics relevant to people of African descent and others around the world. The first scholarships will be awarded during 2008-2009 academic year with the launch of the lecture series.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Spelman because so many – 87 percent – of our students are in need of financial aid, and the lecture series will enrich the learning experience for all,” said Spelman College President Beverly Daniel Tatum. “I want to thank the Bank of New York and CEO Thomas Renyi for recognizing in a tangible way the tremendous potential of our students to contribute to today’s global economy and for joining with Spelman as an integral partner in their success.”

The Bank of New York focuses its philanthropic involvement on ensuring access to the four essential building blocks of a strong community – educational opportunities, wellness resources, the arts and humanities, and housing. The Bank has been actively involved in supporting the mission of Spelman College since 1996.

“This donation to one of the country’s leading educational institutions highlights our philosophy of contributing to organizations that provide individuals with access to high quality educational opportunities and enrich their ability to contribute to society in lasting and meaningful ways,” said Thomas A. Renyi, chairman and chief executive officer of The Bank of New York.