Atlanta is in an uproar over the sudden resignation of one of the city's presidents iconic HBCUsMorris Brown College.
According to reporting by Atlanta's 11 lifeDr. Kevin James published a long Facebook post responded to his termination and accused the school of not offering “specific cause or substantive explanation.” In the post, Dr. James describes the events that occurred before and after his removal.
When asked about the abrupt change in leadership, a Morris Brown spokesperson responded with the following:
“Dr. James has played a meaningful role in guiding the institution through critical seasons of growth, resilience and transformation. The Board thanks him for his dedication to the students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the broader Morris Brown College community, and wishes him well in his next chapter.”
That's the kind of endless word salad that would make Olive Garden blush.
Source: Paras Griffin/Getty
For his part, Dr James says his termination is not only unjust and without cause, but it also comes at the potential cost of the school's hard-fought stability.
“The timing of this decision is especially difficult as the institution approaches its accreditation confirmation review in a few weeks,” James wrote. “Just as importantly, this action ignores established governance best practices and my existing presidential contract, which runs until 2029.”
A trustee named Mrs. Nzinga Shaw will serve as interim president of the school until a full replacement is hired. Like the Phoenix that represents the rebirth of Atlanta, Morris Brown College has also risen from the proverbial ashes of losing accreditation in 2002-2003, after the exposure of terrible financial mismanagement. As a result, federal funding was cut, and enrollment bottomed out to the point of being unsustainable. Under his stewardship, Dr James says all these issues were addressed and resolved, and his recent performance evaluation serves as evidence of his successful tenure.
Why would Morris Brown, after all they have suffered, pull this move so close to the time they need to be evaluated for accreditation? It spells instability, and the school definitely cannot afford that right now.
