I’m old enough to remember when Morris Brown College had a scandal that left the university in tatters for more than 15 years.
So the latest mess, including a president who may have revived the school but rubbed many people the wrong way, is not exactly a surprise.
And that, my friends, is the problem. Boards of trustees, no matter the institution, seem to forget what their first function is: keeping the organization or school healthy and profitable.
Instability ruins a lot of good things, and in the curious case of Dr. Kevin E. James vs. the MBC board of directors, shaky politics threaten to undo what was once a beautiful story of redemption.
In the early 2000s, Morris Brown president Dolores Cross and financial aid director Pavesh Singh oversaw an embezzlement scheme that included misusing financial aid to cover the school’s considerable debt.
That scheme cost MBC its accreditation, and the school went into foreclosure in 2012 and bankruptcy in 2014.
When James took over on an interim basis in 2019, he called for a “hard reset,” which included promoting the university through social media, resolving old debts, and regaining accreditation, which occurred in 2022.
So James’ dismissal on Jan. 12 came as a shock to anyone who casually watched the Morris Brown story unfold. His reinstatement eight days later proved just as shocking.
James has since come under fire with allegations of workplace bullying, unreported sexual harassment complaints, inspiring a group of Morris Brown alumni to call for his dismissal once again.
Former board member Jeffrey Miller, who is a part of Morris Brown Accountability Now, says that staff and administrative turnover are the reasons James must go.
James has not commented on the allegations, placing his focus on the school’s upcoming accreditation hearing with TRACS (Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools).
TRACS likely is looking at this fiasco with a serious side-eye and wondering just what is going on. It’s not fair to say that this happens just at HBCUs; plenty of PWIs have power struggles with their boards and administrative branches.
But for a school like Morris Brown, which can’t afford any more mistakes or scandals, this is a dangerous game of chess (or checkers) that James and the board are playing.
The resolution to this situation will likely be just as messy as the conflict that brought Morris Brown to this point.
Unfortunately, the MBC stakeholders will suffer as that beautiful redemption story has turned into an ugly battle of wills between two parties who have forgotten what is best for the university they’ve been tasked with saving.
