Could Austin Lane Wind Up at Jackson State?
Former Texas Southern University President Austin Lane will depart the university, after weeks of contention public bickering and allegations of wrongdoing between him and the school’s board of regents.
Details of his severance package were not made public. Neither side is likely to discuss the merits of what is true and what was exaggerated between the dueling accusing parties. And somewhere in the middle of the money and the mess are the Texas Southern alumni who mobilized to get Lane reinstated and board members removed.
Given that he will not be implicated for wrongdoing in criminal or civil proceedings, does Lane’s clean departure open the door for him to be a serious candidate for another high-profile vacancy created by a far more controversial departure at Jackson State University?
The last time the job was open, Jacksonians unsuccessfully hacked the search in an attempt to seat an alumnus. They wound up with former Mississippi Valley State University President William Bynum, who years later left instantly after his prostitution sting mugshot was released to the world.
Jackson State needs a fundraiser, which Lane is. They need a sound communicator to rebuild trust and enthusiasm in the JSU brand, which Lane did at Texas Southern. It is not clear if Lane is the kind of deft politician that will have to interface with highly-politicized actors within the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). Lane failed miserably at handling appearances by conservative politicians on campus and seemed caught off guard by a legislative movement to separate the TSU law school from its main campus.
Timing and talent make Lane a decent fit for Jackson State, but not the best one. And depending upon how active Jackson State alumni will be in meddling with the search, how pressured the IHL will be to hire someone outside of the system, and how dire the details are for JSU’s enrollment management, athletic and financial operations, Lane could simultaneously be the best choice in a rushed search process, or the biggest headliner in a pool of prospects who are leery of how difficult the job may be.
Spelman to Host Beyonce’ Mass Worship Service
A celebration of black women’s spirituality is coming to Spelman College, with iconic entertainer and HBCU philanthropist Beyonce’ as the absentee headliner.
The ‘Beyonce’ Mass’ is described on its website as “a womanist worship service that uses the music and personal life of Beyoncé as a tool to foster an empowering conversation about Black women—their lives, their bodies, and their voices.”
Beyonce’ music will underscore theological discussion and celebration and will be a worship experience that will NOT focus on idol worship of the artist. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“The first question I get when we talk about this worship service is are you worshipping Beyoncé’?” said the Rev. Neichelle Guidry, dean of Sisters Chapel and director of the Women in Spiritual Discernment of Ministry Center. “It is a clear and unequivocal ‘no’ to that question.”
Beyoncé has been among the more active celebrities in co-branding with HBCUs, and this service extends that co-opting. While some may wish that her outreach involved more than a celebration of HBCUs and blended more into direct appeals for students to attend black colleges, her name check of these institutions is more than what most campuses could afford over several lifetimes in paid marketing.
Morgan State President ‘Not Distracted’ by Maryland HBCU Lawsuit
Morgan State University President David Wilson recently held court with the Greater Baltimore Committee during its newsmaker series. His interview covered a number of topics including a partnership proposal to host a for-profit osteopathic medical school on campus, economic development in the community, and efforts to work with Ivy League institutions.
But one of Wilson’s comments stood out from the rest for alumni of Morgan and stakeholders in Baltimore.
And, in response to a question, Wilson said he does not put any effort into the ongoing litigation over state support for its historically black colleges. That litigation was brought by alumni of the institutions, not the schools.
Wilson said he cannot opine on the litigation as the president of one of the universities, so he does not let it distract him.
“I don’t spend any energy on that. That’s not my issue. My issue at Morgan as its president is to make sure that I’m bringing to the table, every single day, the quality of leadership that I brought to Wisconsin, that I brought to Auburn, that I brought to Rutgers, that I brought to Princeton,” he said. “I’m not going to be distracted in that, and I have pushed the campus to basically understand that excellence is everything that we do.”
Wilson has been more than distant on the lawsuit that is now 17 years in the making and still without resolution. So distant, that some might call him an outright obstructionist.
Pennsylvania Higher Ed System Proposes Dramatic Cost-Saving Changes; What’s In It For Cheyney?
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is calling for position eliminations, adjunct faculty cuts, and aggressive program collaborations to avoid a growing trend of schools burning through cash reserves to save costs.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on recommendations offered by System Chancellor Daniel Greenstein as a workaround to potential campus mergers and closures.
In an email to campus leaders Thursday, Mr. Greenstein outlined five steps for the universities to take to improve their revenue picture.
* Curtail the use of adjuncts and temporary faculty: Use full-time faculty more and share them across institutions. If one school needs a course in physics but doesn’t have an available professor, instead of hiring an adjunct, send students in person or via online to a campus that has one, Mr. Greenstein said.
Twenty-seven percent of the system’s faculty currently are adjuncts, he said.
* Consolidate low enrolled programs within a university or in collaboration across universities. Some programs, Mr. Greenstein said, aren’t attracting enough students to sustain themselves financially.
* Eliminate vacant positions unless the president deems them necessary. Presidents will review and decide on every vacant position, from janitorial services to high-ranking administrative positions. The system also will look at sharing more positions across universities to reduce costs, Mr. Greenstein said. If a financial officer is needed at one school, perhaps that employee could perform the job across campuses, he said.
* Improve the retention of students. The system loses nearly a quarter of its students after their freshman year, which hurts not only the students but also university budgets, Mr. Greenstein said. White students are retained at a higher rate than minority students, system data shows.
* Move toward a systemwide academic plan that avoids unnecessary duplication and fills needs across the state.
The proposals sound a like like similar ideas offered in a 2018 report commissioned by the state legislature, which all but called for the embattled Cheyney University to be merged with another PASSHE institution.
Since that report, Cheyney has had its accreditation reaffirmed on the promise of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to help manage the school’s debts and budget, and an increasing number of private businesses looking to set up shop on the Cheyney campus.
These things may keep the school open, but they haven’t made a significant dent in reducing Cheyney’s crushing debt, or in helping to build its infrastructure for recruitment, teaching and workforce development. These proposals seem made to further hamper Cheyney’s already-gasping academic operations, and you have to wonder if this is just the latest chapter in the attempt to revert the campus from a university of historic importance to a workforce development hub with college classes being offered by another school?
HBCU Faculty, Alumni Call Out States for Historic Underfunding
In the last two weeks, faculty members from Tennessee State University and Morgan State University have taken to very public space in editorial pages to describe how chronic underfunding has harmed both campuses.
From the Tennessean Newspaper, faculty member from TSU:
TSU and other HBCUs owe their founding to the Second Morrill Act of 1890. Under law, land grant institutions from both acts are supposed to receive matching federal and state funds (i.e. for every dollar of federal funding, the state contributes one dollar of state appropriations).
For decades, TSU did not receive the full land grant match to which it is entitled – adding up to over $37 million that the state of Tennessee owes the institution…
…TSU’s funding story is not unique among HBCUs. The incremental funding successes that we have experienced, and those to come, combine strategic grassroots campaigning with strong allies in the legislature. We invite faculty, staff, students, and community members to join us in taking action for fair funding for HBCUs.
And from the Baltimore Sun Newspaper, a Morgan State University graduate offers statistics on uneven funding.
In an extensive report (“The Budget Analyst’s Influence in the Budgeting Process”) I wrote in 1991 regarding Maryland’s budgeting process, research for a segment of time from 1986 to 1991 revealed that historically black colleges and universities in Maryland (including Morgan) never received more than 13% of total higher education general funds. From 1986 to 1991, Morgan received between 4% to 6% of the 13% allotted for HBCU’s.
The 13% annual pre-planned allotment was a travesty of justice as all HBCUs had to scramble for a portion of the 13%. If one HBCU got 6%, the others had to split the remaining 7%. Never, during the years researched, did the state of Maryland go beyond the 13%. University of Maryland College Park received 33.9%-to-35%. University of Maryland at Baltimore received between 17.6% and 19.3%, Towson received 7.3%-to-7.7%. On the other hand, HBCUs like Bowie received between 2.2% and 2.5%; UMES, 2.3%-to-2.5%; and Coppin 2.1%-to-2.2%.
It is refreshing to see the trend of HBCU stakeholders taking the fight for equal funding to public spaces. The lack of resources has been more than a notion of inequity; it has caused many of the bad narratives and stereotypes about HBCU inadequacy which have helped to harm enrollment over the last 30 years.
There are layers of reasons why only one black student out of every 10 in the United States chooses to attend an HBCU, but the resource question is among the primary and most pervasive culprits of the perception disparities in comparison to predominantly white institutions.
Louisiana Regents Reject Southern Law Expansion into Shreveport
Higher education officials in Lousiana have rejected a proposal that would have given the Southern University System clearance to expand its law school from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, LA.
Citing the high probability of uneven funding from the state legislature, a feasibility study outlined that such a program could not be sustained, and wouldn’t support the state’s need for more trained lawyers to find work in the Shreveport-Bossier region, rather than the region being a training hub for more lawyers.
“Direct costs will have to be covered in a political environment in which financial and material resources are limited and, if forthcoming, will have to be taken away from other meritorious uses,” the study said. “Indirect costs also include those of meeting significant institutional and professional accreditation requirements.”
SUS officials said they would continue to examine ways to provide legal education in the region.
