Days after reports surface about the possible firing of Southern University Human Jukebox marching band director Nathan Haymer, the university confirmed the termination yesterday afternoon.
Haymer, a Southern alumnus, and director of the band since 2014, told the Baton Rouge Advocate that he is considering legal options for appeal.
“Being the director of bands at Southern has indeed been the honor of my life and I will always treasure the experience,” Haymer said in his statement. “I leave our Human Jukebox in a better place today in terms of funding, equipment and popularity than ever before.”
Haymer was accused of attempting to secure financial kickbacks from external groups in exchange for public appearances by the Human Jukebox, regarded in recent years as one of the most popular collegiate marching bands in the country.
In a letter to the campus, Southern System President Ray Belton said that the university would move forward, and named former band director Lawrence Jackson as interim director while the university conducts a search for a permanent band executive.
It is unclear if Dr. Haymer, who served as an endowed professor of education in 2017, remains employed as a faculty member in the system.
