North Carolina A&T State University will dissolve it’s national alumni association this summer and create a new advisory council that school officials say will create closer ties to alumni chapters nationwide.
The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously adopted the dissolution measure yesterday during a regularly scheduled full board meeting. In a release, officials said that the new council will have representation on the board, and greater resource and staffing support from the university’s institutional advancement.
“Our alumni have an exceptionally strong affinity for North Carolina A&T, much stronger than is typically seen in colleges and universities around the nation,” said N.C. A&T Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Ken Sigmon. “We believe the best way forward for a closer relationship with the Aggie Family is to have a more intimate relationship with our alumni chapters, which form the heart of A&T’s engagement with its more than 55,000 alumni.”
Sources close to the association say that the dissolution stems from disagreement between NCAT and the association on its ability to meet goals from it’s strategic plan, which was established in 2014 and developed standards for improving the function, visibility and revenue-bearing capacity of the organization.
According to it’s website, the association lists more than 40 chartered chapters nationwide. A&T’s actions are the latest in a handful of HBCUs parting ways with affiliated fundraising organizations.
In 2018, Oakwood University severed it’s relationship with an affilited national alumni association after it lost its non-profit status. In 2019, a federal judge upheld a lawsuit from Lincoln University of Missouri against it’s former foundation, citing a lack of funds coming to the institution and low transparency from foundation leaders.
