Don’t forget that the Digest’s coronavirus update thread is open to the public for posting campus plans, questions and feedback on prevention of the virus’ spread throughout HBCU communities.
The link to the thread can be accessed here by all free and paid subscribers of the Digest.
Wash your hands. Stay out of crowds. Take care of one another.
— JCS
Maria Lumpkin Named St. Aug’s “Interim” President
Less than a year after the mysterious resignation of former Saint Augustine’s University President Everett Ward, the private HBCU which has become synonymous with debt and dysfunction made another questionable move this week, elevating campus Chief Operating Officer Maria Lumpkin to the role of interim president.
Lumpkin, who was hired by the university last fall to serve as COO, becomes the school’s second interim in the last 12 months, the youngest person to ever lead the school, and the clear selection for the permanent presidency despite SAU’s complete awful attempt at process.
“I am beyond thrilled to lead the “Falcon Nation” during this exciting period of growth in the life of the university,” Lumpkin said in a release. “My appointment is especially meaningful to me, because I am a daughter of this great institution, and I know first-hand the transformational impact Saint Augustine’s education. I am supported by a treasure trove of dynamic faculty, staff, students, and Board of Trustees in co-creating a dynamic learning environment.”
Lumpkin’s appointment is effective immediately, but her ascension has clearly been months in the making. From a press release that goes into painstaking detail about her work experience, world travels, and dissertation topic, to the fact that it does not mention any status of an ongoing search for a permanent president, it is clear that Lumpkin is the new permanent president of SAU. It is only a matter of time and title.
But why? Why go through the controversy of Ward’s unceremonious firing and the questionable appointment of Gaddis Faulcon as interim, only to hire Lumpkin and appoint her as a faux-interim less than a year later? Why look incompetent and shady on purpose?
Any board of trustees has the full prerogative to look incompetently shady, but the prerogative shrinks mighty fast when its paired with falling enrollment, dwindling cash resources and time to fix it all.
Somebody call Walter Kimbrough, because if any board has earned a public lashing in the last few weeks, its this one.
More on Texas Southern’s Admissions Scandal
Speaking of Kimbrough, Texas Southern University is back in the news with more information being leaked on its law school admissions scandal, and revelations on how former president Austin Lane failed to alert the board or call the police about the scope of the scandal.
Details show that the law school failed to review hundreds of qualified applicants for admission, and that personnel secured thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for admission and enrollment into the school.
At least 17 students were found to have received over $430,000 in scholarships despite having “low entering credentials” or being ranked in the bottom 50% of their class. Six were also found to have been communicating with the assistant dean about “a financial impropriety scheme whereby these students were instructed to remit funds” — either cash payments or parts of their refunds — to the assistant dean in exchange for enrollment, financial aid or both.
One student claimed he gave the former assistant dean “approximately $16,200 as well as concert and airline tickets in order to obtain admission” to the law school, and that the administrator instructed him to “remove character and fitness information from his application file in order to be admitted.”
The interesting part of this story is Lane never denies his role in the scandal because not informing the board or law enforcement about the schemes did not implicate him in wrongdoing. But it appears that the TSU Board of Regents may have had a point in moving to dismiss Lane for cause; his lack of transparency on the issue may have placed the school in additional jeopardy with the American Bar Association, which had already cited TSU for non-compliance dating back to 2017.
