Faculty at Morehouse College have objected to a leader of the storied historically black university in Georgia. A quorum of faculty members voted no confidence last week in the chairman of the board of trustees, Robert C. Davidson, Jr.
Davidson could not immediately be reached for comment Monday night.
Ulrica Wilson, a professor of mathematics, said Monday evening that the faculty would be issuing a joint statement soon.
The vote came at a particularly fraught time for such institutions, after an early outreach by the new Trump administration and Republican leaders to historically black colleges across the country, an effort that was welcomed by some and questioned by others.
Earlier this month, after leaders of historically black colleges met with President Trump at the White House, John Silvanus Wilson Jr., the president of Morehouse, issued a frank statement expressing his disappointment with the substance of the meeting.
He said that rather than a pledge of a significant funding boost, and despite talk of additional money from federal agencies, a special innovation fund, large boosts to Pell Grant and other funding, the main change announced was a symbolic shift of the initiative on historically black colleges from the Education Department to the White House.
He also noted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s “discordant note” when she told those presidents that historically black colleges “are real pioneers when it comes to school choice.”
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Wilson said that was profoundly important, because “if one does not understand the crippling and extended horrors of slavery, then how can one really understand the subsequent history and struggle of African Americans, or the current necessities and imperatives that grow out of that history and struggle?”
He said he believes DeVos is well-meaning and ended with hope for true support from the new administration.
A spokeswoman for Morehouse, Aileen Dodd, said that reports earlier this month that Wilson had been fired from the presidency after he made those statements were “fake news.”
Dodd said Morehouse has no comment at this time on this opinion piece.
— Susan Svrluga
Last week, the faculty at Morehouse College handed down a vote of no confidence in the chair of the Board of Trustees of the college. They think that the board chair Robert Davidson has too much control, is ignoring key voices, and is meddling in the day-to-day activities of the institution in a way that by-passes the role of President John Wilson.
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Here are the facts:
Share this articleShare- Overall, the Morehouse faculty has been satisfied with President Wilson’s leadership and wants to give him a chance to lead.
After following what is happening at Morehouse College for the past three years, I am led to believe that board chair Davidson and several other members of the board do not fully understand their role, or have decided to overstep it.
Yes, boards of trustees hire and fire presidents, however, once a president is hired, boards need to step back and let presidents lead institutions unless there are substantive and damaging issues.
Boards of trustees set overall college policy with the input of the president, promote the college, raise money for the college, empower the president of the college, and, first and foremost, they hold steadfast to the mission of the institution.
In the case of Morehouse College, the mission is to educate and empower African-American men.
Unfortunately, students (and the faculty that serve them) are being left out of conversations and their needs are being ignored by the board of trustees at Morehouse College.
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Morehouse is a storied institution with a strong history and reputation, but the reputation is being damaged by in-fighting among various college constituent groups and factions among the alumni.
For the sake of students, all groups must put students first rather than their own agendas.
We have seen similar situations play out at Florida A&M University (Elmira Magnum) and Alabama State University (Gwendolyn Boyd) in the past year, and talented leaders lose their contracts to lead. Of note, Presidents Wilson, Mangum and Boyd had very successful and uneventful careers at universities — including MIT, Cornell, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University — before leading the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that didn’t renew their contracts.
The sullied relationships between boards and presidents must improve to sustain historically black colleges and empower African-American students.
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Given the state of the United States and the uncertainty of funding in higher education overall, it is imperative that historically black colleges have stable, talented leaders who are empowered and trusted to do their jobs.
If this doesn’t happen, HBCUs will find themselves without leadership, without faculty, and without students.
As someone who currently serves on an HBCU board, and has served on another in the past, I know that board members must ask themselves why they are serving, and if the reason is not connected to the welfare of students, and the overall benefit of the institution, they must resign.
I also know that it is important to listen to the Morehouse faculty and their vote of no confidence in board chair Davidson.
If there is one thing I am sure of after 23 years of doing research related to historically black colleges, interviewing thousands of HBCU faculty members and students, and spending time on 101 of the 105 campuses, it is that their faculty members care about students.
Historically black colleges are vitally important to the nation and the future of African-American communities. They need selfless board members who, like the faculty, are focused on the success of African-American students above all else.
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