Morehouse board under fire from students, faculty, alumni

Morehouse College board members are encountering increasing criticism from students, faculty and alumni about their decision-making, which has now also drawn the interest of the college’s accreditation agency.

An official from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is scheduled to meet with faculty Thursday as part of a review to determine whether the board violated its own guidelines in January when voting to dismiss the president, John S. Wilson, when his contract expires in June.

A spokeswoman for SACS said it is reviewing Morehouse at the behest of faculty. There are trouble signs, the agency said.

“Any time information about a member institution hits the media, SACS makes a determination as to whether or not the allegations might put an institution out of compliance with any of our accreditation standards,” said the spokeswoman, Pamela Cravey. “Recent media reports suggest that might be true at Morehouse.”

Faculty and student leaders contend Morehouse board chairman Robert Davidson ignored legal advice by preventing student board members from participating in the January meeting when the board voted not to extend Wilson's contract. One student trustee, Johnathan Hill, said in court records that Davidson wanted to know how the students would vote on Wilson before allowing them to enter the meeting. Hill refused to disclose their position.

Faculty members took the extraordinary step last month of a "no confidence" vote against Davidson, a Morehouse alum and business executive who lives near Los Angeles.

Davidson said he wasn't available for an interview. He released a statement from the board accusing some faculty of "counterproductive behavior" by sharing internal documents with reporters and other information it says is inaccurate. He also shared a letter updating the selection process for Wilson's replacement. Wilson, a Morehouse graduate who became president in 2013, declined comment.

Morehouse has more than three dozen board members, most of them current or retired business leaders. Only one dozen of them live in Georgia. Board members include civil rights pioneer and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy and former NAACP president Ben Jealous. The board is scheduled to hold its monthly meeting Friday and Saturday.

Some faculty members are worried SACS could put the nation’s only historically black college for men, located near downtown Atlanta, on probation, which could hurt fundraising and student recruitment.

“We’d like to get some clarity about the board and how it can change,” said English professor Cindy Lutenbacher, who’s been a Morehouse faculty member 27 years. “We’re very disheartened. We feel like we’ve been ignored. Morehouse is such a great institution and I’d hate to see it harmed in any way.”

The public feud comes at what should have been a celebratory time for Morehouse. The college marked its 150th anniversary in February. The board vote was announced on the birthday of its most famous alumnus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Davidson and a faction of board members have been at odds with Wilson for years, documents show. One consultant report from 2014 said Wilson needed to communicate better with the board. It also recommended changes to the board structure, noting that many of them had served more than 10 years.

You can read the consultant’s letter to the board:

Some of Morehouse's most influential and prominent graduates signed a letter earlier this week questioning the board's actions. The letter, signed by former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, actor Samuel L. Jackson and filmmaker Spike Lee, asked if the board is "part of the solution or part of the problem?"

“Morehouse College is at present drowning in acrimony,” the letter said. “Student leaders feel they have no voice, and are compelled to take you to court. The faculty has no confidence in your Board Chair. Your decision not to renew President Wilson’s contract is inexplicable and you must now search for the school’s third president in 10 years.

“All of us in the Morehouse family — students, faculty and alumni — hold you, the Trustees, responsible for this dismal state of affairs.”

Other alumns said in interviews they still support Morehouse, but worry about how the acrimony will affect enrollment and fundraising.

“It distracts from celebrating the school’s remarkable perseverance and accomplishments,” said Howard Franklin, a well-known political consultant and lobbyist. “Coming off my 15th year reunion with a class that is energized in support of our alma mater, recent events have definitely dampened that enthusiasm. I hope that we can limit the fallout and re-instill confidence with swift and transparent resolution of the issues that have been made public.”

Chuck Hobbs, a Florida-based attorney and writer, said he’s concerned Morehouse’s brand, “is in danger of being sullied to the point where some families are hesitant to send their sons to a school that seems unstable.”

Here's a timeline of events that have led up to the current friction at Morehouse:

Here’s a timeline of events that have led up to the current friction at Morehouse: