Morehouse College names interim president, new board chairman

January 17, 2017, Atlanta: Morehouse College President John S. Wilson holds a meeting to discuss his impending departure from the college on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, in Atlanta.     Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

January 17, 2017, Atlanta: Morehouse College President John S. Wilson holds a meeting to discuss his impending departure from the college on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Morehouse College has replaced its president and board chairman, effective immediately, a spokesman representing the board of trustees announced Friday.

John S. Wilson, a Morehouse graduate who had been president since January 2013, will leave his position. William Taggart, the college’s chief operating officer since 2015, is now the interim president.

Robert Davidson, who graduated from Morehouse in 1967, will no longer be board chairman. The new chairman is Willie Woods, co-founder of a New York-based finance company.

More than MLK Jr.: you can see a list of Morehouse’s more famous alumni here.

The moves come after several months of turmoil on the Atlanta campus. The board voted in January not to renew Wilson’s contract when it was scheduled to expire in June. Many students, faculty and alumni have criticized the board for refusing to allow student and faculty trustees to vote on Wilson and for not sharing enough information about the decision.

Return to AJC.com and MyAJC.com for updates.