By Tavon N. ThomassonSpecial to the AFROtthomasson@afro.com
After seven years as president of Morris Brown Faculty, Dr. Kevin James was faraway from his place by the Board of Trustees on Jan. 12, in accordance with a press launch.
“The Board extends its deep gratitude to Dr. Kevin James for his years of service and management at Morris Brown Faculty,” the assertion stated. “The Board thanks him for his dedication to the scholars, school, employees and alumni, and the broader Morris Brown Faculty neighborhood, and needs him properly in his subsequent chapter.”
The school introduced that Nzinga Shaw, a present trustee and co-chair of the Board’s Services Committee, “will assume day-to-day operational duties as Interim President of the Faculty.”
Following the press launch, James addressed the choice in a LinkedIn publish, stating the Board launched him “with out offering particular trigger or substantive rationalization.”
“This motion is deeply regarding. Analysis and my lived expertise reveal that many HBCUs have struggled with board overreach and interference,” stated James in his assertion. “Sadly, these dynamics are evident on this scenario.”
]]>
James additionally criticized the timing of the choice, noting that it got here just some weeks earlier than an upcoming reaffirmation evaluation. He additionally stated the Board didn’t observe established governance finest practices and the phrases of his current contract with the establishment.
“I devoted myself absolutely to the restoration and resurgence of Morris Brown Faculty, and I stand firmly behind the progress we achieved collectively,” stated James in his assertion. “Whereas I’m deeply disillusioned by the Board’s determination, I’m grateful for the overwhelming help I’ve obtained from alumni, school, employees, college students, and neighborhood companions.”
Whereas James expressed disappointment with the choice, faculty officers framed the change as a part of a broader effort to proceed advancing the establishment towards its objectives.
“Morris Brown Faculty stays firmly dedicated to its college students, its mission, and its long-term strategic imaginative and prescient,” stated Bishop Michael Mitchell, chair of the Morris Brown Faculty Board of Trustees in a press release. “This transition in management will assist to make sure continuity as we transfer ahead with the necessary work of strengthening and advancing the Faculty.”
]]>
The AFRO reached out to James and the Atlanta-based liberal arts faculty for extra remark. Neither had responded by the point of publication.
