History
Early years
Incorporated as St. Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute on July 19, 1867, St. Augustine's opened on January 13, 1868, with Jacob Brinton Smith as its first principal. [5] The first classes were held at the state fairgrounds in a former army barrack donated by Major General Oliver Otis Howard, the head of the Freedmen's Bureau. [5] On January 16, 1869, the school moved to its present site, and its first building was dedicated. Brinton Smith died suddenly in October 1872, and was succeeded by John Eston Cooke Smedes. All of the classroom buildings, which were wooden, were destroyed in an 1883 fire, due to the refusal of White fire companies to fight the blaze, which had to be fought by an underequipped Black fire company. [5] With leadership from Smedes, however, instruction resumed within a week in a converted women's dormitory. In the 1883–84 academic year, collegiate instruction, roughly equivalent to the first year of university, was introduced. Under Robert Bean Sutton, who succeeded Smedes in 1884, the first diplomas were granted in 1885, and the Lyman Building, the school's first brick-built main building, was completed the same year. [5]
Aaron Burtis Hunter, who became the school's fourth principal in 1891, introduced industrial training, which was provided to all students until 1933. [5] The institution became Saint Augustine's School in 1893, and the school chapel and a new library were built in 1896. [5] On October 18, 1896, the St. Agnes' Hospital and Training School for Nurses opened, becoming one of the primary Black healthcare facilities between Richmond and Atlanta. The following year, the school acquired 64 acres of land and expanded to 110 acres. Electric lighting began to be installed from December 1906. [5]
From school to university
In 1917, Edgar Hunt Goold became the institution's fifth principal, and introduced the first courses for college credit that year. [5] The number of junior college-level courses increased over the next two years, and the school officially became Saint Augustine's Junior College in 1921, with Goold as its first president. [5] [6] The first junior college class graduated in 1925, and the institution officially became the four-year Saint Augustine's College in 1928, with the first baccalaureate degrees awarded in 1931 and accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) following in 1933. [5] In 1947, Harold Leonard Trigg became the first Black president of St. Augustine's and oversaw an expansion of the curriculum and the college facilities, including the completion of Pennick Science Hall in 1952. [5] In 1949, the college joined the United Negro College Fund. Trigg was succeeded in 1954 by James Alexander Boyer, the first alumnus to head the institution. Under Boyer, St. Augustine's enrollment doubled, several new buildings, including the Emery Health Center, were built, and the curriculum further shifted from that of a normal college to a predominantly liberal arts focus. [5]
In 1967, Boyer relinquished the presidency and returned to teaching. He was succeeded by Prezell Russell Robinson as the eighth leader of the school and the second alumnus to head it. [5] During Robinson's administration, enrollment reached 1,800 students, an ROTC program was instituted, and a new library, student union, and fine arts center were built. [5] In 1982, St. Augustine's created a Department of Communications and began operating a radio station, WAUG 750-AM, from 1983, followed by a television station, TV-68 (later WAUG-LD) from 1988. Robinson retired in March 1995, and was praised by the college's board of trustees for his leadership, which had earned St. Augustine's "an international reputation for quality education and public service of an unprecedented order." [5] He was succeeded by Bernard Wayne Franklin, who served as president until 1999, when Dianne Boardley Suber became the 10th and the first female leader of the college. [7] In August 2012, the college officially became St. Augustine's University. [8]
Challenges and controversies
Since the 2010s, St. Augustine's has been severely challenged by financial and leadership instability, [9] [10] along with other controversies. In 2011, the institution barred a student from participation in commencement exercises because of a negative comment he had made on the college's Facebook page. [11] Shortly thereafter, the student initiated a lawsuit against the college in North Carolina State Court [12] [13] which was later settled out of court. [14] In the summer of 2013, local news affiliates reported that two convicted murderers had been hired by the college to work for a children's summer camp. [15] Although the college defended the employees as "exemplary employees and productive members of the community", [16] the college reassigned them. [17]
In 2014, amidst what The Chronicle of Higher Education characterized as "significant turmoil" and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education described as "financial problems...stemming from a loss in enrollment and revenue", the institution's board of trustees fired president Dianne Suber one month prior to her planned retirement, after nearly 15 years of leading the university. At the same time, the board reinstated two senior employees recently fired by Suber. [18] [19] After serving as interim president, Everett Ward was appointed president in 2015. [20] In December 2016, St. Augustine's accreditor placed the university on probation, citing financial and institutional effectiveness issues. After reforms, including implementing a computer-based accounting system, the probationary status was lifted in December 2018. [9]
Gaddis Faulcon was named interim president in 2019. [21] In March 2020, he was dismissed by the university's board of trustees. [22] Together with the former athletics director, acclaimed track and field coach George Williams, the university's former general counsel Kyle Brazile, and the former facilities and construction manager Clarence King, all of whom had been fired around the same time, Faulcon filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against St. Augustine's in July. In the suit, which cited interim president Maria Lumpkin and the chair of the board of trustees James E. C. Perry, the plaintiffs alleged the institution's leadership, including those cited, had engaged in age discrimination, retaliation, and other unlawful conduct, such as the potential misappropriation of government funding. [22] Williams subsequently settled his suit, but did not receive any apologies from the university or its leaders. [23]
In October 2020, the new president of St. Augustine's, Irving Pressly McPhail, died from COVID-19 after three months in office. He was succeeded by his widow Christine Johnson McPhail in 2021. In December 2022, the university was again placed on probation "on good cause" by its accreditor, with a review of its status scheduled for December 2023. [24] In October 2023, the university fired its head football coach, Howard Feggins, for allegedly fielding ineligible players, according to the university. Feggins subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against St. Augustine's, alleging retaliation, intimidation, and the institution's deliberate neglect of its student athletes, including refusing to provide adequate healthcare, meals, and insurance coverage for its football players. [25] In November, president Christine McPhail was fired by St. Augustine's board of trustees, which she alleged was in retaliation for filing race and gender-based discrimination charges against the university with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); the board of trustees rejected "the unfounded allegations." [24] The board subsequently voted to name Marcus Burgess, vice president of institutional advancement at Claflin University, interim president. [26]
Financial difficulties and revoked accreditation
On December 3, 2023, St. Augustine's troubles reached crisis point when its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC), voted to rescind the institution's accreditation for continued governance and financial management issues. [2] [27] University leadership stated they would appeal the decision, thereby maintaining the institution's accreditation on probation until a final ruling. [26] In January 2024, just five days before the spring semester began, college administrators informed students that all on-campus classes would begin online, due to boiler problems in multiple instructional buildings and a women's dormitory, resulting in student complaints about the short notice. [28] [29] The following month, local media reported that the college was failing to pay all of its employees with some faculty members unilaterally cancelling their classes until they received their paychecks. [30]
Into 2024, multiple organizations accused the university of having failed to pay bills, including a $7.9 million lien filed by the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes dating back to 2020, a $598,000 lien by a company who installed a turf field for the university, an insurance company who claimed that the university owed over $400,000 for unpaid student health insurance plan deductibles, and a claim by the state of North Carolina that the university had nearly $27,000 of unpaid unemployment taxes. [31] An audit revealed that existing policies regulating wire transfers were often disregarded. [32] According to interim president Burgess, the university was able to account for $10 million previously reported as unsupported by contacting vendors and creditors. [33]
On February 27, 2024, SACSCOC denied St. Augustine's appeal of its decision to revoke the university's accreditation. [3] On March 1, university officials said they would submit the matter to arbitration, followed by further litigation if necessary; until the conclusion of legal proceedings, St. Augustine's would remain accredited on probation. [4] Interim president Burgess subsequently stated the institution was also pursuing accreditation through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). [33] He also stated 10 positions from various roles would be eliminated, [33] and said St Augustine's was looking into sharing essential services, including security, maintenance, and dining, with Shaw University; in an interview, he expressed confidence the university would open for the new academic year that fall. [34] He said, however, that St. Augustine's was $20 million in debt. [35]
On March 8, the university reported it had been unable to meet its latest payroll. [36] On March 20, Burgess confirmed reports that the university would transition to online learning in April. The same week, Wake County Schools announced they would discontinue leadership academy classes at St. Augustine's after 2024. [37] On April 3, Burgess said the institution required "27 to 28 million dollars, and 30 million for good judgement," to pay its creditors. [38] He said that as of April 5, the university would have gone three consecutive pay periods without having met payroll obligations, that all but approximately 120 students with senior status had left campus, and that the university would suspend football for the 2024 season. [38] According to Burgess, however, he and other employees remained committed to Saint Augustine's full recovery, with the support of alumni and other organizations. [38]
Leaders
Before 1925, the leader of the institution held the title of "Principal". Since then, the leader has been a "President".
(* indicates alumnus)| Name | Tenure |
|---|
| Jacob Brinton Smith | July 1867–October 1872 |
| John Esten Cooke Smedes | October 1872–1884 |
| Robert Bean Sutton | 1884–1891 |
| Aaron Burtis Hunter | 1891–June 1916 |
| Edgar Hunt Goold | June 1916–September 1947 |
| Harold Leonard Trigg | September 18, 1947–January 6,1955 |
| James Alexander Boyer* | January 6, 1955–March 1, 1967 |
| Prezell Russell Robinson* | March 1, 1967–March 31, 1995 [5] |
| Bernard Wayne Franklin | March 31, 1995–June 30, 1999 [5] |
| Dianne Boardley Suber | December 1, 1999–April 5, 2014 (acting until March 31, 2001) [7] [39] |
| Everett Ward* | April 23, 2014–March 14, 2019 (interim until April 10, 2015) [40] [41] |
| Gaddis Faulcon* (interim) | March 2019–March 2020 [41] [22] |
| Maria A. Lumpkin (interim) | March–July 2020 [22] |
| Irving P. McPhail | July 15–October 15, 2020 [42] |
| Maria A. Lumpkin (interim) | October 15, 2020–February 23, 2021 [42] |
| Christine Johnson McPhail | February 24, 2021–November 4, 2023 [43] |
| Leslie Rodriguez-McClellon (acting) | November 5–December 13, 2023 |
| Marcus H. Burgess (interim) | December 13, 2023–present |
|
