Morris Brown president optimistic despite challenges

ATLANTA–At Morris Brown, the new president is struggling just to ensure that the school survives. The college ran into deep financial problems under its former president when it expanded enrollment without increasing dormitory capacity, leaving students living in expensive hotels.
The school also upgraded its athletic program to Division I, a costly mistake that left the teams with few home games and many expensive road trips, and reneged on promises to give students laptop computers for which they had paid.
Such problems have a disproportionate impact at many black colleges because they typically operate with a thin financial margin. In addition, some experts say, many of their boards include directors who bring neither deft oversight nor financial clout to the schools.
“There is a saying about governing boards and money,” said William “Buddy” Blakey, a higher education lobbyist who serves on the boards of two historically black colleges. “Either give, get or get off.” The boards of black colleges and universities have not always followed that wisdom, he said.
Founded in 1885 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Morris Brown has never had much money, but still has managed to mold generations of college graduates, many of whom entered with only marginal high school credentials.
“We provide a high-touch education, as opposed to a high-tech education,” said Charles Taylor, the school’s president, explaining that students typically develop close relationships with faculty.
It is a sentiment shared by many students. “Morris Brown is a family atmosphere,” said Johnecia Hardaway, a junior who hopes to be a Supreme Court justice. “The professors here will give you the shirt off their backs if they think you need it.”
The future of the 2,500-student college will hang in the balance when Taylor and other college officials meet with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools next month to try to resolve accreditation issues.
Taylor has developed a plan that calls for the school to refinance its debt, slowly pay back the misappropriated financial aid and raise an unprecedented $50 million–10 times the school’s current endowment.
“All of our problems are serious,” Taylor said, “but they’re not insurmountable.”