Tennessee State University

Morris Brown Loses Appeal
 

Morris Brown loses appeal on accreditation


Morris Brown has lost its bid to win back its accreditation, according to a letter released today by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Losing accreditation means that students who attend the private school in Atlanta will no longer qualify for federal financial aid -- nearly 90 percent of students at the school rely on that aid to help them pay for their education. The decision also means that Morris Brown will be removed from membership in the United Negro College Fund, which provides financial support for private historically black colleges.

Donzella James, a former state senator from Atlanta, who attended Morris Brown in the late 1960s, said she was saddened by the news.

"It has been there to educate any hungry mind, and now I don't know where they are going to go to, because Morris Brown opened its doors to everyone who wanted to better themselves."

Many of the 1,130 remaining students have said in recent weeks that they planned to leave if the school lost its appeal.

James said the school faces a tough future. "It's going to definitely be difficult [to survive] because who will go to a school that's not accredited?" she said. "So I don't know how they are going to survive, when they were barely surviving. It's really sad."

Morris Brown, the only college in Georgia founded by blacks, was chartered in 1881 and began holding classes in 1885. It has had a historical mission of welcoming all students, even those who don't have the money or grades to get into other colleges.

The school's debt currently totals $27 million. School officials say they are trying to repay the short-term debt of $10 million by June. So far, they say they've raised nearly $5 million, and they also say they reorganized the board to address the Southern Association's concerns about how the school is run.

Tom Joyner today during his interview with Soror Vashti expressed his desire to BUY Morris Brown. :eek: :D

What do you think?

I know Mr. Joyner is quite well-off, but does he have the financial capital necessary to bring this institution to self-sufficiency? What were his plans, exactly -- to do it singlehandedly, or to create a coalition of wealthy investors to bring money back into the school?

He has name recognition, which is something MoBrown sorely lacks - they don't have the legacy of a Spelman or a Morehouse, even though they are the only truly 'black' college at the AUC. But they've never been able to get people -- alumni or other benefactors -- to donate money to them at a comparable level of Spelman, Morehouse, or even Clark Atlanta (which has problems of its own).

At least the man is making SOME effort to DO SOMETHING...

Ditto. I wholeheartedly respect his efforts. He's not even an alum of Morris Brown.

I cannot wait to see how this turns out. I am sure he would mobilize a very strong board of directors.

Soror CT4 I think he would as well. I think I also heard something like he sold his company for like $54M, and wants to do something with that money.

...Instead of GIVING IT AWAY, he wants to continue to educate our people. I wonder if "O" while she's on her "bus" will stop by D-town to chit chat with Tom about assisting in this endeavor. :confused: I guess you (schools) have to have "name recognition" to get money from O. :rolleyes:

Yeah he sold it to Radio One. He had offered to buy it a few years ago but was turned down. So I believe he offered again.

I am listening to the rebroadcast now via tjms.com. Within another 10 minutes, they will rebroadcast his interview with Soror Vashti.

I just know the strength of an Omega man with his Omega brothers behind him. :D

ETA: The interview just started.

Ah, thanks for this. I didn't know he'd sold his company. That's all I was really asking - whether he planned to do it on his own or was going to call on some help from other rich folks.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but sometimes it takes someone with some name recognition to get a lot of people on board to support a cause. Joyner has a much higher profile than Johnetta Cole when she managed to steer Spelman to one of the most successful (and largest) endowment campaigns in the school's history -- including all that Oprah money. If Dr. Cole managed to do that and she wasn't really a household name, I can only imagine what might happen at MoBrown with Joyner's help. I really hope he's successful, because MoBrown gives hope to a lot of students who would otherwise never go to college.

For clarity:
When I said name recognition, I meant the school...
Morris Brown v. Spelman v. Lane College etc etc...

i just want to be clear: how is Morris Brown the only "truly Black" school in the AUC?

Meaning it's the only school at the AUC that was founded by an African-American. Typically speaking I don't like to get into "real" black vs. "fake" black discussions, but I think it's an important historical distinction to point out.

Interesting...
YDLSNE, Soror Ideal! :D

Interesting. very very interesting.

:eek: :o

I think your choice of classification of "truly black school" and the reasoning behind your classification is very ironic.

And that's cool. But I guess I have a soft spot for MoBrown, and feel even more of a need to save it than the other schools at the AUC because of its origins.

Maybe using "real" was a poor choice of words. I'll admit that, especially since I don't think that there is such a thing as "authentic" blackness, but I'm not here to turn this into a thread about me.

I've always been disappointed that more of "us" -- especially those of "us" with fat pockets -- didn't step to MoBrown's aid when it was first announced the school was in trouble. I was also disappointed with the way that the MoBrown students were treated by the administrations at CAU, Morehouse, and Spelman after the school lost it's accreditation. But if Joyner's really serious about this, and it seems like he is, all I can say is better late than never.

According to Tom Joyner, he approached "Someone" years ago with the same offer and they rejected him. :( I think it is great that he is willing to do it, then and now. It is sad that a lot of folks who have the financial means to help Morris Brown ignored it, but oh well. I am sure Tom will get that school together. But say he gets possession Fall 2005, let's not knock him if no progress is made by 2006. It will take time.

Maybe once he picks the ball up and starts to run, others will "join his team."

Why should "O" give money to a school that has demonstrated (by its administration) it's inability to manage funds well? I'm unfamiliar with any stories about Spelman and/or Morehouse mismanaging funds.

Kudos to Oprah for donating funds. Some alums don't have or never felt a desire to give back (financially speaking) to the institutions they matriculated from. And I wish T. Joyner well in his endeavors to turn Morris Brown around.

I dunno....maybe it's just me, but I don't see the problems that Morris Brown had being washed away because TJ wants to buy it. I applaud him for stepping up and taking initiative because I know a few Morris Brown alum who haven't even stepped foot back on the yard since they graduated.

From my understanding (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) but the main reason for Morris Brown's situation is due to mismanagement of funds, thus loss of accredidation, thus loss of programs. I think some restructuring needs to be done (and TJ could be the person to do this)before a large sum of money is put back into the school. Because if the same people are handling the money, this could happen again.

Just MHO...:cool:

Definitely. His heart is in the right place. Today he offered Tyrone Willingham a job as MB's head football coach. :D

My concern is why does it have to only be a Spelman or Morehouse (so everything at those schools are perfect? have not had scandals?) where funds are donated? There are other lesser known schools out there who could use financial assistance as well who do not have "mismanagement" going on.

Spread the wealth to as many out there ...

Then, I also realize that some of the schools are not "state supported".

i agree (and i went to Spelman) that all of our HBCUs need a Bill Cosby (Spelman), Oprah Winfrey (Morehouse/Spelman), Willie Gary (Shaw), Samuel Jackson (Morehouse), Latanya Richardson (Spelman), Spike Lee (Morehouse), et. al. the wealth absolutely should be spread to all. WE as alums should also make an effort to send money to our institutions. you can't just take and not give back.
as for the statement about Spelman, Morehouse, CAU administrations treating Morris Brown students in a bad way, where did that come from (was it Jet or Ebony and i missed it)? care to explain? statements that seem "blanket"-like throw me off...

So true WenD. I know that major donors (foundations and such) look at, amoung other things, the percentage of alum support when they are making decisions who to give to. If we don't support our own, then why should the people with major dollars (who may not even have a relationship with the school) do so? That's like not feeding your kids, but mad 'cause your neighbor down the street did not give them supper.

I was deeply sadden when Morris Brown lost it's accrediation. (BTW, Sistermadly, I don't know if is still the case, but when I was an AUC student the term "MoBrown" was considered an insult by Morris Brown students). While I am proud of my alma mater's increasingly high standards (shoot, I was in the honors program when I was there, but those grades/SAT scores today would not guarentee me the last spot in the class!), not every competent student with a bright future ahead of them can do that. I really thought about sending them some $$s, but I just could not justify sending good money after bad since the accounting problems and mismanagement of funds seemed to be systemic and were not being addressed.

It was in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, around the time that the original announcement was made regarding the loss of their accreditation. MoBrown students asked whether they would be given provisional or special admission to the other AUC schools (because most of the students wanted to complete their degrees at the AUC). CAU, Morehouse, and Spelman all said no, yet if I remember correctly, Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College each said that they would make provisional admissions requirements for MoBrown students.

My mom went to school there W-A-Y back in the day (we're talking the early 50s) and she and her classmates all refer to it that way. I'm just talking like my mama. :D However, if people today think it's offensive, I'll stop using it.

Shows how things change (kinda like the n-word I guess). As I am sure you know, each AUC school has it's sterotypes. MBC student of my day felt that "MoBrown" fed into their particular sterotype, so they hated it and generally steered clear of it. If they shorten the name it was typically just "Brown". Of course (again, like the n-word) I don't know if they referred to the school that way in private. ;)

I can only speak for my alma mater. While Spelman has a large endowment compared to other HBCU's, we are still not on par with other colleges. We are a private institution with limited resources. We could not afford to absorb all of those students. On the other hand, GSU receives state funds. They were probably a little more prepared to handle those students.

I'm still trying to get my head around the idea of someone "buying" a school.

Morris Brown is in a quandry. Historically, the perception has been that it is the AU school that takes the folx who can't get into the "good" ones--Morehouse, Speman, Clark. I suspect this had led to a vicious circle--perception of lower quality students who get lower quality jobs who then can't afford to give back to the school. Therefore lower quality administrators are hired leading to mismanagment. :rolleyes:

It will take a major investment to restructure and change the school's image. And like CT4 said it will take years to do so. I hope TJ can pull it off, but I also hope he doesn't end up throwing good money after bad.

http://www.blacknews.com/enews/?http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site....news/brown1215

ARTICLE EXCERPT:

After initially rebuffing Tom Joyner’s efforts to purchase Morris Brown College, school officials said they are now having “conversations” with the syndicated radio personality about a deal for the troubled historically black college.

On Tuesday, Joyner’s sons, Oscar and Tom Jr., were among a contingent that met with Morris Brown leaders, including trustee chairman James Young.

“We’re just talking; we’re not going together yet,” Oscar Joyner., President & Chief Operating Officer of REACH Media Inc., told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

The younger Joyners did not provide further details, adding only that Morris Brown officials had gotten several e-mails and phone calls expressing frustration at why the school wasn’t seriously considering his father’s offer.

Joyner has made multiple offers to buy Morris Brown over the past two years, including a highly publicized effort in recent weeks during an interview on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” with Vashti Murphy McKenzie, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which founded the college.

It is about time that I read about a black man trying to buy an EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION and not having the biggest house on MTVCribs or whatever it is they call that show.

I wish Mr. Joyner all the best and as a recent HBCU graduate, I can only ponder the ways in which I can help (other than financially). I also wish that Black Enterprise, Ebony, Essence or any of our fine African American media outlets brought attention to his attempt to purchase Morris Brown or any other institution years ago. I wonder if at least one of them will cover it in their next issues.

It should not be left to Mr. Joyner to rebuild Morris Brown... this should be a community effort. I guess my question is what are you willing to do to help the cause? Me personally, I wish there was a way I could be more helpful to their SGA, as I was an ACTIVE member of mine for majority of the four and a half years I was at T. I think the SGA has a responsibility and an obligation to help any one, not just Mr. Joyner, who has enough interest in Morris Brown to help them get the school back on its feet. I'm not picking on Morris Brown's SGA... I am just suggesting that they be more vocal about the students needs and be more VOCAL about making sure that any money, time and effort is devoted to building a better school and providing more resources for the students.