Hello All:
As you now may be well aware - there is a battle raging for the heart and soul of Lincoln University. It started as a sneak attack and back stabbing at the hands of the untrustworthy board of (un)trustees. They have set into play a mechanism to undermine Lincoln University by trying to get rid of the best President Lincoln has had in two decades - that of Dr. Brenda Allen - who came on board in 2017, after the same board brought on an individual who was only second to Donald T-rump in destruction, disruption, deception and division. There are members on this current Board of (un)trustees who were instrumental in bringing Lincoln University close to the brink of destruction.
Had it not been for some very savvy Lincoln University students, fed up with the incompetence of both the ersatz president and the board, Lincoln could very well have shuttered her doors forever. So disgusted was the Alumni as well as students and parents, we demanded that no president be brought to Lincoln University without the approval of the alumni association. We thoroughly vetted the candidates for the next president of Lincoln University, and the individual who stood out above all others was DR. BRENDA ALLEN, who also happened to have been an alumna - class of 1981. She had distinguished herself in college/university management and expansion. If we could have brought her on board on the day we decided on her, we would have. It could not have been soon enough. Lincoln was limping along as the result of the previous ersatz president, as well as funds "illegally?" paid to him by the former chairlady - who is still on the board well past her tenure.
The story behind the story is something that most people don't have the full understanding of. It's okay to have soundbytes, and keep it down to 800 words. But when you do that, sometimes it's difficult for the readers to totally grasp what's really going on. So I'm going to try to give some clarity and texture to this whole scenario - note that my comments are in red - GDW
Attorney general sues Lincoln University board over ouster (Note: This article originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and was then published by Fox 29 News Philadelphia)
Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Saturday that the lawsuit argues the Lincoln University board violated notice and agenda requirements and refused to allow participation by members named by the commonwealth during the July 10 meeting during which the contract of president Brenda Allen wasn't renewed.Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Saturday that the lawsuit argues the Lincoln University board violated notice and agenda requirements and refused to allow participation by members named by the commonwealth during the July 10 meeting during which the contract of president Brenda Allen wasn't renewed.
The complaint said university bylaws require 10 days notice for a special meeting and bars discussion of topics not included in the notice, and argues that not enough notice was given and the meeting was said to discuss “new leadership" rather than removal of the president.
After members met privately for three hours (actually, it was 3 hours and 45 minutes - the bylaws say an executive meeting can only be 30 minutes!!), the board chair announced a 52% to 48% margin against negotiating a new contract with Allen, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Shapiro, however, said that with five commonwealth trustees not allowed to participate, the vote on renewing the university contract including Allen's appointment was tied 11-11, and judged to have failed. A new motion to appoint an interim president ( which was likewise illegal, because the so-called vote taken behind closed doors by the board, instead of in public was illegal in the first place; therefore the premise of appointing an interim president was bogus in the main) was "approved" (because the muted the mikes of the board members who opposed, and when one board member announced his protest they put hm on mute!!!)
Lincoln (please clarify who you are referring to as "Lincoln" - because the board has proven itself incompetent and not authorized to speak for the University) said the five members appointed separately by the state House and governor hadn't been seated after the coronavirus pandemic prompted cancellation of the board's regular meeting in April. They are to be properly seated at the next regular meeting scheduled Sept. 19, the university said (since they were appointed by the governor and the attorney general, and they were told to seat them immediately, they violated the law and the bylaws by blocking their participation.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Allen, who had served as president of the Chester County university since 2017, sued the board Thursday, accusing members of having breached her contact and violated state law. She seeks an injunction declaring the action invalid and damages for “being denied her rightful position."
Supporters have credited Allen with boosting student retention and alumni contributions. More than 14,000 people signed a petition to keep her as president, the Inquirer reported. Additionally, the Central States Accreditation Commission has endorsed and given Dr. Brenda Allen high praise for having advanced Lincoln University, but they didn't appear to be thrilled with the ersatz Board of Trustees mismanagement of the school in the main.
Lincoln, a historically Black university in Oxford (actually, Lincoln is its own town - just outside of Oxford, PA) about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southwest of Philadelphia, was founded in 1854 as the Ashmun Institute and was the first of the historically Black colleges and universities to grant degrees.
NOTE: The Lincoln University Board of Trustees released the following statement to FOX 29 (Please note that the Board of (un)trustees did their release through FOX (FAUX) NEWS - the bastion of T-Rump, racism, prejudice, and distortion - think about it).
"The Attorney General has launched a lawsuit against members of the Lincoln University Board of Trustees over the issue of several individuals appointed as Commonwealth Trustees separately by the House of Representatives and the Governor. The appointees were to fill commonwealth seats on the Lincoln University Board of Trustees that have been vacant for nearly two years.
The Board has publicly stated that the commonwealth appointees were originally set to be seated at the Annual Board Meeting in April. That meeting was canceled due to the state’s stay-at home orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the cancellation of the Board’s regular meeting in April due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the Governor’s appointment occurring after the date for such Annual Meeting, all of the commonwealth appointees will be properly seated by the Board in accordance with its standing procedures at its next Regular Meeting scheduled for September 19, 2020. The appointees in question have been acknowledged and been notified of the Board’s intent to properly seat them on that date.
Much has been written in regard to the appointees and there are a lot of inaccuracies in the press and in the Attorney General’s complaint. The actions of the Attorney General appear to be driven by a disgruntled member of the Board of Trustees who seeks to manipulate the Board’s decisions. As a member of the Board, it is our contention that NO LAWS have been violated and actions taken by the Board are consistent with its bylaws and standard practices. These practices are no different than those at Temple University, also a Pennsylvania commonwealth institution.
"It is curious that the Attorney General chooses to go after this 166-year-old historically black institution, in the middle of a global pandemic, after years of inaction on vacant commonwealth seats on the Board; and at a time when the cries for social justice are rising from black communities from coast to coast. "
This is my response to the foregoing statement by the LU BOT: I find the foregoing statement disingenuous - in the first place, backstabbers are not pleased with the fact that they were outed for trying to destroy this 166 year old historically Black (CAPITAL "B") Institution, because apparently the current ersatz Board of Trustees has no respect or regard for the history and accomplishments of Lincoln University - had they cared and had they respected the school, its students, faculty, alumni and president, there would have been no need for a petition to renew Dr. Brenda Allen's contract; there would not be a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE signed by all the Presidents of all Lincoln University's different alumni affiliations; there would not have been 70 students marching in front of Lincoln's Campus in support of Dr. Allen's reinstatement. They would not have to hide in meetings and pretend to be doing the work of the college, when all along they were conspiring to undermine Lincoln U. And most of all we would not have had to write the Governor, the Attorney General, Stephen Kinsey, Chair of the Pennsylvania State Black Caucus; Senator Vincent Hughes (who also made a statement in support of Dr. Allen at the July 10 Board of Trustees meeting); Pedro Rivera, Secty of Education, State Sen Andrew Dinniman, Gov. Secty of Legal Affairs, Noe Ortega, Dr. Jon Peri, among others asking for their assistance in stopping this travesty and tragedy being perpetrated against Lincoln University at the hands of those who purported to be working in our behalf.
There is nothing worse than finding out that, with all the other heinous things going on in the world - the pandemic, George Floyd's murder, Black Lives Matter taking a stand for the rights of Black people - that you also have to watch your back; that you have relied to your detriment on individuals who were supposed to be working in the behalf of BLACK STUDENTS; and that your biggest enemy happens to be someone who looks like you and comes from your gene pool. And that is what we have here with the ersatz Board of Trustees of Lincoln University. For them to try to make it look as if Attorney General Shapiro is interfering or "nosing in" on "Black business" - puh-leeze give us a break!!! As Black people, we all know what a back stabber is. We've been there - we've seen those who appear to have the utmost decorum and demeanor, they smile while simultaneously undermining you and your lives - we have all been there!! What their motives are, we don't know. But we do know that the total disrespect and disregard for 14,000 Alumni, as well as students, and faculty, shows exactly what kind of individuals we are dealing with.
But what we do know is that we totally appreciate the fact that Attorney General Shapiro was cognizant of the issues and the illegalities, and did his job - as he would and should for any entity that is a part of the State of Pennsylvania - without prejudice or deference. Whether or not he would have stepped in on Temple University is immaterial - that he stepped in to intervene on a chair lady and an ersatz board that is evidently and obviously out of control is laudable and highly appreciated.
And while they allege that no laws have violated - the issue is that so many laws have been violated - deliberately and egregiously and without compunction, it is obvious why they wanted to get Dr. Brenda Allen out as president. She is not a rubber stamp president. She does not go along to get along. Like Shirley Chisholm, she is unbought and unbossed - this does not mean she is not cooperative, but that she cooperates in as much as it is for the highest and best for the students and the university she was hired to guide and expand.
Why now? Because this board thought it could fly low under the radar while everybody was distracted by coronavirus and Black Lives Matter - they thought they could railroad Dr. Brenda Allen, the President of Lincoln and use the coronavirus as a shill for not seating duly appointed Trustee members and hold it off until after September, after the deed was done and they had put a puppet in place as an ersatz president, so they could continue dismantling Lincoln as they had under the previous ersatz president, Robert Jennings.
The ersatz board of (un)trustees have the temerity to ask "Why Now? Why is the Attorney general focusing on Lincoln Now? Really???- Right now it is apparent that we have vipers in our midst. When they did not renew Dr. Brenda Allen's contract could not and did not give a reason why they hadn't done so; why they were looking to get an "interim placement while they search for someone else" - IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VERY PANDEMIC THEY REFERRED TO IN THEIR STATEMENT! - and, adding insult to injury, ignored the 14,000 petitioners, students, governor, elected officials - and had no compunction about throwing Lincol into further chaos and confusion - we ourselves had to ask "WHY NOW?
Why are we bringing our complaints and trying to put a stop to this now? Because we plan for Lincoln University to be here an additional 166 years as an HBCU that turns out quality Black scholars, activists, movers and shakers - and not as a marker on the threshhold that says "Lincoln University was here."
Why Now? Because BLACK LIVES MATTER; and have and will always Matter and Lincoln University has always been in the forefront of making sure that those Black Lives Matter, continue to Matter and have Meaning. We are the Lincoln University that gave you Gil Scott Heron, Langston Hughes, and Kwame Nkrumah, Nnamdi Azikewe, Thurgood Marshall, Roscoe Lee Brown, Cab Calloway, Sheila Oliver ... among so many other greats.
Why Now they asked: "Why second guess and question the intelligence of this Board?" The truth of the matter is that the board's intelligence, along with its integrity and intentions, are highly suspect, and questionable. Thus far they have shown they have anything but intelligence. The chairlady is relying on the ignorance of certain board members, and has done what she can to pack the board with those who have more of an allegiance to her than to Lincoln University, the students, their well being and their future. In fact, it has become increasingly apparent that the authority vested in the board is abused and definitely misplaced. Their actions have caused more than 14,000 alumni, as well as students, faculty, administrators, elected officials and the Black community at large to totally question the intelligence of the ersatz board of trustees. So much so, the attorney general, governor, elected officials are being inundated with complaints and requests for intervention to prevent any further incursions and impositions of their poor judgment and egregious abuse of power and the public trust - which has been displayed at the hands of a chair woman who cares more about power and control than she cares about her own African American brothers and sisters - the students of Lincoln University. The President of Lincoln University has done an exemplary job of turning the school around, in spite of the micromanaging and sabotaging during her first three years; and the chair lady's total disrespect for the legacy and future of Lincoln University. I have been trying to understand when the chairperson becomes a czar or czarina - a dictator, instead of a member of the board who is supposed to provide oversight. When a board member was queried as to why she had not said anything in the past about the illegal actions - violation of the Sunshine Act, secret meetings, egregious use and abuse of executive sessions - the response was that no one wanted to tangle with the chairlady!! That sounds to me like there was a fair amount of bullying and brow beating going behind the scenes - in violation of the bylaws of Lincoln and the board of trustees. And it has to stop now. And whatever they have done or passed under this chairlady has to be rendered null and void. (Interestingly enough, some people care more about a football or basketball game, where a player is out of line than they do about violations that really go to the heart and soul of our children's existence - SMH).
While it's convenient to ask why the Attorney General is now focusing on our little ole 166 year Black University that has survived so many other threats, it's like seeing a house on fire, and asking why that white fire man is trying to put out the fire of the Black house - because it will not survive if the fire is not put out, and because IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
We thank all of our elected officials, Black and otherwise, our citizens - whether you're in Philadelphia, or elsewhere in the world - educators, Lincoln University Alumni, faculty, administrators, parents, who stand solidly with us as we put a stop to this and make sure that our students can study and survive in a stable, professional, nurturing environment. When we say "Stay Woke! we have to be woke to all our enemies - internal and external. Black Lives Matter at Lincoln University as well as everywhere else in the world.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
https://www.phillytrib.com/
GREAT NEWS: JUDGE ISSUES A STAY AGAINST LU BOT
Stay Blessed
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| Gloria Dulan-Wilson |
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