Wilberforce University has selected, but not announced, who will replace Patricia Hardaway, who stepped down as president last December.
Trustees interviewed three candidates last Friday and Saturday before making their choice afterward. The new president will be announced this coming Saturday during the annual alumni conference in Memphis. He or she will become the 20th president of the nation’s oldest private African-American institution of higher learning.
The new president must steer an institution with a storied history and an uncertain future. The school, founded in 1856 by Black and White Methodist clergy, is in danger of losing its accreditation ― and access to federal financial aid for its students ― unless officials present a viable turnaround plan by December 15 to the Higher Learning Commission. The HLC accredits colleges and universities in 19 Southwestern and Midwestern states.
The HLC sent school officials a “show cause” letter detailing several deficiencies. For example, only 70 freshmen enrolled at Wilberforce last fall; almost 30 percent withdrew by the second semester. In addition, the school has a history of operating losses: $775,000 in fiscal 2011, $1.5 million in fiscal 2012 and about $1 million in fiscal 2013, the letter said.
The commission also blasted the university board for poor governance and for ignoring the school’s financial morass. “The full University Board has not acted to resolve the financial challenges facing the University despite awareness of them,” the HLC wrote.
Wilberforce university officials could not be reached for comment. Richard Deering, an economics professor and longtime critic of Wilberforce administrators, doubts a new president can halt the school’s slide.
“We are in such a deep hole, I don’t see how we can get out of it,” he said.
