Opinion: Howard University President Under Fire for Mismanagement 
It's about time!
A faculty leader at Howard University is calling for the ouster of President H. Patrick Swygert, (left front) accusing him of putting one of the most prestigious Historically Black Colleges in financial jeopardy.
I couldn't agree more.
As a student at Howard University, I wrote for the campus newspaper, The Hilltop. During my tenure, I wrote similar articles about the situation.
Theodore Brenner, chairman of the faculty senate, wrote to Howard's board of trustees this past week on behalf of the senate's leadership council that it is time to end "an intolerable condition of incompetence and dysfunction at the highest level." The letter was obtained by The Washington Post. Swygert, who has been president since 1995, said he had seen the letter and does not plan to resign. But he should.
Admittedly, Howard is a really fun place and has some redeemable students and faculty members, like my old professor Charles Metze, who gave up his teaching position to travel to Mali to try to develop a college named for Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. He also got frostbite waiting for me to hobble up the hill to the campus in the snow storm to make up my finals after my surgery.
My position isn't just based on the fact that I was injured ON CAMPUS by my professor, Mr. Yang. I was injured so badly that I had to have emergency surgery. To this day, I still have screws in my knee and the University still hasn't paid the surgeon, which is part of our settlement agreement, even though he works for the Howard University Hospital. The injury was so bad I couldn't walk for nearly a year. I reached out to School of Communications Dean Jeanette Dates for help but she looked the other way. I was driven to and from doctor appointments and classes by campus security, but when I wanted to get a lawyer, they told me that they would put me out of school if I did. I remember talking with then Political Science professor Dr. Alvin Thornton. His advice was very helpful. "It's clear that you are getting mistreated, but you're injured and you need help. For now, you have to take what they give. But, you have to fight any way you can because this isn't just about your life and your health but it's also about your education. "
My position isn't just based on that fact that Howard University got over $4 million a few years back from Fannie Mae to improve the neighborhood around the campus and blew the rest it. I mean, I guess a "Welcome to Howard University" sign and some light post signs might be expensive...but $4 million? And, they have hardly improved the neighborhood.
My position isn't even based on the fact that Howard University enjoys a dismal 26% graduation rate for their four year educational program, though this is simply embarrassing.
My position is based on the fact that Howard University commits false advertising, calling itself the "Black Harvard." I'm sorry, but Harvard actually graduates students. They actually produce top Black talent, like Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the renowned Black historian that helped Oprah uncover her African heritage.
It's that Howard University cheats the students out of a good education, opting instead to provide a fun experience and hope that the students won't notice the difference. After all, when Microsoft was starting its Laptop University program, it didn't seek Howard University. Instead, Johnson C. Smith got the nod and the laptops. Howard even closed the nation's only Black hotel that was run by students. As hotels become more lucrative, Howard's decision cancelled the dreams of deserving hotel management students.
Swygert doesn't agree.
"[Theodore Brenner's comments] clearly demonstrates how democratic and how open the university is and how free the faculty is to express opinions," he said.
Miseducation of Howard students
Brenner's letter accuses Swygert of failing to keep financial problems at the university hospital from spilling over into academic budgets. Academic programs are plagued by substandard equipment and facilities, it said. It also cited a recent National Science Foundation audit that criticized Howard's management of grant money. The federal government is the largest source of revenue for the private university making some question whether it's time for a Congressional Hearing on the matter.
The faculty senate, made up of more than 1,000 full-time professors, has had a contentious relationship with Howard's administration. Earlier this month, the leadership council voted 16 to 2, with one abstention, to send the letter of concern to the board. The council has about 50 members. Board chairman Addison Barry Rand said the trustees take all complaints seriously but that they did not have enough information yet about why the letter was sent.
Still, I could have told anyone that Howard University can be an unsafe academic environment for Black college students.
So much gets swept under the rug. Howard has enjoyed a kind of "protected status" by members of the Black community and leadership. More than 75 percent of the students are on financial aid, yet Howard is one of the best dressed campuses in the nation. Howard is a fine place to make friends, attend a party or pledge a frat or sorority, but when students are sharing test tubes and microscopes, it's time to take a closer look.
Despite the lucrative grants and donations, Howard's campus is out-dated, its library is falling apart and the curriculum needs more than a shot in the arm. According to the Minorities in Higher Education: Twenty-Second Annual Status Report (2006), African-American students still lag behind their white peers in the rate at which they enroll in college.
Until the focus gets placed back on the educational mission of the campus, I say Swygert has to go. If he is allowed to keep his post, there is no telling how many more students have to suffer before the University make the students and their education the top priority.
Written by DC Livers with AP and wire reports.
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