By Silas Allen
Stillwater NewsPress
STILLWATER, Okla. —
Despite complaints from university students and a former lawmakeri, Langston University President JoAnn Haysbert will keep her position.
The Oklahoma State University/A&M Board of Regents emerged from executive session Friday afternoon saying they hoped to see Langston administrators and students work together to address the students' concerns.
A group lodged complaints against the administration during the public comments period at the board’s meeting Friday. In some cases, those complaints came with requests for Haysbert’s resignation or dismissal.
During the meeting, another group of alumni, faculty, administrators and students spoke in Haysbert’s defense.
Following the comments, the board met in executive session to discuss Haysbert’s employment.
Regents Chairman Calvin Anthony said he had received a number of letters complaining about a number of issues on campus. However, he said he was glad to see that the administration, students and alumni came to the meeting with the intention of seeking the best option for Langston.
“It’s pleasing to see that what everybody cares about most is Langston University and the students,” Anthony said.
During the meeting, Langston Student Government President Javon Brame told the board that he had received calls from students around campus complaining that they hadn’t received financial aid disbursements for the current semester. The university’s fall semester began Aug. 16.
Many students depend on financial aid money for expenses at the beginning of the semester, such as housing and books, Brame said. The fact that the university waits to distribute the money leaves many students in a difficult financial position, he said. A Langston representative said later Friday that students were reimbursed Friday afternoon.
Although Brame didn’t come to the meeting seeking Haysbert’s removal, he said the student body was not of one mind about whether she should remain in her position.
“We all do have our personal opinions,” Brame said. “We do want our issues addressed.”
Brame said the student government had submitted a list of issues to the administration that students hoped to see addressed. Brame said he didn’t see any response to the list until members of the board asked the university for a report on the situation.
Among other items on the list was a concern about student housing. Students are required to sign up for campus housing for the entire academic year, Brame said. If a student attends Langston during the fall semester and is unable or chooses not to attend during the following spring semester, that student is still charged for housing for that semester, he said.
Also included in the list were the quality of food in the campus dining hall and the lack of a student union building. The university’s student union was closed for renovation in 2008, and has yet to reopen.
During the meeting, Kevin Cox, a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, asked the board to fire Haysbert. Cox, a parent of a Langston student, said morale among students, faculty and staff seems to be down at the university since he left the legislature in 2004, shortly before Haysbert came to the university.
“I respectfully ask that Dr. Haysbert be terminated immediately,” Cox said.
Darnell Williams, the former dean of the university’s School of Education, spoke in Haysbert’s defense. Haysbert is largely responsible for rebuilding the education program at Langston, he said. The school had lost its accreditation shortly before she arrived, he said. Under Haysbert’s leadership, the school regained its accreditation in 18 months, he said.
“When she came here, our school of education was in shambles,” he said.
Millee Jorge, the dean of the School of Physical Therapy, told a similar story. Jorge moved to Langston from her native Pennsylvania to resurrect the physical therapy school after it had lost its accreditation. Since then, the school has not only regained its accreditation, but is competing with larger institutions, she said.
Jorge said she sympathized with the students’ concerns. Many of the problems are rooted in a lack of funding,she said.
“The reality is, we do not have the money for the things we need at Langston,” she said. “My heart goes out to the students and their concerns.”
Following the meeting, Anthony said he hoped to see the administration reach out to students to hear their concerns and work to find solutions. Anthony said the board discussed doing site visits at the university, as several students requested during the meeting. However, he said, board members wanted to allow time for dialogue between the students and the administration to progress before visiting.
In the meantime, Anthony said, the board would be monitoring the situation closely. Haysbert will be sending regular reports as the dialogue progresses, he said. Haysbert said she felt the meeting went well. Langston has reaction to the complaints posted on its website http://www.lunet.edu
