JSU alumni concerned about likely candidate for president
Four days after the state College board met behind closed doors with the intent of picking the next leader of Jackson State University, trustees' conversations on the matter remain confidential.
But The Clarion-Ledger has learned that concern is brewing among JSU alumni over one rumored candidate.
Roslyn Artis, the current president of Florida Memorial University, is believed to be one of three finalists in the College Board’s search.
Higher Education Commissioner Glenn Boyce told the Associated Press Friday afternoon that the board did not vote on a preferred candidate during Monday’s executive session or offer a contract to any of the finalists.
“The board’s policy is to keep the identity of all candidates for the position confidential until the preferred candidate is named,” state College Board spokesperson Caron Blanton told The Clarion-Ledger.
Trustees could again discuss the search in executive session during their Thursday meeting.
State Sen. Sollie Norwood, D-Jackson, said he'd heard from about 10 fellow alumni concerned over Artis' possible selection.
Artis has served as chief of the historic black university based in Miami Gardens for three years, but it’s her former post at the now-shuttered Mountain State University that is the reason for consternation.
The troubled university closed in late 2012, just a few months after one of the nation’s six regional accreditors announced it was withdrawing Mountain State’s accreditation.
Artis was a provost at the time when officials with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools said the university had violated three of its accreditation standards, including “mission and integrity,” “preparing for the future” and “student learning and effective teaching.”
“Mountain State University has not conducted itself with the integrity expected of an accredited institution,” the commission’s report stated.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that "the violations struck at the heart of the academic enterprise of Mountain State, where the agency found that teaching and learning were comprised by a lack of faculty oversight and insufficient resources."
A court filing from the time tells the story of top administrators, including Artis, engaging in a cover-up: by dismissing mounting concerns about the university's troubles and at times resorting to intimidation against both faculty and students.
In a 2010 lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court in West Virginia on behalf of Kimberly H. Toole, a former psychology professor, Artis is alleged to have forbade administrators of warning students of the university's setbacks.
“Ms. Artis advised Dr. O’Toole and other faculty that accreditation for Mountain State University’s School of Nursing was in jeopardy," the complaint states. "Dr. O’Toole and other faculty were further instructed not to discuss the accreditation problems with students."
O'Toole was subsequently terminated without cause from her job, after advising students that the nursing program failed to meet national accreditation standards. She settled with Mountain State in late 2012, a few weeks before its closure.
A federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, by former nursing student Christy Brewer, depicts Artis as a bystander who failed to intervene when program administrator Ron Smith warned that “any student seeking legal advice would never graduate.”
The lawsuit traces back to 2009, according to the West Virginia Gazette-Mail, the same period when nursing students at the university became concerned their program’s accreditation was at risk.
According to Brewer's complaint, on either March 18 or 19, "Smith gave a PowerPoint presentation to his class of 13 students, including Brewer, at which time, believing that the class members previously had attended a meeting with lawyers about their potential claims against Mountain State and him, Smith told the class that he 'hated' them and 'wanted to kill all of' them and that 'any student seeking legal advice would never graduate.'”
The complaint goes on to state that Artis, then Mountain State’s counsel, was in the room during the exchange.
Artis became embroiled in the allegations of browbeating for allegedly telling nursing students in a meeting to "bring it," after learning of their plans to sue the university.
“I am not afraid of a lawsuit,” Artis told students in a meeting, according to a voice recording obtained by the Gazette-Mail. “I am a pretty good lawyer, as a matter of fact. In fact, I’d suggest let’s go a couple of rounds in my forte. I don’t care. You’re not challenging me personally, and you’re not hurting me in any way, shape or form. Knock yourself out.”
Within a year, the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses had ordered the university to cease new admissions for 15 months. The closure of the school by late 2012 then followed.
Artis, who was a presidential finalist for West Virginia State University last year, told the Kanawha Metro of her time at Mountain State in the following manner: "Some of it (was) clear, some of it (was) accurate, some if it not so much.”
She further stated that officials never requested corrections to any of the Gazette-Mail's reporting.
“I think it would lack candor to say anything other than I am almost ultimately responsible in the sense that certainly we had a president and leadership, but I was the provost, and so there was no question that I had a seat at the table, that as we began to make decisions about how to solve the problems, that I was around the table,” Artis told the Kanawha Metro.
Artis' tenure at Florida Memorial University, as the first woman president in the university's history, however, appears to have seen little controversy.
The Miami Herald reported that Artis, who first served as the university's interim, essentially had a "six-month" audition for the post.
The paper reported that Artis said she had reduced the university's $3 million budget deficit to $1 million during her time as interim. The savings came mostly through salary freezes, roughly a dozen layoffs and the suspension of matching 401(k) contributions), according to the Miami Herald.
She also downsized the university's vice presidents from six to four.
“We have not permitted any nonessential travel, and that includes my office,” Artis said. “We’re trying to set the example from the top.”
Artis, who is preparing for the university's spring commencement on Saturday, was not immediately available for comment.
Former Jackson State President Carolyn Meyers stepped down in November amid the revelation that cash reserves at the university had been depleted by roughly $33 million during the last stretch of her tenure. Financial records showed JSU’s cash reserves were reduced by 89 percent over a five-year period. Trustees hired accounting firm Matthews, Cutrer and Lindsay to review the board’s finances, and of particular concern to higher education officials was the finding that the university had less than eight days’ worth of operating cash for the end of fiscal 2016.
Contact Bracey Harris at 601-961-7248 or bharris2@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter.
Christy Brewer Complaint | Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress | Damages