News-Record.com

I agree Allen. Four CEOs in four years. Not good at all. I wonder when all this drama will start affecting NC A&T's enrollment. If I were the parent of an upcoming freshman, I probably would encourage my child to look elsewhere. What a shame.

A&T is a big mess and I wouldn't allow my child to set foot over there. I think all of this stems from James Renick and the financial corruption that took place under his watch. It is a mess!!!

No matter how many Chancellors A&T has in how ever many years, no matter how much the public views A&T being in "a mess", no matter what the circumstances, NC A&T has been and will forever be "The Premier" Historically Black College/University and one of the best colleges overall in the State of NC in terms of Academics, Resources, Accreditation, and student/alumni success and we will presevere despite of all the "turnover" up top because our core strength has always been the students and the Faculty and for these reasons, we will always have pride in your University. AGGIE PRIDE FOREVER!

. . . thinking aloud I wonder . . . is this a reflection of the attitudes and actions we see daily in the news regarding the black community in which it serves. Failure is OK.

. . . some see no problems with the way things are . . . AGGIE PRIDE

. . . while others try and access the real current of thier community . . .

My guess: #1 of your options. If Battle was willing to sacrifice enrollments for student quality and graduate rates, he was pushing back hard against Bowles's insistence on expanding enrollments. Bowles is fairly authoritarian--and not always in bad ways--so I can definitely envision his removing Battle if he wasn't on board with the plan. Pure speculation, though.

Aggie Alum said:
NC A&T has been and will forever be "The Premier" Historically Black College/University and one of the best colleges overall in the State of NC in terms of Academics, Resources, Accreditation, and student/alumni success...

I hope you are right about NC A&T's legacy continuing, Aggie Alum. Not only is it in the students' and faculty's best interest for NC A&T to continue to remain a top university, it is in Greensboro's best interest.

It just does not look promising looking in from the outside. Lots of smoke generally indicates a fire.

The people at the top--the people in power--need to get their act together.

Brian:
I would guess that exactly the opposite is the case: If there is one thing Bowles and Battle were 100 percent in sync on, it was increasing graduation rates and raising standards.
The enrollment push began under Molly Broad.

Anonymous wrote "A&T is a big mess and I wouldn't allow my child to set foot over there. I think all of this stems from James Renick and the financial corruption that took place under his watch. It is a mess!!!"

Don't let a little thing like waiting for the facts get in the way of you making an intelligent comment.

Anonymous wrote "A&T is a big mess and I wouldn't allow my child to set foot over there. I think all of this stems from James Renick and the financial corruption that took place under his watch. It is a mess!!!"

Don't let a little thing like waiting for the facts get in the way of you making an intelligent comment.

From Bowles's 2007 UNC Tomorrow plan:
"Major Finding: UNC should increase access to higher education for all NCians, particularly for underserved regions, underrepresented populations, and non-traditional students."

Access translates as enrollment, although Bowles is big on online courses and other "non-traditional delivery systems." Whatever Molly Broad's thinking on the subject, Bowles is invested in having more--a lot more--students in the system. Those "unrealistic" numbers, I'd suggest, are largely his.

Of course he wants higher standards and higher graduation rates, too. The problem is, as Battle knows, there are tradeoffs: increasing quantity means sacrificing quality (that is, in the real world, not the world of higher educational euphemism). I can easily imagine that Bowles wouldn't take kindly to an HBC/U telling him, sorry, we're going to raise standards, even if it means putting on hold "increasing access for underrepresented populations."

I don't know that that's the case--Bowles may have come to some understanding with A&T about exempting it from the expansion game. But the expansion game is one he's playing.

That's certainly not the impression we've gotten from our conversations with Bowles.
While he wants college opportunities for more North Carolinians, he told us, he also wants them prepared to do the work.

One respected source credits Battle with setting the "right priorities," among which are "back[ing] off on ambitious enrollment goals to concentrate on raising admissions standards and improving graduation rates." According to this source, "ambitious enrollment goals" and "raising admissions standards" stand in tension with one another, thus necessitating a prioritization--i.e., ranking one goal (admissions standards) as more important than the other (ambitious enrollment goals). This is logical: if you raise admissions standards, then guess what? Fewer students will meet them.

Other respected sources report that Erskine Bowles does not see these two goals as being in conflict, since creating "college opportunities for more North Carolinians"--that is to say, a goal similar to the one Battle "backed off on"--need not entail any cost in academic preparedness (the kind of thing indexed by admissions standards). So for Bowles, there's no need for setting priorities in this context, much less choosing the "right" ones.

Based on my sources, I merely suggest a potential conflict between the educational visions of the two men.

Seems one of the A&T officials made a comment in today's article that if he was to speak honestly about what happened he would "get lynched". Kind of an impolitic thing to say, one would think.

It is very, very, neccessary that officials and university relations at the university come out "RIGHT NOW" with the truth. All this allowed speculation only hurts the situation. WHERE IS UNIVERSITY RELATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is very, very, neccessary that officials and university relations at the university come out "RIGHT NOW" with the truth. All this allowed speculation only hurts the situation. WHERE IS UNIVERSITY RELATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is very, very, neccessary that officials and university relations at the university come out "RIGHT NOW" with the truth. All this allowed speculation only hurts the situation. WHERE IS UNIVERSITY RELATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To Bussta Brown please get your facts straight. This January, the district attorney announced that no charges would be filed and said neither Renick nor a project manager had violated any laws or enriched themselves.

University Relations is part of the problem. It is run by an incompetent staff who know nothing about building relationships with the media. I think we're dwelling too much on why Battle is leaving. The point is what's going to happen now... will there be a firm commitment from the President of the system to bring in a Chancellor who understands A&T's unique strengths and who will cultivate the university as a major research university and not just the HBCU in Greensboro? UNC-G has always gotten more than A&T-- money, attention, etc. Will the "system" allow a person to lead A&T who can actually grow it into its full potential?!

While he wants college opportunities for more North Carolinians, he told, he also wants them prepared to do the work.

**********
Like Brian says, that's speaking out of both sides of one's mouth. The wider you cast the net, the more borderline students you are going to pull in.

That's not saying the UNC system doesn't need to be more inclusive - perhaps it does. But saying, "We want to increase enrollment and increase standards at the same time" is one of those bureaucratic platitudes that doesn't mean anything in real terms.

In the real world, colleges and universities, especially public ones, have to make tough decisions on quality of applicants vs. expanding opportunities. I suspect this is the core of Battle's dispute with his boss.

Maybe this is a change that A&T needed. This Chancellor really never embraced the University as his own. If you would have looked at his track record he did not leave his past University with the best financial state. You must love A&T as your own. The school still have the same motto Renick created and not a new one that should have told you something. One thing we all should have learned everything is not always what it seems and everything you read about A&T is not always 100% accurate.

Savage:
On Franklin McCain's lynching reference, I agree.
An unfortunate choice of words.

Allen....I hear the hoofbeats of the Four Horsemen outside my door.

Info "Renick nor a project manager had violated any laws or enriched themselves". You appear to be trying to make a point. Surely it can't be a suggestion of wrongdoing since no laws were violated. So what is your point? Don't leave us guessing.

Allen,
Although I posted this on the other News-Record editorial blog, I feel compelled to repeat it to you.

You're an excellent journalist and editor, but I suggest that the News-Record dig a little deeper for accurate facts. Your reporters certainly need to do a better job than you did when James Renick left office. During his 7 years as chancellor, A&T had 0 audit findings; during Vic Hackley's 1 year, A&T had 13; and now in 2 years, Stanley Battle "only" had 3.

It's truly amazing that all the accusations of malfeasance against Dr. Renick were never substantiated. However, people who were acting in their own self interest were allowed to run amok and discredit a fine university and community leader. It was one of the most unfounded vicious political vendettas ever perpetrated.

Renick was totally vindicated of any legal charges against him. The innuendo that his goal was personal gain was absurd, i.e., Who believes that Renick ever intended to put the statue of the A&T Four in front of the Dudley Building in his own pocket?

Stanley Battle followed an interim chancellor who used gangster tactics to impose his "ethics" programs--perhaps we should refer to them more as his own version of "ethnic cleansing." Battle was never properly vetted in the search for a new chancellor and lacked the experience and qualifications to lead a Research 1 institution like A&T. That is less a criticism of him as it is of the same individuals who put their self interest before that of the University and its students. The students and talented, dedicated faculty deserve better.

By the way, where does one go to restore one's good name and have it reinstated on A&T's School of Education?

Some of you fail to realize that A & T is, I believe, 3rd in the UNC system in terms of bringing in funds for research; not to mention the distinction as an ERC. To say that it is an inferior university or a "mess" is absurd. If that's your attitude then your child doesn't even deserve to step on the campus; as we are taught to educate ourselves before making such claims. It's funny how no one pays attention until something like this happens though. Nevertheless, Achieving Great Goals In Everything, Producing Renowned Individuals Dedicated to Excellence will always be goal. We will find a new chancellor and continue to be one of the premier institutions in the region.
AGGIE PRIDE
NC A&T '07

No matter what the institution is--school,
bank, start-up...whatever--I would refrain from investing in an institution if it had four CEOs in four years. This is a red flag for me. I am not denigrating the faculty or students. They deserve better.

I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. A&T is a fine institution with some very strong academic programs.
It is the second university in the state to accredit its journalism program.
Its engineering and business programs have consistently been very good.
And as mentioned before, it does an exemplary job of attracting research dollars.
It does need stability at the top, but I wouldn't penalize the rest of the school.