Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Beason resigns from Alabama A&M Board, citing micromanagement of president


Alabama A&M University trustee Tommy Beason has resigned in response to recent board actions he says make it virtually impossible for the school's president, Dr. Robert Jennings, to do his job.


In a meeting last Friday, the board voted 8-3 to pass a resolution requiring that no contract, agreement or employee hiring, firing or disciplinary action at Alabama A&M be taken without consulting their executive committee.


"You're hamstringing the entire university," Beason said today. "It is such micro-management in my opinion that I am afraid the accreditation could be in jeopardy."
He added that the resolution had come as a surprise, that he had not been consulted as some other trustees apparently had been.


In a letter to Gov. Bob Riley dated Feb. 25, Beason says "It is with regret that I resign as a Trustee of Alabama A&M University effective immediately. Recent developments have convinced me that the board has a different opinion on its responsibilities as well as its vision on issues and direction the University should take. I feel that I am ineffective as a board member and do not see that changing.


"Thank you for your confidence in me by nominating me for this position and I wish the best for Alabama A&M in the future."


In December of 2006, Riley named Beason to the at-large seat that had been held by Robert Holmes, whose term had expired. Beason's appointment was confirmed by the Alabama Senate's Confirmations Committee on May 29, 2007.


Beason, a 1968 graduate of the University of Alabama, is now a consultant with the Huntsville accounting firm Beason & Nalley Inc. where he was president. He has more than 30 years' experience in public accounting and was chairman of the state Board of Public Accountancy for two years.


He has also served as chairman of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a member of the Huntsville Housing Authority, on the board of Crestwood Medical Center, a director of Volunteers of America, and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Better Business Bureau, United Way and National Children's Advocacy Center.

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Source: writen by Kenneth Kesner of the Huntsville Times

Sunday, February 24, 2008

ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY TRUSTREES

Meet the Board of Trustees

L. SHEFTON RIGGINS
Alabama A&M University graduate L. Shefton Riggins serves as President Pro Tempore of the Board of Trustees. The Birmingham-area cardiovascular surgeon has been a surgeon in the Baptist Health System for more than 20 years and has performed about 4,000 open heart surgeries. He is the former chief of surgery at Baptist Princeton and former director of cardiac surgery there.



ROBERT AVERY
Trustee Avery is serving his fifth term on the Gadsden (Ala.) City Council. The Certified Municipal Official (CMO) and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company retiree chairs the Finance Committee. The father of two boasts numerous affiliations, including Vision, Inc. (Chief Executive Officer), The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Advisory Committee, Etowah County Chapter of Alabama New South Coalition, Inc. (President), NAACP, SCLC, Alabama Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (past board member) and numerous others.


Dr. RAYMOND BURSE
Trustee Raymond Burse holds a law degree from Harvard University. He was also a Rhodes Scholar, and spent two years at England's Oxford University, where he majored in organic chemistry. Vice president and general counsel for GE Consumer and Industrial in Louisville, Ky., Burse was president of Kentucky State from 1982 to 1989. He spent 10 years as an associate and a partner in the law firm of Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs in Louisville.

DR. RORY FRASER

Trustee Fraser, the Faculty Senate representative, is a faculty member in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Fraser directs the Center for Forest Ecosystems Assessment. He earned the Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University and his research interests include the identification and addressing of forestland owners’ needs, entrepreneurship in the forestry sector, community forestry and forest-based economic development.


EMMEA J. MELTON

A retired biology teacher with the Tuscaloosa City School System, Trustee Melton earned the B.S. degree in biology from Alabama A&M University. She pursued further study at Tuskegee University, the University of Florida, University of Alabama and the University of Central Florida. For decades, she has been intensely involved in the community affairs of Tuscaloosa, Ala., most notably through membership in the Tuscaloosa Preservation Society, League of Women Voters, The Links, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Girl Scouts of America and numerous other civic organizations and professional associations.

JAMES MONTGOMERY

James D. Montgomery, Sr. is President/CEO of Aliza’s Cookies, Inc. Montgomery served as Systems Analyst, Management Analyst, Interim Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, General Manager, Chief Organizational Development Consultant and interim Comptroller for the Department of Army prior to retiring in 1994. He served eight years on the Anniston City Council and has been appointed to several national and international boards. Trustee Montgomery received his B.S. degree from Alabama A&M University and M.S. Degree from Jacksonville State University. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force’s prestigious Military Comptroller School (Montgomery, AL) and the Army’s graduate level Organizational Effectiveness Program (Ft. Ord, CA). He has attended Gestalt Institute located in Cleveland, OH. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

MARTHA LYNN SHERROD

Judge Martha Lynn Sherrod is a native Alabamian, and a product of the Alabama Public School System. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Houston, Houston, Tex. She completed her last year of law school at the University of Alabama as a transient student. Judge Sherrod was appointed District Judge in 1999, and she was elected for a full term in 2000 in a partisan election. She was the first person of African descent to win an at-large election in North Alabama. Before joining the State Court, Judge Sherrod served her community as Presiding Municipal Judge, Assistant District Attorney, private practitioner, and she taught criminal justice at Alabama A&M University.


VELMA TRIBUE
Trustee Tribue heads the Velma J. Tribue State Farm Insurance Agency. She is a graduate of both Alabama State University and The Ohio State University. Tribue also serves on several boards such as the Dothan Chamber of Commerce Executive Board of Directors, the Wiregrass United Way Board of Directors, and the Southeast Alabama Medical Center's Women's Advisory Council.


MICHAEL BUTLER (no photo available)
Mr. Butler heads the Student Government Association. He is a native of the St. Louis area, majoring in Management and minoring in Mathematics.
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SOURCE: Alabama A&M University Website -about section

Friday, February 22, 2008

Alabama A&M's Board of Trustees are creating a Liability

February 22, 2008

NewsChannel 19's Barry Hiett reports:

Alabama A&M's Board of Trustees has voted to strip the school's president of a great deal of power.

Friday afternoon, the board voted eight to three in favor of removing much of Dr. Robert Jennings' authority.

Effective immediately, if Jennings wants to sign off on a contract or loan for the university, he has to get the board's approval. Hirings and firings must also go through the board. If Dr. Jennings wants to apply for bond money for the school, he must go through the board before he can sign the deal.

"This is not micro-managing," said board member Shefton Riggins, who voted in favor of the power strip. "Micro-managing means we're going to come in and run this place from day to day."

Riggins says the main reason board members adopted this resolution is because declining enrollment means less money for the University.

Board member Thomas Beason voted against the move.

"The thing that bothered me most is no action can be taken against any employee," said Beason. "That could mean a reprimand or asking them to go do something else or someone who does something critical and be reprimanded immediately. Everything now has to go to a committee."

NewsChannel 19 tried to get a comment from Dr. Jennings after the meeting, but he quickly left.

Now, board members must watch the budget with eagle eyes.

"What we want to do is better understand the financial state of this university," Riggins said.

Beason counters, that he thinks this vote makes it extremely tough for Jennings to do his job.

"Oh, absolutely," Beason said. "He can't hire anybody, he can't fire anybody, he can't reprimand."

He can, but he'll have to clear it through a committee first.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Alabama Big 3 AD & TICKET RESERVATION FORM

Historically Black Colleges and Universities


Alabama Big 3
HBCU Alumni Chapters
of Metropolitan Washington, DC
Alabama A&M - Alabama State - Tuskegee

CONTRIBUTION, AD & TICKET RESERVATION FORM
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Friday, February 1, 2008

Alabama A&M University a Little Known History Fact

Alabama A&M University: An educational institution founded in 1875 as the Colored Normal School at Huntsville by former slave William Hooper Councill. With 61 students, two teachers, and $1,000 a year from the Alabama State Legislature, Councill built his school into a training center for teachers. Legend has it that the university's bell tower is situated on the precise spot where Councill was sold into slavery and where he vowed to return to make the land a productive place for his people. In 1891, Councill's school received Land Grant funds and expanded its training to include agriculture and mechanics. It became Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1969 and now boasts Alabama's oldest Bachelor of Arts program in computer science, along with liberal arts, city planning, business, and several graduate programs.

SOURCE: History of Jim Crow (jimcrowhistory.com)
This interactive encyclopedia offers teachers and students access to terms, people, and events related to the history of Jim Crow. Many entries include reference material and some of the biographies on prominent figures contain suggestions for teaching as well as links to related sections of this site. The encyclopedia will continue to grow throughout the course of this project.