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Suit Filed Over Decision to Close Clark Atlanta Engineering Program

By Atira Henderson
Black College Wire

Photo credit: Franklin Jordan/CAU Panther Engineering students and faculty members filed suit against Clark Atlanta to get better answers, they said.

Running out of options to save the Clark Atlanta University Engineering Department, the only black engineering program in Georgia, a group of students and faculty members filed a lawsuit against the university in Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court.

Lebone Moeti, chair of the department, said the faculty questioned the university's explanation that the decision to phase out the department was financial.

"The suit was filed as a result of not getting any meaningful response from the administration and the board of trustees," Moeti said.

According to an independent review committee, the university did not follow proper policies and procedures in its decision, and prevented the department from applying for accreditation by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology.

"That's very important for our students because a lot of employers, graduate schools and so forth require students to graduate from ABET-accredited programs in engineering, so that can really hurt them for the long run. What we're really seeking is to have the issue redressed and have our case heard, and we want to have our information based on the facts, so that it's done in an objective manner. That's all that we're really asking for," Moeti said.

In 2003, members of the board of trustees voted to eliminate the engineering department to help cut the school's $7.5 million debt.

President Walter D. Broadnax said "massive changes were needed to keep the college afloat," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Moeti said the faculty found out about the phasing out after a board meeting in October 2003. Members of the department met with Broadnax the next day about the decision.

"He said it was his personal preference to have the dual-degree engineering program over the engineering department here at CAU and that it wasn't based on financial considerations or departmental performance," Moeti said.

The university operates a dual-degree engineering program that pairs students with other schools such as Georgia Tech. Those programs will not be affected by the phaseout, which is scheduled for 2008.

Senior Kester Garraway, an engineering major and president of the Student Education Reform Group, signed on to the Oct. 21 lawsuit.

As past president of CAU's chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, Garraway said he felt it was his responsibility to fight a decision that went against the mission of his organization. He said he was disappointed in the administration's treatment of the students.

"If I walked away from the situation, it would be a slap in their faces," Garraway said, speaking of students in the engineering department, "because they worked hard to get me to where I am today. Also, I didn't feel like the board or the administration justified any of its actions. . . . I feel like every student in the department, and at Clark, are the paying customers and we deserve to know what's going on financially."

Garraway said he did not want the lawsuit to appear to be another case of African Americans fighting against African Americans, emphasizing it was a last resort after numerous attempts to speak with officers in the administration.

"Students have the majority of the power because we are the paying customers. I don't think it's enough to just sit there and be dormant when we can be more proactive. I think it's a cry for us to be more proactive throughout the university. Don't follow the path that's always chosen; create your own path," Garraway said.

Debra Miller, spokeswoman for the university, said the decision was final.

"The university is focused on the next stages of the financial recovery. We're focused on our reaffirmation of our accreditation, academic excellence, bringing more students into the university and bringing more faculty into the university. The issue surrounding the discontinuation of those programs, including the department of engineering, was dealt with almost two years ago and we've moved on," Miller said.

Moeti said producing more African American engineers attracts technical businesses to the area and benefits the state's economy.

Garraway added that the phaseout would contribute to a decline in the number of graduating African American engineers.

Clark Atlanta's program opened in 1994.

Atira Henderson, a student at Clark Atlanta University, writes for the CAU Panther.

Posted Nov. 25, 2005