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Swygert to Meet With Howard Faculty Over Call for Resignation

Maya Gilliam/The Hilltop Howard University President Patrick Swygert walked among student protesters in November 2005 as they left for the U.S. Supreme Court.

By Drew Costley
Black College Wire

Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert has scheduled a meeting with leaders of the Faculty Senate after they sent sent a letter to the Board of Trustees calling for Swygert's resignation, according to two members of the Senate.

In a March 6 meeting, the executive council of the Senate voted to send a letter saying the board should begin looking for a new president. The vote was 16 to 2, with one abstention. The letter complained that Swygert has jeopardized the financial stability of the school and left academic programs in disorder.

A response is being prepared by the university, according to a university spokeswoman. The meeting with Faculty Senate leaders is set for March 21.

According to the Washington Post, Swygert said he has seen the letter but does not plan to resign.

“I think it clearly demonstrates how democratic and how open the university is and how free the faculty is to express opinion,” Swygert said of the letter, the Post reported.

The letter cited a recent National Science Foundation audit critical of university’s management of grant money from the institution. The largest source of revenue for the university is the federal government.

The Faculty Senate represents more than 1,000 full-time professors, which gives the letter symbolic meaning, but carries no actual authority with the board of trustees. The board has the final say on the president’s job security.

Over the weekend, the university celebrated its 140th Charter Day and announced that the university has raised more than $250 million through the Campaign for Howard, the largest capital campaign ever completed by a historically black college or university.

The letter sent by faculty said the academic programs are in disarray and have substandard equipment and facilities.

“The president has failed in many instances to implement funded programs when such funds have been awarded . . . has failed to provide effective administration of research grants . . . has failed to identify alternative financial sources given that the federal appropriation has remained flat,” the letter said.

In response, Board Chairman Addison Barry Rand and Swygert pointed to the recent success of the Campaign for Howard, in which the university raised more than $10 million above the target total, according to the Post.

Several faculty members disagreed with the content of the letter.

One was James Davis, head of the department of modern languages, who said, “I was not consulted to even know what my views might be regarding the situation.”

Thomas Bremner, Faculty Senate chairman, said consultation with the entire Senate was not necessary.

He said that while he knows there are dissenters among the faculty, he has received only one e-mail from a faculty member opposing the decision.

If faculty members were polled, he said, a majority would be unsatisfied with the university’s direction and with the resources given them to teach their classes.

During his tenure, Swygert has instituted and completed plans for improving university facilities, allocating funds and increasing the amount of fundraising by the university. He also moved to participate in neighborhood and community development, joining the Fannie Mae Foundation to revamp the neighboring LeDroit Park community and unsuccessfully attempting to partner with the city to build a $400 million medical center.

Drew Costley, a student at Howard University, writes for the Hilltop. Additional reporting by Traver Riggins.

Posted March 14, 2007