Newspaper Page Text
VOL It
Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia March 2, 1972
MBC Rejects Ford Revamp of AU Center
• ' .. ..... . ' ; .' . \ •
by Jeanette Cason Goff
After much debate,
MBC last week refused
to accept a proposed re
organization plan by the
Ford Foundation to merge
all schools in the Atlanta
University (AU) Center,
After representatives
from Morris Brown met
with officials of the Ford
Foundation in NewYork,
spokesfnen from the
groups said it was clear
that Ford was not will
ing to make revisions in
the proposed plan.
All other schools in the
AU Center have accepted
the proposed plan.
The proposed reor
ganization plan calls for
a chancellor and a 27-
m ember centerwide
board of trustees com
posed of six institutio
nal board members, 12
noninstitutional board
members, and the (ex-of
ficio) presidents of the
six institutions, who will
be non-voting members.
The MBC Atlanta Alum
ni Association says the
proposed plan will
"amount to a destruc
tion of the individual col
lege's autonmony."
All six schools in the
A. U. Center have shar
ed a $3 million grant
from the Ford Founda
tion over the past 10
years.
According to James A.
Tillman, a member-ad
visor of the Executive
Council of the Atlanta
Branch of the Morris
Brown College Alumni
Association, the Ford
"The proposed
reorganization plan
is venal and evil; it
is tainted with
■
racism. ’’
-James A. Tillman,
i .*.
Member-Advisor of
The Atlanta Board of
the MBC Alumni Assoc
Board Of Trustee Meets
To Reconsider Ford Plan
by Jeanette Cason Goff
"Our school will
never be sold down
the river, even
1 ■
if we have to suffer
S * -- ^
from missing Ford’s
money”
mu
Dr. John Middleton
P' 'lm
-MBC President,
At the advice of the Af
rican Methodist Episcopal
(A. M. E.) Bishop’s Coun
cil, the MBC Board of Trus
tees will meet on March 6
to reconsider the Ford
Foundation’s reorganization
plan.
Rumors have been float
ing around campus all week
stating that the school had
adopted the Ford plan.
According to MBC Pre
sident John A. Middleton,
the plan has not been adppt-
ed; but the Trustees will
probably vote on the plan
at its March 6 meeting.
Middleton said the AME
Bishop’s Council,’ which
includes all of the Bishops
in the A. M. E. Church,
has advised the MBC Board
of Trustees to adopt the
Ford plan. Middleton fur
ther said the Bishop’s Coun
cil could not force the Board
of Trustees to adopt the
plan.
‘‘The MBC Trustees can
reject the Bishop Council’s
advice to adopt the plan,”
he continued. ‘‘But I can
not recall an instance
where the Trustees have
failed to follow the Bishop
Councils advice. As it now
stands, it seems that the
MBC Trustees will adopt
the plan. I can only assume,
I don’t really know.”
Middleton said the reason
the Bishop’s Council agreed
to the Ford plan is that
Ford made a new revision.
There was much contro
versy over the chancellor’s
role; so Ford decided in
stead of letting the Chancel
lor be responsible for the
entire AU Center, he would
only be at the head of cen
ter-wive programs. Ford
also decided that the Chan
cellor would not auto
matically become a Trustee
member at each of the col
leges. Now Ford says each
school has the right to ac
cept or reject the Chan
cellor as a Trustee mem
ber. ^
Continued on page 8
Foundation under the
proposed plan made no
promise of funding. How
ever, he added, the Ford
Foundation said it would
consider funding if the
reorganization .plan was
approved by all schools
in the Center.
"The proposed reor
ganization plan is venal
and evil, it is tainted
with viscious racism,"
Tillman explained.
"What’s more, it is tra
gic that some of our so-
called black educators
are permitting themsel
ves to be used as in
struments to bring the
plan to fruitation. 1 am
convinced history will
judge them harshly.
"The presidents knew
what they were getting
their institutions into,”
he continued. "Perhaps
their board of trustees
were not aware of what
was going on, but the
presidents understood
the pitfalls.
"For example, what
will happen to the Center
when the funds under the
reorganization plan ex
hausts in 1978?” he ask
ed. "Who would be will
ing to support the insti
tution^) then ? Perhaps
no individual schools will
be left by them ?”
According to Tillman’s
wife,' Mary, who is also
a graduate of Morris
Brown College, the trus
tees of the other colleges
were given a “snow job.”
"Many trustee mem
bers were not fully ad
vised of the nature and
applications of the reor
ganization plan,” she ad
ded. "About two months
ago I was told by some
trustees of Clark Col
lege that their board had
not voted on reorgani
zation and that they did
not expect to vote until
October 1st,. However,
a letter written by Clark
College President Dr. Vi
vian Henderson indicates
that as far back as April
19th his school had ac
cepted the plan.
"What many people
don’t know is that Dr.
Vivian Henderson is on
the Board of Trustees
for the Ford Foundation,”
. she added.
According to Tillman,
the reorganization plan
was kept secret.
"No plan like this
should be hatched in dark
ness without the active
participation of the stu
dents, teachers, adminis
tration, and alumni,” he
added. "The whole thing
needs to go back to the
drawing boards.”
Tillman further said
he did not see any ad
vantages in the reorga
nization plan.
Bishop John Hurst
Adams, a native of Colum
bia, S.C., will be the fea
tured speaker for Morris
Brown College’s 92ridFoun
ders Day celebration, Mon
day, March 12, 1973 at
10:30 a.m. in the Joe Louis
Gymnasium.
Bishop Adams received
his A. B. degree from John
son C. Smith University, the
S. T. B. degree from Bos
ton University School of
Theology and the S. T. M.
from Boston University
Graduate School. He also
has done further study at
Harvard University, Union
Theological Seminary and
Urban Training Center for
Missions.
From 1952-56, he was a
professor at Wilberforce
University; and from 1956-
62 he was president of
Paul Quinn College in Waco,
Texas.
Bishop Adams has also
The Ford Foundation
has authorized a grant of
$58,600 to Morris Brown
College for a study of
Black leadership in At
lanta, particularly in go
vernment and politics.
The study will be conduct
ed by John H. Calhoun,
Jr., Assistant Director
of Economic Development
at Morris Brown Col
lege.
The results of the
study will be used to pre
pare textbooks for Black
studies courses in senior
high schools and colleges.
"The plan is design
ed to make an adminis
trative super- structure
which would ultimately
Continued on 3
been involved in the civil
rights movement and va
rious community affairs.
The Founder’s Day goal
for this year is $100,000.
Also scheduled to parti
cipate on the program are
the nationally-known Mor
ris Brown College Concert
Choir and Band.
The idea for the study
began in 1969 when Cal
houn compiled his mas
ter thesis at Atlanta Uni
versity entitled, "Con
tribution of Black Lea
ders to the Progress of
Atlanta.” As a result,
he was asked to write
a story on the subject
for the 10th Anniver
sary of The Atlanta In
quirer newspaper, The
story then emerged as
a series of 20 articles
appearing in weekly pub
lications.
Continued on 3
MBC Staff Member
Receives Ford Grant
Bishop To Deliver
Founder’s Day Address