Morris Brown College President Kevin James said he was abruptly fired without any explanation earlier this month, as Blavity reported. Now, Morris Brown has reinstated James just one week after he was fired.
In a Facebook post, James said that he was removed from his position on Jan. 12 by the Morris Brown College Board of Trustees “without providing specific cause or substantive explanation” — which he questioned since the school was gearing up for an accreditation review in just few weeks.
“The timing of this decision is particularly troubling, as the institution is approaching its accreditation reaffirmation review in a few weeks,” James wrote via Facebook. “Equally concerning is that this action disregards established governance best practices and my existing presidential contract, which extends through 2029. I fully intend to pursue all rights and remedies afforded to me under that agreement.”
At the time, a spokesperson for Morris Brown College provided a statement to 11 Alive about James being ousted as president.
“The Board extends its deep gratitude to Dr. Kevin James for his years of service and leadership at Morris Brown College,” the statement read in part. “Dr. James has played a meaningful role in guiding the institution through critical seasons of growth, resilience, and transformation. The Board thanks him for his dedication to the students, faculty, staff and alumni, and the broader Morris Brown College community, and wishes him well in his next chapter.”
Morris Brown College’s Board of Trustees announced that Kevin James accepted the invitation to return as president
Although the story is still developing, 11 Alive reported that the board at Morris Brown College now says that James’ Jan. 12 firing “did not fully comply with the procedural and contractual requirements outlined in his employment agreement.”
In a statement, the Board also stated that James’s abrupt termination was “disruptive and painful for the members of the Morris Brown community,” adding that it “recognizes that this action alone does not resolve broader concerns that have been raised regarding workplace culture trust, and the experience of the employees.”
Morris Brown Accountability Now disagrees with Kevin James being reinstated as president
Morris Brown Accountability Now, an alumni- and stakeholder-led watchdog group, is pushing back against the decision to reinstate James and urging the Board to “immediately cease any action, discussion, or vote” on the matter.
The group said that reinstating James represents a “profound breach of fiduciary duty and further erode public trust in the institution’s leadership” before adding that the circumstances surrounding his initial termination “cannot be ignored.”
Kevin James helped Morris Brown College become the first HBCU to regain accreditation after nearly 20 years
Per Blavity, under his leadership, James increased enrollment at Morris Brown from approximately 20 students in 2017 to over 540 today. He also boasted clean financial audits for seven consecutive years.
James said that over his seven years at Morris Brown, he received consistently positive annual evaluations and strong performance reviews.