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Friday, February 8, 2019
Saturday, November 24, 2018
http://www.phillytrib.com/cheyney-keeps-accreditation-again/article_4f54cec2-9b3e-59a6-8308-6bbdaa8abd7b.html?fbclid=IwAR25hvY50mW5Jn0FrAG7EHwRRU-bdEyjiO-7uAufXGRZNpi_cubDTY37zpI
phillytrib.com
Coard: Cheyney keeps accreditation again
In 2017 on November 17, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) officially informed Cheyney University that its accreditation would continue for at least another year. And this year, a few days ago on November 19, MSCHE issued a similar notification.
That’s wonderful because, without accreditation, a university cannot receive federal or state financial aid for its students. And since about ninety percent of Cheyney’s students are on financial aid, the loss of accreditation would have meant the death of my historic alma mater- the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America.
That’s the good — actually, the great — news. But we must acknowledge the bad news that got Cheyney into this accreditation continuation/revocation issue in the first place. In order to address that issue, let’s go straight to MSCHE’s November 19 notification wherein it raised the following three questions:
1. Have Cheyney’s “financial resources, funding base, and plans to assure long-term financial stability” continued to sufficiently improve?
2. Has the “implementation of budget reductions agreed to as part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE)-authorized debt forgiveness plan” sufficiently continued?
3. Has Cheyney continued to take sufficient steps to “resolve the $29.6 million potential liability to the U.S. Department of Education?”
Thanks to Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, the Council of Trustees, and especially President Aaron Walton, Cheyney continues to make substantial improvements, which means the answer to the three questions is a resounding yes.
In fact, MSCHE used phrases like “compelling evidence” and “significant progress” to describe Cheyney’s amazing turnaround.
Furthermore, under President Walton’s much needed business-oriented leadership, the university in July announced its on-campus Institute for the Contemporary African-American Experience, which is a cultural solutions-oriented think tank that will involve a collaboration with the likes of Thomas Jefferson University’s Medical College, Epcot Crenshaw Corporation, Starbucks Foundation, and other “movers and shakers” to promote the academic, employment, and community service interests of Cheyney students.
PASSHE recently issued a press release applauding Cheyney’s “transformational effort” to get things right. And I, in turn, applaud PASSHE’s applause. But I wish PASSHE had gone farther by issuing a statement that put Cheyney’s phoenix-like rising in context. In other words, I wish it had explained why Cheyney even needed to get things right in order to rise again. But since PASSHE didn’t, I will.
Cheyney’s dire situation, which was manifested in its all-time low student enrollment along with its all-time high budget deficit, wasn’t the result of self-inflicted wounds. It was the result of PASSHE’s and, before its creation in 1983, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s racism at worst and racial indifference at best. Here’s the proof:
1901- While Cheyney was a stand-alone teacher training school, the Commonwealth paid the full yearly tuition and stipend of $140 to white students to attend white state-owned teacher training schools but paid only $25 to Cheyney students.
1969- The Commonwealth was identified by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the ten worst states (including the usual suspects, namely Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, et al) discriminating against Blacks in higher education.
1983- The Commonwealth, via PASSHE, for the first time ever, finally submitted a formal anti-racial discrimination plan that was deemed acceptable by the U.S. Department of Education following repeated warranted rejections. But it was later discovered that plan wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
1999- At the insistence of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the Commonwealth, via PASSHE, signed a contract to resolve issues of racial discrimination against Cheyney. Then-Governor Tom Ridge, through his PASSHE Chancellor James McCormick and his Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok, signed that contract which, by 2018, should’ve resulted in $100 million to Cheyney for essential resources including attractive academic courses, quality administrators, new buildings, etc. However, 19 years later, PASSHE still owes Cheyney much of that $100 million.
Despite the wounds, Cheyney began to heal and always remained accredited. But, technically speaking it’s not a finalized accreditation. Cheyney has until August 25, 2019 to submit a report to MSCHE concerning the three aforementioned questions and until November 21, 2019 to “demonstrate compliance” with MSCHE’s standards. That means Cheyney has until near the end of next year to have its severe financial and institutional problems resolved, which means, among other things, that PASSHE must provide the financial and institutional resources it owes.
President Walton is doing great and innovative work. And he is doing it, in large part, by dealing diplomatically with PASSHE on Cheyney’s behalf. In that regard, he reminds me of a Martin Luther King-type diplomat, But Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC)- which was founded in 2013 by Professor E. Sonny Harris and Junious Stanton and of which I am a proud member- is much more confrontational in its approach. In that regard, we remind ourselves and others of a Malcolm X-type activist. That is why we filed a major civil rights lawsuit against PASSHE in federal court in 2014 and organized a massive rally against PASSHE in the Harrisburg State Capitol in 2015.
And we’ll do them both again if we have to. We’ll fight in the courts and in the streets for Cheyney- and we’ll do so “by any means necessary.” But we hope we won’t have to again since PASSHE now seems more like a friend than a foe.
We’re watching closely and we’re ready to heed the call of our beloved Cheyney because “When thou callest, alma mater, never shalt thou call in vain.”
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD96.1-FM. And his “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/Comcast.
http://www.phillytrib.com/cheyney-keeps-accreditation-again/article_4f54cec2-9b3e-59a6-8308-6bbdaa8abd7b.html?fbclid=IwAR25hvY50mW5Jn0FrAG7EHwRRU-bdEyjiO-7uAufXGRZNpi_cubDTY37zpI
phillytrib.com
Coard: Cheyney keeps accreditation again
In 2017 on November 17, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) officially informed Cheyney University that its accreditation would continue for at least another year. And this year, a few days ago on November 19, MSCHE issued a similar notification.
That’s wonderful because, without accreditation, a university cannot receive federal or state financial aid for its students. And since about ninety percent of Cheyney’s students are on financial aid, the loss of accreditation would have meant the death of my historic alma mater- the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America.
That’s the good — actually, the great — news. But we must acknowledge the bad news that got Cheyney into this accreditation continuation/revocation issue in the first place. In order to address that issue, let’s go straight to MSCHE’s November 19 notification wherein it raised the following three questions:
1. Have Cheyney’s “financial resources, funding base, and plans to assure long-term financial stability” continued to sufficiently improve?
2. Has the “implementation of budget reductions agreed to as part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE)-authorized debt forgiveness plan” sufficiently continued?
3. Has Cheyney continued to take sufficient steps to “resolve the $29.6 million potential liability to the U.S. Department of Education?”
Thanks to Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, the Council of Trustees, and especially President Aaron Walton, Cheyney continues to make substantial improvements, which means the answer to the three questions is a resounding yes.
In fact, MSCHE used phrases like “compelling evidence” and “significant progress” to describe Cheyney’s amazing turnaround.
Furthermore, under President Walton’s much needed business-oriented leadership, the university in July announced its on-campus Institute for the Contemporary African-American Experience, which is a cultural solutions-oriented think tank that will involve a collaboration with the likes of Thomas Jefferson University’s Medical College, Epcot Crenshaw Corporation, Starbucks Foundation, and other “movers and shakers” to promote the academic, employment, and community service interests of Cheyney students.
PASSHE recently issued a press release applauding Cheyney’s “transformational effort” to get things right. And I, in turn, applaud PASSHE’s applause. But I wish PASSHE had gone farther by issuing a statement that put Cheyney’s phoenix-like rising in context. In other words, I wish it had explained why Cheyney even needed to get things right in order to rise again. But since PASSHE didn’t, I will.
Cheyney’s dire situation, which was manifested in its all-time low student enrollment along with its all-time high budget deficit, wasn’t the result of self-inflicted wounds. It was the result of PASSHE’s and, before its creation in 1983, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s racism at worst and racial indifference at best. Here’s the proof:
1901- While Cheyney was a stand-alone teacher training school, the Commonwealth paid the full yearly tuition and stipend of $140 to white students to attend white state-owned teacher training schools but paid only $25 to Cheyney students.
1969- The Commonwealth was identified by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the ten worst states (including the usual suspects, namely Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, et al) discriminating against Blacks in higher education.
1983- The Commonwealth, via PASSHE, for the first time ever, finally submitted a formal anti-racial discrimination plan that was deemed acceptable by the U.S. Department of Education following repeated warranted rejections. But it was later discovered that plan wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
1999- At the insistence of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the Commonwealth, via PASSHE, signed a contract to resolve issues of racial discrimination against Cheyney. Then-Governor Tom Ridge, through his PASSHE Chancellor James McCormick and his Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok, signed that contract which, by 2018, should’ve resulted in $100 million to Cheyney for essential resources including attractive academic courses, quality administrators, new buildings, etc. However, 19 years later, PASSHE still owes Cheyney much of that $100 million.
Despite the wounds, Cheyney began to heal and always remained accredited. But, technically speaking it’s not a finalized accreditation. Cheyney has until August 25, 2019 to submit a report to MSCHE concerning the three aforementioned questions and until November 21, 2019 to “demonstrate compliance” with MSCHE’s standards. That means Cheyney has until near the end of next year to have its severe financial and institutional problems resolved, which means, among other things, that PASSHE must provide the financial and institutional resources it owes.
President Walton is doing great and innovative work. And he is doing it, in large part, by dealing diplomatically with PASSHE on Cheyney’s behalf. In that regard, he reminds me of a Martin Luther King-type diplomat, But Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC)- which was founded in 2013 by Professor E. Sonny Harris and Junious Stanton and of which I am a proud member- is much more confrontational in its approach. In that regard, we remind ourselves and others of a Malcolm X-type activist. That is why we filed a major civil rights lawsuit against PASSHE in federal court in 2014 and organized a massive rally against PASSHE in the Harrisburg State Capitol in 2015.
And we’ll do them both again if we have to. We’ll fight in the courts and in the streets for Cheyney- and we’ll do so “by any means necessary.” But we hope we won’t have to again since PASSHE now seems more like a friend than a foe.
We’re watching closely and we’re ready to heed the call of our beloved Cheyney because “When thou callest, alma mater, never shalt thou call in vain.”
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD96.1-FM. And his “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/Comcast.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
http://www2.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/cheyney-university-hbcu-thomas-jefferson-starbucks-partnership-black-students-20180807.html
Cheyney University is a phoenix rising thanks to new partnerships | Opinion
by Michael Coard, For the Inquirer August 7, 2018
MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
In Greek mythology, the phoenix rises from the despair of destruction to the ecstasy of excellence.
Although that is an apt reference to the great news announced on July 31 concerning Cheyney University, an even better and even more culturally applicable reference is "And Still I Rise," Maya Angelou's 1978 poem about rising above the obstacles white society places upon its black members. In it, she proclaims:
"You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise."
Cheyney — the oldest black institution of higher learning in America, founded in 1837– rises, thanks to Gov. Tom Wolf, state Rep. and Pa. Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Jordan Harris, state Sen. and Cheyney University Council of Trustees Member Vincent Hughes, Cheyney University President Aaron Walton, Cheyney University Council of Trustees Chairman Robert Bogle, and others.
>> READ MORE: Cheyney University to partner with Thomas Jefferson, Starbucks in a comeback bid
They all came together last week to announce the creation of the school's on-campus Institute for the Contemporary African-American Experience (ICAAE), which is a cultural solutions-oriented think tank that will involve a collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University's Medical College, Epcot Crenshaw Corp., and Starbucks Foundation to promote the academic, employment, and community service interests of Cheyney students. That's wonderful news, most notably regarding Starbucks, assuming it doesn't call the cops on black students for "loitering" in classrooms. But I digress.
Cheyney, an all-time great institution, during the past several years has had to confront an all-time low student enrollment along with an all-time high budget deficit. Although it continues to do so, the future looks bright thanks to the recent news. But why was the recent past so dismal? Was it the result of self-inflicted wounds or something external?
>> READ MORE: Can Cheyney, the nation's oldest HBCU, survive?
It was clearly something external. Here's the proof:
That right thing is unlikely to have ever been done if not for the raucous but focused activism and federal court litigation of the coalition Heeding Cheyney's Call and members of the extended Cheyney family. Now, everyone from the governor to Cheyney's incoming class deserves praise because they all helped — and are helping — Cheyney to rise again.
As Angelou concluded in her poem:
"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave
I am the dream and the hope of the slave
I rise. I rise. I rise."
That great poet could've easily been referring to Cheyney University.
Michael Coard, a Philadelphia lawyer, graduated from Cheyney in 1982.
Posted: August 7, 2018 - 10:15 AM
Michael Coard, For the Inquirer
Cheyney University is a phoenix rising thanks to new partnerships | Opinion
by Michael Coard, For the Inquirer August 7, 2018
MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
In Greek mythology, the phoenix rises from the despair of destruction to the ecstasy of excellence.
Although that is an apt reference to the great news announced on July 31 concerning Cheyney University, an even better and even more culturally applicable reference is "And Still I Rise," Maya Angelou's 1978 poem about rising above the obstacles white society places upon its black members. In it, she proclaims:
"You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise."
Cheyney — the oldest black institution of higher learning in America, founded in 1837– rises, thanks to Gov. Tom Wolf, state Rep. and Pa. Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Jordan Harris, state Sen. and Cheyney University Council of Trustees Member Vincent Hughes, Cheyney University President Aaron Walton, Cheyney University Council of Trustees Chairman Robert Bogle, and others.
>> READ MORE: Cheyney University to partner with Thomas Jefferson, Starbucks in a comeback bid
They all came together last week to announce the creation of the school's on-campus Institute for the Contemporary African-American Experience (ICAAE), which is a cultural solutions-oriented think tank that will involve a collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University's Medical College, Epcot Crenshaw Corp., and Starbucks Foundation to promote the academic, employment, and community service interests of Cheyney students. That's wonderful news, most notably regarding Starbucks, assuming it doesn't call the cops on black students for "loitering" in classrooms. But I digress.
Cheyney, an all-time great institution, during the past several years has had to confront an all-time low student enrollment along with an all-time high budget deficit. Although it continues to do so, the future looks bright thanks to the recent news. But why was the recent past so dismal? Was it the result of self-inflicted wounds or something external?
>> READ MORE: Can Cheyney, the nation's oldest HBCU, survive?
It was clearly something external. Here's the proof:
- 1901: While Cheyney was a stand-alone teacher training school, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania paid the full yearly tuition and stipend of $140 to white students to attend white state-owned teacher training schools but paid only $25 to Cheyney students.
- 1969: The commonwealth was identified by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the 10 worst states (including the usual suspects, namely Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, et al.) for discriminating against blacks in higher education.
- 1983: The commonwealth for the first time ever finally submitted a formal anti-racial discrimination plan that was deemed acceptable by the U.S. Department of Education following repeated warranted rejections. It was later discovered that plan wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
- 1999: At the insistence of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the commonwealth signed a contract to resolve issues of racial discrimination against Cheyney. State officials signed that contract which, by this year, should've resulted in at least $100 million to Cheyney for essential resources, including attractive academic courses, quality administrators, new buildings, etc. However, 19 years later, most of that $100 million is still owed to Cheyney.
That right thing is unlikely to have ever been done if not for the raucous but focused activism and federal court litigation of the coalition Heeding Cheyney's Call and members of the extended Cheyney family. Now, everyone from the governor to Cheyney's incoming class deserves praise because they all helped — and are helping — Cheyney to rise again.
As Angelou concluded in her poem:
"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave
I am the dream and the hope of the slave
I rise. I rise. I rise."
That great poet could've easily been referring to Cheyney University.
Michael Coard, a Philadelphia lawyer, graduated from Cheyney in 1982.
Posted: August 7, 2018 - 10:15 AM
Michael Coard, For the Inquirer
Monday March 5, 2018
By Michael Coard
In celebration of its upcoming 40th anniversary, the members of Cheyney State College’s 1978 NCAA Championship Basketball Team- along with Hall of Fame Coach John Chaney- will be honored with an official City Council Resolution introduced and presented by Councilwoman “Jannie From Cheyney” Blackwell!
And they’ll also be honored at the same time with a Mayoral Proclamation, a Gubernatorial Proclamation, a State House Citation, a State Senate Citation, and a Congressional Resolution.
The entire Cheyney family must show its support by attending this historic celebration.
Thurs., 3/15, 10:00
City Hall, Room 400
For more info, contact HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com.
By Michael Coard
In celebration of its upcoming 40th anniversary, the members of Cheyney State College’s 1978 NCAA Championship Basketball Team- along with Hall of Fame Coach John Chaney- will be honored with an official City Council Resolution introduced and presented by Councilwoman “Jannie From Cheyney” Blackwell!
And they’ll also be honored at the same time with a Mayoral Proclamation, a Gubernatorial Proclamation, a State House Citation, a State Senate Citation, and a Congressional Resolution.
The entire Cheyney family must show its support by attending this historic celebration.
Thurs., 3/15, 10:00
City Hall, Room 400
For more info, contact HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
On behalf of Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC) and in the spirit of alma mater unity, I restrained myself during my brief speech immediately following President Walton’s speech at CUNAA’s Homecoming meeting.
Although I appreciate President Walton’s publicly stated goal of saving and enhancing Cheyney, the Task Force’s publicly stated goal of making Cheyney more attractive to all students, and Governor Wolf’s $30 million (which was conditionally waived, not actually “forgiven”), I and HCC will not allow- in the words of Malcolm X- alums to be “had, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, and run amok.”
That’s why HCC will be watching all state appointees and officials to make sure they don’t prescribe future academic, financial, and staffing medicine (e.g., slashing academic programs, selling land, eliminating sports, and retrenching essential faculty members) that’s worse than Cheyney’s present budget and enrollment disease.
That’s also why HCC will be attending the President’s meeting on 11/2 at 11:30 in Biddle Hall, room 301.
I was restrained and polite. But the gloves will come off if I find out the alums at that Homecoming meeting were “had, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, and run amok.”
Loyally,
Michael Coard
P. S. The meeting will be streamed live on Facebook by Heeding Cheyney's Call.
On behalf of Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC) and in the spirit of alma mater unity, I restrained myself during my brief speech immediately following President Walton’s speech at CUNAA’s Homecoming meeting.
Although I appreciate President Walton’s publicly stated goal of saving and enhancing Cheyney, the Task Force’s publicly stated goal of making Cheyney more attractive to all students, and Governor Wolf’s $30 million (which was conditionally waived, not actually “forgiven”), I and HCC will not allow- in the words of Malcolm X- alums to be “had, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, and run amok.”
That’s why HCC will be watching all state appointees and officials to make sure they don’t prescribe future academic, financial, and staffing medicine (e.g., slashing academic programs, selling land, eliminating sports, and retrenching essential faculty members) that’s worse than Cheyney’s present budget and enrollment disease.
That’s also why HCC will be attending the President’s meeting on 11/2 at 11:30 in Biddle Hall, room 301.
I was restrained and polite. But the gloves will come off if I find out the alums at that Homecoming meeting were “had, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, and run amok.”
Loyally,
Michael Coard
P. S. The meeting will be streamed live on Facebook by Heeding Cheyney's Call.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Coard: Reports of Cheyney's death greatly exaggerated
When it was rumored this year Cheyney would die on or shortly after Sept. 1 due to accreditation noncompliance, Gov. Tom Wolf on Aug. 22, by way of his Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors, threw Cheyney a much-needed lifeline in the form of a $30 million infusion.
As a result of that, the governor, who told Heeding Cheyney’s Call in 2015 that “Cheyney would not die on ... (my) watch,” proved not only that he’s a man of his word but also that he appreciates the cultural, educational, and essential importance of HBCUs in general and Cheyney University in particular. Kudos to Wolf!
End of story? Nope. There’s more. And it ain’t great.
First of all, without that $30 million from Wolf, Cheyney would be dead by now. Accordingly, that part is clearly great. But the other parts of Cheyney’s situation, which include the strings attached to that money and also include something called the Cheyney University Task Force, are not so great.
Here are four key facts:
1. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) told Cheyney on June 22 that the school could keep its accreditation only if it submits a substantive “monitoring report” by Sept. 1 that shows compliance with two basic concerns: financial planning (i.e., revenue with strategies) and administrative permanence (i.e., presidential stability). By kicking in that $30 million and by previously initiating the steps to begin the national search for a permanent (instead of interim) president at Cheyney, the governor pretty much guaranteed the school’s accreditation compliance.
2. That $30 million has been erroneously described by state officials and in the media as debt “forgiveness.” But it was actually a debt “waiver.” To “forgive” someone means to excuse that person for a wrongdoing. But Cheyney did nothing wrong to the state and Cheyney owed nothing to the state. Quite the contrary, based on an agreement that then-Governor Tom Ridge, through his PASSHE Chancellor James McCormick and his Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok, signed in 1999 during negotiations with the federal Office for Civil Rights to finally end PASSHE’s discrimination against Cheyney, PASSHE as of 2017 still owes Cheyney most of the $100 million required in that contract. Therefore, that recent $30 million was not “forgiven.” It was “waived.” To “waive” something means to refrain from insisting upon it. In other words, stop bothering me ‘cause I don’t owe you nothin’ and you know it. In fact, you owe me. Where’s my money?
3. That $30 million waiver is conditional. It goes into effect only if Cheyney achieves and maintains a balanced budget over the next four years. What does that mean? That means PASSHE should and must provide the additional and equitable financial resources that Cheyney will need — and that are owed to Cheyney — during that four year period and beyond.
4. On May 11, a recently formed entity known as the Cheyney University Task Force distributed its report during a presentation on campus. That Task Force consists primarily of PASSHE people. It has only three Cheyney persons including Council of Trustee Chairman Robert Bogle and Council of Trustees members Sen. Vincent Hughes and Samuel Patterson, all three of whom have been and continue to be strong advocates in the battle to save and enhance the university (along with Rep. Jordan Harris whom we have adopted as a member of our family due to his pro-Cheyney tenacity). Based on this PASSHE dominance, shouldn’t this group be called the PASSHE Task Force? I’ll address that in an upcoming column.
Based directly on the verbatim language in that task force report, I — on behalf of Heeding Cheyney’s Call — began publicly ringing the alarms because the Task Force has/had a plan to sell Cheyney’s land, eliminate its NCAA sports teams, and cut its academic programs from 18 to 10. But I was accused by certain unnamed state officials of misrepresenting the situation. They said there was no plan. They said the land will not be sold. They said the NCAA sports will not be eliminated. (But they did admit that the academic programs will be drastically cut, which seems counterproductive since the goal is — or at least should be — to attract more, not less, students.)
The last time I checked, a “plan” is defined as a “method for achieving an end.” And that word, “plan,” is used twice on page eight of the report. Also, on that same page, the report lists the “sale” of Cheyney University’s land as one of “various options.” I’m a lawyer and I know legal double-talk when I see it. Why is the selling of this historic land even a consideration? I’m sure George Cheyney, who transferred his farmland to our beloved Institute for Colored Youth in 1902, is turning over in his grave regarding such an option or consideration or possibility or whatever other euphemism the task force chooses to use.
Despite all of that, the task force is now saying the land definitely won’t be sold and the NCAA teams definitely won’t be eliminated. I’ll hold the task force and the interim president to that in the event they catch a sudden case of amnesia.
Although the substantive “monitoring report” was due September 1, the final accreditation decision won’t be made by MSCHE until Nov. 16. Let’s keep the pressure on PASSHE, the task force and the interim president so Cheyney, born 180 years ago in 1837, doesn’t die but instead remains alive and well for another 180 years.
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD96.1-FM. His “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/Comcast.
Coard: Reports of Cheyney's death greatly exaggerated
- Michael Coard
- Sep 2, 2017
When it was rumored this year Cheyney would die on or shortly after Sept. 1 due to accreditation noncompliance, Gov. Tom Wolf on Aug. 22, by way of his Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Board of Governors, threw Cheyney a much-needed lifeline in the form of a $30 million infusion.
As a result of that, the governor, who told Heeding Cheyney’s Call in 2015 that “Cheyney would not die on ... (my) watch,” proved not only that he’s a man of his word but also that he appreciates the cultural, educational, and essential importance of HBCUs in general and Cheyney University in particular. Kudos to Wolf!
End of story? Nope. There’s more. And it ain’t great.
First of all, without that $30 million from Wolf, Cheyney would be dead by now. Accordingly, that part is clearly great. But the other parts of Cheyney’s situation, which include the strings attached to that money and also include something called the Cheyney University Task Force, are not so great.
Here are four key facts:
1. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) told Cheyney on June 22 that the school could keep its accreditation only if it submits a substantive “monitoring report” by Sept. 1 that shows compliance with two basic concerns: financial planning (i.e., revenue with strategies) and administrative permanence (i.e., presidential stability). By kicking in that $30 million and by previously initiating the steps to begin the national search for a permanent (instead of interim) president at Cheyney, the governor pretty much guaranteed the school’s accreditation compliance.
2. That $30 million has been erroneously described by state officials and in the media as debt “forgiveness.” But it was actually a debt “waiver.” To “forgive” someone means to excuse that person for a wrongdoing. But Cheyney did nothing wrong to the state and Cheyney owed nothing to the state. Quite the contrary, based on an agreement that then-Governor Tom Ridge, through his PASSHE Chancellor James McCormick and his Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok, signed in 1999 during negotiations with the federal Office for Civil Rights to finally end PASSHE’s discrimination against Cheyney, PASSHE as of 2017 still owes Cheyney most of the $100 million required in that contract. Therefore, that recent $30 million was not “forgiven.” It was “waived.” To “waive” something means to refrain from insisting upon it. In other words, stop bothering me ‘cause I don’t owe you nothin’ and you know it. In fact, you owe me. Where’s my money?
3. That $30 million waiver is conditional. It goes into effect only if Cheyney achieves and maintains a balanced budget over the next four years. What does that mean? That means PASSHE should and must provide the additional and equitable financial resources that Cheyney will need — and that are owed to Cheyney — during that four year period and beyond.
4. On May 11, a recently formed entity known as the Cheyney University Task Force distributed its report during a presentation on campus. That Task Force consists primarily of PASSHE people. It has only three Cheyney persons including Council of Trustee Chairman Robert Bogle and Council of Trustees members Sen. Vincent Hughes and Samuel Patterson, all three of whom have been and continue to be strong advocates in the battle to save and enhance the university (along with Rep. Jordan Harris whom we have adopted as a member of our family due to his pro-Cheyney tenacity). Based on this PASSHE dominance, shouldn’t this group be called the PASSHE Task Force? I’ll address that in an upcoming column.
Based directly on the verbatim language in that task force report, I — on behalf of Heeding Cheyney’s Call — began publicly ringing the alarms because the Task Force has/had a plan to sell Cheyney’s land, eliminate its NCAA sports teams, and cut its academic programs from 18 to 10. But I was accused by certain unnamed state officials of misrepresenting the situation. They said there was no plan. They said the land will not be sold. They said the NCAA sports will not be eliminated. (But they did admit that the academic programs will be drastically cut, which seems counterproductive since the goal is — or at least should be — to attract more, not less, students.)
The last time I checked, a “plan” is defined as a “method for achieving an end.” And that word, “plan,” is used twice on page eight of the report. Also, on that same page, the report lists the “sale” of Cheyney University’s land as one of “various options.” I’m a lawyer and I know legal double-talk when I see it. Why is the selling of this historic land even a consideration? I’m sure George Cheyney, who transferred his farmland to our beloved Institute for Colored Youth in 1902, is turning over in his grave regarding such an option or consideration or possibility or whatever other euphemism the task force chooses to use.
Despite all of that, the task force is now saying the land definitely won’t be sold and the NCAA teams definitely won’t be eliminated. I’ll hold the task force and the interim president to that in the event they catch a sudden case of amnesia.
Although the substantive “monitoring report” was due September 1, the final accreditation decision won’t be made by MSCHE until Nov. 16. Let’s keep the pressure on PASSHE, the task force and the interim president so Cheyney, born 180 years ago in 1837, doesn’t die but instead remains alive and well for another 180 years.
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD96.1-FM. His “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/Comcast.
Friday, August 25, 2017
We Won!!!
We Won!!!
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Friday, June 16, 2017
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Videos from June 5th Heeding Cheyney's Call Meeting at Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Video 1 of 2
www.facebook.com/allen.t.smith/videos/10155455695964292/
Video 2 of 2
https://www.facebook.com/allen.t.smith/videos/10155455740334292/
Videos from June 5th Heeding Cheyney's Call Meeting at Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Video 1 of 2
www.facebook.com/allen.t.smith/videos/10155455695964292/
Video 2 of 2
https://www.facebook.com/allen.t.smith/videos/10155455740334292/
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Heeding Cheyney's Call group discusses plans for school's future
Samaria Bailey Tribune Correspondent Jun 10, 2017
Michael Coard
Heeding Cheyney’s Call hosted an informational meeting at Zion Baptist Church earlier last week, updating alumni and students on issues facing the school and how they plan to move forward following a Cheyney University task force meeting.
The meeting came just under a week after the Cheyney University task force — made up of state and elected officials, and some members of Cheyney’s Council of Trustees and Board of Governors — made recommendations.
Heeding Cheyney’s Call said its meeting, which took place on Monday, was also organized to save the school.
“The purpose of this meeting is to save Cheyney,” said attorney Michael Coard, Heeding Cheyney’s Call founder and Cheyney alumnus. “Our strategy has slightly changed based on some recent developments. We are not just fighting blatant enemies but people that are well intentioned.”
The meeting began with Coard dispelling rumors that have been circulating. He said that it is not true that Heeding Cheyney’s Call lost the 2014 lawsuit filed against former Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. We ... [had] the case dismissed without prejudice. We always had and still have the case on the back burner,” he said. “As of January 2016, we withdrew it in order to settle. As a result of this task force, we are going to reinstate it.” Coard is referencing a set of recommendations made by the task force to improve enrollment, academics and finances, among other items.
“The [idea] they suggested — the sale of Cheyney’s land — was the most egregious recommendation,” said Coard. “They are trying to backtrack and say it was simply a suggestion.” Coard contends that if the state had “complied with a 1999 agreement with the Office of Civil Rights, they would have paid Cheyney $100 million as of 2015.”
Coard said Cheyney’s combined state and federal debt is “between $75 million and $90 million” and that decades of discriminatory funding have put it in a position where it cannot afford to support itself or pay its debts.
The other rumor Coard dispelled is the idea that “West Chester has taken over Cheyney.” However, an education professor, Dr. Wesley Pugh did confirm they are in discussions with West Chester and other mainstream state schools regarding potential collaborations.
“West Chester has approached Cheyney to say, let’s collaborate on [Cheyney’s] principal certification program. Their students won’t come to Cheyney but they will come to a Cheyney-West Chester program. The faculty has decided we will listen to them because ... in order to survive we have to entertain the notion of West Chester collaborating with us. If we do this, we have to make them aware the major benefit must accrue with Cheyney. We will agree that [they] teach one half, we teach one half. We have to make sure Cheyney’s name is on the certificate and West Chester’s name is on the certificate.”
Junious Stanton, a Heeding Cheyney’s Call organizer said accreditation is the biggest and most imminent threat Cheyney has right now.
“The academic portion of Cheyney is solid but the issue is governance and lack of stability and the question of can Cheyney fulfill its mission.”
Alphonso Coleman, also a Heeding organizer, said the lack of a permanent president and the continual appointment of interims can adversely impacts its accreditation. “We have to show governance is changing,” he said. “If we can show cause with changes in governance and finances, we are in a good position.”
As the meeting closed, organizers asked the meeting attendees to write suggestions that would help save Cheyney. Some vocalized their recommendations, stressing the need for tangible and intangible supports, including consistent financial donations and prayer.
April Moye, a 2015 social relations graduate, pushed for a united front.
“I feel like Cheyney just needs to come together, to move forward to get what we need done,” she said.
The meeting came just under a week after the Cheyney University task force — made up of state and elected officials, and some members of Cheyney’s Council of Trustees and Board of Governors — made recommendations.
Heeding Cheyney’s Call said its meeting, which took place on Monday, was also organized to save the school.
“The purpose of this meeting is to save Cheyney,” said attorney Michael Coard, Heeding Cheyney’s Call founder and Cheyney alumnus. “Our strategy has slightly changed based on some recent developments. We are not just fighting blatant enemies but people that are well intentioned.”
The meeting began with Coard dispelling rumors that have been circulating. He said that it is not true that Heeding Cheyney’s Call lost the 2014 lawsuit filed against former Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. We ... [had] the case dismissed without prejudice. We always had and still have the case on the back burner,” he said. “As of January 2016, we withdrew it in order to settle. As a result of this task force, we are going to reinstate it.” Coard is referencing a set of recommendations made by the task force to improve enrollment, academics and finances, among other items.
“The [idea] they suggested — the sale of Cheyney’s land — was the most egregious recommendation,” said Coard. “They are trying to backtrack and say it was simply a suggestion.” Coard contends that if the state had “complied with a 1999 agreement with the Office of Civil Rights, they would have paid Cheyney $100 million as of 2015.”
Coard said Cheyney’s combined state and federal debt is “between $75 million and $90 million” and that decades of discriminatory funding have put it in a position where it cannot afford to support itself or pay its debts.
The other rumor Coard dispelled is the idea that “West Chester has taken over Cheyney.” However, an education professor, Dr. Wesley Pugh did confirm they are in discussions with West Chester and other mainstream state schools regarding potential collaborations.
“West Chester has approached Cheyney to say, let’s collaborate on [Cheyney’s] principal certification program. Their students won’t come to Cheyney but they will come to a Cheyney-West Chester program. The faculty has decided we will listen to them because ... in order to survive we have to entertain the notion of West Chester collaborating with us. If we do this, we have to make them aware the major benefit must accrue with Cheyney. We will agree that [they] teach one half, we teach one half. We have to make sure Cheyney’s name is on the certificate and West Chester’s name is on the certificate.”
Junious Stanton, a Heeding Cheyney’s Call organizer said accreditation is the biggest and most imminent threat Cheyney has right now.
“The academic portion of Cheyney is solid but the issue is governance and lack of stability and the question of can Cheyney fulfill its mission.”
Alphonso Coleman, also a Heeding organizer, said the lack of a permanent president and the continual appointment of interims can adversely impacts its accreditation. “We have to show governance is changing,” he said. “If we can show cause with changes in governance and finances, we are in a good position.”
As the meeting closed, organizers asked the meeting attendees to write suggestions that would help save Cheyney. Some vocalized their recommendations, stressing the need for tangible and intangible supports, including consistent financial donations and prayer.
April Moye, a 2015 social relations graduate, pushed for a united front.
“I feel like Cheyney just needs to come together, to move forward to get what we need done,” she said.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Saturday, June 2, 2017
ATTENTION: The Heeding Cheyney's Call meeting at Zion Baptist Church, North Broad and Venango in Philadelphia, on Monday, June 5th at 7:00PM will be video streamed live through THIS FaceBook page, Heeding Cheyney's Call. If you are NOT a member of this page? Simply ask to be added.
Saturday, June 2, 2017
Will Cheyney Be Killed Like Octavius Catto?
On October 10, 1871, Cheyney University/Institute for Colored Youth professor Octavius Catto was murdered by racists in Philadelphia as part of a plan to crush Black advancement by using bullets and assassins to do the execution.
On May 11, 2017, Cheyney University was targeted for murder by racism just outside Philadelphia as part of a plan to crush Black advancement by selling its land, cutting its staff, tearing down its buildings, and eliminating all of its NCAA sports teams, while drowning it in debt and causing it to lose its accreditation by using bureaucrats and appointees to do the execution.
It happened to Catto, who was a prominent voting rights and civil rights activist, on Election Day near his home at Eighth and South streets when a white man murdered him with two shots to the body. By the way, the artistic rendition shown above was included with this column because it is the only one based upon purported witness testimony during the 1877 trial. Unfortunately, it is not precisely accurate because, although it shows Catto with a gun, he was neither holding it in his hand nor displaying it when he was attacked. In fact, he had just purchased it minutes earlier for self-defense in response to relentless racist death threats. Moreover, it was unloaded.
It happened to Cheyney University — which, having been founded in 1837, is the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America- on the day that the Task Force (created by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s/PASSHE’s Board of Governors) met near Philadelphia on Cheyney’s campus. That was when the Task Force publicly presented a plan that purportedly and inexplicably is designed to save Cheyney by selling, cutting, tearing down, and eliminating, while ignoring the fact that it is drowning in debt and facing imminent loss of accreditation.
I already know that many people, especially white folks, are rolling their eyes and saying Cheyney’s current and recent wounds are all self-inflicted. They’re claiming that its $60 million state loan debt and its $30 million federal financial aid debt and its mere 746 students are its own fault. But that’s not really true because it’s been the victim of racial discrimination for at least 116 years since 1901 (and actually earlier). Let me count the ways:
1901- While Cheyney was a stand-alone teacher training school, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania paid the full yearly tuition and stipend of $140 to white students to attend state-owned teacher training schools but paid only $25 to Cheyney students.
1969- The Commonwealth, as recently as 1969, was one of just ten states (including the usual suspects, namely Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, et al) determined by the U.S. Department of Education to have been blatantly discriminating against Blacks in higher education.
1983- It was not until 1983 that the Commonwealth, for the first time ever, finally submitted a formal anti-racial discrimination plan that was deemed acceptable by and to the U.S. Department of Education following repeated warranted rejections.
1999- At the insistence of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the Commonwealth was compelled to “do the right thing” by signing a formal agreement to resolve then-unresolved issues regarding racial discrimination against Cheyney. However, that agreement has been breached by the Commonwealth and, as of 2017, those issues remain unresolved. As a result of that breach, the Commonwealth, since 1999, owed Cheyney at least $100 million as of 2015 (and obviously much more now in 2017).
Cheyney is in dire straits because of the Commonwealth’s documented and irrefutable racial discrimination. If the Commonwealth/PASSHE ends the racism, it’ll end Cheyney’s plight. Just pay us what you owe us as reparations in the form of debt forgiveness, attractive academic programs, student tutorial services, and other long-overdue and well-deserved essential resources.
I’m not ready to completely condemn the Task Force, at least not yet. I’m willing to give it a chance because it includes some people of good will who have sacrificed much for Cheyney. But I gotta give the “side eye” to anything connected with PASSHE because its treatment of Cheyney has been suspect to say the least. But it does seem to be kinda/sorta trying to do the right thing in order to keep Cheyney’s doors open. However, when the person who threw you down a deep hole by racially discriminating against you since 1901 (and earlier) now offers you a golden ladder, check to make sure it doesn’t have slippery oil on the rungs and sharp spikes at the bottom. You have to be really careful when the person who has been trying to destroy you for so long suddenly offers what appears to be a wonderful gift.
There are many rumors and lots of misinformation being spread about Cheyney’s status and future. There are many alums, students, and supporters who want to help Cheyney. And the only way to dispel those rumors and correct that misinformation and provide that help is to attend a public meeting sponsored by Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC).
That meeting will be held on Monday, June 5 at 7:00 pm at Zion Baptist Church, Broad and Venango. By the way, HCC is making arrangements to have the meeting live-streamed on the internet for those who are unable to attend. Log onto HeedingCheyneysCall.org for more details.
In conclusion, Octavius Catto wants his Cheyney alumni family to avenge him by rescuing our historic institution. Are you gonna ignore him and allow his and our alma mater to be murdered?
Michael Coard, Esquire, can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD900AM.And his “TV Courtroom” show can be seen on PhillyCam/Verizon/Comcast.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Why Cheyney deserves to be saved: alumni, faculty and students make their case.
By Jan Murphy
PDF Download
Penn Live Article
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/03/cheyney_changes_lives_its_alum.html#incart_river_index
Why Cheyney deserves to be saved: alumni, faculty and students make their case.
By Jan Murphy
PDF Download
Penn Live Article
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/03/cheyney_changes_lives_its_alum.html#incart_river_index
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016
House Democratic Policy Committee hearing at PASSHE's Center City Office May 10, 2016
As shown in the following four photos, Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) presented strong arguments for "increased Cheyney funding and additional Cheyney resources" today (5/10) at the House Democratic Policy Committee hearing at PASSHE's Center City office.
Those arguments were so persuasive that each of the 15 legislative committee members- both Black and white!- indicated their support for HCC's efforts to save and enhance historic Cheyney University.
House Democratic Policy Committee hearing at PASSHE's Center City Office May 10, 2016
As shown in the following four photos, Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) presented strong arguments for "increased Cheyney funding and additional Cheyney resources" today (5/10) at the House Democratic Policy Committee hearing at PASSHE's Center City office.
Those arguments were so persuasive that each of the 15 legislative committee members- both Black and white!- indicated their support for HCC's efforts to save and enhance historic Cheyney University.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Cheyney advocates say university is underfunded
By Patti Mengers, Delaware County Daily Times
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20160510/cheyney-advocates-say-university-is-underfunded
When Pennsylvania Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr. was a college student in the mid-1960s, he took a course in state and local government taught by Professor Norville Smith at Cheyney University in Thornbury. He eventually earned his doctorate in history at the University of Virginia.
“I always point out the irony that the course I took at Cheyney is what I do now,” said the 70-year-old Democrat from Philadelphia.
In his role as Democratic chairman of the state House education committee, Roebuck is now advocating for Cheyney, the nation’s oldest historically black institution of higher learning that was founded in 1837. He believes Cheyney is underfunded.
“I have been a representative for 30 years. In 1985, one of the first issues I addressed was the underfunding of Cheyney,” said Roebuck late Tuesday afternoon. “It is not a new issue.”
Tuesday morning, Roebuck along with fellow Philadelphia Democrats, state representatives Stephen Kinsey and Jordan A. Harris, chaired a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Cheyney funding at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education campus, Seventh and Market streets, in Philadelphia. Twelve other state representatives were in attendance as were about 30 audience members including alumni, students, former teachers and others connected with Cheyney.
Among those who testified before the committee was Michael Coard, an attorney and 1982 Cheyney alumnus who is spokesman for Heeding Cheyney’s Call, a coalition formed in 2013 to advocate for his alma mater.
In October 2014, Heeding Cheyney’s Call filed a civil rights lawsuit in Philadelphia U.S. District Court against then-Gov. Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Board of Governors and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for what it maintains is intentional underfunding and failure to improve facilities at the historically black institution as compared to traditionally white ones.
Officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, also known as PASSHE, that oversees Cheyney and 13 other state-owned institutions of higher learning, maintained in 2014 that the amount of state appropriation provided per student at Cheyney University was more than three times the state system average and the percentage of the educational and general budget paid with state funds was significantly higher at Cheyney than at any other state system university.
“Now it’s more like four times higher,” said PASSHE Media Relations Manager Kenn Marshall on Tuesday afternoon.
At the approximately two and a half hour hearing Tuesday, Coard insisted that PASSHE officials’ characterization of Cheyney’s share of state appropriations “is mathematically and fundamentally flawed,” that it does not allow for Cheyney’s smaller enrollment and “deceptively ignores the vastness of the larger school’s facilities and resources relative to the smaller schools.”
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education last November put Cheyney on probation because of insufficient evidence that it is in compliance with several standards. Cheyney remains fully accredited but has until Sept. 1 to produce a monitoring report documenting the implementation of a technology plan, the development and implementation of a long-term financial plan, steps taken to strengthen the institution’s finances and updated cash and financial projections for the next five years.
In November, Marshall said Cheyney’s accreditation issues were not connected with Heeding Cheyney’s Call’s civil rights lawsuit, but Coard maintained that Cheyney’s probationary status is directly related to issues outlined in the lawsuit.
“First, those complaints stem from historic as well as recent discriminatory underfunding by PASSHE that led to a lack of essential technological resources and essential financial aid resources. Second, PASSHE has consistently failed to appoint competent, technologically-savvy presidents at Cheyney,” said Coard last November.
Coard noted on Tuesday that Heeding Cheyney’s Call rallying cry is “Parity Through Equity” and that members are seeking more than just equality in funding and resources from the state.
“In other words, it has not come close to providing Cheyney University with the money, the facilities, the unique high-demand, non-duplicated programs, and the other resources that it owes and that equity demands,” said Coard on Tuesday.
Roebuck said that among the other complaints he has heard about Cheyney are issues with maintenance, decaying infrastructure, mold and a consistent decline in enrollment that this spring was at 689 including 169 recent graduates, down from 1,586 in fall 2010.
“The number of students who have applied for fall 2016 admission is up 55 percent right now compared to this time last year,” noted Cheyney University Director of Public Relations Gwen Owens at the end of March.
Owens said that no Cheyney University administrators attended Tuesday’s hearing, a fact that Roebuck decried. He also assumed that PASSHE sent no representatives. However, Marshall said they were in attendance at the hearing, but did not testify.
“We’re looking for a sitdown with Cheyney administrators and the state system to tie down a viable program of action that will address the needs of Cheyney University,” said Roebuck.
Marshall noted that PASSHE officials regularly meet with state legislators and would be happy to meet with Roebuck at his convenience.
“We continue to work with the leadership of Cheyney University, including the Council of Trustees, and the commonwealth, including the legislature, with the goal of helping to preserve the long-term future of the institution,” said Marshall on Tuesday afternoon. “Both the state system and the commonwealth have provided and continue to provide substantial resources to the university to support its operations.”
Cheyney advocates say university is underfunded
By Patti Mengers, Delaware County Daily Times
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20160510/cheyney-advocates-say-university-is-underfunded
When Pennsylvania Rep. James R. Roebuck Jr. was a college student in the mid-1960s, he took a course in state and local government taught by Professor Norville Smith at Cheyney University in Thornbury. He eventually earned his doctorate in history at the University of Virginia.
“I always point out the irony that the course I took at Cheyney is what I do now,” said the 70-year-old Democrat from Philadelphia.
In his role as Democratic chairman of the state House education committee, Roebuck is now advocating for Cheyney, the nation’s oldest historically black institution of higher learning that was founded in 1837. He believes Cheyney is underfunded.
“I have been a representative for 30 years. In 1985, one of the first issues I addressed was the underfunding of Cheyney,” said Roebuck late Tuesday afternoon. “It is not a new issue.”
Tuesday morning, Roebuck along with fellow Philadelphia Democrats, state representatives Stephen Kinsey and Jordan A. Harris, chaired a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Cheyney funding at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education campus, Seventh and Market streets, in Philadelphia. Twelve other state representatives were in attendance as were about 30 audience members including alumni, students, former teachers and others connected with Cheyney.
Among those who testified before the committee was Michael Coard, an attorney and 1982 Cheyney alumnus who is spokesman for Heeding Cheyney’s Call, a coalition formed in 2013 to advocate for his alma mater.
In October 2014, Heeding Cheyney’s Call filed a civil rights lawsuit in Philadelphia U.S. District Court against then-Gov. Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Board of Governors and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for what it maintains is intentional underfunding and failure to improve facilities at the historically black institution as compared to traditionally white ones.
Officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, also known as PASSHE, that oversees Cheyney and 13 other state-owned institutions of higher learning, maintained in 2014 that the amount of state appropriation provided per student at Cheyney University was more than three times the state system average and the percentage of the educational and general budget paid with state funds was significantly higher at Cheyney than at any other state system university.
“Now it’s more like four times higher,” said PASSHE Media Relations Manager Kenn Marshall on Tuesday afternoon.
At the approximately two and a half hour hearing Tuesday, Coard insisted that PASSHE officials’ characterization of Cheyney’s share of state appropriations “is mathematically and fundamentally flawed,” that it does not allow for Cheyney’s smaller enrollment and “deceptively ignores the vastness of the larger school’s facilities and resources relative to the smaller schools.”
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education last November put Cheyney on probation because of insufficient evidence that it is in compliance with several standards. Cheyney remains fully accredited but has until Sept. 1 to produce a monitoring report documenting the implementation of a technology plan, the development and implementation of a long-term financial plan, steps taken to strengthen the institution’s finances and updated cash and financial projections for the next five years.
In November, Marshall said Cheyney’s accreditation issues were not connected with Heeding Cheyney’s Call’s civil rights lawsuit, but Coard maintained that Cheyney’s probationary status is directly related to issues outlined in the lawsuit.
“First, those complaints stem from historic as well as recent discriminatory underfunding by PASSHE that led to a lack of essential technological resources and essential financial aid resources. Second, PASSHE has consistently failed to appoint competent, technologically-savvy presidents at Cheyney,” said Coard last November.
Coard noted on Tuesday that Heeding Cheyney’s Call rallying cry is “Parity Through Equity” and that members are seeking more than just equality in funding and resources from the state.
“In other words, it has not come close to providing Cheyney University with the money, the facilities, the unique high-demand, non-duplicated programs, and the other resources that it owes and that equity demands,” said Coard on Tuesday.
Roebuck said that among the other complaints he has heard about Cheyney are issues with maintenance, decaying infrastructure, mold and a consistent decline in enrollment that this spring was at 689 including 169 recent graduates, down from 1,586 in fall 2010.
“The number of students who have applied for fall 2016 admission is up 55 percent right now compared to this time last year,” noted Cheyney University Director of Public Relations Gwen Owens at the end of March.
Owens said that no Cheyney University administrators attended Tuesday’s hearing, a fact that Roebuck decried. He also assumed that PASSHE sent no representatives. However, Marshall said they were in attendance at the hearing, but did not testify.
“We’re looking for a sitdown with Cheyney administrators and the state system to tie down a viable program of action that will address the needs of Cheyney University,” said Roebuck.
Marshall noted that PASSHE officials regularly meet with state legislators and would be happy to meet with Roebuck at his convenience.
“We continue to work with the leadership of Cheyney University, including the Council of Trustees, and the commonwealth, including the legislature, with the goal of helping to preserve the long-term future of the institution,” said Marshall on Tuesday afternoon. “Both the state system and the commonwealth have provided and continue to provide substantial resources to the university to support its operations.”
Monday, May 9, 2016
*Heeding Cheyney's Call used the legal system to win the battle to "save" Cheyney.
*Now, Heeding Cheyney's Call is using the political system to win the battle to "enhance" Cheyney.
*And we need your help on 5/10 to get that enhancement in the form of increased funding and additional resources. Spread the word. And be there!
*Heeding Cheyney's Call used the legal system to win the battle to "save" Cheyney.
*Now, Heeding Cheyney's Call is using the political system to win the battle to "enhance" Cheyney.
*And we need your help on 5/10 to get that enhancement in the form of increased funding and additional resources. Spread the word. And be there!
Sunday, April 24, 2016
If Sonny Harris was the fire of Heeding Cheyney's Call- and he was- Barbara Daniel Cox was the soul.
You can say whatever you want about her somewhat abrasive attitude at times. But you must admit that no one gave more time, more energy, and more passion to all Cheyney-related activities.
Although we lost her today, she's now working directly with Sonny to continue the battle to save and enhance our beloved alma mater.
Submitted Loyally,
Michael Coard
If Sonny Harris was the fire of Heeding Cheyney's Call- and he was- Barbara Daniel Cox was the soul.
You can say whatever you want about her somewhat abrasive attitude at times. But you must admit that no one gave more time, more energy, and more passion to all Cheyney-related activities.
Although we lost her today, she's now working directly with Sonny to continue the battle to save and enhance our beloved alma mater.
Submitted Loyally,
Michael Coard
Monday, March 28, 2016
Great News!
Forget what PASSHE Chancellor Brogan and Republican State Senator Scavello said about Cheyney. Forget what certain hatin' administrators and staffers on campus said about the courtroom strategies and boardroom negotiations of Heeding Cheyney's Call.
Although I can't go into detail due to confidentiality issues,
I can say this: As a result of the lawsuit and the settlement discussions, Governor Wolf informed Heeding Cheyney's Call today (3/28) that he's "not only committed to saving Cheyney but also to enhancing Cheyney."
More info will be provided later.
Loyally,
Michael Coard
Great News!
Forget what PASSHE Chancellor Brogan and Republican State Senator Scavello said about Cheyney. Forget what certain hatin' administrators and staffers on campus said about the courtroom strategies and boardroom negotiations of Heeding Cheyney's Call.
Although I can't go into detail due to confidentiality issues,
I can say this: As a result of the lawsuit and the settlement discussions, Governor Wolf informed Heeding Cheyney's Call today (3/28) that he's "not only committed to saving Cheyney but also to enhancing Cheyney."
More info will be provided later.
Loyally,
Michael Coard
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Announcement
Join Heeding Cheyney's Call at the Council of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, 3/15 at 1:00 on the second floor of the Marcus Foster Student Alumni Center.
Loyally,
Michael Coard
Announcement
Join Heeding Cheyney's Call at the Council of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, 3/15 at 1:00 on the second floor of the Marcus Foster Student Alumni Center.
Loyally,
Michael Coard
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
IMMEDIATE ACTION PLAN TO STOP THE MURDER OF CHEYNEY
You all have seen the video of Senator Scavello and PASSHE Chancellor Brogan (included in the post above from yesterday on 3/7) showing them discussing their plans to murder Cheyney. Well, Professor Sonny Harris- the founder of Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC)- just sent me a message and here's what he said: "Cheyney ain't no goddamn supermarket. It's a super school!"
Based on what our beloved ancestor said, HCC has created the "Super School, Not Supermarket" Committee. And anyone can join. All you have to do is take these three very easy steps:
1. Call Scavello and Brogan and say "Are you aware that Cheyney is a super school, not a supermarket?" (Their numbers are listed in the post above from yesterday on 3/7.)
2. Also, ask why did they make the statements they made at the March 2d Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about Cheyney being like a supermarket that will shut down in 1-2 years.
3. And finally, ask what exactly they plan to do to save and enhance the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America, founded during slavery in 1837.
After taking those steps, ask two other persons to do the same. And please email a summary of whatever responses you get from Scavello and Brogan to us at HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com.
IMMEDIATE ACTION PLAN TO STOP THE MURDER OF CHEYNEY
You all have seen the video of Senator Scavello and PASSHE Chancellor Brogan (included in the post above from yesterday on 3/7) showing them discussing their plans to murder Cheyney. Well, Professor Sonny Harris- the founder of Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC)- just sent me a message and here's what he said: "Cheyney ain't no goddamn supermarket. It's a super school!"
Based on what our beloved ancestor said, HCC has created the "Super School, Not Supermarket" Committee. And anyone can join. All you have to do is take these three very easy steps:
1. Call Scavello and Brogan and say "Are you aware that Cheyney is a super school, not a supermarket?" (Their numbers are listed in the post above from yesterday on 3/7.)
2. Also, ask why did they make the statements they made at the March 2d Senate Appropriations Committee hearing about Cheyney being like a supermarket that will shut down in 1-2 years.
3. And finally, ask what exactly they plan to do to save and enhance the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America, founded during slavery in 1837.
After taking those steps, ask two other persons to do the same. And please email a summary of whatever responses you get from Scavello and Brogan to us at HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com.
Monday, March 7, 2016
URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO HELP SAVE CHEYNEY RIGHT NOW!
Please watch this 4 1/2 minute video and then make the following calls.
As a result of the ongoing lawsuit filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call and the ongoing confidential and productive settlement negotiation that Heeding Cheyney's Call has been having with Gov. Wolf and his legal staff, Cheyney was not only saved but also was in the process of being enhanced. However, just a few days ago on March 2 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Monroe/Northampton County Senator Mario Scavello suggested- actually indirectly requested- that Cheyney be closed. And PASSHE Chancellor Frank Brogan agreed, giving our alma mater a 1-2 year death sentence!
Please call Scavello at 717-787-6123 and Brogan at 717-720-4010. Tell them you're a member of Heeding Cheyney's Call and ask them why they're trying to kill the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America. And then ask them to log onto HeedingCheyneysCall.org to see indisputable proof that Pennsylvania has been racially discriminating against Cheyney since 1901 up to and including 2016.
After you call, please post here on this Facebook page the response from Scavello and Brogan's offices. Let's put them on blast and shame them into ending their racial discrimination against Cheyney!
Please watch this 4 1/2 minute video and then make the following calls.
As a result of the ongoing lawsuit filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call and the ongoing confidential and productive settlement negotiation that Heeding Cheyney's Call has been having with Gov. Wolf and his legal staff, Cheyney was not only saved but also was in the process of being enhanced. However, just a few days ago on March 2 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Monroe/Northampton County Senator Mario Scavello suggested- actually indirectly requested- that Cheyney be closed. And PASSHE Chancellor Frank Brogan agreed, giving our alma mater a 1-2 year death sentence!
Please call Scavello at 717-787-6123 and Brogan at 717-720-4010. Tell them you're a member of Heeding Cheyney's Call and ask them why they're trying to kill the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America. And then ask them to log onto HeedingCheyneysCall.org to see indisputable proof that Pennsylvania has been racially discriminating against Cheyney since 1901 up to and including 2016.
After you call, please post here on this Facebook page the response from Scavello and Brogan's offices. Let's put them on blast and shame them into ending their racial discrimination against Cheyney!
Thursday, March 2, 2016
State Rep. Stephen Kinsey Advocating For Cheyney University
Dear Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus:
On behalf of Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC), I submit this correspondence to factually and legally correct the public record in response to the invalid (hence misleading) press statement issued by PASSHE on November 10, 2015 minutes after hundreds of Cheyney University students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and influential legislative supporters attended a "Parity Through Equity" rally and press conference in the State Capitol Rotunda.
Factual Correction of PASSHE's Statement-
PASSHE claims that "Cheyney University receives the highest amount of state funding per in-state student of any of the 14 State System universities... at nearly four times the System average...." But that claim is blatantly misleading because it is based merely on a partial truth- not on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
In response to a very similar claim made in 2013 by PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, HCC explicitly noted the following on page two of the attached four page October 17, 2013 letter to James D. Schultz, Esquire, General Counsel in Governor Tom Corbett's Office of General Counsel:
PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's "contention that 'Cheyney currently receives almost three times as much in state appropriations per student as the other thirteen universities within PASSHE is mathematically and fundamentally flawed. As an illustration, if a school with a student population of one (e.g., Cheyney University) receives $100 from the Commonwealth, it could be disingenuously argued that the school gets more 'per capita' than a school (e.g., West Chester) with a student population of ten that receives $300 from the Commonwealth. The former would get $100 'per capita' while the other would get only $30 'per capita.' However, in total dollars, the latter nonetheless has gotten three times the former. Additionally, this 'per capita' characterization deceptively ignores the vastness of the larger school's facilities and resources relative to the smaller school's."
Please refer to the other portions of the aforementioned page two that address the real numbers regarding what Cheyney University actually receives. In fact, please refer to the entire four pages for complete and contextualized information.
By the way, please note that HCC is not seeking mere "equality" in funding and resources. Instead, it is seeking necessary "equity," which, unlike mere "equality," factors in not just current discrimination but also the vestiges of past discrimination- including, but not limited to, more than a century of racist under-funding starting in 1901 when the Commonwealth provided $140 to white students in the state training to become teachers but only $25 to black students at Cheyney training to become teachers. This is the basis for HCC's rallying cry, "Parity Through Equity!"
Other so-called computations in PASSHE's press statement are just as blatantly misleading, fundamentally flawed, and/or just plain wrong. They all will be addressed and exposed in future correspondence.
In the meantime, it must be pointed out that, to the extent that Cheyney's per student costs have any significance, such ostensibly higher costs are irrefutable proof of PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's lack of investment to grow this historic university to a size large enough to yield reasonable economies of scale.
Legal Correction of PASSHE's Statement-
Assuming arguendo PASSHE's numbers are complete and accurate (which they are not), they nonetheless are irrelevant. In a precedent-setting federal case, Knight v. Alabama, which dealt with many HBCU-related issues, including underfunding, and which was litigated for nearly 30 years before ending in 2006, the District Court ruled that a state's increased per pupil funding (over and above the per pupil funding for Traditionally White Institutions) is not sufficient to overcome or remedy the cumulative underfunding of HBCUs during the many years of de jure segregation/discrimination and continuing through subsequent years of de facto segregation/discrimination.
Furthermore, as noted in the pivotal 1972 Adams v. Richardson federal case in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was identified in a 1969 Health, Education, and Welfare Department report as one of only five states in the country to have submitted higher education anti-racial discrimination plans that were consistently- and justifiably- rejected by the federal government as woefully inadequate. And it was not until 1983 that the Commonwealth finally submitted a plan that was deemed acceptable. But because the Commonwealth never sufficiently implemented that plan, the federal Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights compelled the Commonwealth to the negotiation table to hammer out a signed agreement mandating equitable treatment of Cheyney University. However, the Commonwealth has breached its own signed agreement, which was a primary basis for the federal civil rights lawsuit filed against it by HCC in 2014.
In other words, it has not come close to providing Cheyney University with the money, the facilities, the unique high-demand, non-duplicated programs, and the other resources that it owes and that equity demands.
Sincerely,
Michael Coard, Esquire
HeedingCheyneysCall.org
State Rep. Stephen Kinsey Advocating For Cheyney University
Dear Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus:
On behalf of Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC), I submit this correspondence to factually and legally correct the public record in response to the invalid (hence misleading) press statement issued by PASSHE on November 10, 2015 minutes after hundreds of Cheyney University students, alumni, faculty, staff, friends, and influential legislative supporters attended a "Parity Through Equity" rally and press conference in the State Capitol Rotunda.
Factual Correction of PASSHE's Statement-
PASSHE claims that "Cheyney University receives the highest amount of state funding per in-state student of any of the 14 State System universities... at nearly four times the System average...." But that claim is blatantly misleading because it is based merely on a partial truth- not on the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
In response to a very similar claim made in 2013 by PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, HCC explicitly noted the following on page two of the attached four page October 17, 2013 letter to James D. Schultz, Esquire, General Counsel in Governor Tom Corbett's Office of General Counsel:
PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's "contention that 'Cheyney currently receives almost three times as much in state appropriations per student as the other thirteen universities within PASSHE is mathematically and fundamentally flawed. As an illustration, if a school with a student population of one (e.g., Cheyney University) receives $100 from the Commonwealth, it could be disingenuously argued that the school gets more 'per capita' than a school (e.g., West Chester) with a student population of ten that receives $300 from the Commonwealth. The former would get $100 'per capita' while the other would get only $30 'per capita.' However, in total dollars, the latter nonetheless has gotten three times the former. Additionally, this 'per capita' characterization deceptively ignores the vastness of the larger school's facilities and resources relative to the smaller school's."
Please refer to the other portions of the aforementioned page two that address the real numbers regarding what Cheyney University actually receives. In fact, please refer to the entire four pages for complete and contextualized information.
By the way, please note that HCC is not seeking mere "equality" in funding and resources. Instead, it is seeking necessary "equity," which, unlike mere "equality," factors in not just current discrimination but also the vestiges of past discrimination- including, but not limited to, more than a century of racist under-funding starting in 1901 when the Commonwealth provided $140 to white students in the state training to become teachers but only $25 to black students at Cheyney training to become teachers. This is the basis for HCC's rallying cry, "Parity Through Equity!"
Other so-called computations in PASSHE's press statement are just as blatantly misleading, fundamentally flawed, and/or just plain wrong. They all will be addressed and exposed in future correspondence.
In the meantime, it must be pointed out that, to the extent that Cheyney's per student costs have any significance, such ostensibly higher costs are irrefutable proof of PASSHE/Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's lack of investment to grow this historic university to a size large enough to yield reasonable economies of scale.
Legal Correction of PASSHE's Statement-
Assuming arguendo PASSHE's numbers are complete and accurate (which they are not), they nonetheless are irrelevant. In a precedent-setting federal case, Knight v. Alabama, which dealt with many HBCU-related issues, including underfunding, and which was litigated for nearly 30 years before ending in 2006, the District Court ruled that a state's increased per pupil funding (over and above the per pupil funding for Traditionally White Institutions) is not sufficient to overcome or remedy the cumulative underfunding of HBCUs during the many years of de jure segregation/discrimination and continuing through subsequent years of de facto segregation/discrimination.
Furthermore, as noted in the pivotal 1972 Adams v. Richardson federal case in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was identified in a 1969 Health, Education, and Welfare Department report as one of only five states in the country to have submitted higher education anti-racial discrimination plans that were consistently- and justifiably- rejected by the federal government as woefully inadequate. And it was not until 1983 that the Commonwealth finally submitted a plan that was deemed acceptable. But because the Commonwealth never sufficiently implemented that plan, the federal Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights compelled the Commonwealth to the negotiation table to hammer out a signed agreement mandating equitable treatment of Cheyney University. However, the Commonwealth has breached its own signed agreement, which was a primary basis for the federal civil rights lawsuit filed against it by HCC in 2014.
In other words, it has not come close to providing Cheyney University with the money, the facilities, the unique high-demand, non-duplicated programs, and the other resources that it owes and that equity demands.
Sincerely,
Michael Coard, Esquire
HeedingCheyneysCall.org
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Important Announcement:
Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) will hold a public meeting on campus in the Marcus Foster Student Center on Monday, 2/15 at 1:15.
The purpose is to dispel the rumors and to update the Cheyney family about HCC's recent victories in a Philadelphia courtroom and a Harrisburg boardroom.
Please note that the Philly meeting will be held on Monday, February 22 at 6:30 at Zion Baptist Church, Broad & Venango (instead of February 24).
Important Announcement:
Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) will hold a public meeting on campus in the Marcus Foster Student Center on Monday, 2/15 at 1:15.
The purpose is to dispel the rumors and to update the Cheyney family about HCC's recent victories in a Philadelphia courtroom and a Harrisburg boardroom.
Please note that the Philly meeting will be held on Monday, February 22 at 6:30 at Zion Baptist Church, Broad & Venango (instead of February 24).
Friday, February 5, 2016
URGENT UPDATE!
There is a rumor being spread on Cheyney's campus that the lawsuit filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) has recently been dismissed. That is a damn lie and the person who started that rumor- and whose name I won't mention (at least for now)- is a damn liar.
Not only has the lawsuit NOT been dismissed, the complaints raised in that lawsuit have been strengthened, thanks to the legal prowess of HCC's lead attorney Joe Tucker, Esquire and to HCC's productive, ongoing, and confidential negotiations with Governor Tom Wolf himself!
HCC did not want to publicly and prematurely mention anything about those negotiations because they're confidential. But we are compelled to say something now because of the malicious rumor being spread by a certain person.
Stay tuned for further info when HCC schedules its next public meeting in Philly and on campus.
By the way, because of HCC's lawsuit and the negotiations that resulted from that lawsuit, Cheyney is now much closer to becoming "Bigger, Better, and Blacker!"
URGENT UPDATE!
There is a rumor being spread on Cheyney's campus that the lawsuit filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) has recently been dismissed. That is a damn lie and the person who started that rumor- and whose name I won't mention (at least for now)- is a damn liar.
Not only has the lawsuit NOT been dismissed, the complaints raised in that lawsuit have been strengthened, thanks to the legal prowess of HCC's lead attorney Joe Tucker, Esquire and to HCC's productive, ongoing, and confidential negotiations with Governor Tom Wolf himself!
HCC did not want to publicly and prematurely mention anything about those negotiations because they're confidential. But we are compelled to say something now because of the malicious rumor being spread by a certain person.
Stay tuned for further info when HCC schedules its next public meeting in Philly and on campus.
By the way, because of HCC's lawsuit and the negotiations that resulted from that lawsuit, Cheyney is now much closer to becoming "Bigger, Better, and Blacker!"
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
The battle to save Cheyney’s existence, identity, and autonomy
By Michael Coard
Last week’s column was one of two parts. In it, I wrote that the U.S. Department of Education was expected to soon release its response to the scathing Aug. 26, 400-page report by Financial Aid Services, Inc. (FAS) that condemned Cheyney University for failing to track or “reconcile” what was initially believed to be $48.9 million in federal grants and loans to students from 2011-2014.
However, as of the writing of this column, that response has not been released. Despite that, there’s still a lot of important news about Cheyney.
FAS, which was contracted by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), concluded that the $48.9 million figure was inaccurate and that the correct amount is $29.6 million. Accordingly, the Education Department is deciding how much, if any, of that amount has to be returned and what, if any, penalties will be assessed.
I must concede the obvious: some Cheyney staffers and managers screwed up royally. In fact, the report indicates that they made paperwork and accounting mistakes in almost 85 percent of about 4,400 financial aid documents during the three-year period beginning in 2011. I love Cheyney and I always defend Cheyney. But I gotta admit that this is indefensible. But it is explainable.
Consider this: If West Chester University (WCU) or Indiana University of Pennsylvania or any of the other white state-owned universities had displayed such clerical and administrative incompetence for three months or even three weeks, does anyone really believe that PASSHE would have stood by idly and allowed it? In other words, PASSHE saw Cheyney on fire for three consecutive years — whether it was bombed by scheming outsiders or torched by inept insiders — and did nothing about it.
Well, on second thought, PASSHE did do something. It waited until Cheyney was nearly burned to the ground in accounting and record-keeping errors and then blamed it despite not having provided sufficient resources and then brought in FAS and then offered piecemeal so-called help for this and some other problems. That purported help included the providing of loans to the residents of a smoldering building who had no way of repaying it due to PASSHE’s decades-long history of treating it like a stepchild compared to PASSHE’s thirteen white children. And those loan shark-like loans that usually result in broken knees could soon result in broken dreams for hopeful Black students and a broken legacy for devastated Black alumni. I say “could,” not “will.” That’s because Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC) has come to the rescue like firefighters against arsonists and the FBI against Mafioso loan sharks.
HCC consists of hundreds of alumni, students, faculty members, staffers, civic leaders, clergymen/women, community activists, and elected officials. It was founded in 2013 to save and enhance the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America. In early 2013, HCC began negotiations with Corbett administration officials. HCC’s Negotiation Team consists of Dr. Earl S. Richardson, a nationally renowned expert on discrimination in higher education who served as president of Morgan State University for more than a quarter century; attorney Pace J. McConkie, the director of the preeminent Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights which serves as a national Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) legal resource center (that, along with Dr. Richardson, led the recently successful HBCU lawsuit in Maryland); attorney Joe H. Tucker, the head of The Tucker Law Group which is the most prominent Black law firm on the East Coast; Junious R. Stanton, past President of the National Alumni Association; Professor Sonny Harris, former Campus Faculty Union president; and yours truly.
HCC’s negotiation sessions with the Commonwealth were somewhat productive in the beginning but eventually became frustratingly unproductive, thereby requiring us to file a major civil rights lawsuit in October 2014. However, because we believed that the Wolf administration would be more receptive to equal rights in higher education, our attorney petitioned for and, in June, 2015, was granted a “civil suspense order” from the trial judge for the purpose of focusing on a quick negotiated settlement as opposed to protracted litigation. HCC understood from the beginning that this negotiation would involve many considerations, including a probable “collaboration” between Cheyney and nearby WCU. Initially, we had no objection to it. But things have drastically changed.
As an attorney, I generally do not give any credence whatsoever to rumors. However, I must mention that it has been and continues to be disclosed by many reliable sources that the initial “collaboration plan” has become a “takeover scheme” by WCU or PASSHE, or both, to benefit WCU and to exploit Cheyney by destroying, undermining, or otherwise adversely affecting its historic institutional identity and undercutting its autonomy of its own land, buildings, facilities, departments, and other resources, thereby rendering it subservient to WCU. In fact, a WCU official has gone on record stating that the collaboration will “benefit WCU because WCU is rather landlocked and CU has 275 acres of rolling farmland in Delaware and Chester Counties.” Such a statement could raise legitimate concerns about WCU’s (and PASSHE’s) ulterior motives.
PASSHE and WCU, as well as the governor, need to address this issue. And they will because HCC wrote them a powerful letter a few days ago requesting a response to that particular issue along with other essential issues and also requesting a detailed response by next week. If the response is timely and favorable, Cheyney alumni everywhere will be pleased and calm. But if it’s untimely, absent, or unfavorable, Cheyney alumni everywhere will be displeased and angry. And hundreds of them and their supporters will express that anger politically through demonstrations in Harrisburg and economically through boycotts in Harrisburg and Philadelphia.
Remember, “Black Minds Matter.”
The words from David Walker’s Appeal, written in 1829, along with the words of Christopher James Perry Sr., founder of the Tribune in 1884, are the inspiration for my weekly “Freedom’s Journal” columns. In order to honor that pivotal nationalist abolitionist and that pioneering newspaper giant, as well as to inspire today’s Tribune readers, each column ends with Walker and Perry’s combined quote, along with my inserted voice, as follows: I ask all Blacks “to procure a copy of this… (weekly column) for it is designed… particularly for them” so they can “make progress… against (racist) injustice.”
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD900AM.
http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/the-battle-to-save-cheyney-s-existence-identity-and-autonomy/article_d88ca71b-2189-5893-b70f-12a35b6659f7.html#.Vemi3HpJiVU.mailto
By Michael Coard
Last week’s column was one of two parts. In it, I wrote that the U.S. Department of Education was expected to soon release its response to the scathing Aug. 26, 400-page report by Financial Aid Services, Inc. (FAS) that condemned Cheyney University for failing to track or “reconcile” what was initially believed to be $48.9 million in federal grants and loans to students from 2011-2014.
However, as of the writing of this column, that response has not been released. Despite that, there’s still a lot of important news about Cheyney.
FAS, which was contracted by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), concluded that the $48.9 million figure was inaccurate and that the correct amount is $29.6 million. Accordingly, the Education Department is deciding how much, if any, of that amount has to be returned and what, if any, penalties will be assessed.
I must concede the obvious: some Cheyney staffers and managers screwed up royally. In fact, the report indicates that they made paperwork and accounting mistakes in almost 85 percent of about 4,400 financial aid documents during the three-year period beginning in 2011. I love Cheyney and I always defend Cheyney. But I gotta admit that this is indefensible. But it is explainable.
Consider this: If West Chester University (WCU) or Indiana University of Pennsylvania or any of the other white state-owned universities had displayed such clerical and administrative incompetence for three months or even three weeks, does anyone really believe that PASSHE would have stood by idly and allowed it? In other words, PASSHE saw Cheyney on fire for three consecutive years — whether it was bombed by scheming outsiders or torched by inept insiders — and did nothing about it.
Well, on second thought, PASSHE did do something. It waited until Cheyney was nearly burned to the ground in accounting and record-keeping errors and then blamed it despite not having provided sufficient resources and then brought in FAS and then offered piecemeal so-called help for this and some other problems. That purported help included the providing of loans to the residents of a smoldering building who had no way of repaying it due to PASSHE’s decades-long history of treating it like a stepchild compared to PASSHE’s thirteen white children. And those loan shark-like loans that usually result in broken knees could soon result in broken dreams for hopeful Black students and a broken legacy for devastated Black alumni. I say “could,” not “will.” That’s because Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC) has come to the rescue like firefighters against arsonists and the FBI against Mafioso loan sharks.
HCC consists of hundreds of alumni, students, faculty members, staffers, civic leaders, clergymen/women, community activists, and elected officials. It was founded in 2013 to save and enhance the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America. In early 2013, HCC began negotiations with Corbett administration officials. HCC’s Negotiation Team consists of Dr. Earl S. Richardson, a nationally renowned expert on discrimination in higher education who served as president of Morgan State University for more than a quarter century; attorney Pace J. McConkie, the director of the preeminent Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights which serves as a national Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) legal resource center (that, along with Dr. Richardson, led the recently successful HBCU lawsuit in Maryland); attorney Joe H. Tucker, the head of The Tucker Law Group which is the most prominent Black law firm on the East Coast; Junious R. Stanton, past President of the National Alumni Association; Professor Sonny Harris, former Campus Faculty Union president; and yours truly.
HCC’s negotiation sessions with the Commonwealth were somewhat productive in the beginning but eventually became frustratingly unproductive, thereby requiring us to file a major civil rights lawsuit in October 2014. However, because we believed that the Wolf administration would be more receptive to equal rights in higher education, our attorney petitioned for and, in June, 2015, was granted a “civil suspense order” from the trial judge for the purpose of focusing on a quick negotiated settlement as opposed to protracted litigation. HCC understood from the beginning that this negotiation would involve many considerations, including a probable “collaboration” between Cheyney and nearby WCU. Initially, we had no objection to it. But things have drastically changed.
As an attorney, I generally do not give any credence whatsoever to rumors. However, I must mention that it has been and continues to be disclosed by many reliable sources that the initial “collaboration plan” has become a “takeover scheme” by WCU or PASSHE, or both, to benefit WCU and to exploit Cheyney by destroying, undermining, or otherwise adversely affecting its historic institutional identity and undercutting its autonomy of its own land, buildings, facilities, departments, and other resources, thereby rendering it subservient to WCU. In fact, a WCU official has gone on record stating that the collaboration will “benefit WCU because WCU is rather landlocked and CU has 275 acres of rolling farmland in Delaware and Chester Counties.” Such a statement could raise legitimate concerns about WCU’s (and PASSHE’s) ulterior motives.
PASSHE and WCU, as well as the governor, need to address this issue. And they will because HCC wrote them a powerful letter a few days ago requesting a response to that particular issue along with other essential issues and also requesting a detailed response by next week. If the response is timely and favorable, Cheyney alumni everywhere will be pleased and calm. But if it’s untimely, absent, or unfavorable, Cheyney alumni everywhere will be displeased and angry. And hundreds of them and their supporters will express that anger politically through demonstrations in Harrisburg and economically through boycotts in Harrisburg and Philadelphia.
Remember, “Black Minds Matter.”
The words from David Walker’s Appeal, written in 1829, along with the words of Christopher James Perry Sr., founder of the Tribune in 1884, are the inspiration for my weekly “Freedom’s Journal” columns. In order to honor that pivotal nationalist abolitionist and that pioneering newspaper giant, as well as to inspire today’s Tribune readers, each column ends with Walker and Perry’s combined quote, along with my inserted voice, as follows: I ask all Blacks “to procure a copy of this… (weekly column) for it is designed… particularly for them” so they can “make progress… against (racist) injustice.”
Michael Coard, Esquire can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His “Radio Courtroom” show can be heard on WURD900AM.
http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/the-battle-to-save-cheyney-s-existence-identity-and-autonomy/article_d88ca71b-2189-5893-b70f-12a35b6659f7.html#.Vemi3HpJiVU.mailto
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Cheyney's impressively powerful, overwhelmingly successful, and absolutely historic protest today (11/10) had hundreds of students/alumni activists, a dozen legislators, and numerous reporters and camera crews present. In fact, we were informed by a Capitol staffer that it was the LARGEST in recent history. Many news articles and photos will be posted later today, starting with this article. (By the way, if you were there today, you made history. If you weren't, you missed history. But it's never too late to join us.
Join us on Facebook at Heeding Cheyney's Call
Cheyney's impressively powerful, overwhelmingly successful, and absolutely historic protest today (11/10) had hundreds of students/alumni activists, a dozen legislators, and numerous reporters and camera crews present. In fact, we were informed by a Capitol staffer that it was the LARGEST in recent history. Many news articles and photos will be posted later today, starting with this article. (By the way, if you were there today, you made history. If you weren't, you missed history. But it's never too late to join us.
Join us on Facebook at Heeding Cheyney's Call
Monday, November 9, 2015
Heeding Cheyney's Call Agenda and Fact Sheet
In order to make sure everyone has at least a basic understanding about why we're going to Harrisburg, Heeding Cheyney's Call has written the following Fact Sheet. Please read it and spread the word.
Apart from that, Heeding Cheyney's Call has formulated a general agenda (which might be slightly revised if necessary) for Tuesday's "Hit 'Em Hard" protest in Harrisburg. Here it is:
7:00 Buses leave Cheyney and Philly
9:45-10:00 Protesters disembark buses at Capitol
10:00-10:25 Protesters raise hell chanting and rallying outside Capitol
10:25-10:30 Protesters enter Rotunda for press conference
10:30-11:30 Various students/alumni/faculty/legislators speak at press conference to demand that the Governor save and enhance Cheyney
11:30-11:35 A representative delegation of students/alumni/faculty delivers approximately 1,000 letters to the Governor
11:35-11:55 Protesters exit Rotunda and then raise hell chanting and rallying outside Capitol
11:55-1:15 Buses travel to and protesters eat at two relatively adjacent restaurants where "reservations" have already been made. (Lunch, just as the bus ride, is free for students only.)
1:15-1:30 Buses travel to the PASSHE Chancellor's Office at the nearby Dixon University Center
1:30-2:00 Brief speech demanding that the Chancellor save and enhance Cheyney. Then protesters raise hell chanting and rallying outside the Dixon University Center
2:00-2:05 A representative delegation of students/alumni/faculty delivers copies of those approximately 1,000 letters to the Chancellor
2:05- 2:25 Protesters raise hell chanting and rallying while returning to and boarding buses to head back to Philly or Cheyney
In order to make sure everyone has at least a basic understanding about why we're going to Harrisburg, Heeding Cheyney's Call has written the following Fact Sheet. Please read it and spread the word.
Apart from that, Heeding Cheyney's Call has formulated a general agenda (which might be slightly revised if necessary) for Tuesday's "Hit 'Em Hard" protest in Harrisburg. Here it is:
7:00 Buses leave Cheyney and Philly
9:45-10:00 Protesters disembark buses at Capitol
10:00-10:25 Protesters raise hell chanting and rallying outside Capitol
10:25-10:30 Protesters enter Rotunda for press conference
10:30-11:30 Various students/alumni/faculty/legislators speak at press conference to demand that the Governor save and enhance Cheyney
11:30-11:35 A representative delegation of students/alumni/faculty delivers approximately 1,000 letters to the Governor
11:35-11:55 Protesters exit Rotunda and then raise hell chanting and rallying outside Capitol
11:55-1:15 Buses travel to and protesters eat at two relatively adjacent restaurants where "reservations" have already been made. (Lunch, just as the bus ride, is free for students only.)
1:15-1:30 Buses travel to the PASSHE Chancellor's Office at the nearby Dixon University Center
1:30-2:00 Brief speech demanding that the Chancellor save and enhance Cheyney. Then protesters raise hell chanting and rallying outside the Dixon University Center
2:00-2:05 A representative delegation of students/alumni/faculty delivers copies of those approximately 1,000 letters to the Chancellor
2:05- 2:25 Protesters raise hell chanting and rallying while returning to and boarding buses to head back to Philly or Cheyney
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Saturday, October 31, 2015
CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
NEED BUS TICKETS TO OUR HISTORIC PROTEST NOVEMBER 10TH IN HARRISBURG, PA? PLEASE CLICK THE LINK OR THIS TEXT!
http://cheyneyalum.org/heeding-cheyneys-call-harrisburg/
CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY NATIONAL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
NEED BUS TICKETS TO OUR HISTORIC PROTEST NOVEMBER 10TH IN HARRISBURG, PA? PLEASE CLICK THE LINK OR THIS TEXT!
http://cheyneyalum.org/heeding-cheyneys-call-harrisburg/
Return the letter to: bdcwrites@gmail.com by no later than November 6th
Return the letter to: bdcwrites@gmail.com by no later than November 6th
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015
Just one day before he became an ancestor, Professor Sonny Harris asked me to tell the Cheyney family to aggressively expand the fight against racist Harrisburg officials who've been trying for decades to destroy our beloved alma mater and to "Hit 'Em Hard" in the process.
Therefore, Heeding Cheyney's Call will hold a major and confrontational "Hit 'Em Hard" demonstration in Harrisburg on Tuesday, November 10 at 10:30. Stay tuned. Details will be provided and input will be accepted at upcoming campus and Philly meetings.
(Old School photo of the teacher and the student.)
Just one day before he became an ancestor, Professor Sonny Harris asked me to tell the Cheyney family to aggressively expand the fight against racist Harrisburg officials who've been trying for decades to destroy our beloved alma mater and to "Hit 'Em Hard" in the process.
Therefore, Heeding Cheyney's Call will hold a major and confrontational "Hit 'Em Hard" demonstration in Harrisburg on Tuesday, November 10 at 10:30. Stay tuned. Details will be provided and input will be accepted at upcoming campus and Philly meetings.
(Old School photo of the teacher and the student.)
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HOMEGOING SERVICE
PROFESSOR E. SONNY HARRIS Friday, 9/18 Viewing 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm Celebration of Life 7:00 pm Zion Baptist Church Broad & Venango |
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Monday, September 14, 2015
FROM MICHAEL COARD
This morning, I lost an elder who is one of the key persons in my life and who helped make me the man I am today.
Professor E. Sonny Harris died peacefully in his sleep. There's so much I could say about this wonderful human being who "bleeds Cheyney blue and white," but right now I'll say just two things.
No one has done more in the past 60 years than he has to save and fight to enhance historic Cheyney University. He was a raucous student activist at Cheyney, a dedicated math professor at Cheyney, a committed student government adviser at Cheyney, a fiery faculty union president at Cheyney, the force behind three historic and successful civil rights lawsuits on behalf of Cheyney, and the founder of Heeding Cheyney's Call. In a word, Professor Harris was- I mean is- Cheyney.
When I graduated from Cheyney as a poor North Philly kid, I got a full academic scholarship to Ohio State University School of Law. I lived with my single unemployed mother and couldn't afford the travel costs to get to Columbus, Ohio to start classes that September. I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help, and Professor Harris- as my adviser- knew that I and my family had no money. So what did he do? He volunteered and rented a car for me. He paid for it. He let me drive myself. He gave me a map from AAA road services. I arrived to law school safely and on time. Because of him, I'm a lawyer today and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the midst of my unrelenting tears today, I'm too choked up to talk. But I am able to say and to forever mean this: "I love Professor Sonny Harris!" — with Heeding Cheyney's Call.
FROM MICHAEL COARD
This morning, I lost an elder who is one of the key persons in my life and who helped make me the man I am today.
Professor E. Sonny Harris died peacefully in his sleep. There's so much I could say about this wonderful human being who "bleeds Cheyney blue and white," but right now I'll say just two things.
No one has done more in the past 60 years than he has to save and fight to enhance historic Cheyney University. He was a raucous student activist at Cheyney, a dedicated math professor at Cheyney, a committed student government adviser at Cheyney, a fiery faculty union president at Cheyney, the force behind three historic and successful civil rights lawsuits on behalf of Cheyney, and the founder of Heeding Cheyney's Call. In a word, Professor Harris was- I mean is- Cheyney.
When I graduated from Cheyney as a poor North Philly kid, I got a full academic scholarship to Ohio State University School of Law. I lived with my single unemployed mother and couldn't afford the travel costs to get to Columbus, Ohio to start classes that September. I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help, and Professor Harris- as my adviser- knew that I and my family had no money. So what did he do? He volunteered and rented a car for me. He paid for it. He let me drive myself. He gave me a map from AAA road services. I arrived to law school safely and on time. Because of him, I'm a lawyer today and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the midst of my unrelenting tears today, I'm too choked up to talk. But I am able to say and to forever mean this: "I love Professor Sonny Harris!" — with Heeding Cheyney's Call.
Friday, September 4, 2015
The battle to save Cheyney’s existence, identity, and autonomy
By Michael Coard
http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/the-battle-to-save-cheyney-s-existence-identity-and-autonomy/article_d88ca71b-2189-5893-b70f-12a35b6659f7.html#.Vemi3HpJiVU.mailto
The battle to save Cheyney’s existence, identity, and autonomy
By Michael Coard
http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/the-battle-to-save-cheyney-s-existence-identity-and-autonomy/article_d88ca71b-2189-5893-b70f-12a35b6659f7.html#.Vemi3HpJiVU.mailto
Saturday, August 28, 2015
Feds must not blame Cheyney for Pa.’s racial discrimination history
By Michael Coard
http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/feds-must-not-blame-cheyney-for-pa-s-racial-discrimination/article_b7e0a3ba-5d3a-5f50-aff0-aeaf96dc5863.html
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Dear Cheyney University Alumni,
As you may know, last June, Cheyney University turned over to Pennsylvania’s State System Office of the Chancellor responsibilities for our financial aid functions here at Cheyney University when it was discovered that financial aid may have been improperly awarded to Cheyney students over three years, beginning in 2011. In addition, Financial Aid Services, Inc. (FAS) was brought in to reconcile our previous year's federal financial aid awards, disbursements, and student accounts.
The reconciliation of Cheyney's federal financial aid is now complete, and FAS has sent the United States Department of Education its full report. Today, the findings of that report will be made public, and the conclusion is that the University may have improperly awarded $29.6 million to Cheyney students over the three-year period.
Please know that we have put many new measures in place to bring the University into compliance with state and federal regulations, including changes in our administrative policies, procedures, and personnel. Processes are in place to ensure that our information systems and data are properly aligned and integrated to support the awarding of financial aid and student progress to graduation. With the help of FAS, the State System, and our Cheyney staff, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are compliant going forward.
Frank G. Pogue, Ph.D.
Interim President
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Dear Cheyney University Alumni,
As you may know, last June, Cheyney University turned over to Pennsylvania’s State System Office of the Chancellor responsibilities for our financial aid functions here at Cheyney University when it was discovered that financial aid may have been improperly awarded to Cheyney students over three years, beginning in 2011. In addition, Financial Aid Services, Inc. (FAS) was brought in to reconcile our previous year's federal financial aid awards, disbursements, and student accounts.
The reconciliation of Cheyney's federal financial aid is now complete, and FAS has sent the United States Department of Education its full report. Today, the findings of that report will be made public, and the conclusion is that the University may have improperly awarded $29.6 million to Cheyney students over the three-year period.
Please know that we have put many new measures in place to bring the University into compliance with state and federal regulations, including changes in our administrative policies, procedures, and personnel. Processes are in place to ensure that our information systems and data are properly aligned and integrated to support the awarding of financial aid and student progress to graduation. With the help of FAS, the State System, and our Cheyney staff, we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are compliant going forward.
Frank G. Pogue, Ph.D.
Interim President
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Sunday, July 19, 2015
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/heedingcheyney?source=feed_text
Facebook pictures from our historic meeting at Zion Baptist Church on North Broad St., Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, July 15, 2015.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/heedingcheyney?source=feed_text
Facebook pictures from our historic meeting at Zion Baptist Church on North Broad St., Philadelphia, PA on Wednesday, July 15, 2015.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
The following documents are from the Wednesday, July 15th meeting at Zion Baptist Church in North Philadelphia
The following documents are from the Wednesday, July 15th meeting at Zion Baptist Church in North Philadelphia
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Articles that Chronicle Our Mission
1) Friends of Cheyney University resurrect civil rights lawsuit November 6, 2014 12:00 AM Share with others: 3
inShare
By Bill Schackner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2014/11/06/Friends-of-Cheyney-U-resurrect-civil-rights-lawsuit/stories/201411050022
2) Heeding Cheyney’s Call files civil rights suit against state, feds
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20141029/heeding-cheyneys-call-files-civil-rights-suit-against-state-feds
3) Cheyney University Coalition to File Federal Lawsuit to Save School October 28, 2014
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67628/
4) Cheyney University - PennLIVE
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/cheyney_university_alumni_thre.html
5) Lawsuit against state to be filed on behalf of Cheyney U. - Philadelphia Tribune
http://www.phillytrib.com/news/lawsuit-against-state-to-be-filed-on-behalf-of-cheyney/article_90cbf7ef-df47-574f-8b30-2ec6f5522314.html
6) October 31, 2014 Cheyney's challenges extend beyond funding, expert says
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/74590-cheyneys-challenges-extend-beyond-funding-expert-says-
7) Federal Lawsuit Calls for “Parity Through Equity” at Cheyney University
http://www.jbhe.com/2014/11/federal-lawsuit-calls-for-parity-through-equity-at-cheyney-university/
8) Cheyney U alum file discrimination suit
http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/cheyney-u-alum-file-discrimination-suit/zsJnjC---usaoTsyzrrH/
9) Philadelphia City Council to Heed Cheyney’s Call
http://phillyinfocus.com/2013/11/16/philadelphia-city-council-to-heed-cheyneys-call/
10) Statement in response to lawsuit filed today in federal court in Philadelphia
http://www.passhe.edu/inside/ne/press/Lists/Press%20Releases/pressup.aspx?ID=638&ContentTypeId=0x01006B3D98C5084ABB47927D422E92C00C3300058DFAF00E84824A8F87467AD4FF8E26
Articles that Chronicle Our Mission
1) Friends of Cheyney University resurrect civil rights lawsuit November 6, 2014 12:00 AM Share with others: 3
inShare
By Bill Schackner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2014/11/06/Friends-of-Cheyney-U-resurrect-civil-rights-lawsuit/stories/201411050022
2) Heeding Cheyney’s Call files civil rights suit against state, feds
http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20141029/heeding-cheyneys-call-files-civil-rights-suit-against-state-feds
3) Cheyney University Coalition to File Federal Lawsuit to Save School October 28, 2014
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67628/
4) Cheyney University - PennLIVE
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/cheyney_university_alumni_thre.html
5) Lawsuit against state to be filed on behalf of Cheyney U. - Philadelphia Tribune
http://www.phillytrib.com/news/lawsuit-against-state-to-be-filed-on-behalf-of-cheyney/article_90cbf7ef-df47-574f-8b30-2ec6f5522314.html
6) October 31, 2014 Cheyney's challenges extend beyond funding, expert says
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/education/74590-cheyneys-challenges-extend-beyond-funding-expert-says-
7) Federal Lawsuit Calls for “Parity Through Equity” at Cheyney University
http://www.jbhe.com/2014/11/federal-lawsuit-calls-for-parity-through-equity-at-cheyney-university/
8) Cheyney U alum file discrimination suit
http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/cheyney-u-alum-file-discrimination-suit/zsJnjC---usaoTsyzrrH/
9) Philadelphia City Council to Heed Cheyney’s Call
http://phillyinfocus.com/2013/11/16/philadelphia-city-council-to-heed-cheyneys-call/
10) Statement in response to lawsuit filed today in federal court in Philadelphia
http://www.passhe.edu/inside/ne/press/Lists/Press%20Releases/pressup.aspx?ID=638&ContentTypeId=0x01006B3D98C5084ABB47927D422E92C00C3300058DFAF00E84824A8F87467AD4FF8E26
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
ATTENTION!!!
THE REBIRTH OF CHEYNEY: BIGGER, BETTER, & BLACKER! Historic Cheyney University- an all-time great institution- now has an all-time low student enrollment with an all-time high budget deficit. In other words, until just a few weeks ago, Cheyney University’s very existence was in jeopardy due to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s decades-long racial discrimination in violation of federal law, state law, and a 1999 signed agreement.
However, Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC), which was founded in early 2013, began informal negotiations later that year with Commonwealth officials but was forced to file a major federal civil rights lawsuit on October 29, 2014 when negotiations stalled. HCC’s Negotiation/Litigation Team consists of Dr. Earl S. Richardson- a nationally renowned expert on discrimination in higher education who served as President of Morgan State University for more than a quarter century, attorney Pace J. McConkie- the Director of the preeminent Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights, and attorney Joe H. Tucker- the head of The Tucker Law Group, which is the largest and most prominent Black law firm on the East Coast. Also included on HCC’s Negotiation/Litigation Team are Junious R. Stanton- immediate past President of the National Alumni Association, Professor E. Sonny Harris- former Campus Faculty Union President, and attorney Michael Coard- former Council of Trustees Member and Student Government Officer.
As a result of recent successes in our lawsuit, court-sanctioned settlement discussions have begun. But those discussions do not include any rumored “takeover” whatsoever of Cheyney by West Chester. Quite the contrary, those discussions are based on maintaining Cheyney’s historic cultural identity in connection with the claims raised in our powerful lawsuit and the solutions encompassed in our impressive “Framework For Remedies.”
HCC will hold a PUBLIC MEETING on JULY 15 at 6:30 pm at ZION BAPTIST CHURCH at 3600 North Broad to explain everything about the lawsuit, the rumors, the Framework, and the strategies. But HCC needs you to attend and to provide your input.
For more information and also to join HCC, log on to the website at HeedingCheyneysCall.org, the Facebook page at Heeding Cheyney’s Call, the Twitter page at @HeedingCheyneys, and the Instagram page at heedingcheyneyscall1.
THE REBIRTH OF CHEYNEY: BIGGER, BETTER, & BLACKER!
ATTENTION!!!
THE REBIRTH OF CHEYNEY: BIGGER, BETTER, & BLACKER! Historic Cheyney University- an all-time great institution- now has an all-time low student enrollment with an all-time high budget deficit. In other words, until just a few weeks ago, Cheyney University’s very existence was in jeopardy due to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s decades-long racial discrimination in violation of federal law, state law, and a 1999 signed agreement.
However, Heeding Cheyney’s Call (HCC), which was founded in early 2013, began informal negotiations later that year with Commonwealth officials but was forced to file a major federal civil rights lawsuit on October 29, 2014 when negotiations stalled. HCC’s Negotiation/Litigation Team consists of Dr. Earl S. Richardson- a nationally renowned expert on discrimination in higher education who served as President of Morgan State University for more than a quarter century, attorney Pace J. McConkie- the Director of the preeminent Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights, and attorney Joe H. Tucker- the head of The Tucker Law Group, which is the largest and most prominent Black law firm on the East Coast. Also included on HCC’s Negotiation/Litigation Team are Junious R. Stanton- immediate past President of the National Alumni Association, Professor E. Sonny Harris- former Campus Faculty Union President, and attorney Michael Coard- former Council of Trustees Member and Student Government Officer.
As a result of recent successes in our lawsuit, court-sanctioned settlement discussions have begun. But those discussions do not include any rumored “takeover” whatsoever of Cheyney by West Chester. Quite the contrary, those discussions are based on maintaining Cheyney’s historic cultural identity in connection with the claims raised in our powerful lawsuit and the solutions encompassed in our impressive “Framework For Remedies.”
HCC will hold a PUBLIC MEETING on JULY 15 at 6:30 pm at ZION BAPTIST CHURCH at 3600 North Broad to explain everything about the lawsuit, the rumors, the Framework, and the strategies. But HCC needs you to attend and to provide your input.
For more information and also to join HCC, log on to the website at HeedingCheyneysCall.org, the Facebook page at Heeding Cheyney’s Call, the Twitter page at @HeedingCheyneys, and the Instagram page at heedingcheyneyscall1.
THE REBIRTH OF CHEYNEY: BIGGER, BETTER, & BLACKER!
LAW OFFICE
OF
MICHAEL COARD
ONE LIBERTY PLACE
1650 MARKET STREET
36TH FLOOR
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103
E-MAIL: MichaelCoard@msn.com
TELEPHONE: 215-552-8714 FACSIMILE: 215-552-8525
OF
MICHAEL COARD
ONE LIBERTY PLACE
1650 MARKET STREET
36TH FLOOR
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103
E-MAIL: MichaelCoard@msn.com
TELEPHONE: 215-552-8714 FACSIMILE: 215-552-8525
Monday, June 22, 2015
IMPORTANT CHEYNEY MEETING ON 7/15
On 10/29/14, Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC) filed a major civil rights lawsuit against the Commonwealth of PA in order to "save and enhance" Cheyney University. Since then, our lawyers have won preliminary arguments in federal court in response to the Commonwealth's Motions To Dismiss our case. That's one of the reasons why Judge Mark Kearney a few days ago on 6/17/15 issued a Civil Suspense Order. As a result of our initial wins and that order, there is a probability that the case might settle soon. However, there can be no settlement without the direct input of Cheyney students and Cheyney alumni. HCC has demanded from the very beginning of the lawsuit that there be the "uninterrupted continuation of the historical uniqueness, cultural mission, and institutional identity of Cheyney University as set forth in 1837 when it was founded as the African Institute," that there be the "provision of adequate resources including- but not limited to- increased funding, more academic programs, construction of new facilities, and hiring/appointment of quality staffers and administrators," that there be "enhanced student marketing/recruiting," and that there be "substantive PASSHE reforms." But we need additional input from Cheyney students and Cheyney alumni before any settlement agreement is finalized. Therefore, please attend HCC's public meeting:
Wed., 7/15 at 6:30 pm
Zion Baptist Church
3600 North Broad St.
For more info, contact us on Facebook at Heeding Cheyney's Call, on Instagram at heedingcheyneyscall1, and on Twitter at @HeedingCheyneys. Or email us at HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com or call us at 215-552-8714.
Monday, June 8, 2015
VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
I am writing this post today to publicly inform everyone that Heeding Cheyney's Call "expects" to hold a major press conference within the next few months regarding the status of the historic civil rights lawsuit that we filed in October 2014 to save and enhance Cheyney University. I cannot go into detail right now, but I can say that it "looks" like the news will be GREAT for Cheyney University. Stay tuned.
Michael Coard, Esquire
Heeding Cheyney's Call
6/7/15
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCoard/posts/1035993123095935?comment_id=1035995489762365¬if_t=like_tagged
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
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Sunday, December 21., 2014
Avenging our Cheyney University ancestors by suing for their Cheyney University descendants! 
Sunday, December 21, 2014
"Justice delayed is justice denied. But better late than never, dammit! That's exactly why Heeding Cheyney's Call filed its major federal civil rights lawsuit today following the historic and successful lawsuit filed 34 years ago in 1980." Quote - Attorney Michael Coard 
Sunday, December 21, 2014
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Thursday, December 18, 2014
HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE
America's Oldest Black College, Cheyney University Could Face Financial Collapse
Response by Michael Coard:
In at least two ways, the Pennsylvania Auditor General's report actually supports the claims raised in the lawsuit recently filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call. One: The current and past Governors along with PASSHE did not equitably provide the funds and resources Cheyney needed to fairly compete with the 13 white state-owned universities. Two: Those Governors and PASSHE appointed, retained, and extended the contracts of inept Presidents at Cheyney. Accordingly, for example and as a perfect analogy, you don't hold the bus driver (who was hired despite several DUIs and kept on the job despite numerous speeding tickets) legally liable when he causes an accident but instead you hold SEPTA legally liable for hiring him, keeping him, and renewing his employment. In our case, the Presidents are the bus driver and the Governors along with PASSHE are SEPTA. We'll see 'em in court- and tell 'em to bring a copy of the Auditor General's report.
Click this link for the article
HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE
America's Oldest Black College, Cheyney University Could Face Financial Collapse
Response by Michael Coard:
In at least two ways, the Pennsylvania Auditor General's report actually supports the claims raised in the lawsuit recently filed by Heeding Cheyney's Call. One: The current and past Governors along with PASSHE did not equitably provide the funds and resources Cheyney needed to fairly compete with the 13 white state-owned universities. Two: Those Governors and PASSHE appointed, retained, and extended the contracts of inept Presidents at Cheyney. Accordingly, for example and as a perfect analogy, you don't hold the bus driver (who was hired despite several DUIs and kept on the job despite numerous speeding tickets) legally liable when he causes an accident but instead you hold SEPTA legally liable for hiring him, keeping him, and renewing his employment. In our case, the Presidents are the bus driver and the Governors along with PASSHE are SEPTA. We'll see 'em in court- and tell 'em to bring a copy of the Auditor General's report.
Click this link for the article
Press Conference announcing the landmark federal lawsuit
on behalf of cheyney university
wednesday OCTOBER 29th, at the federal courthouse, philadelphia, pa
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Dear Friends, although several negotiations with the Commonwealth's attorneys and budget officials were impressively productive initially, they have become blatantly unproductive recently. See the YouTube video of HCC's intention to file a Federal lawsuit at least a week or more before the November 4th elections.
Dear Friends, although several negotiations with the Commonwealth's attorneys and budget officials were impressively productive initially, they have become blatantly unproductive recently. See the YouTube video of HCC's intention to file a Federal lawsuit at least a week or more before the November 4th elections.
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Friday, August 1, 2014
To: Cheyney Alumni and Supporters Several persons recently posted questions on Facebook asking about the status of
Heeding Cheyney's Call (HCC).
Thanks for asking. Here's the answer:
HCC is not only alive and well; we're also thriving in our ongoing battle "to save and enhance historic Cheyney University by pursuing parity through equity." We've retained the largest Black law firm on the East Coast- i.e., The Tucker Law Group, headed by the preeminent Joe H. Tucker, Esquire. We've enlisted the services of the country's top scholar in the field of discrimination against HBCUs- i.e., Dr. Earl S. Richardson, former President of Morgan State University for more than a quarter century. We've acquired the support of the country's leading HBCU legal think tank- i.e., The Robert M. Bell Center for Civil Rights, headed by the prominent Pace J. McConkie, Esquire. HCC appointed three members of our Steering Committee to form a Negotiation/Litigation Team (consisting of National Alumni Association President Junious R. Stanton, former Campus Faculty Union President Professor E. Sonny Harris, and HCC attorney Michael Coard, Esquire), which includes HCC's lead attorney Mr. Tucker, Dr. Richardson, and Mr. McConkie. This team has met several times in Harrisburg with Governor Tom Corbett's staff, consisting of lawyers from the Governor's Office of General Counsel, lawyers from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and an official from the State Budget Office. Because those meetings are strictly confidential, we cannot disclose the details. However, we can point out that those meetings are progressively productive- at least so far. Within the next few months, we expect to issue a public announcement that will provide all of the pertinent information.
If anyone has any questions or comments, please contact HCC here on Facebook, on our website at HeedingCheyneysCall.org, on Twitter at @HeedingCheyneys, or by phone at 215-552-8714.
We thank you all for your interest and support.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Click Here or the Capitol Recap Image Above for:
Capitol Recap
A comprehensive review of the day’s events in the Pennsylvania Capitol.
Heeding Cheyney's Call took its battle to the State Capitol in Harrisburg on 3/17.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Testimony to Philadelphia City Council's Education Committee - Chairperson Jannie Blackwell
By Michael Coard, ESQ. and Professor E. Sonny Harris
On Behalf of Heeding Cheyney's Call - (CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE)
Also special thanks to the major support shown by Cheyney Alumni who attended the hearing!!
Friday October 18, 2013
Beloved Cheyney Family and Other Supporters,
On October 17, Heeding Cheyney's Call submitted a powerful rebuttal to the Governor's October 3 letter (in connection with our initial September 23 correspondence). That rebuttal is part of our relentless effort to achieve "parity through equity" for the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America.
We- meaning you AND us- are making tremendous progress in our battle to save and enhance our historic alma mater!
Loyally,
Heeding Cheyney's Call
Website: www.heedingcheyneyscall.org
Email: HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com
Facebook: Heeding Cheyney's Call
Twitter: @HeedingCheyneys
Phone: 215-552-8714
See the September 23rd Press Conference on YouTube
Testimony to Philadelphia City Council's Education Committee - Chairperson Jannie Blackwell
By Michael Coard, ESQ. and Professor E. Sonny Harris
On Behalf of Heeding Cheyney's Call - (CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE)
Also special thanks to the major support shown by Cheyney Alumni who attended the hearing!!
Friday October 18, 2013
Beloved Cheyney Family and Other Supporters,
On October 17, Heeding Cheyney's Call submitted a powerful rebuttal to the Governor's October 3 letter (in connection with our initial September 23 correspondence). That rebuttal is part of our relentless effort to achieve "parity through equity" for the oldest Black institution of higher learning in America.
We- meaning you AND us- are making tremendous progress in our battle to save and enhance our historic alma mater!
Loyally,
Heeding Cheyney's Call
Website: www.heedingcheyneyscall.org
Email: HeedingCheyneysCall@gmail.com
Facebook: Heeding Cheyney's Call
Twitter: @HeedingCheyneys
Phone: 215-552-8714
See the September 23rd Press Conference on YouTube
Tuesday October 8, 2013
Because the four HBCUs in Maryland won a major federal court victory yesterday in two of their three key legal arguments (regarding the duplication of programs and the creation of courses that would attract more students), Cheyney has indirectly won a major victory as well. And that's because our case is quite similar to- but actually even stronger than- theirs.
Within the next 48 hours, Heeding Cheyney's Call will issue a detailed analysis of that favorable federal court ruling.
See the Baltimore Sun article:
http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#story/bs-md-black-colleges-rulling-20131007/
Because the four HBCUs in Maryland won a major federal court victory yesterday in two of their three key legal arguments (regarding the duplication of programs and the creation of courses that would attract more students), Cheyney has indirectly won a major victory as well. And that's because our case is quite similar to- but actually even stronger than- theirs.
Within the next 48 hours, Heeding Cheyney's Call will issue a detailed analysis of that favorable federal court ruling.
See the Baltimore Sun article:
http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#story/bs-md-black-colleges-rulling-20131007/
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST DEMAND LETTER SERVED TO THE GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA
On September 23, 2013- which was the 33rd anniversary of the filing of the first lawsuit on September 23, 1980- Heeding Cheyney's Call took a major step toward the filing of a multimillion dollar federal civil rights lawsuit to demand "parity through equity" in the effort to save and enhance historic Cheyney University. For more information, please refer to the legal "demand letter" that
Heeding Cheyney's Call submitted to the Governor and other named potential defendants.
To All Cheyney Alumni and Supporters:
"Heeding Cheyney's Call" (which is a name based on the alma mater lyrics) is a widespread and broad-based coalition of students, alumni, faculty, staff, regional civic leaders, and many other active supporters. It is the original and official Cheyney University organization that was formed to preserve and enhance this historic institution with the goal of "parity through equity" - relative to Pennsylvania's thirteen traditionally white institutions - by engaging in social activism, by pursuing political recourse, by filing lawsuits, and/or by any means necessary.
For information regarding who we are and what we are doing, please review the
attached June 19, 2013 letter that the Steering Committee of "Heeding Cheyney's Call" sent to the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. And for information regarding the continuing legal basis for our activism, please review the attached September 23, 1980 Federal Civil Rights lawsuit complaint.
In addition, please refer to our Facebook page at "Heeding Cheyney's Call," our Twitter account "@HeedingCheyneys," and our website at "heedingcheyneyscall.org." Our email address is heedingcheyneyscall@gmail.com and
our phone number is 215-552-8714.
Please spread the word. And please join us by expressing your support for our efforts.
Loyally,
Steering Committee of Heeding Cheyney's Call
"Heeding Cheyney's Call" (which is a name based on the alma mater lyrics) is a widespread and broad-based coalition of students, alumni, faculty, staff, regional civic leaders, and many other active supporters. It is the original and official Cheyney University organization that was formed to preserve and enhance this historic institution with the goal of "parity through equity" - relative to Pennsylvania's thirteen traditionally white institutions - by engaging in social activism, by pursuing political recourse, by filing lawsuits, and/or by any means necessary.
For information regarding who we are and what we are doing, please review the
attached June 19, 2013 letter that the Steering Committee of "Heeding Cheyney's Call" sent to the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. And for information regarding the continuing legal basis for our activism, please review the attached September 23, 1980 Federal Civil Rights lawsuit complaint.
In addition, please refer to our Facebook page at "Heeding Cheyney's Call," our Twitter account "@HeedingCheyneys," and our website at "heedingcheyneyscall.org." Our email address is heedingcheyneyscall@gmail.com and
our phone number is 215-552-8714.
Please spread the word. And please join us by expressing your support for our efforts.
Loyally,
Steering Committee of Heeding Cheyney's Call
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