Dear Ole Morris Brown Needs Our Help
The following aricle recently appeared in the AJC in Atlanta.
Clock ticking down at Morris Brown
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Yes, Morris Brown College faces a mountain of debt, say officials and alumni of the historically black college. But mountains, they say, can be climbed. They are confident that the Atlanta school can scale this obstacle.
“We may be down, but we are definitely not out,” said Todd Blackburn, director of alumni affairs at Morris Brown. “We are the Fighting Wolverines, and we will continue to fight.”
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MARK DAVIS/mrdavis@ajc.com
Jordan Hall at Morris Brown College could be sold at auction.Recent headlines:
Fulton's FedEx bill for absentee ballots: $327,025
Atlanta nonprofit helps areas hit by foreclosure
'It's just such a large need'
• Atlanta and Fulton County news Still, time may be growing short for the college, founded in 1881.
The school owes the city about $380,000, some of it bills dating to February 2004. The city last week turned off water at the school, scheduled to reopen for spring semester in two weeks.
The college also may lose a signature building. A bank representing investors who purchased bonds issued to build Jordan Hall is foreclosing on the property. The college, it said, defaulted on a $13.1 million debt. A foreclosure sale is set Jan. 6.
Compounding Morris Brown’s woes: The college also lost its accreditation in 2002. Enrollment plummeted and now hovers around 240 students. At one time, as many as 3,000 attended.
Despite those discouraging numbers, said Stanley Pritchett, the college’s acting president, the school has reason to be optimistic.
“We have received an outpouring of support, just over the weekend, for this institution,” Pritchett said earlier this week.
In a prepared statement released Tuesday, Pritchett said: “We have had a number of successful meetings today and we are confident that we will be able to receive our students in January. We base that on the support that has been expressed by our Board of Trustees and Morris Brown Alumni nationwide.”
Morris Brown hopes alumni and friends of the college will donate, said Blackburn, a 1990 communications graduate.
“This is about education,” he said. “And those who know our mission know Morris Brown is needed.”
School officials are working on a “very intensive and comprehensive” business plan to get the school back on better financial footing, said Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, a public-relations consultant for the 127-year-old college. The school hopes to avoid putting Jordan Hall on the block, she said.
Holidays have hampered the plan’s development, she said. “There’s not too much you can do when people are out of town,” Jackson-Ransom said.
News of Morris Brown’s financial woes has left some alumni worried for their alma mater.
Elizabeth Lloyd, who got a bachelor’s degree in political science from the college in 1999, said she’s hoping for the best for her college. She’s also steeled for the worst.
“I’m saddened by this,” said Lloyd, who works for the federal government. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t get to this point.”
She and other alums, said Lloyd, are praying for their school.
Morris Brown, meantime, was quiet Wednesday morning, the day before Christmas. The buildings were closed, dark. An occasional jogger was the only sign of life.
Someone had posted a notice on the rear doors of the college’s administration building. They directed anyone wanting to make a check payable to Morris Brown College to deliver that gift to the college’s public safety department.
Clock ticking down at Morris Brown
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Yes, Morris Brown College faces a mountain of debt, say officials and alumni of the historically black college. But mountains, they say, can be climbed. They are confident that the Atlanta school can scale this obstacle.
“We may be down, but we are definitely not out,” said Todd Blackburn, director of alumni affairs at Morris Brown. “We are the Fighting Wolverines, and we will continue to fight.”
Enlarge this image
MARK DAVIS/mrdavis@ajc.com
Jordan Hall at Morris Brown College could be sold at auction.Recent headlines:
Fulton's FedEx bill for absentee ballots: $327,025
Atlanta nonprofit helps areas hit by foreclosure
'It's just such a large need'
• Atlanta and Fulton County news Still, time may be growing short for the college, founded in 1881.
The school owes the city about $380,000, some of it bills dating to February 2004. The city last week turned off water at the school, scheduled to reopen for spring semester in two weeks.
The college also may lose a signature building. A bank representing investors who purchased bonds issued to build Jordan Hall is foreclosing on the property. The college, it said, defaulted on a $13.1 million debt. A foreclosure sale is set Jan. 6.
Compounding Morris Brown’s woes: The college also lost its accreditation in 2002. Enrollment plummeted and now hovers around 240 students. At one time, as many as 3,000 attended.
Despite those discouraging numbers, said Stanley Pritchett, the college’s acting president, the school has reason to be optimistic.
“We have received an outpouring of support, just over the weekend, for this institution,” Pritchett said earlier this week.
In a prepared statement released Tuesday, Pritchett said: “We have had a number of successful meetings today and we are confident that we will be able to receive our students in January. We base that on the support that has been expressed by our Board of Trustees and Morris Brown Alumni nationwide.”
Morris Brown hopes alumni and friends of the college will donate, said Blackburn, a 1990 communications graduate.
“This is about education,” he said. “And those who know our mission know Morris Brown is needed.”
School officials are working on a “very intensive and comprehensive” business plan to get the school back on better financial footing, said Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, a public-relations consultant for the 127-year-old college. The school hopes to avoid putting Jordan Hall on the block, she said.
Holidays have hampered the plan’s development, she said. “There’s not too much you can do when people are out of town,” Jackson-Ransom said.
News of Morris Brown’s financial woes has left some alumni worried for their alma mater.
Elizabeth Lloyd, who got a bachelor’s degree in political science from the college in 1999, said she’s hoping for the best for her college. She’s also steeled for the worst.
“I’m saddened by this,” said Lloyd, who works for the federal government. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t get to this point.”
She and other alums, said Lloyd, are praying for their school.
Morris Brown, meantime, was quiet Wednesday morning, the day before Christmas. The buildings were closed, dark. An occasional jogger was the only sign of life.
Someone had posted a notice on the rear doors of the college’s administration building. They directed anyone wanting to make a check payable to Morris Brown College to deliver that gift to the college’s public safety department.
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