Pamalicious
12-08-2004, 05:21 AM
Morris Brown not for sale, despite radio host's offer
By ANDREA JONES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/08/04
Morris Brown College may be on Tom Joyner's Christmas wish list, but officials said Tuesday that the struggling school is not for sale.
Joyner offered during his nationally syndicated radio show last week to buy the Atlanta college. The offer came up while he was interviewing Vashti Murphy McKenzie, a top bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is affiliated with the college.
The radio host, heard locally on WALR-FM (104.1), told McKenzie that his previous offers to buy Morris Brown have been rebuffed by former church leaders. But, he said, he still wants to "purchase that school and put it in a profitable situation."
Morris Brown College lost its accreditation in 2002, after an agency found evidence of widespread financial trouble. Since then, the college has cut many of its academic and athletic programs and has seen enrollment dwindle. School officials say the college is continuing to pay down its debt and rebuild.
Joyner joked to McKenzie that he "just came into a little money" — a reference to the recent sale of most of his media company that netted him and his co-founder $56.1 million. He did not say how much he'd pay for the college. McKenzie, president of the AME's council of bishops, told Joyner that she'd be glad to talk about the idea but that she couldn't supersede the college's leadership.
Morris Brown's response? Thanks, but no thanks. "We are a nonprofit college," said Morris Brown Vice President Getchel Caldwell. "It is safe to say that we are not for sale."
Joyner and Morris Brown President Samuel Jolley talked after the show aired, Caldwell said, and the school is pursuing ways to partner with Joyner's nonprofit foundation that assists historically black colleges.
Joyner gave the college $1 million in 2003 for student scholarships.
Morris Brown's enrollment has dwindled from a peak of 2,700 in December 2002 to about 150. School officials hope to apply for reaccreditation by 2007.
To be eligible to reapply, Morris Brown will have to prove that it is operating debt-free and that it has fixed all the problems set out by the accrediting agency.
By ANDREA JONES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/08/04
Morris Brown College may be on Tom Joyner's Christmas wish list, but officials said Tuesday that the struggling school is not for sale.
Joyner offered during his nationally syndicated radio show last week to buy the Atlanta college. The offer came up while he was interviewing Vashti Murphy McKenzie, a top bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is affiliated with the college.
The radio host, heard locally on WALR-FM (104.1), told McKenzie that his previous offers to buy Morris Brown have been rebuffed by former church leaders. But, he said, he still wants to "purchase that school and put it in a profitable situation."
Morris Brown College lost its accreditation in 2002, after an agency found evidence of widespread financial trouble. Since then, the college has cut many of its academic and athletic programs and has seen enrollment dwindle. School officials say the college is continuing to pay down its debt and rebuild.
Joyner joked to McKenzie that he "just came into a little money" — a reference to the recent sale of most of his media company that netted him and his co-founder $56.1 million. He did not say how much he'd pay for the college. McKenzie, president of the AME's council of bishops, told Joyner that she'd be glad to talk about the idea but that she couldn't supersede the college's leadership.
Morris Brown's response? Thanks, but no thanks. "We are a nonprofit college," said Morris Brown Vice President Getchel Caldwell. "It is safe to say that we are not for sale."
Joyner and Morris Brown President Samuel Jolley talked after the show aired, Caldwell said, and the school is pursuing ways to partner with Joyner's nonprofit foundation that assists historically black colleges.
Joyner gave the college $1 million in 2003 for student scholarships.
Morris Brown's enrollment has dwindled from a peak of 2,700 in December 2002 to about 150. School officials hope to apply for reaccreditation by 2007.
To be eligible to reapply, Morris Brown will have to prove that it is operating debt-free and that it has fixed all the problems set out by the accrediting agency.