After initially rebuffing Tom Joyner’s efforts to purchase Morris Brown College, school officials said they are now having “conversations” with the syndicated radio personality about a deal for the troubled historically black college.
On Tuesday, Joyner’s sons, Oscar and Tom Jr., were among a contingent that met with Morris Brown leaders, including trustee chairman James Young.
“We’re just talking; we’re not going together yet,” Oscar Joyner., President & Chief Operating Officer of REACH Media Inc., told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
The younger Joyners did not provide further details, adding only that Morris Brown officials had gotten several e-mails and phone calls expressing frustration at why the school wasn’t seriously considering his father’s offer.
Joyner has made multiple offers to buy Morris Brown over the past two years, including a highly publicized effort in recent weeks during an interview on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” with Vashti Murphy McKenzie, bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which founded the college.
Leaders at Morris Brown, which has been beset with financial and legal issues recently, declined to consider Joyner’s offer, however.
That seemed to change this week, although it is unclear why the school has had an apparent change of heart.
Morris Brown would not give specifics about the recent discussions with Joyner.
“At this moment, the college is having conversations with [Joyner],” said Getchel Caldwell, the school’s vice president for institutional administration. “And we’ve agreed that we wouldn’t be making any comments to the press.”
BlackAmericaWeb.com is owned by Joyner’s company, Reach Media Inc.
Morris Brown has been in a tailspin since getting its accreditation revoked by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2003 after the discovery of widespread financial problems at the school.
This month, the former president, Delores Cross, and former financial-aid director, Parvesh Singh, were indicted on 34 counts in an alleged $5 million fraud scheme that involved student loans.
Several academic and athletic programs at the school have been cut and, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, enrollment has dwindled from a peak of 2,700 students in 2002 to about 150.
Morris Brown has long been a United Negro College Fund school. However, because it lost its accreditation, Morris Brown recently was dropped from UNCF membership. Because of that, UNCF officials declined comment on Joyner’s possible purchase of the school.
Some Morris Brown alumni have said they are in support of Joyner buying the school.
Upon hearing about the radio interview with McKenzie last week, John Carter, a 1970 graduate, sent trustee chairman Young an e-mail stating that, as an alumnus, he would support Joyner buying the school “because of Joyner’s history of helping historically black colleges and people in need.”
“Provided it’s going to stay as a college and continue to serve African-American students, I don’t have a problem with him buying the school. I don’t care what you call the name of the school, either,” said Carter, a retired vice president with BellSouth.
“My first thought was this was quite an excellent idea. Quite frankly, we’re close to death, as a school. So if Joyner is going to get some money for the school and help us get out of trouble, go get him.
“Now,” Carter also said, “I’ve been included in enough corporate meetings to know that there is a lot involved when you go to the negotiating table. So I know it won’t be easy. But our image has been hurt lately,
and I think Tom Joyner can help us fix that image.”
Dan Wheeler, a 1975 graduate of Morris Brown, said he wouldn’t mind if Joyner purchased his alma mater. But he added a caveat: If the school is going to part ways with its history, it had better be worth it.
“My only hope is that we examine this and make sure we’re making this move so we won’t find ourselves in this kind of [troubled] situation ever again,” said Wheeler, a retired resident of Birmingham, Ala. “We’ve had similar kinds of problems before, and we always find a way to fall back into them. Personally, I’ve had some problems with how the college
has been run, especially at the executive level. Maybe a private individual, especially someone like Tom Joyner, who has a history of helping people, will be a big help. I think it can be successful.”
Added Wheeler: “I like that Tom is willing to put his money where his mouth is. He’s done it more than once in his life. But this would be really stepping out there.”
