DAYTONA BEACH — In the wake of accusations of financial mismanagement at their alma mater, about 200 Bethune-Cookman University alumni came together Saturday to ask for reform and to show support for the institution.

At the meeting, many recounted their ties to the school, its importance in shaping their lives, and how it provided not only an education but also a strong sense of community. 

"They cared more than just about the paper, they cared about the person," said City Commissioner Paula Reed, a 1990 and 2010 alumnus, who earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.

Reed, like many of the speakers at the meeting, dubbed "Save Bethune-Cookman University," was hopeful that the school would be able to weather recent turmoil. Bethune-Cookman University "is not going anywhere," she said.

But she also wanted accountability from the Board of Trustees, which has come under scrutiny since former President Edison O. Jackson stepped down in July after it was revealed that the school was facing financial difficulties from mismanagement and possible fraud.

It was a sentiment shared by all who joined the meeting, put on by the newly-formed Concerned Constituents Committee for B-CU.

Speaking to the crowd, committee co-chairs Sheila Flemming-Hunter and Sumner Hutcheson III made clear that the group had three demands: the resignation of all who served on the board's executive committee during Jackson's tenure from 2012 to 2017, a full forensic audit of all finances, and a national search for the school's next president. Former Judge Hubert Grimes has served as interim president since Jackson's resignation.

The meeting came just after Jackson and two former high-ranking administrators, as well as the developer of the university's newest dorm, were all named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by the school, alleging “improper payments” and “conspiracy to commit constructive fraud" during the dorm project, which could end up costing the school more than $300 million.

School officials have said that they fear the school will not be able to keep up with escalating payments, which start at $5.7 million and end at more than $10 million, during the lifetime of a 40-year lease. 

B-CU is also facing a lawsuit that has the potential to cost the school millions in damages after it pulled out of an agreement with a developer that planned to construct a high-rise student housing building in Midtown.

Newly appointed chair Michelle Carter-Scott, who served on the board since 2012, has said recently that the board was misled by Jackson and his associates.

Fleming-Hunter, a former B-CU professor, said that she had a conversation with Carter-Scott, but she had not heard formally from the school's board about the committee's demands.

"Trust in our leadership has been broken," she said. "We are not trying to run the school. We have expectations that they do their jobs. We are looking for the Board of Trustees to reform and to be the people that this institution needs at this time."

Hutcheson, a 1972 alumnus and former B-CU vice president for Development, said another demand was that there be transparency in the the audit of the school's finances and that the audit cover Jackson's entire tenure, not just the dorm deal.

And the final demand was an outside firm lead the search for the university's next president. He asked that the new president be selected by year's end, and he described the election as crucial, given the many demands placed upon the leaders of universities now.

"The reality is we need a strong fundraising person to come in as president of this university," he said."Somebody who has proven to be able to do that job." 

The meeting, however, didn't only focus on the school's recent problems. There was also much discussion about Bethune-Cookman University's founder, Mary McLeod Bethune, a  teacher and civil-rights leader who opened the Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach in 1904.

She began the school with $1.50 and five girls in a rented house next to a dump.

The school eventually grew into a college in 1931 with the help of the United Methodist Church, and it has long been a part of the storied group of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

Bethune could even soon grace the U.S. Capitol after the Florida Senate voted unanimously last week to have a statue of her replace a Confederate general's.

"I think it provides a lot of inspiration," Hutcheson said, "to many of us to move forward and support the institution."