The embattled president of Howard University received a vote of no confidence this week from faculty members, a rebuke that followed a student occupation at the historically black university in Washington.
Documents obtained Thursday by The Washington Post show that 61 percent of faculty members who took part in the vote expressed a lack of faith in the leadership of Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick.
More than 50 percent said they had no confidence in Chief Operating Officer Tashni-Ann Dubroy and Provost Anthony K. Wutoh. Faculty also weighed in on the executive committee of the school’s Board of Trustees, with 61 percent voting “no confidence” in that group.
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More than 900 full-time faculty members were eligible to take part in the vote, which started April 4 and concluded Tuesday. About 30 percent of eligible faculty members cast ballots.
In a statement, Board of Trustees Chairman Stacey J. Mobley said the board was disappointed, and disagreed with the vote results. There is “no question that Howard University has the right leadership in place,” Mobley said.
“Transformation and change is not easy, but despite these challenges, Howard’s current leadership has made positive strides to improve operations and infrastructure, increase resources and modernize the institution, while ensuring Howard remains true to its mission,” Mobley said.
A Howard spokeswoman said Frederick was not available for an interview Thursday.
Howard faculty members have expressed concern about building conditions, a loss of staff and lack of a robust strategic plan to move the university forward.
[A worried student emailed Howard’s president. He replied about her ‘tone.’]
The vote results emerged not long after students ended a lengthy protest on the campus in Northwest Washington. Protesters in late March flooded Howard’s administration building, staying for eight days as university officials and student leaders negotiated.
The occupation of Howard’s “A” building ended April 6, as school officials announced a “statement of commitments,” which were meant to address the needs of the campus.
“My fellow board members and I charged President Frederick with making progress on the critical issues facing our university,” Board of Trustees member Marie Johns said at a news conference last week. “While he has made significant advancements, we all acknowledge there is much more work to be done. He is committed to stewarding this institution, and he continues to have our unequivocal and unwavering support.”
Students who took part in the occupation had called for Frederick to resign, although they later backed down from that demand.
It has been a rocky few months at Howard, a school that recently disclosed allegations of financial aid misdeeds and began the new year struggling to cope with the bitter cold that swept through the District.
Howard on Monday released a report on the financial aid scandal, which led to the firing of six employees at the university. The school said the former employees misappropriated $369,000 in financial aid from 2011 to 2016.
In March, Frederick provoked the ire of students after criticizing a student for her tone when she emailed him to say she was concerned about housing. When Frederick responded to the student, he said her “tone and tenor” were inappropriate. The student posted an image of the exchange to Twitter, where it garnered attention.
