James November-December 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 48
A severe blow 22 years ago
James came on at a very difficult
time for Morris Brown. For a while
there, the future for Morris Brown
was uncertain— declaring bankruptcy and nearing the point of possible
closure. Thanks to James’ leadership,
the school is at least back on its feet
and the future is certainly looking up
for the historic institution.
“In 2002, this institution lost its
accreditation. When a college loses
its accreditation, that literally is a
death sentence to the institution. Because when you lose your accreditation, you lose access to your federal
financial aid,” said James, referring
to a critical component of enrollment
at just about every college in the
country. Morris Brown went from
approximately 3,000 students to
50 overnight because it didn’t have
financial aid or accreditation.
“Somehow, some way, the school
kept going for almost 20 years with-
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JAMES
PRESIDENT JAMES WITH GEORGIA'S U.S. SEN. JON OSSOFF.
out accreditation. We had somewhere between 20-30 students each
year,” he continued. “And so, almost
six years ago, I was at home watching the news and saw where my
predecessor retired. And I literally
out loud said, wow, I want to be the
president of Morris Brown College.”
One application and three intense interviews later, James was
hired. Since he came aboard, the
school received approval from the
NOVEM B E R/D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 4
Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary
Education Commission (GNPEC)— a
key step towards reaccreditation.
And in 2022, 20 years later, received
its accreditation by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges
and Schools (TRACS).
“The Hard Reset”
When James started in his role
as president, he was very clear
in what needed to happen to get
