‘Save SAU!’ Rally supports St. Aug’s University amid financial and accrediting woes
Chants of “Save SAU” and “Falcon Pride” rang out Monday around St. Augustine’s University as alumni, current students and community members rallied to save the historic institution.
The “SAU Love, Hope and Unity Rally” came as St. Aug’s ends a tumultuous school year in financial debt and fighting to remain accredited. Participants at Monday’s prayer vigil and march around the campus near downtown Raleigh say it’s critical for the 157-year-old historically Black university to continue its rich legacy.
“We’re not just here to run our mouth or show our face,” George Williams, the school’s legendary former track and field coach and former athletic director, told reporters on Monday. “We’re here to make a difference. We’ve got things to do.
“We’ve got bills to pay. We’ve got academics to look at. We have a lot of stuff we need to do.”
Organizers demand St. Aug’s trustees resign
The rally was organized by the Capital City Hope Foundation, Falcons Unite and the SAVESAU Coalition. Those groups have a tense relationship with the university, after having publicly called on the board of trustees to resign.
The tension showed Monday. Rally attendees were allowed to meet on campus in the quad area for the prayer vigil at the start of the rally. But the media was not allowed on the private university’s campus to cover that part of the event.
March organizers said they wanted to keep the rally positive.
The tone became more contentious at a press conference held after the march at the nearby Tarboro Road Community Center. Multiple speakers reiterated the call for the university’s board of trustees to resign, saying it’s the only way for the university to successfully move forward.
“St. Augustine’s University is in a financial, legal and academic quagmire because of the (trustees) board’s failure to provide adequate oversight over the university’s financial matters,” said John Larkins, a St. Augustine’s alumnus and organizer of the Save SAU committee. “The university is sinking deeper and deeper and deeper into debt.”
Benjamin Johnson, a St. Aug’s alumnus and one of the rally organizers, said “housekeeping” is in order on the trustees.
“We’re going to have to right the ship and barnacles will have to be removed in order to make sure that we can go and have smooth sailing,” Johnson said.
Legal action on the table
If the board doesn’t voluntarily resign, Larkins said the group may go after the trustees for violating their responsibilities under state law as a 501(c)3 organization. Larkins said the only trustees they don’t want to resign are the student member and the representative from the Episcopal Church.
Johnson said they group has been looking at how to remove the board through legal action. They cited issues such as the academic impact of loss of accreditation and how some employees have gone weeks without a paycheck.
“We’re pursuing any means necessary and doing that with the litigants and finding attorneys,” Johnson said.
A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday from The News & Observer.
Students graduating Saturday
St. Aug’s switched to online instruction on April 1 as the school faced increasing pressure and questions about its future.
That future has been in question since December, when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) voted to remove the university’s accreditation, citing the university’s failure to comply with several of the agency’s financial principles. The college has faced similar financial issues throughout the past several years.
In February, SACSCOC denied the university’s appeal of the December decision. The university is now engaged in a second appeals process with the accrediting agency. Throughout both appeals processes, the university has remained accredited but on probation.
The university has said that the university will pursue litigation if its second appeal to SACSCOC is denied.
The university will hold its spring graduation ceremony on Saturday
Preserving St. Aug’s legacy
Monday’s rally was the first time that Williams has been on campus since he was fired by the university in 2020. Williams, a St. Aug’s alumnus, led the HBCU’s track and field team for 43 seasons, winning 39 Division II championships, the most of any active coach, The News & Observer previously reported.
Williams said he holds no grudges against the university. But Williams said he felt the need “to come home” to help save the university he still loves.
“We have young people now that need to take care of the legacy that we left behind, and I’m here to try to save this university,” Williams said.
Eyma Anwar attends N.C. Central University in Durham, but she was among the around 100 people who attended Monday’s rally. Anwar said she grew up at St. Aug’s since her parents and other relatives attended the school. Her older brother is a St. Aug’s student.
“I go to an HBCU,” Anwar, 20, a rising senior, said in an interview. “I believe in HBCUs supporting each other and coming together when they need to.”
