On Friday, the Lincoln University of Missouri Alumni Association and Lincoln University Board of Curators held separate meetings announcing the selection of the members of the Alumni Council and the newly elected executive members of LUAA, respectively.
When members of the alumni association come to town for Homecoming, they usually meet at Memorial Hall, a building they helped fund. But according to Joanna Lewis, president of the Greater St. Louis Alumni Chapter, this year the university denied them access to that building and did not offer them space anywhere else on campus.
So this year, members met at the Courtyard Marriott in Jefferson City while the Board of Curators met simultaneously in Memorial Hall.
During the swearing-in ceremony, LUAA president Dr. Sherman Bonds spoke to alumni, reminding them "they are the brand of Lincoln University." Bonds was reelected as president by members and joined by Alexis Wells, newly elected secretary of the national chapter.
When asked why the association didn’t meet with the LU Board of Curators and President John B. Moseley this weekend, Bond responded, “I think they have a different agenda, and we're not included in that agenda.”
Despite the strained relationship, members of LUAA said they will always remain committed to their mission of benevolence.
“We’re not just an association, we’re a family,” said Nell Cheatham, past president of the Greater St. Louis LU Alumni Chapter. “The main purpose of this organization is to preserve our culture, preserve our history and preserve our legacy.”
Jonathan Jackson, who graduated from LU in 2017, emphasized that benevolence had been rooted in his undergraduate experience at LU. Jackson is now the president of the alumni chapter in Kansas City.
“I would say, ever since my freshman year, I feel like it's (generosity of the alumni) impacted me,” Jackson said. “It was conversations, like the ones the alumni pointed to today. And I feel like they practice it through actions not words.”
Bonds said a meeting with the Board of Curators is approaching in November, where the association members hope to reach common ground. Bonds also said that at the meeting, he plans to revisit a previous conversation about erecting a memorial for Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, who died by suicide in January and accused President Moseley of contributing to her deteriorating mental health.
Last month, the Lincoln University Board of Curators officially cut ties with LUAA after initially suspending their relationship with them in June. The board said resuming the relationship partially hinged on LUAA submitting an independent financial audit, but Bonds maintained at the Friday afternoon ceremony that the university has never been in a position to execute that type of oversight according to the association’s bylaws.
In earlier reports, LU administration said the now-established alumni council will aid relationships with the school’s alumni but said it is “in no way a replacement for a National Alumni Association.”
“While the termination of our relationship with LUAA is unfortunate, we are confident that it will not impede our efforts at expanding alumni engagement,” Board of Curators President Victor Pasley said in an earlier statement. “We are determined to strengthen our relationship with key individual alumni chapters to continue those partnerships on behalf of the institution we love.”
