The leadership implosion at St. Augustine’s University took another dramatic turn Monday when its 16-member board of trustees issued a brief statement saying they decided to relieve outgoing President Dianne Boardley Suber of her job “effective immediately.”
The announcement said an “interim president” would be named later this month. Meanwhile, Dr. Ronald Brown, vice president for strategic planning, “will lead the day-to-day operations” of the institution, the statement said.
Suber’s firing came on the heels of her announcement Friday that she was leaving at the end of May, ending a nearly 15-year stint as president of St. Augustine’s. Her decision to leave came after several weeks of disagreement with her subordinates over her strategy and pace for addressing the university’s financial problems, most of them stemming from a loss in enrollment and revenue.
Before her announcement last Friday and the university board’s action on Monday, Suber had shaken up her management team, placing the university provost on leave and firing her vice president for business and finance.
Before her firing, the university’s vice president for business and finance sent e-mails and related documents to members of the board of trustees to support her claim that Suber was mismanaging the institution and not cutting university expenses as needed, according to a report by the News & Observer, the daily morning paper serving the Raleigh area.
“We talked about the challenges we face today and the challenges we face tomorrow,” said Charlotte, N.C., attorney Rodney Gaddy, chairman of the St. Augustine’s board for a year. “We thought it would be best to go in another direction.”
Gaddy said the decision to terminate Suber was discussed by board members last Thursday and Friday in person and by phone.
