This week, Dr. Earl Yarbrough Sr. is finally occupying the seat he’s sought most of his professional life — the one belonging to a historically Black university president.
But it’s not the chair at Knoxville College in East Tennessee, where he was appointed president in December. Instead, he starts this week in the historic Georgia coastal town of Savannah, where he takes over at Savannah State University.
“I’ve had a goal back when I was doing my Ph.D. work that I’d like to lead an institution of higher education,” says Yarbrough. “I realized I wanted to head an HBCU. Those things came together for me.”
His beginning actually brings to an end a strange, six-month odyssey for Yarbrough and the two HBCUs. It started in December 2006, when Knoxville board of trustees tabbed Yarbough for the presidency.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Yarbrough as the president-elect of Knoxville College, and we are excited about the talent he brings to the college at this critical time,” said Knoxville board chairman Ronald Damper in the Dec. 2 release announcing the appointment.
“There are some challenges, but none so great that we cannot overcome together,” Yarbrough said in the same release. At the time, he was a Virginia State University professor and long-time collegiate administrator.
The challenges at Knoxville — a school that produced journalists Vernon Jarrett, Ralph Wiley and George Curry along with historic football coach Jake Gaither — have been many.
