When Dr. Michelle R. Howard-Vital became president of one of the nation’s oldest historically Black universities (HBCU) in 2007, she knew she “inherited a national treasure that has produced some extraordinary leaders.”
Howard-Vital also knew Cheyney University was riddled with debt, ending the fiscal year with a $2.16 million deficit in a $27 million budget. Cheyney, she says, was also grossly “misunderstood,” when it came to the caliber of its students and teaching. Furthermore, it was in a state of disrepair and lacking infrastructure. But this past June, Cheyney’s board of trustees announced the appointment of a five-member advisory panel chaired by H. Patrick Swygert, former president of Howard University.
In its yearlong appointment, the independent volunteer panel will focus its attention on helping Cheyney turn around its operations and academics, says Howard-Vital. She welcomes the extra external support and advice she receives from Swygert and the other panel members. “They can help us based on best practices from their own institutions,” she says of the panel, which has convened twice via conference call and gathered once on Cheyney’s campus when the group launched earlier this year.
In addition to Swygert, advisory panel members include Drs. Shirley A.R. Lewis, former president of Paine College; Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund; Frank G. Pogue, former president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; and Dr. Leonard L. Haynes III, former executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Howard-Vital says she usually participates in the panel’s meetings and often speaks to Swygert. Recently, when Howard-Vital presented Swygert with her idea to develop centers of excellence at Cheyney, which included one on teaching and learning, Swygert advised her to tie those plans to the workforce needs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Howard-Vital says this strategy will make the centers and Cheyney more competitive and visible.
Swygert, in recent interviews with the Philadelphia Inquirer, said Cheyney, which largely attracts first-generation students and those from Philadelphia’s underperforming public schools, has long been underfunded. Stopping short of blaming money for the university’s challenges, Swygert did point out that Cheyney has not built a new dormitory in three decades. Swygert also said the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the community and alumni all share responsibility for shoring up and helping sustain the 172-year-old institution. During his tenure at Howard, where he now teaches law, Swygert led a $250 million capital campaign.
A year ago, Pennsylvania took control of the university’s finances as Cheyney languished in debt.
