In a letter released on Monday night, Morehouse College Board Chairman Robert Davidson said that current Morehouse Chief Operating Officer William “Bill” Taggart would be responsible for “day-to-day leadership” of the college, effective immediately.
The wording of the letter gave rise to a series of news reports that current Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson had been abruptly ousted from his position. Morehouse college officials refuted such reports on Tuesday morning, saying that the letter had been misinterpreted.
“President Wilson is still the president of Morehouse College, and is expected to be the president until June 30,” a Morehouse representative said.
Davidson’s letter was intended to outline the next steps for the college during its current transitional phase in leadership, a Morehouse spokesperson told Diverse. Wilson could not be reached for comment.
According to Davidson’s letter, discussions about the search for an interim president — who would assume leadership of the college in July — will begin in April. Wilson and Taggart will both have leadership roles at the college for the remainder of Wilson’s presidency, a decision that Morehouse officials say is intended to help smooth out the transition process
Morehouse has seen a tumultuous past few months, after the board voted to not renew Wilson’s contract, which is set to expire on June 30. Reactions to Wilson’s four years of leadership at Morehouse have been mixed. Under his tenure, the college brought in an unprecedented $70 million in gifts, loans and grants, and saw an increase in enrollment numbers, among other achievements.
Others criticized some of the decisions made under his watch, such as a new campus policy that would have required all students live on campus housing. While Morehouse said that this would help foster a sense of community on campus, others said that it would place further financial burdens on students, who might be able to find less-expensive living accommodations off campus.
