Atlanta's Morris Brown College may close

ATLANTA - Nearly 120 years after it was founded by former slaves, Morris Brown College may be forced to shut down because of debts of more than $23 million. <br> <br> Alumni and a new president are hoping they can save the college from a series of financial debacles - from moving up a division in sports, to promising every student a new laptop, to paying for basic expenses with federal money meant for student financial aid. <br> <br> Already, money problems have put Morris Brown on probation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the school could lose its accreditation after a committee review that starts Monday. <br> <br> That could be a death sentence because a loss of accreditation means students would no longer be eligible for federal financial aid. More than 90 percent of the school&#39;s 2,500 students rely on financial aid. <br> <br> ``We&#39;ve come too far to see the doors closed,&#39;&#39; said Atlanta City Councilman Derrick Boazman, a 1991 graduate. <br> <br> ``Morris Brown is the bedrock the core of what is good about Atlanta. It&#39;s the story of hope, of a second chance, the concept of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. The school looks at people not for where they came from, but for where they&#39;re going,&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Founded by members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1885, Morris Brown is one of the six historically black schools that make up the Atlanta University Center. <br> <br> The school is not as well-known as neighbors such as Spelman and Morehouse, but its alumni include civil rights leader Hosea Williams, former Atlanta police Chief Beverly Harvard and teachers and politicians throughout the South. <br> <br> Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Executive Director Jim Rogers said the review committee will go to Morris Brown ``to gain firsthand knowledge of the progress that has been made toward addressing issues and problems that have caused institution to be placed on probation.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Most of the problems happened under former president Dolores Cross. New president Charles Taylor has vowed to turn the school&#39;s money situation around in a year or quit. <br> <br> School officials have acknowledged using more than $8 million in financial aid to pay bills and salaries. The Department of Education says the school must pay back at least $5.4 million in aid that was misused. <br> <br> Morris Brown Dean of Students Herman ``Skip&#39;&#39; Mason said he doesn&#39;t expect his alma mater to close, but that many groups need to help save the school. <br> <br> ``Now is the time for the city, the AME church and all who believe in black higher education to embrace and support Morris Brown,&#39;&#39; Mason said. ``It&#39;s the tradition of our people to help somebody when they&#39;re down.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The school has struggled financially for more than a decade, but some recent decisions have worsened the problems. <br> <br> For one, the school thought it could make more money and get more recognition by moving its athletic programs from Division II to Division I. <br> <br> But the school could not find a conference, so the teams had trouble finding opponents willing to travel to a school with such small facilities. The men&#39;s basketball team had to crisscross the country, playing 21 of 30 games on the road. <br> <br> ``That was an extremely expensive undertaking,&#39;&#39; said Rogers of the SACS. ``We encouraged them not to move in that direction, but they went ahead and did it anyhow. When you give advice and people ignore it or don&#39;t hear it, this is an example of what happens.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Last year, the basketball players were among 400 students living in hotels around the city because Morris Brown expanded enrollment without adding housing space. In 1998, Morris Brown had 588 incoming freshmen; by 2000, freshman enrollment swelled to 820. <br> <br> Student Government Association President Edmond Richardson blames Cross. <br> <br> ``Dr. Cross knew that the college needed dorms built for students living in the hotels,&#39;&#39; he said. ``She not only put the college in financial debt, but also endangered the lives of the students living in the hotels.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Two dorms were scheduled for construction, but they were never built. School officials blamed the stall on problems with financing. Along with housing the students in hotels, Morris Brown also footed a costly transportation bill to shuttle them to and from campus. <br> <br> Cross said the influx of students was tied to the school&#39;s planned improvements, including a promise last year to provide laptop computers to all students. Students were charged $1,500 - some for computers they say they never received - but Morris Brown never paid the company that supplied them. In December, Computer Sales International sued the college for $4.2 million. <br> <br> Cross has said many of the financial problems began long before she arrived in 1998. She resigned in February and moved to Chicago to work in consulting and motivational speaking. <br> <br> Boazman said the crisis at Morris Brown - the only Georgia college founded by blacks - should serve as a lesson for other black colleges, several of which are also facing financial problems. <br> <br> ``We must not have the existence of our schools in jeopardy,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We must be guardians of the institution and its finances, and hold people accountable for what they do to damage it. Historically black colleges and universities are too valuable.&#39;&#39;