New Interim President Fights for Survival of HBCU

By Jeremy M. Lazarus

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Richmond Free Press

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Eddie N. Moore Jr., the new interim president of historically Black Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Va., is seeking to raise $5 million by June to save the private College from collapse.

“We need individuals who believe in the Saint Paul’s mission, and we need them to step up and support us now,” Moore said as he launched the emergency campaign and announced a $500,000 gift to jump-start the effort.

 Moore came to Richmond with school officials recently to open the Saint Paul’s “Now and Forever” drive and thank the first big donor to the campaign for the 123-year-old liberal arts school in Lawrenceville, located 70 miles south of Richmond.

The donor is Jane Batten, widow of Virginia media mogul Frank Batten Sr., whose company’s holdings still include daily newspapers in Norfolk and Roanoke.

Batten offered $500,000 to support the Saint Paul’s “Now and Forever” campaign to shore up the school’s finances and pay for essential building repairs.

Separately, Batten also pledged $1 million to endow Saint Paul’s program that offers financial support to single parents pursuing degrees. It’s a good start for  Moore, 63, who was president of Virginia State University near Petersburg, Va. for 17 years before retiring in June 2010.

A certified public accountant and former state treasurer, he is volunteering his time at Saint Paul’s, which has mainly served Black students since its founding in 1888 by Episcopal priest James Solomon Russell.

The school, where enrollment has plunged from nearly 700 students to around 400 students this year, desperately needs an infusion of new money. That’s the only way it can ward off the threatened loss of accreditation due to its precarious financial state.

Unless Moore can change that situation quickly, Saint Paul’s would be stripped of its accreditation in June by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. If that happens, Saint Paul’s will not be able to offer its students federal grants and loans to cover the $13,200 annual tuition, the school’s largest revenue stream.

A SACS review team will be on the campus in March to consider the school’s situation. That team’s recommendation is expected to play a big role in the SACS decision on whether to restore or remove Saint Paul’s accreditation.

Moore took office as interim president/CEO Nov. 10. “I’m intrigued by the challenge,” he told the Free Press a few days earlier.

Along with raising new money, he said the school would need to reduce spending to alleviate a current deficit and find ways to expand enrollment. He accepted a $1 salary to stay until SACS makes its decision.

A lot of people are hoping he has the financial magic to turn around the school. Saint Paul’s currently lists 150 people on its roster of staff and faculty.