A remedy for Central State's problems?

Black Issues in Higher Education, April 3, 1997 by Mark Fisher

DAYTON, OHIO--Some Ohio legislators want to force Central

State University to merge with another institution of higher education

despite a graduation rate for Black students that exceeds that of nearly

half of the state's public universities.

One of the suggested merger partners is, ironically, the very

institution from which CSU split exactly fifty years ago--Wilberforce

University, one of the nation's oldest, private, historically Black

colleges and universities (HBCUs). Wilberforce is located across the

street from CSU in southwestern Ohio. The chairman of the board of

trustees at Wilberforce has embraced the possibility of reuniting the two

schools, although Central State supporters say they'll oppose any

attempt to strip the school of its status of a four-year, independent

university.

In response, Raymond Pierce, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the

U. S. Department of Education, wrote to Ohio governor George V.

Voinovich to inform him that talk of the merger has prompted a

resumption of an Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigation into Ohio's

higher education system.

In May of 1981 the OCR found Ohio to be in violation of Title VI

of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because of its segregation of Central

State University. The federal government and the state of Ohio have

had several agreements to develop a plan for Central State. However,

Pierce said in his letter, "OCR has no

reasonable expectation that the state will

provide OCR with a plan to remedy this

matter. "

The reopening of the OCR's

discrimination complaint against the state of

Ohio over its funding and treatment of CSU

could lead to a federal lawsuit or the

withholding of federal funds from Ohio. [See

box for excerpt from letter.]

Central State is battling for its political

and financial life after the school amassed a

debt estimated by some state officials at

nearly $20 million. An interim report of an

investigation by Ohio's Inspector General

suggested that CSU officials engaged in

"numerous instances of fraud, waste and

abuse" that could result in criminal

prosecution. Some legislators--particularly

Republicans who control both sides of Ohio's

legislature--say the school has squandered

previous bailouts and should be either closed

or merged with another school such as

Wilberforce or Ohio State University.

CSU's supporters say the school has been

neglected and underfunded for years by a

state government that three decades ago chose

to build another four-year state

university--Wright State University--only

eleven miles away. They say preserving the

publicly supported HBCU, which had a

winter-quarter enrollment of 1,664, is a

worthy investment.

Fred Ransier, a Columbus, Ohio, attorney

and Central State graduate who serves as

chairman of CSU's board of trustees, says the

school has made great progress in the last

seven months in cutting costs and restoring

sound fiscal management. He and eight fellow

trustees were sworn in en masse last summer

after Gov. George V. Voinovich asked the

previous board of trustees--the majority of

whom the governor had appointed--to step

down.

Ransier said Central State still provides

the nurturing atmosphere that African

American students cannot find at other public

universities in the state. During a legislative

session, he referred to a Dayton Daily News

study which showed that CSU's graduation

rate of Black students was about average

among state universities. That study, which

utilized state and federal enrollment and

graduation data along with National Collegiate

Athletic Association (NCAA) graduation-rate

data, showed:

* Central State graduated more Black

students between 1990 and 1994 (1,252) than

any other public university in Ohio.

* The school's graduation rate for Black

students entering college in the late 1980s (an

average of 23 percent over the period) places

it in the middle of the pack among Ohio

public universities' graduation rates for Black

students.

* Wright State University--the newer

and larger school eleven miles away that some

legislators had suggested as a potential merge r

partner for Central State--had the lowest

Black graduation rate (17 percent among all

state-supported universities.

Some legislators scoffed at

CSU's reported graduation rates

saying they should be even higher if

the university is to be successful at

their mission of providing a

nurturing atmosphere Key

lawmakers began talking about

tying any future operating money

allocated to Central State to a

requirement that CSU link with

another school. The university gets

about half of its operating money

from its state subsidies.

Two Republican legislators held an

exploratory meeting with Wilberforce

University President Dr. John Henderson and

John L. Walker, a Merrill-Lynch vice

president who serves as chairman of

Wilberforce's Board of Trustees. Walker said

he would welcome a reunification with CSU if

the state of Ohio made an adequate financial

commitment to the arrangement.

"I personally feel it would be a great

thing to he together again," Walker said. "But

I certainly don't want an albatross around our

necks that could pull us down."

Wilberforce--affiliated with the A.M. E.