By Monique Jones
The Birmingham Times
Alabama State University President Gwendolyn Boyd was suspended from her post during a Friday meeting with the school’s board of trustees. Provost Leon Wilson will act as interim president.
According to WSFA 12, the meeting was originally convened to discuss the school’s budget. Instead, a vote was taken to suspend Dr. Boyd. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Boyd has been charged with “failure to maintain the confidence of the board.”
Boyd said her removal was “disappointing.”
“It took me by surprise as everybody else in the room, I think,” she said to WSFA 12. “It’s not very helpful for the university…the Moody’s, the S&Ps, all the people who watch the university.”
Wilson also expressed grief over Boyd’s ouster.
“[I’m] very emotional at this point,” he said to the Montgomery Advertiser. “Dr. Boyd is still president of the university. We’ll continue to focus on what we do here.”
Wilson said he “heard rumblings” related to Boyd’s removal before Friday’s meeting. There have also been rumors about what the 2017 budget would entail. During the meeting, a staff member alleged that Boyd had announced Wednesday that employees would have to take a furlough day each month next year, as reported by the Advertiser. An employee for the university also said that Boyd didn’t have answers for those concerned.
The board said that at this point, no furloughs were in the future budget since the budget hadn’t been discussed or passed due to Boyd’s suspension. Until the 2017 budget has been approved, the board moved to use the current 2016 budget.
A post-determination hearing for Boyd has been set for Nov. 14.
