Alabama State University

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has placed Tuskegee University and Alabama State University on warning due to a lack of compliance with the accreditation agency's policies.

The association accredits the degree programs at both institutions. It placed Tuskegee University on a 12 month warning period, and extended a warning at Alabama State University for a second time -- now for a full year as well.

Testimony is wrapping up in a lawsuit between former Alabama State University athletic director Stacy Danley and the university itself.

A ruling is expected to be issued sometime next month, after both sides file their final briefs.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Alabama State University have been given a federal grant to research and reduce disparities in cancer rates.

UAB officials said in a statement Tuesday that the $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute will allow both schools to execute cancer-related research and training focused on helping underserved communities.

Alabama State University officials say they're planning to use a National Science Foundation grant to establish a data analytics lab.

University officials said in a release Monday that the school will use the $399,000 grant to focus on "big data," a term that's increasingly used to describe a volume of data so large and complex that it's difficult to interpret using standard database and software techniques.

Officials say the university will partner with Auburn University on a research project aimed at infusing data analytics in mathematics and statistics courses.

An ousted trustee at Alabama State University is telling an accreditation agency his removal violates standards.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports that Marvin Wiggins has reported his own removal from the board to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Gov. Robert Bentley removed Wiggins as an Alabama State trustee citing a summer camp operated by Wiggins' wide on the campus.

But Wiggins says Bentley's influence over the trustees and the lack of a due-process hearing violate standards of the accreditation organization.

Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins is threatening to sue Gov. Robert Bentley for removing him as a trustee of Alabama State University.

Wiggins sent an email to the governor saying the removal violates his due process rights and is in violation of the standards of the university's accrediting agency.

A spokeswoman for the governor says he's reviewing the letter.

Gov. Robert Bentley has removed Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins as a trustee of Alabama State University.

Bentley, who is president of the Alabama State board of trustees, had given Chairman Elton Dean and Vice Chairman Wiggins until Thursday afternoon to resign. Dean did, but Wiggins refused because he said he had done nothing wrong.

The chairman of the board of trustees at Alabama State University, Elton Dean, says he's resigning.

Dean announced his decision on the campus radio station, WVAS, Thursday afternoon.

Gov. Robert Bentley, who is president of the ASU board, had called for Dean and vice chairman Marvin Wiggins to resign after an accrediting agency gave the university a warning and cited conflicts of interest by Dean and Wiggins.

Wiggins said he's not resigning because he's done nothing wrong.

Gov. Robert Bentley has asked two of the top trustees at Alabama State University to resign.

Bentley sent letters Tuesday to Chairman Elton Dean and Vice Chairman Marvin Wiggins asking them to resign by Thursday afternoon. Bentley says their resignations would be in the best interest of the university. Bentley serves as president of the Alabama State board by virtue of his office.

The president of the Alabama State University Student Government Association has sent a letter asking the chairman and vice chairman of the board of trustees to resign.

SGA President Darren Dubose said Monday the SGA Cabinet decided it was time to act when an accrediting agency sent the university a warning letter and noted that Chairman Elton Dean and Vice Chairman Marvin Wiggins had relatives with university contracts. Dubose also noted that Moody's Investor Services downgraded the university's bond rating during their tenure.

The National Park Service has chosen Alabama State University in Montgomery as the location for the third and final interpretative center along the Selma-to-Montgomery National Voting Rights Trail.

The park service and university President Gwendolyn Boyd signed a memorandum of understanding Monday. The signing comes one year before Alabama plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 march.

Several sites in the capital city competed for the interpretative center, but officials said community support and resources clinched it for ASU.

Alabama State University officials have outlined initial steps they plan to take to recover from a credit downgrade and are looking for more information on specific things the school needs to do to respond to warning from an academic accreditation agency.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees met Wednesday afternoon. Chairman Elton Dean says he's assembled a group tasked with having weekly conference calls to discuss what the school needs to do to recover from its third credit downgrade by Moody's Investors Service within a roughly nine month period.

Alabama State University officials say they're committed to revamping administrative processes to respond to a recent credit downgrade and a warning from an accreditation agency.

In a statement Monday, ASU President Gwendolyn Boyd said the school's recent credit downgrade by Moody's Investor's Service is the third in almost nine months and she considers it a "very serious issue."

An accrediting agency has issued a warning to Alabama State University for failing to comply with several accreditation standards.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools issued the warning to ASU late last week, saying the school hasn't complied with standards on board of trustees governance, financial stability and Title IV funding issues.

A civil rights interpretive center will remain on the Alabama State University campus for now, following a vote by the Montgomery City Council.

WAKA-TV reports that after some debate, the council voted not to reconsider the location. The station reports that the National Park Service selected ASU as the site of the center in 2011.

Montgomery City Councilman Tracy Larkin has proposed a resolution to reconsider the current location at Alabama State, favoring a site along the Selma to Montgomery March route.

Two members of the Alabama State University board of trustees have questioned university President Gwendolyn Boyd's understanding of the school's governance structure, and Boyd has called claims they've made against her intimidation and harassment.

A series of letters obtained by the Montgomery Advertiser outlines a disagreement between Boyd and board members Elton Dean and Marvin Wiggins. The issue arose after Boyd distributed a revised organizational chart just before a late April trustee meeting.

An Alabama university is barring its new president from living with any romantic interest in the campus home provided her as long as she remains unmarried.

A contract signed by Gwendolyn Boyd to become head of Alabama State University in Montgomery prohibits her from sharing her presidential home with any partner. The contract notes Boyd is single and requires her to live in the house. It says the no-cohabitation clause is in effect as long as Boyd isn't married.

The trustees of Alabama State University have approved a two-year contract that pays new President Gwendolyn Boyd $300,000 annually.

The board, including Gov. Robert Bentley, approved the contract unanimously Friday. It includes benefits, such as a president's home.

University spokesman Ken Mullinax said Boyd will start Feb. 1. She has been executive assistant to the chief of staff of the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University.

She replaces Joseph Silver, who left in late 2012. He had an annual salary of $325,000, but only served a few months.

Democratic state Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery is seeking re-election after not being selected president of Alabama State University.

Ross was one of three finalists interviewed by the Alabama State trustees Friday, but they chose Gwendolyn Boyd from John Hopkins University.

Shortly after the selection, Ross announced he will run for a fourth term next year. Ross said he was thankful to be nominated to the Alabama State position, but he looks forward to continuing to represent his Montgomery County constituents.

The trustees of Alabama State University have selected Gwendolyn Boyd as the university's new president.

The board voted Friday after interviewing three finalists at the Montgomery university. The other finalists were retired Brigadier Gen. Samuel Nichols and Democratic state Sen. Quinton Ross.

Alabama State University trustees will soon vote on the next president of the university.

The trustees are scheduled to take up the matter at a meeting Dec. 20. A notice from the Alabama Secretary of State indicates that the board will meet to vote on the next president.

Members of a search committee last week interviewed three finalists for the job: state Sen. Quinton Ross Jr. of Montgomery; Gwendolyn Boyd of John Hopkins University; and retired Brig. Gen. Samuel Nichols Jr. of Virginia Friday afternoon.

A search committee has released the names of four finalists seeking the presidency of Alabama State University.

The list made public Wednesday includes state Sen. Quinton Ross of Montgomery and Gwendolyn Boyd of Montgomery, who had a long career at John Hopkins University.

The other finalists include retired Brig. Gen. Samuel Nichols of Virginia, a former deputy commander at Guantanamo Bay, and the business dean at George Mason University, Jorge Haddock.

State lawmakers have approved another $50,000 for the company conducting a forensic audit at Alabama State University.

   A panel of lawmakers on Thursday approved the latest request for money for the independent audit. The Montgomery Advertiser reports (http://on.mgmadv.com/1dM10Ag) that the increase could take the total cost for review up to $650,000.

   Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, said the auditing process is taking longer because of difficulty in gaining access to needed information.

Federal judges are rejecting Alabama State University's appeal of a $1 million court judgment for sexual harassment.

The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the school in a 23-page decision on Tuesday.

Three former employees won more than $1 million total in a lawsuit that claimed two top administrators made numerous inappropriate comments and created a hostile work environment.

The president of Alabama State University says he's looking to implement a temporary smoking ban.

University President William Harris says that he's going to use executive authority to temporarily ban the use of all tobacco products on campus.

He says science has proven "that smoking causes grave difficulties to health," and university officials want students and staff to be as healthy as possible.

State officials have awarded Alabama State University with $800,000 in grant funding for the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Interpretive Center.

The funding will be added to an existing grant of $1.2 million.

Director of Alabama State University's National Center for the study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture says the center will be located near Hornet Stadium on the university's campus.

Organizers say they hope to open the center in time for the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March in March 2015.

The board of the Alabama Public Historical Sites and Parks Improvement Corporation has authorized $1.2 million in bond money for a landmark voting rights center in the capitol city.

A new facility at Alabama State University will be home to the last stop on the route memorialized as the Voting Rights Trail, officials said Tuesday.

Finance Director Marquita Davis told Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Mike Hubbard the center had been funded in 2001, but the project didn't get off the ground.

Officials say Alabama State University trustee Kathy Sawyer has resigned from the institution's board.

The Montgomery Advertiser reports (http://on.mgmadv.com/VlnTTq ) that Sawyer submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Robert Bentley on Jan. 13.

She stated in her resignation letter that she was unable to fulfill her responsibility "in a manner that benefits both the university and me personally."