The Daytona-Beach News Journal January 23, 2012 B-CU President Trudie Kibbe Reed resigns By Mark Harper and Lyda Longa, Staff Writers Trudie Kibbe Reed, the fifth president in the 108-year history of Bethune-Cookman University, is leaving the school, board Chairman Larry Handfield confirmed Sunday. Reed, 64, has served as president of the historically black college since August 2004. She went to Handfield with her decision to leave in December. At a board meeting Friday, 30 of the school's 33 trustees voted to accept her resignation. "I think she just felt it was time to move on," Handfield said. "We accepted her resignation. Everybody was in agreement." Reed did not return telephone calls made this weekend seeking comment. Her 7 1/2-year tenure was about average for most college presidents, Handfield said. As president, Reed oversaw the institution's transformation from a college to a university, implementing graduate programs in transformative leadership and integrated environmental science. She oversaw the renovations of older buildings into new facilities for the School of Nursing and the Center for Civic Engagement, as well as the construction of a new residence hall and athletic training complex. And she contended with problems such as financial concerns, hazing, on-campus crime and sexual harassment, firing four male professors in 2009. Handfield, a Miami attorney, said Reed made several improvements to B-CU, and added he and other trustees "appreciate everything she's brought to the university." Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey said he was surprised. (She was) "one in a long list of people who have done a great job at the college," Ritchey said Sunday night. "I wish her the best on her decision on wherever she is planning on going, and I hope she has a happy and productive transition." The Rev. Ronald Durham, pastor of Greater Friendship Baptist Church and until recently a member of the B-CU board, praised Reed's tenure. "I'm certainly disappointed to hear," Durham said. "The evidence supports the fact that she's done a tremendous job, fiscally, the overall improvement of the plant, the beautification of campus, the building acquisitions and renovations. She's done all of that during a difficult economy. She's truly left a legacy." The university under Reed also has seen controversy. The firing of the four professors was cited in a 2010 American Association of University Professors report censuring B-CU for failing to provide appropriate due process and academic freedom to professors. The university responded with its own report defending the professors' firings. In October, The News-Journal reported that Bethune-Cookman was facing 12 lawsuits from ex-employees who say they were unfairly fired. The cases include the four professors involved in the sex allegations, ex-football coach Alvin Wyatt and former men's basketball coach Clifford Reed. Reed, the first woman to lead the institution since the 1955 death of its founder, Mary McLeod Bethune, said in an interview late last year she had grown used to criticism and questions about her leadership. In August, she received a vote of confidence from the board. "I've had it from Day 1. Some of it is related to being female. Some of it is related to a style of no-nonsense. I don't apologize for you, but I can tell you I have an overwhelming amount of support." The confidence vote also came with an evaluation that included its own criticism: That she spend more time on campus. Reed had served on 10 national boards. Trustee Audley Coakley said Reed's decision to resign was strictly her own. Reed's career in academia dates to her days as one of the first black female students to enroll at the University of Texas in 1966. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas, then a doctorate degree from Columbia University in New York. Prior to becoming a college president, Reed was a professor of education and director of The Leadership Institute at Columbia College in South Carolina, and spent 18 years as an administrator with the United Methodist Church, which is affiliated with both Philander Smith and Bethune-Cookman. No date has been set for Reed's departure from Bethune-Cookman, Handfield said. -- Staff Writer Skyler Swisher contributed to this report. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.