Morris Brown Hanging On In Wake of Scandal
With trial of former president behind it, school looks to rebound.

By Add Seymour Jr.

ATLANTA
Three years ago, the massive crowd at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, on hand to witness the Honda Battle of the Bands, got a huge surprise.
Ripe from huge exposure during the collegiate coming-of-age film “Drumline,” the Morris Brown College Marching Band shocked the cheering crowd by strutting onto the field at the very end of the competition.

But they didn’t play a note. That’s because at the time, Morris Brown College didn’t actually have a marching band. In fact, the 125-year-old institution really didn’t have enough students to fill a section of the Georgia Dome, much less the roster of a full marching band.

The AME-affiliated school, part of the Atlanta University Center and its cradle of historically Black institutions that includes Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College and the Interdenominational Theological Center, was reeling.

The school’s accreditation was yanked after a financial scandal that left Morris Brown deep in debt, with no federal funding and few students.
Former president Dolores Cross pled guilty in federal court to embezzlement for misusing school financial aid funds. She could face prison time when she is sentenced this August. Her chief financial officer at the time, Parvesh Singh, was also found guilty and could also end up in jail.

Both admitted to acquiring federal financial aid money for students who weren’t actually enrolled on campus. The money was used to help keep the institution financially afloat, not for personal gain.

The events of Cross’ tenure, from 1998 to 2002, was the final straw for the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools, which stripped the school of its accreditation status in December 2002. That move
left students unable to receive federal financial aid funds — at an institution where 90 percent of the students relied on some sort of aid.