NC Central chancellor is installed in campus ceremony as lawsuit looms

Born one of 22 children in Nigeria, Johnson Akinleye said he learned early the meaning of "survival of the fittest."

He walked three miles and back each day to elementary school, because, he said, "My parents gave no room for compromise when it came to education."

His long educational journey brought him to Durham, where he was officially installed as the 12th chancellor at N.C. Central University on Thursday. He succeeds Debra Saunders-White, who died of cancer in 2016.

Akinleye pledged to remain true to the vision to James E. Shepard, who founded NCCU in 1910, and to Saunders-White, who coined the phrase "Eagle Excellence." But he also said he wanted the university to embrace technology, new ways of delivering education and emerging fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, cyber security, bioengineering and others.

"We must be willing to look inside and outside of the academy for ideas that transcend the four walls of our institution," he said. "We must be ever digilent in how we decide where to invest our time, effort and money to better position our institution and our students for success."

And he enumerated four "deliverables" that he pledged to NCCU students:

• to achieve degree completion in four years.
• to graduate market ready, with a job (or graduate school) lined up by graduation.
• to be globally and socially engaged.
• to demonstrate prudent leadership.
  
  

He called this the "Eagle Promise."

The ceremony featured stirring musical performances from the university's choir and jazz band. Afterward, a reception was held in a tent on campus, featuring a steel drum band.

An intense week

It has been an intense week for the new chancellor. Akinleye's actions at NCCU were called into question by a lawsuit early this week by a former finance vice chancellor, Benjamin Durant.

Durant claims he was fired after raising concerns about the chancellor's luxury vehicle and reporting that Akinleye and two members of the UNC Board of Governors members tried to steer a multimillion-dollar campus housing contract to the Preiss Company of Raleigh. The board members, Darrell Allison and Harry Smith, have denied the claims.

On Thursday, NCCU issued an expanded statement outlining the process for the public-private partnership to build a 1,240-bed student housing project. In February, the statement said, NCCU submitted a "request for quotes" to seek information from prospective partners. Nine companies responded to the request, and NCCU issued a "request for proposals" to four of the companies. Preiss was not among them.

The process is still under way.

Smith issued a statement Thursday saying he was asked to recommend areas where NCCU could improve profitability in housing, parking and dining. He said he attended three meetings, which were attended by a diverse group from NCCU, and recommended adding Preiss to the bidder list in order to "get as many qualified bidders as possible in the best interest of NCCU."

"I never one time had a conversation, sent a text or an e-mail to anyone at NCCU or the Preiss Company trying to influence the selection process," Smith's statement said. "I was completely removed from the process."

Smith, who is in line to be the next Board of Governors chairman, said Wednesday he had done business with Preiss in the past. He described the company as "world class."

Smith said he told Durant and other NCCU officials that the university was losing income because of improper oversight and management. He said NCCU's dining contract hadn't been properly bid in years and the housing pricing was "under market."

Durant is "operating in a manner meant to harm and defame, filing the lawsuit the day before Johnson's installation," and "making wild and completely unfounded accusations," Smith said.

Luxury vehicle

As for the issue with Akinleye's car, Smith said this week that it represented very poor judgment. The lawsuit contends Akinleye was initially given a Nissan Pathfinder through the State Motor Pool but later bought a GMC Yukon Denali.

Records obtained by The Herald-Sun show the Denali was purchased for $69,404 in December of last year.

The lawsuit claims that Durant raised objections to the use of state money for the car, which the N.C. Department of Administration deemed as a "luxury vehicle" not allowed for state use.

NCCU sent the vehicle to State Surplus Property for sale in February, and it was sold by auction at a loss of about $12,300.

On Friday, several alumni said news of the lawsuit had not ruined Akinleye's party, but social media was abuzz with the allegations and alumni grumbling about a new NCCU logo unveiled this week.

"People showed up, so I don't think it overshadowed it," said Amber Lashley, a 2013 graduate and business analyst in Durham.

"It was very emotionally intimate," added Ashley Brown, a 2012 graduate from Durham who works as a project manager for a Cary software company. "Very happy for him. It's a fresh wind for the campus. I think everyone is excited to see the changes that will happen."

Akinleye has served as chancellor since August of 2016, first in an acting role, then in an interim role and finally as the permanent leader for the historically black university with more than 8,000 students.

He was previously the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Before that, he held administrative roles at UNC Wilmington, Edward Waters College and Bethune-Cookman University. He began his career on the faculty at Bowie State University in Maryland.

He holds communications degrees from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and Howard University.

This story was originally published April 19, 2018 at 5:37 PM with the headline "NC Central chancellor is installed in campus ceremony as lawsuit looms."