Citing safety concerns at the Knoxville College campus, Dasha Lundy resigns
A former Knoxville College executive sounded the alarm over her concern about a lack of security on the mostly vacant campus after two people were found dead on school property last year, and resigned in frustration in May after her call went unaddressed.
Less than two months later, two more people were found dead on the campus in the heart of the Mechanicsville neighborhood, and the school canceled a city mayoral election forum set for July 24, citing safety concerns.
Police suspect no foul play in any of the deaths. A man discovered in June 2022 died of a drug overdose, and a woman found in December died from "accidental" causes, said Knoxville police spokesperson Scott Erland. No causes of death have been released in the latest incident, when two people were found dead July 16 after a fire broke out in a building. The two people were in a separate building from the fire.
Dasha Lundy, former chief operating officer and vice president of Knoxville College, said she's been deluged with calls about the deaths even though she no longer works for the school. Lundy also is a commissioner representing Knox County's 1st District, which includes the neighborhood.
The historic college campus has been largely vacant since it closed in 2017. The school now serves online students only and is not accredited. Lundy took a position at Knoxville College in 2021 to help it regain its accreditation, but also was frustrated by what she describes as a lack of commitment to the process.
“With the numerous calls I have received and concerns about the discovery on Sunday, I feel it’s best to let people know I am no longer there," Lundy told Knox News.
"The integrity of leadership at Knoxville College is a critical part of bringing our beloved HBCU back as an institution of higher learning, and I just didn’t feel things were going in the right direction with some of those I worked with," she said. "I want the best for KC and I do not feel it can happen as things currently stand and when those trying to do the right thing are not supported."
Lundy sent a letter to the college's board of trustees that described the lack of security on campus, including numerous fires that had been started in abandoned buildings. “I asked for safety on campus with buildings to be boarded up and we had the money to do that and was not considered," she told Knox News.
In addition to the deaths on campus, the Knoxville Fire Department has responded to five fire calls since this past January, said Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks. Since January 2022, Wilbanks told Knox News, firefighters have responded to 15 calls on campus, 10 of them fires.
The school is headed by President and CEO Leonard Adams. Knoxville College officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mechanicsville neighbors express support and concern over safety at the college
"I come over here all of the time and just sit and relax. I find this campus peaceful. I have lived in this neighborhood all of my life, I was practically born here," said 21-year-old Jazmin Powell.
She told Knox News that while her mother once attended Knoxville College and the school is near and dear to her heart, she is worried about the future of the grounds she cherishes as a place for her own respite.
Nathaniel Nolley, who lives in Mechanicsville, told Knox News he's concerned about the safety of children who play in the neighborhood.
"They really need to go ahead and do what they need to do in order to make this place safe," he said. "We got kids running up and through here and there is too much going on to be worried about them being up on that campus like it is."
Jessica Johnson, who lives right across the street from the college's flagship building, McKee Hall, told Knox News that the campus has become dangerous.
"We had a homeless man try to follow my daughter up to the front door of our house and it was scary for her. It is just constant fires going on being set on the campus; we see the smoke coming from the buildings. It is just not safe and something has to be done," she said. "It's not only homeless people we see going onto the campus, though; it's teenagers, too. We watch them just park their car sometimes and get out and walk back toward the buildings. It's all of the time. For years we have heard while we have lived here that they are fixing these buildings but it hasn't happened."
Johnson doesn't want the history of the school and its importance to the community forgotten, however.
"Despite the problems, we also watch history buses and tour buses come through here and so we understand how important the history of this school means to the city," she said. "We don't want it gone, we just want this place to be safe, and hopefully some of these buildings that can't be saved either [be] torn down or secured. It's a beautiful place and we hope it can be saved and be made safe."
Angela Dennis is the Knox News race, justice and equity reporter. Email angela.dennis@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AngeladWrites. Instagram @angeladenniswrites. Facebook at Angela Dennis.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville College VP Dasha Lundy resigns over safety concerns
