Fisk University parts ways with president Vann Newkirk

Fisk University on Saturday announced the departure of its president Vann Newkirk Sr., putting Nashville's oldest college again on a quest for new leadership.

Founded in 1866, Fisk has had four presidents since 2015. The university did not cite a reason for the departure.

“The Board unanimously agreed that the next chapter in the Fisk future calls for new leadership," Fisk board chair Frank L. Sims, who will serve as acting president, said in a news release. "We thank Dr. Newkirk for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors. We look forward to conducting a thorough and extensive search process for our next President."

Newkirk, a higher education veteran and former Fisk provost, served as interim president of the the historically Black university after the departure of former president Kevin Rome in 2020. Newkirk then took the helm as Fisk's 17th president in Feburary 2021.

While provost and interim president Newkirk launched several new programs at the university, including those in bioinformatics, data science and social justice.

In its statement Saturday, Fisk also touted some of its recent successes, including fundraising and enrollment gains. Between 2017 and 2022, the school hit fundraising records for five years consecutively and its enrollment has grown by nearly 40% over four years.

"The Board of Trustees is charged with ensuring that Fisk University continues to excel as a leading academic institution and that our future is defined by a shared vision and set of values,” Sims said.

The school also became the first historically Black college and university to add a women's gymnastics program this year.

Fisk leadership had hoped both Rome and Newkirk would have provided long-term stability to the school.

Rome department amid allegations raised in a temporary restraining order filed against him in August 2020.

In an order filed in Davidson County General Sessions Court, the man stated that in June, Rome vandalized his home and damaged his plumbing. The man also accused Rome of drugging him. Rome's attorney at the time said the allegations were false.

A decade ago, enrollment declines left the university cash-strapped and on the brink of closure several. In a controversial decision at the time, officials in 2012 said a multimillion-dollar deal to share the prized Alfred Stieglitz Collection of artwork with an Arkansas museum saved the university.

Meanwhile, Fisk was forced to overhaul its financial practices around because its accreditation was put on a two-year probation that was lifted in 2013.

In recent years, Fisk began seeing positive changes, including with enrollment and fundraising.

Newkirk served an Fisk's interim president before he took over the position permanently. In picking Newkirk, Sims in February 2021 said the decision to hire him was unanimous, citing consecutive years with an operational surplus.

Sims, who spent three decades at Cargill, previously served as interim president from 2015-2017.

Anika Exum is a reporter for The Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network — Tennessee. Reach her at aexum@tennessean.com, 615-347-7313, or on Twitter @aniexum.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Fisk University parts ways with president Vann Newkirk