Tougaloo president steps down. 'It is time for another leader.'

Tougaloo College President Carmen J. Walters announced Tuesday that she is stepping down as the private Historically Black College's President effective June 30 of the current calendar year.

"Tougaloo is just a wonderful institution, from the faculty, staff, alumni, the board and especially those who supported me my entire four years here," Walters said in the announcement. "I think that it is time for the next leader to come and continue the great work and legacy. I'm excited about the new endeavors here at Tougaloo that will happen this fall. I'm just excited that I've had this opportunity to work with such a fine institution and looking forward to the future."

Walters' announcement comes after the Tougaloo Alumni Coalition, which is not directly associated with the Tougaloo Alumni Association, started a petition to remove Walters earlier this year due to declining student enrollment and staff, as well as other concerns.

Walters said her decision to step down wasn't related to the coalition's concerns.

The Tougaloo College Board of Trustees also announced that it unanimously appointed Donzell Lee to serve as Tougaloo President in an interim capacity.

Lee will lead the college as an interim president effective on July 1, as the Board of Trustees conducts a national search for the college's next President.

"The Board will establish a search committee that will be co-chaired by Trustees Dr. Blondean Y. Davis and Dr. Chris Gilmer, both of whom are well-respected leaders in education administration," the board statement said. "The search committee will be composed of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members."

Tougaloo's Board of Trustees thanked Walters for her hard work and dedication to Tougaloo.

"We appreciate all of the contributions President Walters made to the Tougaloo family," Edmond E. Hughes, Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees, said. "Dr. Walters will forever be a part of Tougaloo's history, and we wish her well in her future endeavors."

According to the petition, the coalition was formed in 2023 in response to the perfunctory student response by the Board of Trustees to address the systemic problems occurring at Tougaloo College. The petition was a call to action to preserve the rich history and legacy of Tougaloo College.

"Today, the Coalition is satisfied but underwhelmed at the departure of Dr. Carmen J. Walters," the coalition said in a statement after Walters' announcement. "The decision for the departure had been belated. The Walters administration had been vexed with many issues, from petitions, student protests, low faculty morale and alums' dissatisfaction.

More: Tougaloo president refutes claims of alumni group that seeks her ouster

The coalition said Walters was only symptomatic of the more significant structural problems occurring at Tougaloo College, which include but are not limited to, lack of transparency and lackadaisical accountability measures exhibited by the Board of Trustees.

"In 2019, many alumni voiced their dissent of her candidacy due to her lack of liberal arts college experience, which proved to be prescient. The Board of Trustees seemingly disregarded their concerns. Three years later, in 2022, students signed a petition of no confidence in the leadership of Dr. Walters and asked for her and her entire administration to be terminated. The Board of Trustees once again was derelict in their duties. As a result, more than 100 students did not return for the Spring semester of 2023, approximately one-fifth of the student population. That large number of students leaving in one semester was vexatious for Tougaloo College."

Walters said at the time that the alum coalition did not reflect the sentiments of the alum association as a whole.

"With previous Boards of Trustees, if there were any appearances of impropriety, the members acted in the best interest of the college and not that of a single individual," the coalition statement said. "Therefore, there was no need for public discourse."

The petition garnered more than 1,000 signatures within the first 72 hours. The petition grew to as many as 1,577 and still counting. The coalition noted the following:

• The steep decline in student enrollment

• The loss of valuable faculty and staff

• Vacant key positions and Questionable fiscal issues

Walters said the school is partnering with other entities to recruit students and additional funds despite the enrollment status.

Declining enrollment is a national trend and a concern at many liberal arts institutions, not just Tougaloo, which is ranked No. 151 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of national liberal arts colleges, trailing only Millsaps within Mississippi.

Walters' announcement comes as Mississippi's four-year colleges and universities, both public and private, are facing an unprecedented level of turnover in their top leadership positions. Since 2018, at least nine four-year institutions have had to search for a new president or chancellor. Three of those schools have had two leadership changes in that span.

Other colleges lose presidents: About a dozen Mississippi university presidents have left in the last five years. See why

According to previous Clarion Ledger reporting, the public universities that have had top leadership turnover in recent years include the University of Mississippi, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Delta State and The University of Southern Mississippi.

The University of Mississippi, Tougaloo College and Alcorn State University all had new leadership in 2019. In 2020, Jackson State University and Rust College both hired new presidents. In 2022, positions opened at Delta State University and The University of Southern Mississippi. Then, in just the first five months of 2023, the Clarion Ledger reported that four top jobs opened at Jackson State, Alcorn, Rust and Millsaps College.

The circumstances of each of these openings vary greatly. At Jackson State, former President Thomas Hudson resigned. According to reporting from Mississippi Today, former Alcorn President Felicia Nave was terminated. Former Millsaps College President Robert Pearigen left to take the top leadership position at his alma mater, The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The reason for former Rust President Ivy Taylor's departure is unclear at this time.

Previous reporting by Clarion Ledger reporter Wicker Perlis is included in this story.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: President of Tougaloo College Jackson MS is stepping down