The drama at Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) continues as students start classes while the interim president, Marcus H. Burgess, resigned after only 18 months in the post, Inside HigherEd reported.
Burgess’ last day was Aug. 30 but school officials say he submitted his letter of resignation Jul. 16. citing “personal reasons.” The announcement came down as students started classes for the fall semester online. “We extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Burgess for his leadership and service during a pivotal period in the University’s history. His commitment and dedication to the mission of Saint Augustine’s University have been deeply valued,” the statement from SAU’s Board of Trustees read.
Provost Verjanis A. Peoples will step in as Saint Augustine’s interim president until a permanent leader is named.
The resignation comes as the Raleigh-based HBCU recently became re-accredicated following a lengthy legal battle with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, who stripped SAU of its accreditation amid financial and governance issues in late 2023. Peoples will now take over for Burgess, a veteran HBCU administrator, who is added to the list of leader turnover for the school.
The school was briefly led in 2020 by Irving Pressley McPhail, who passed away due to complications from COVID-19. His wife, Christine McPhail, ultimately stepped in as president but was later fired in 2023. McPhail and the Board are currently facing a legal battle in court after she sued the board over accusations of gender-based discrimination.
Burgess isn’t the only one resigning. According to ABC 11, Chairman of the Board, Brian Boulware, also stepped away from his role but will remain listed as a trustee. SaveSAU Coalition, a nonprofit organization consisting of concerned alumni, students, parents, and former administrators and faculty, released a statement as the change of leadership was handed down, saying this was what they were worried about. “While these developments mark a shift, the Coalition warned against what it calls ‘boardroom musical chairs — reshuffling titles without addressing the deep failures of governance that have pushed the University into crisis,” the group said.
“Lenders have already made it plain: until both Boulware and Vice Chair Perry are gone, there will be no financing for Saint Augustine’s…When the music stops, failed leaders must step aside. Anything less is more of the same dysfunction that has brought this University to the brink.” The nonprofit filed a lawsuit against Boulware and the Board of Trustees in 2024 citing how the university “now teeters on the edge of chaos, brought to its knees by the utter neglect of its board of trustees and especially its most recent chairmen, Defendants Brian Boulware and James Perry.”
The suit accuses Boulware of being “dictatorial and vindictive” and “more concerned with lining his own pockets than leading the university.”
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