As Saint Augustine’s University faces down existential threats in the form of lawsuits, property liens, crippling debt, a state investigation, and potential accreditation loss, board chair Brian Boulware is blaming the Raleigh HBCU’s financial predicament on “administrative negligence” and denying that the board played a role.
Boulware released a statement on Thursday in response to months of criticism of his and the board’s leadership from alumni, former employees, former trustees, higher education experts, and outside observers—many of whom have publicly asked him to resign. In the statement, Boulware alleges that SAU’s administration mismanaged the school’s finances for more than a decade, unbeknownst to the board of trustees.
In the time period Boulware chronicles in his statement, SAU’s “administration” has changed frequently. The school has had seven different presidents and significant administrative turnover since 2012.
Some of Boulware’s claims have been documented previously: the university did not complete financial audits from 2020 to 2024 or pay payroll taxes to the IRS from 2020 to 2023.
But most of the claims are new. Taken together, they paint a grim picture of the extent of SAU’s financial and regulatory troubles, and raise even more questions about whether the board is fulfilling its role at the university.
According to Boulware, university leaders took out a $6 million loan against the endowment in 2012, which accrued interest and fees and ultimately cost SAU $11 million.
In 2016, Boulware writes, the university misused or fraudulently drew down 90 percent of the federal grants it received that year, “severely jeopardizing our credibility with government partners.”
Boulware alleges that in 2018, administrative staff and a “vendor” falsified financial records they presented to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the university’s accreditor.
Boulware further alleges that university staff wired “a significant portion” of the federal COVID-19 relief funds they received to “unknown sources.” He writes that SAU has since referred this case to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
From 2021 to 2023, Boulware says SAU administrators permitted students to graduate despite carrying unpaid tuition balances exceeding $30,000, in violation of federal aid regulations.
Boulware alleges that university officials knew about the unpaid payroll taxes and met with the IRS, but did not inform the board of trustees, who only learned about the problem after former university president Christine McPhail was terminated.
Finally, Boulware claims the administration “willingly mislead [sic] the board by intentionally withholding information and submitting false financial reports, resulting the in the [sic] noncompliance with several federal agencies.”
INDY and The Assembly previously reported that in 2023, SACSCOC convened a special committee to examine SAU’s finances and evaluate its compliance with accreditation requirements, including board governance standards. In keeping with Boulware’s admission that he and his fellow trustees were ignorant to SAU’s financial circumstances from 2012 to 2023, the committee found that the board “was not able to demonstrate nor able to communicate detailed processes and procedures for fiduciary oversight and fiscal management of the institution.”
“It was not evidenced that the Board has a clear understanding of its role in the management process, nor does it have a clear understanding or appreciation of the severity of the current fiscal issues,” the committee wrote.
While Boulware asserts that administrative staff at SAU engaged in misconduct without the board’s knowledge, former staff members have made similar accusations against him and the board. Whistleblowers have alleged that Boulware was closely involved in the university’s day-to-day operations and accused him of overreach.
In 2020, then–vice president of university advancement and external affairs Debra Clark Jones submitted an internal complaint describing how Boulware, James Perry, the board chairman at the time, and Maria Lumpkin, the university’s interim president at the time, suggested they falsify board meeting minutes to retroactively indicate that a contract was approved.
Another former administrator, Ronald Brown, complained internally in 2020 that the board of trustees in general, and Boulware in particular, were overly involved in the university’s daily operations (particularly hiring, firing, and contracting decisions) to the point where Brown decided to resign due to “constant overreach, interference and intrusion.”
Boulware has previously denied these allegations. In his newest statement, he once again defended himself and reiterated his dedication to SAU.
“It is critical to note that I did not join the Board of Trustees until 2019 and was elected Chairman in 2024 after most of these failures had already occurred,” Boulware writes. “Furthermore, over 70% of the current Board members have only served within the last 18 months. We were not present when the damage was done, but we have accepted the responsibility of leading the recovery.”
The statement lists several reforms the current board has made to right past wrongs, including completing overdue audits and paying overdue salaries and benefits to faculty staff.
Two weeks ago, the journalist and commentator Roland Martin held a live-streamed town hall in Raleigh near SAU’s campus where he interviewed several alumni and former staff about the school’s downward spiral and publicly called on Boulware to resign from the board of trustees. Martin invited Boulware and SAU president Marcus Burgess to participate but they declined.
During the town hall, and in a subsequent YouTube video posted yesterday—which have a cumulative 30,000 views—Martin slams Boulware for denying culpability.
“Your own letter shows that is an absolute lie,” Martin said in yesterday’s video. “You were present for five years.”
Boulware insinuated in Thursday’s statement that Martin’s accusations amount to defamation.
“Social media posts, public rants, and unfounded accusations have created confusion, harmed donor confidence, and jeopardized funding opportunities,” he writes. “Our legal team has thoroughly documented every defamatory claim and is prepared to respond appropriately and in the proper venue.”
As the school year draws to a close, SAU is awaiting a decision from a panel of SACSCOC arbitrators who will decide if the school loses accreditation permanently. If that were to happen, SAU would lose federal funding and enrollment would likely plummet. Boulware previously told INDY and The Assembly he will not yield to calls for his resignation during this critical time for the school’s survival.
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Chloe Courtney Bohl is a corps member for Report for America. Reach her at chloe@indyweek.com. Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.