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LeMoyne-Owen College Looking For New President As College Board Ousts Dr. Andrea Miller
The first woman ap- pointed president of the then 153-year-old college, the city’s only historically black college/university (HBCU), Dr. Andrea Lewis Miller, a graduate of the college, learned in mid-June that the LeMoyne-Owen College Board of Trustees would not pick up her contract this Sep- tember.
Dr. Andrea Lewis Miller, who was once deemed the right candidate at the right moment “for such a time as this” at LeMoyne- Owen College, will not get a second term as president.
Amid considerable opti-
mism, Miller became the 12th president on Sept. 1, 2015. She brought with her 20 years of experience in higher learning, exiting Baton Rouge Community College for the return to Memphis. She was the sec- ond LOC graduate to serve as president.
A statement released on Tuesday confirmed the rum- blings that Dr. Miller was out. “(The) Board of Trustees is grateful for Dr. Miller’s service and commitment to LeMoyne-Owen for the past four years.”
Neither Miller nor Board of Trustee’s Chair Dr.
DR. ANDREA MILLER
Christopher Davis had re- turned calls by TSD press time. Davis did indicate that
an interim would be named; no timetable was given.
Miller set an ambitious agenda for LeMoyne-Owen College. Initially established as a “teachers’ college” like many other HBCUs, the lib- eral arts institution was put on an overhaul course that included the goal of offering students more relevant courses of study.
Steps in the new direc- tion garnered both support- ers and adversaries of her proposed changes. During LOC’s 2016 commencement exercises, shipping giant FedEx gave the college $1 million for technology up-
grades – and another $100,000 as a scholarship endowment.
Meanwhile, enrollment did not change significantly for the better. And in 2017, a vote of “no confidence by some faculty members added to Miller’s challenges.
Along the way came charges of nepotism and in- effective leadership by some student government leaders, who sought Miller’s re- moval.
In response, Miller as- sessed the charges by stu- dents as “a few, just a few who do not want to see me succeed.”
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