2008 Woodie Awards
USA boasts positive race record
Anna Chapman
Associate Editor
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: News
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USA's record on race compares to, if not surpasses, most national averages for universities, despite allegations of racism from one of Mobile's most prominent black leaders.
Retired Gen. Gary Cooper was a member of the leadership team for USA's $75 million capital campaign up until his May 2007 resignation. He has served as chairman and is currently on the board of directors at Commonwealth National Bank and is also a member of the Alabama State Port Authority.
According to Cooper, he discussed the school's race record with USA President V. Gordon Moulton when he agreed to join the University of South Alabama fundraising campaign, but did not witness any efforts on the University's part to address his concerns.
In a letter dated May 4, 2007, Cooper presented his resignation from the campaign leadership team to Moulton. Cooper also included six points of concern, which he believes to be evidence "that USA is not meeting its obligation to the African-American community."
Cooper's points of concern are a lack of tenured black professors, no black, upper-level administrators, no programs for minority retention and advancement, little effort to incorporate minority businesses into University activities, poor maintenance of the Hillsdale community and isolation from inner-city Mobile and Prichard.
"One very important thing that I think is critical to understanding this whole subject is that if the University of South Alabama had a problem with diversity that would be a court issue," Keith Ayers, director of pubic relations at the University of South Alabama said. "If the court looked at the University and saw that we were doing things that are not fair or do not contribute to a diverse environment, the federal courts would step in."
In President Moulton's response to Cooper, dated May 11, 2007, Moulton admitted that African-Americans are under-represented in South Alabama's faculty. Although the University actively recruits minorities to fill professor positions and deanships, market forces and budget limitations make it hard for public universities to compete according to Moulton
Retired Gen. Gary Cooper was a member of the leadership team for USA's $75 million capital campaign up until his May 2007 resignation. He has served as chairman and is currently on the board of directors at Commonwealth National Bank and is also a member of the Alabama State Port Authority.
According to Cooper, he discussed the school's race record with USA President V. Gordon Moulton when he agreed to join the University of South Alabama fundraising campaign, but did not witness any efforts on the University's part to address his concerns.
In a letter dated May 4, 2007, Cooper presented his resignation from the campaign leadership team to Moulton. Cooper also included six points of concern, which he believes to be evidence "that USA is not meeting its obligation to the African-American community."
Cooper's points of concern are a lack of tenured black professors, no black, upper-level administrators, no programs for minority retention and advancement, little effort to incorporate minority businesses into University activities, poor maintenance of the Hillsdale community and isolation from inner-city Mobile and Prichard.
"One very important thing that I think is critical to understanding this whole subject is that if the University of South Alabama had a problem with diversity that would be a court issue," Keith Ayers, director of pubic relations at the University of South Alabama said. "If the court looked at the University and saw that we were doing things that are not fair or do not contribute to a diverse environment, the federal courts would step in."
In President Moulton's response to Cooper, dated May 11, 2007, Moulton admitted that African-Americans are under-represented in South Alabama's faculty. Although the University actively recruits minorities to fill professor positions and deanships, market forces and budget limitations make it hard for public universities to compete according to Moulton
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