By almost any measure the situation at Cheyney University is dire. Enrollment is down over 50 percent, graduation rates are among the nation’s lowest, the university has been forced to adopt open enrollment, it has a very high cost per student for Pennsylvania taxpayers and has extremely poor academic rankings statewide and nationally.
What can be done? Here is an idea. Why not offer to sell the university to an all-black or predominantly black institution such as Howard University for a dollar? They would get the properties and the responsibilities for operating and maintaining the school. It would keep the tradition of the African American school intact and put management in the hands of leaders who have developed the skills and have the experience to operate successfully a predominantly African American school.
Under that umbrella, the historical role of Cheyney can be preserved and built on. Better that than to continue sinking into the dysfunctional ward of the state it is becoming.
