To: All ASU Alums
The Board of Directors of the National Alumni Association met with Dr Everette Freeman on May 23rd to discuss the recent decision by the Board of Regents to elevate Darton College's Nursing Program to four-year status. We specifically wanted to know what impact that decision would have on ASU's Nursing Program and what it would mean for ASU going forward. Dr. Freeman had two of his staff members present, Dr. Grimsley, Chairman of the Department of Allied Health and Mr. Clifford Porter,Vice President of Institutional Advancement. It was the opinion of both Dr. Freeman and Dr. Grimsley that the Board of Regents' decision would have little impact on ASU's program. Having said this at the outset, Dr. Grimsley began the discussion by elaborating on ASU's Nursing program and its current status. She talked about the number of students enrolled in the program (which was very low) as well as the number of recent graduates (seven). She also talked about the number of students taking the nursing exam and the current pass rate of those students. After listening to Dr. Grimsley and after considerable discussion with both her and Dr. Freeman concerning our Nursing program, I must say that some facts were revealed to us that were troubling to say the least. At one time, ASUs Nursing program was "stellar" and in my opinion, second to none. However, after listening to Dr. Grimsley, it appears our program no longer enjoys such status. There were a number of reasons given for the program's decline over the years which ranged from the lack of qualified students entering the program to financial hardships and lack of resources needed to complete program and curriculum requirements. Dr. Freeman and Dr. Grimsley did outline some things they thought we could do to strengthen our nursing program to include assisting in recruiting better "qualified" students from the High schools and providing funding assistance for those students currently enrolled in the program. Although, ASU's Nursing Program may no longer be at the "top-of-the-heap" as it once was, and in spite of some areas of decline, the Board of Directors of the National Alumni Association still does not believe the decision by the Board of Regents was appropriate for the reasons outlined in its Position Statement of April 6, 2011. It was, therefore, our decision to continue to pursue a legal course of action through the Legal Coalition which is comprised of the three State HBCU Alumni Associations. We will keep you apprised of the progress of this course of action and discuss this matter further at our Annual Conference which will be held in Warner Robins June 22nd through June 25th.
See you there!
Greg Hylick,
National PresidentASU Alumni Association
albanystatenationalalumni@gmail.com