A year ago the faculty senate at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock sent a letter to the board of trustees and the college’s accrediting agency listing a series of grievances and recommending that the college’s president, Fitz Hill, and chief financial officer, Billy Owens, be relived of their duties. Due to a delay in receiving funds from the federal government, the college had not paid faculty and staff members and students did not receive financial aid payments. The delay was caused by glitches in the college’s automated financial systems.
Eventually the problems were fixed and a new chief financial officer was hired. Recently, the college was able to secure a $30 million loan from the federal government that has allowed it to repay its creditors, including nine local banks.
When Fitz Hill was named president of Arkansas Baptist College in 2006, the school enrolled only 128 students and it was in danger of losing its accreditation. Today there are 901 students enrolled. The 2014 graduating class of 134 students was the largest in the college’s 130-year history.
