A large group of students at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, boycotted the institution’s Founder’s Day ceremonies on October 17 to protest recent developments at the school. The students dressed in black clothes and assembled outside the college’s chapel where the ceremonies took place.
In June the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Paine College on accreditation probation. In September, George C. Bradley resigned as president of the institution. Samuel Sullivan, provost and vice president of academic affairs, was named acting president. Just days before the Founder’s Day celebrations, Dr. Sullivan was removed from office by an executive committee of the board of trustees. The associate vice president of academic affairs and the senior vice president of institutional advancement were also fired.
As a result of the upheaval in the administration, a group of faculty members asked for the resignation of board chair Silas Norman and the reinstatement of Samuel Sullivan as acting president. The student protestors also called for Norman’s resignation and Sullivan’s reinstatement.
After the protest, the board of trustees met and reinstated Sullivan, this time as interim president. Dr. Sullivan joined the staff at Paine College in September 2013 as provost and vice president of academic affairs. Previously, he was vice president of academic affairs at Augusta State University.
Dr. Sullivan is a graduate of North Carolina Central University in Durham. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in physics from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
