More Than Half of NCCU’s Fundraising Board Has Resigned

Twelve of the 22 members of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Foundation board of directors resigned last spring, which the university said was necessary to bring the board into compliance with its term-limit rules.

The university confirmed to the INDY that nine members resigned on April 17 and two on April 20, and the final resignation occurred on May 1. The exits included then-President Frankie Perry, who had held that position on the board for 22 years, and Ernest Jenkins, who had been board vice president and executive director of the foundation for 14 years.

The foundation is an independent nonprofit that fundraises for NCCU. A university spokesperson said the board has had a “long-standing” three-year term limit with an option for reappointment for an additional three years. That policy wasn’t followed under previous board leadership, the spokesperson said, and the resignations helped the board get into compliance with its own bylaws. 

“This represented a necessary governance reset consistent with established membership term limits; the resigning members had served on the board for more than 100 years combined,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “It also represented an opportunity to move the organization toward full compliance and stronger operational alignment.”

Perry and Jenkins declined to comment. NCCU said Chancellor Karrie Dixon was not available for an interview.

The spring resignations also included the foundation’s then-Treasurer James “Butch” Williams, who the university said had served on the board for 19 years; human resources Chair Paula Hubbard (12 years); resource committee Chair Carr Thompson (15 years); finance committee Chair James Speed (10 years); resource committee member Christopher Boozer (five years); audit Chair Garland Avent (six years); governance committee Chair Antoinette Burwell (three years); and governance committee member Herbert Rivera-Sanchez (three years). 

Omar Banks, who was appointed as a director on the board in 2025, was also among the group that resigned. The university did not say why he left, as his three-year term had not expired, and Banks could not be reached for comment.

The university spokesperson said the terms of former committee members Kamaria Brown, Harry Stafford, and Charles Travis III also ended during fiscal year 2026. Resource committee member Calvin Crosslin, who has served on the board since 2023, remains in that role. 

The university spokesperson said the board’s governance committee is working to appoint new members “in accordance with their bylaws and in alignment with UNC System policy.” 

“The university appreciates the steps the NCCU Foundation has taken to advance compliance with UNC System policies and regulations, strengthen governance, and promote alignment between the foundation and NCCU,” the spokesperson said. 

The overhaul of the foundation’s board came as Dixon has been trying to bolster NCCU’s finances and after the UNC System issued new policies for “associated entities” like the NCCU Foundation. A December policy requires chancellors at UNC System schools to appoint a third of the voting board for such entities and mandates that they submit to the university an updated list of everyone serving on a governing board, including a list of term lengths and limits.

Dixon appointed five new members to the foundation’s board in January: Carla Willis, Clastrola Williams, Jerraé Williams, Josh Parker, and Paul Andrew Norman. 

In an email to NCCU faculty and staff on March 20, Dixon said the university’s Board of Trustees was working with the foundation and other associated entities “to better understand their work and ensure alignment with institutional priorities.” 

“We are taking strong, measured steps to communicate the necessary compliance expectations and obligations that are required of our entities,” Dixon wrote in the email. 

On March 25, the university announced that its fundraising chief, Susan Hester, would be retiring in June. She also sat on the NCCU Foundation board. Hester declined a request for an interview.

In an email to faculty and staff on April 22, Dixon announced 11 of the board members’ resignations and thanked them for their service. She said the board members had “chosen to step aside from their leadership roles at the Foundation in order to make room for new ideas, revitalized engagement, and continued stewardship of the financial contributions that the university’s supporters generously provide.” 

Dixon was hired in 2024 after serving as chancellor at Elizabeth City State University, which she helped lead out of financial trouble. The year she was hired at NCCU, the Durham university’s audit showed $45 million in financial reporting errors. In 2025, the audit came back clean for the first time in three years.

But this year, NCCU was the only UNC System school not to meet the threshold for adequate financial health, according to a rating process done by the system. The university’s chief financial officer reported to the Board of Trustees in June that NCCU is struggling to cover costs. The chancellor released a statement the following day in response, touting enrollment growth and financial progress.

Since most of the board resigned, the chancellor’s five January appointees now hold the top leadership positions. The university spokesperson said the board also appointed Jerraé Williams as the foundation’s interim executive director and that Williams “advised the board that an independent financial audit will be conducted to support the transition to new board leadership.” The spokesperson also said the foundation is working with legal counsel to update its governing agreements and bylaws.  

Williams is the former chief financial officer and treasurer of Project Kitty Hawk, a program created by the state legislature for adult learners to obtain online degrees. Dixon serves on its board of directors. 

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