| In Raleigh and around the HBCU world, we are watching the death of Saint Augustine’s University in real time.HBCU history is often written in moments of triumph, but the current state of Saint Augustine’s University forces us to sit with something far more painful. This is not yet an obituary. The final words have not been written on the tombstone of Saint Augustine’s University. There are people still fighting for it. Alumni still praying over it. There are employees still trying to keep some kind of heartbeat inside an institution that has meant something for 160 years. Still, facts are facts. Saint Augustine’s has no students. It has lost its accreditation. It is in bankruptcy and the campus is largely empty. The school reportedly owes approximately $74 million to hundreds of people and entities. Its cash on hand is listed at just $426,000. That is not a rough patch or a bad semester. SAU is an institution on its final legs. |
