With a 99 year lease, is there an annual payment for 99 years or 1 upfront payment that gives you rights to use the property for 99 years?
I imagine that could go either way? But regardless, you only have one opportunity to set the terms of the lease. And even it’s structured as annual payments, Shaw would be able to borrow against that future revenue stream and burn through it quite quickly.
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I’m not sure if you already have these 10 things written up, but the slow drip tease usually backfires as people tune out after only getting a incomplete piece that, in this case, still doesn’t seem to negate the soundness of the proposal itself.
Thank you for your reply. Another way to cause people to tune out is to try to provide nearly 50 years of corruption in one single post. The Shaw U culture is extremely complex and I made a deliberate decision to make sure that I don’t give the readers of this forum more bites than they are able to chew. Additionally, I have a life. I will continue to share information as I have make the time to share. If folks aren’t interested, they have my blessing to move on.
The post from @orulz couldn’t have been any truer:
You don’t want to give a brand new revenue source to management that is inept or corrupt. They will fritter it away or find ways to pocket it. Nor do you want such leadership even negotiating the deal in the first place.
Everything that I intend post regarding the mistrust at Shaw is well documented online via court documents, news stories, emails and more. So to those of you who are prepared to assassinate me for appearing disgruntled or misinformed, I respectfully say, don’t kill the messenger and try to listen to the message.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your post.
“You don’t want to give a brand new revenue source to management that is inept or corrupt. They will fritter it away or find ways to pocket it. Nor do you want such leadership even negotiating the deal in the first place.”
If I decided to be brief without providing a list of reasons why Shaw University will eventually close - your post would be my exact sentiment.
The lawsuit does include some of the same accusations around self-dealing and conflicts of interest that again, if true, should be addressed.
I disagree that anyone is ‘assassinating’ you, if you do not like the questions asked then that may signal some potential shakiness. But the information provided so far is also not ‘well documented,’ hence the mention of providing more up front. I’m still curious as to the legal reason as to why the suit was dismissed.
Some items I did pick up from the filing:
- I was not aware Shaw had satellite campuses
- 37 BoT members proposed sounds like a lot, a quick look at some other area BoTs show around half that
- The Category 3 proposed seems ill-defined
- 2 year terms for chair seems short, is that standard for other universities. The suit mentions 5 different presidents over 10 years.
- Is the assumption that Mr. Bell donates “well into the six figures” in order to steer contracts and scholarships his way?
Good Morning DTR Family,
To read my previous post, click HERE.
Here’s the 2nd & 3rd thing that you may (or may not) know about Shaw University.
9 - SHAW UNIVERSITY SETTLED OUT OF COURT FOR FABRICATING CONSTRUCTION BIDS
In 2018, Shaw and a local building contractor agreed to pay nearly $317,000 to settle claims that they falsely obtained funds from the U.S. Department of Education. The feds, in a sealed complaint Jan. 6, 2016, had accused the former Vice President of Student Affairs and contractor of fabricating bids for construction contracts so that they could evade the department of education’s bidding requirements. According to the investigation, they used fabricated bids to justify the federal grant money they’d won to pay for the projects. You can read the actual complaint >>HERE<<
**
8- SHAW UNIVERSITY OBTAINED 3.2 MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE SALE OF WSHA-FM
Less than 5 years ago, the community was OUTRAGED when Shaw University decided to sell one of its most valuable assets, WSHA. Shaw University was the first historically Black University in the nation to own a public radio station. And Shaw University administration along with its Board of Trustees negligently sold it for below market value. That was a tragedy within itself but the salt added to the wound was when Dr. Paulette Dillard claimed that the 3.5 million dollars would yield a substantial investment resource for the mass communications program. She assured the community that this money would be used to improve technology, build facilities, and enhance learning infrastructure. She insisted that WSHA would continue to exist by streaming the same content online. While we all can admit that building facilities take time - the very minimum that should have happened was the launch of its online content. The cost to stream content online can cost little to nothing - and in some instances, FREE. It doesn’t take 5 years to figure out how to stream a radio station. But it never happened. Students are not receiving any practical experience in courses like audio and video production - where they have only been required to write papers throughout the semester. The Mass Comm department currently does not have a department chair and 5 instructors within this department have resigned from their positions just this past year. To read the petition to save WSHA along with Dr. Dillard’s response to her intent to improve the Mass Comm department search, " STOP THE SALE OF SHAW UNIVERSITY RADIO STATION WSHA 88.9 FM RALEIGH, NC: on Change.org
Furthermore, the general manager of WSHA was fired after 30 years of service after claiming that Shaw University overstated its revenues and expenditures above and beyond its radio station’s budgetary documents in its audited financial reports to increase its grant awards from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”) AND retaliated against him after he voicing his belief that Shaw was out of compliance with reporting requirements. Details are outlined in a lawsuit that he filed >>HERE<<
@orulz said it best. “You don’t want to give a brand new revenue source to management that is inept or corrupt. They will fritter it away or find ways to pocket it. Nor do you want such leadership even negotiating the deal in the first place.”
More later.
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As a long-time listener, I definitely miss WSHA
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Thanks for coming to the forums to share your concerns. I don’t know if we have that much power, but I do believe we owe it to Shaw and Downtown to hear from all perspectives here, as this might be one of the biggest real-estate power plays in city history.
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Thank you for your reply as well as your insight @Kevin.
Read my previous posts >>HERE<< and >>HERE<<
7 - CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE
It’s safe to say that Shaw’s board in conjunction with the administration are sheer genius at painting a picture of a university that is always in dire straits. The overall sentiment of most people who believe that this redevelopment project would be beneficial is that Shaw is land rich and cash poor. They believe that alumni either is not capable or not willing to help Shaw sustain itself financially.
Here are the facts. Shaw has not a a director of alumni affairs in YEARS. Shaw did not establish an office for marketing & strategic communications until 2011. They have had several directors in this office but typically no longer than a semester. In fact, there is an opening on the university website at this very moment for a “marketing director”. For several years, the public relations director Tanya Wiley was a direct hire from the office of former chairman Willie Gary. See her LinkedIn profile >>HERE<<
Lastly, Shaw does an extremely poor job of grooming its graduates to be engaged alumni. The “FRIENDS OF SHAW” was born because this group had absolutely NO KNOWLEDGE of the National Alumni Association’s existence. There were many geographical locations that did not have a local chapter and this group was created to fill a void. While this group was taking full advantage of technology such as webinars and conference calling, the alumni association was still spending thousands of dollars in postage mailing letters to its constituency.
When alumni comes back to Raleigh during homecoming season, financial reports are NEVER given at the meetings. Enrollment numbers are always inaccurate, many financial questions are asked and leadership summarizes all concerns by simply telling alumni to give their money toward unrestricted fundraising efforts. Sidebar, our endowment has been magically dwindling away each year and they refuse to provide answers.
Even the redevelopment zoom meeting that took place the other night was riddled with technical difficulties. It was audio only and they didn’t answer a single question from the chat. Furthermore, there was a troll in the room that was distracting everyone with vulgar messages and the moderators were acting like they didn’t know how to mute all of the participants. The meeting was interrupted frequently by someone with an open mic.
I said all of that to say, THIS IS DONE BY DESIGN. With no middle man to effectively communicate with alumni or the community at large along with the refusal to answer simple questions regarding the overall financial health of Shaw year after year - the ‘WE ARE SO POOR’ narrative is what the public is forced to believe. They keep us in the dark on purpose. They control this narrative and repeatedly take advantage of the public’s ignorance. In other words, they will pee on your leg and tell you that it’s raining. And people will believe it.
6 **THE REFUSAL TO COLLABORATE, PARTNER OR CREATE STRATEGIC ALLIANCES WITH ANYONE OUTSIDE THEIR CIRCLE
Shaw Alumni are doctors, attorneys, scientists, educators, politicians, higher ed administrators and community leaders. We have tried to help facilitate the revival of the medical school. We have tried to connect them with people with deep pockets and star power. We suggested incorporating a law school. We have global connections. We have tried to lend our talents and bring our resources to this university for a very long time. Shaw administration doesn’t even bother to return calls. I tried to save the theatre department by contacting a very powerful HBCU grad in Hollywood. My goal was to build a small theatre and suggest that they give the benefactor naming rights. I did not receive one single callback. They do not want anyone outside of THEIR circle to infiltrate. There are several posts in this thread about Shaw collaborating with St Aug. Perhaps my post will enlighten you as to why this has never happened. They purposely stifle growth. This is why this “sudden” desire to grow the university is all smoke and mirrors. I have PLENTY of receipts. This is all very painful to talk about but these are all facts that can be easily proven. Letting outsiders into the fold means that they will have to be accountable.
Just in case you missed @orulz 's earlier post, it sums my sentiment very nicely:
“Even if the idea of doing this is sound, and could be good for Shaw, you don’t want to give a brand new revenue source to management that is inept or corrupt. They will fritter it away or find ways to pocket it. Nor do you want such leadership even negotiating the deal in the first place.”
Thanks for reading. More later . . .
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My intent is not to overwhelm this group…but I want to try to make my point perfectly clear in an effort to try to receive opinions and feedback about how WE as a community can save Shaw University.
This letter is over 10 years old - but it will help illustrate some of the issues that I have addressed in my previous posts. Below is a snapshot but the entire letter is attached as a PDF.
CharlesSparks.pdf (85.2 KB)
WE NEED THE HELP OF THIS COMMUNITY TO STOP THE BOARD FROM PARTNERING WITH BILLIONAIRE DEVELOPERS. We posted this on our Facebook page in 2017..
Corruption is bad, but given that “enhanc[ing] downtown Raleigh’s redevelopment” is the purpose of this board, and the end goals actually sound pretty great, I’m not sure this is exactly the most receptive audience.
It’ll probably go hand-in-hand with nice new buildings and classroom space for Shaw, too.
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Why do we feel we need to “save Shaw”? If they go under then there’s a fire sale on prime real estate!
If they can’t get out if their own way…that’s on the school…….nobody else.
There is no moral imperative to protect this school.
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Pardon me for the silly notion that the community would be concerned that history would be wiped away by those who have been found corruption over and over again. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I kind of viewed this as an injustice that affects all of us. Not just a few of us. Thanks for your contribution. Good night.
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Doesn’t affect me……or most people in Raleigh….regardless of their race.
Businesses fail all the time for failed leadership….many are very old……but they still fail.
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A downtown college could be a prime economic driver for the city if well managed. NC State kids tend to stay on their side of Glenwood, but Shaw students could hypothetically help enliven Fayetteville and contribute to downtown feeling younger and more vibrant, and add to the mix of things to do in the city. I think anyone wanting the best for downtown Raleigh should want the best for Shaw.
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The students are there……but Shaw has been hanging on by a thread for decades……their “economic influence” is & has been nonexistent.
At some point we have to call it like it is……& stop pretending
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Well, considering it is the oldest HBCU in the entire state of North Carolina - I do think its historical significance is a little more important than its “economic influence” in the city… Do we or do we not care about the dwindling historic structures and institutions left in our city?
That said, @SaveOurShaw - if you want to have a good faith discussion/debate in this community, perhaps you should tone down the snarkiness at any minor disagreement or counter argument…? You literally just joined this community and came out the gate with disdain and bitterness - and do remember that this is an online discussion community… none of us actually hold any power or influence in this city’s growth and development, so just like another member on here constantly berating other members for not joining their fight to persuade Gucci to open a store here for some inexplicable reason, your judgmental and holier-than-thou attitude towards people simply offering countering opinions in this online discussion will not go over very well… nor will it get you any closer to your goal. That said, I would have to say that I both would like Shaw to continue existing, if not even thrive as well as make better use of their properties to better incorporate them into the downtown fabric. I don’t think it has to be one or the other.
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Exactly my sentiments, I’m just realistic. If Shaw’s leadership is even halfway as corrupt as @SaveOurShaw says, Shaw won’t exist a couple decades from now. Or it’ll be owned by a REIT or another entity at the least. Which is sad, but apart of the game. Most public HBCUs are already handicapped enough, so private HBCUs (like Shaw) in this situation really don’t stand a chance.
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Shaw has provided little to Downtown Raleigh in the time I have been here. The campus is crumbling. The facilities look like something out of the 1960’s at best. They were offered a significant amount to sell their campus & offered land just outside 440 to build a brand new campus several years ago……& this board said “no” for some delusional reasons. They can barely pay their staff.
Since that time absolutely nothing has improved on this campus. To argue Shaw is an “economic driver” of downtown is a joke….as I said previously….at some point we have to stop pretending.
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