Howard University‘s current president Wayne A.I. Frederick confirmed Wednesday that members of the university abused the students’ financial aid funding for their own personal needs, and were removed from their positions.
“Hearing about the mishandling of funds at the University can be difficult to process,” wrote President Frederick in a statement on the school’s website. “I can also understand how upsetting it is to feel that the University has not communicated with you regarding this incident. The goal established at the onset of this investigation was to conduct it in a confidential manner that ensured a thorough examination of the issues without jeopardizing the integrity of the findings. However, that does not mitigate the sense of mistrust that many students and members of our community feel right now. We understand that and we hear you.”
An internal investigation into a now-deleted Medium post discovered that six employees attending classes at the historically-black educational institution received tuition benefits as well as university grants, resulting in receiving more money than the cost of tuition at the school.
President Frederick noted that he is working with outside experts to “assist in exploring all options to recoup the funds.”
Social media caught wind of senior Tyrone Hankerson, a student employee who is at the center of the controversy. It is reported that he scammed nearly half-a-million dollars from the university. President Frederick appears to address Hankerson in his address.
“Further, I want to make clear that students who also work at the University do so under the supervision of University employees, who are ultimately responsible for their activities,” he continued. “Most Howard employees are responsible citizens and serve the University well, so I want to also acknowledge their efforts. Any exceptions to this rule, however, will continue to be aggressively addressed.”
Please review the following statement from President Frederick regarding University Grants https://t.co/o6dkT1r1VZ pic.twitter.com/hftlxLsWMk
— Howard University (@HowardU) March 28, 2018
Please refer to the latest statement from President Frederick to students. Please know that we take malfeasance, fraud, and other forms of unethical behavior on campus seriously and address them swiftly.https://t.co/yUzAfYnWyq pic.twitter.com/GLXAJJ8Ifh
— Howard University (@HowardU) March 29, 2018
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XBnmWcp51ku6bD0micp6yVp8Gitc2mnKesX528uK3RnWSuppmrsrO%2FyK2wZp6Zo66vr8iao2aZmZl6tK%2FAp5uapF1qhHeBlG1m