Claiming bias, Cheyney alums sue for funding

A Cheyney University alumni and student group on Wednesday revived a decades-old civil rights lawsuit against the state and federal governments, claiming a lack of fair funding was starving one of the nation's oldest historically black schools.

"We're here to remedy a long-standing policy of discrimination and failure to give the money [for] programs and quality of education at Cheyney University," said Junious Stanton, president of the Cheyney University National Alumni Association.

The alumni group said that Cheyney's enrollment had dropped to 1,022 students from a high of 3,000 and that its deficit had reached $22 million. The university needs more funding than the other 13 state universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to make up for decades of discrimination, said members of the group, Heeding Cheyney's Call.

The state system, however, says Cheyney's latest financial statement indicated the deficit was $12.3 million.

No dollar amount is being sought in the suit, rather "parity through equity," said Michael Coard, one of the group's lawyers and an alumnus who attended the news conference near the federal courthouse at Seventh and Market Streets.

The group seeks increased funding, improved facilities, and upgraded equipment, marketing, and other supports for Cheyney. It also wants "judicial oversight" to monitor any agreement or court order.

Kenn Marshall, a spokesman for the state system, declined to comment on the lawsuit. But he said officials in the system were working to make improvements at the university.

"As an example, the university is developing a new academic plan that will ensure students have access to relevant programs that will help prepare them for success in their lives and careers," he said.

The chancellor's office also has been providing on-campus support to ensure students receive all the financial assistance to which they are entitled, he said.

"As part of a longer-term plan, we are identifying other areas for enhancement within the university, such as the university's business and student-support services; facilities (including student housing); and technology infrastructure."

The alumni group said negotiations with the state had broken down more than a year ago, since it announced its intention to file a lawsuit. At that time, the group said it would revive the 34-year-old suit that led to a 1999 settlement in which the state funneled $36.5 million to Cheyney for building and academic upgrades.

Cheyney, situated on 275 acres of rolling farmland in Delaware and Chester Counties, has struggled for years with low enrollment and funding woes, as have many historically black universities.

Founded in 1837, Cheyney is known for giving underprivileged inner-city students an opportunity for a college education that other schools may not. More than half of Cheyney's students hail from Philadelphia.

Sonny Harris, a retired Cheyney mathematics professor, said the campus has added only two buildings in the last 30 years, fewer than other state universities.

The infrastructure in some of the buildings is so poor, he said, students sometimes must deal with lack of heat and running water.

Cheyney, Harris said, always has been viewed as the "stepchild" of the system: "They can't make us equal when they have discriminated against us for 30 years."

State Reps. James Roebuck and Vanessa Lowery Brown, chair of the legislative black caucus, and Philadelphia City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, also a Cheyney alumna, spoke at the news conference in support of the group.

"There aren't enough resources for campus life," said Kristan Justice, a Cheyney senior from Baltimore who also addressed the crowd.

After the news conference, attorneys for the group, including Joseph H. Tucker and Coard, entered the federal courthouse to file the suit.