美国国家公共电台 NPR Facing Loss Of Accreditation Over Finances, Women's HBCU Raises Millions

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There are only two historically black women's colleges in the U.S. One of them, Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C., has been facing a loss of accreditation¹ because of shaky finances, and that would lead to a loss of federal funding among other consequences. An appeals hearing before an accreditation board is scheduled for tomorrow. But, going into the hearing, Bennett has some good news to report. After launching a social media campaign at the beginning of this month, Bennett exceeded its goal and raised some $8.7 million. The president of Bennett, Phyllis Worthy² Dawkins, told me how the fundraising took off.

PHYLLIS WORTHY DAWKINS: We came up with this slogan - stand with Bennett. And then we secured the Smollett family - Jussie, Jess (ph) and Jake - to wear our T-shirts and to post it on social media via Twitter, Instagram. And really, that really platformed us into national prominence³. And so, to this end, we have had a number of supporters from faith-based groups, sororities and fraternities, corporations, foundations - even high school students, elementary kids, a variety of different people coming out to support Bennett College.

MARTIN: So this week, you're going to argue your case for accreditation to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. And, as we noted⁴, that accreditation, you know, matters. I mean, without it, perhaps the student - the graduates' degrees will not be recognized by other institutions if they want to go on to graduate work - and not to mention the federal funding. So what is going to be your argument, if you don't mind giving us a bit of a preview?

DAWKINS: Right. The biggest argument is that we were only called on one standard out of 90 to 95 standard, and that standard is on financial resources or financial stability. We were not called on any other standards. They did not question the quality of our academic programs, the credentials⁵ of our faculty⁶ and staff or the leadership on our campus. We were only called on financial resources. And, according to the sanction, we can introduce new financial funds to support our appeal case on this Monday.

MARTIN: If you don't win this appeal, what's next?

DAWKINS: We will win the appeal - trying to stay very positive about that. We will win this appeal. But - and we will remain accredited⁷, as we are accredited right now. But, at the same time, we are also seeking another accreditation called TRACS to ensure that we are accredited, whether we are accredited by SACS or by TRACS.

MARTIN: How would people know Bennett? I mean, if people are not familiar with the area, or perhaps they don't have kids who are headed to college or young women who are headed for college, how would they know Bennett? I mean, I know that certainly Greensboro is an historic area, plays a - certainly an important role in the civil rights movement. I mean, give us a sense of how people would know Bennett.

DAWKINS: Well, Bennet was a part of the civil rights movement. And Bennett students promote social justice, and they're also heavily engaged in civic⁸ activities. Bennett's history in terms of social justice dates back to 1937, when they protested the Carolina Theatre. And then Bennet was also known in 1958. We hosted Martin Luther King on our campus when other schools turned him away because of potential conflicts at that time. And then, in 1960, when the North Carolina freshman⁹ students sat in at the Woolworth's counter, Bennett women were behind the planning of that event.

And so Bennett's history is rich in social justice and civic engagement, located in Greensboro, N.C. And in North Carolina, there are 10 HBCUs, and Bennett is the first all-women's institution among the HBCUs - the other one being Spelman. So Bennett has a rich history of contributions to the Greensboro community and to the U.S.

MARTIN: That was Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, president of Bennett College.

President Dawkins, thank you so much for talking with us.

DAWKINS: And thank you.

MARTIN: Now, you just heard President Dawkins mention that the family of actor Jussie Smollett helped jumpstart Bennett College's fundraising campaign. A quick update on the other Jussie Smollett story in the news. Police have released without charge two men arrested in connection with an alleged¹⁰ attack against Smollett due to new evidence.

1 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

2 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

3 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

6 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

7 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

8 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

9 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为