Alabama A&M chooses Hugine as next president
By T&D Staff and Associated Press Reports Friday, June 19, 2009Dr. Andrew Hugine is the new president of Alabama A&M University.
“This is a new and exciting opportunity. I’m looking forward to taking it,” Hugine said.
He said the Huntsville, Alabama institution has tremendous potential.
The AAMU board voted 8-1 Thursday evening to select Hugine.
He beat out Dr. Rodney Smith of Hampton University and Dr. Lawrence Davenport, a finalist for the South Carolina State University presidency last year.
Hugine, the former S.C. State president, says he approaches his new job with mixed feelings.
Hugine lamented that he’ll have to leave Orangeburg, where many of his family and friends live.
Orangeburg is also the home of his alma mater, S.C. State.
“It’s a major move for my family,” he said.
Hugine said there is no timetable for him to assume the AAMU presidency.
Hugine takes the job at Alabama A&M after the board fired Robert Jennings in March 2008.
Hugine, who took over as university president at South Carolina State in 2003 and received a five-year contract extension two years later, was fired in December 2007. Trustees said the reasons were poor performance in academics and not keeping up the university's infrastructure.
Last summer Hugine filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the school and its trustees, accusing board members of acting improperly in his firing. The lawsuit was still pending earlier this year, but its current status wasn't immediately known.
Hugine's firing drew criticism from at least two South Carolina lawmakers, with one legislator threatening to call for a full audit of the school and another proposing changes to the way the board is appointed.
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