"Call for the Resignation of Texas College President Dwight J. Fennell"

The Issue


Most of these issues could be addressed by having a Title IX Compliance Coordinator. Despite this requirement, Texas College currently lacks a Title IX Coordinator.

The 13-player softball team had to travel to a game in Houston, TX,  in a 9-seater van, resulting in overcrowding with players sitting on top of each other and their equipment. Former softball coach Jasmine Becks had to drive separately. This trip amounted to an 8-hour round trip in a single day. The school cited insufficient funds in the softball budget as the reason for not providing hotel accommodations and charter bus accommodations. The Texas College softball team met with President Dwight J. Fennell March 27th, 2024 to address multiple issues. When asked about this, President Fennell stated, "If you didn't feel safe in a van, you should have forfeited the game.

In August 2023, Texas College softball players were required to purchase their own helmets, socks, and belts. Meanwhile, in July 2023, Texas College football partnered with Phenom Athletic Wear for new uniforms. The softball team has not received new uniforms from the college in over eight years. Any new gear for the softball team has either been donated or acquired through external fundraising efforts. This has also been the experience with many athletic teams on campus. This disparity in funding and resource allocation between the sports teams highlights an inequitable treatment that can negatively impact team morale, performance, and the overall perception of the college’s commitment to supporting all its athletic programs equally.

Granting fine arts scholarships and not athletic scholarships when athletes make up over 65% of the Texas College student body.

In September 2023, the Texas College softball team was asked to meet with the athletic director to sign scholarship agreements. However, a month later, they were informed that these scholarships would no longer be granted due to insufficient funds in the softball budget. Their signed documents were subsequently shredded. When the softball team brought this up to Dr Fennell in the meeting on March 27th, 2024. Dr. Fennell violated the FERPA law by stating multiple private account balances in a public setting. 

During the 2018- 2019 school year  (March 2019), Texas College released a statement after a student took to social media saying they had been sexually assaulted by a college employee.               

Following the students social media post alleging sexual assault, Texas College President Dwight Fennell released a statement  “A student informed administration of an incident that allegedly occurred away from the campus premises several weeks earlier. The administration strongly encouraged the student at the time to report the matter to local law enforcement and seek their assistance if a crime had been committed. The administration is uncertain as to why the situation is being brought up through social media at this time.” 

In cases of sexual assault involving an employee of a higher education institution, federal law requires that administrators report the complaint to the campus Title IX coordinator for review and investigation. regardless of whether the victim contacts the police. 

To that, we ask: how was administration supposed to report to a Title IX Compliance Coordinator if there wasn't one? To this day, there is still no Title IX Compliance Coordinator on campus.

President Fennell declined to comment further when his office was asked for further clarification on this issue. 

Dean of students resignation:
Late in the 2023–2024 academic year, Isaac Williams, the former Dean of Students, was absent from campus for several weeks at a time. It was subsequently discovered that Mr. Williams had been sexually harassing male students at Texas College. President Fennell has not yet issued a public statement on this matter.

Dr. Cynthia Marshall Biggins gave the impression that we do not have a title 9 coordinator. Later to find out that it's The Human resource department Mrs. Bowie who handles these affairs. The student body has no knowledge about Mrs Bowie. The administration has a long history of misleading  students and alumni so that we can’t make the proper contact. Changing student grades, falsely giving scholarships, covering up sexual misconduct and bullying. The enrollment number is low and the graduation rate is low. There were only about 57 graduates this year. 

Texas College Education Program:
The Texas College Education program is known for impeding student progress. It lacks the necessary resources to ensure graduates' success. When Dr. Fennell was questioned about this during the meeting with the softball team on March 27th, 2024, there was no response.

Texas College's new motto is, "Charting the course from good to great." We believe the initial step towards achieving greatness for Texas College is the removal of President Dwight J. Fennell. It is clear he doesn’t have his student body’s best interest in mind. He is generations behind and has refused to make the necessary changes to adapt to what the future of education is going to be. 

The most frequently asked question is, if the school is so inadequate, why not just transfer? Texas College is a historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal institution, and students are required to take at least one faith-based class each semester. This requirement makes it exceptionally difficult for students who started at Texas College to transfer to another school and still graduate on time.

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The Issue


Most of these issues could be addressed by having a Title IX Compliance Coordinator. Despite this requirement, Texas College currently lacks a Title IX Coordinator.

The 13-player softball team had to travel to a game in Houston, TX,  in a 9-seater van, resulting in overcrowding with players sitting on top of each other and their equipment. Former softball coach Jasmine Becks had to drive separately. This trip amounted to an 8-hour round trip in a single day. The school cited insufficient funds in the softball budget as the reason for not providing hotel accommodations and charter bus accommodations. The Texas College softball team met with President Dwight J. Fennell March 27th, 2024 to address multiple issues. When asked about this, President Fennell stated, "If you didn't feel safe in a van, you should have forfeited the game.

In August 2023, Texas College softball players were required to purchase their own helmets, socks, and belts. Meanwhile, in July 2023, Texas College football partnered with Phenom Athletic Wear for new uniforms. The softball team has not received new uniforms from the college in over eight years. Any new gear for the softball team has either been donated or acquired through external fundraising efforts. This has also been the experience with many athletic teams on campus. This disparity in funding and resource allocation between the sports teams highlights an inequitable treatment that can negatively impact team morale, performance, and the overall perception of the college’s commitment to supporting all its athletic programs equally.

Granting fine arts scholarships and not athletic scholarships when athletes make up over 65% of the Texas College student body.

In September 2023, the Texas College softball team was asked to meet with the athletic director to sign scholarship agreements. However, a month later, they were informed that these scholarships would no longer be granted due to insufficient funds in the softball budget. Their signed documents were subsequently shredded. When the softball team brought this up to Dr Fennell in the meeting on March 27th, 2024. Dr. Fennell violated the FERPA law by stating multiple private account balances in a public setting. 

During the 2018- 2019 school year  (March 2019), Texas College released a statement after a student took to social media saying they had been sexually assaulted by a college employee.               

Following the students social media post alleging sexual assault, Texas College President Dwight Fennell released a statement  “A student informed administration of an incident that allegedly occurred away from the campus premises several weeks earlier. The administration strongly encouraged the student at the time to report the matter to local law enforcement and seek their assistance if a crime had been committed. The administration is uncertain as to why the situation is being brought up through social media at this time.” 

In cases of sexual assault involving an employee of a higher education institution, federal law requires that administrators report the complaint to the campus Title IX coordinator for review and investigation. regardless of whether the victim contacts the police. 

To that, we ask: how was administration supposed to report to a Title IX Compliance Coordinator if there wasn't one? To this day, there is still no Title IX Compliance Coordinator on campus.

President Fennell declined to comment further when his office was asked for further clarification on this issue. 

Dean of students resignation:
Late in the 2023–2024 academic year, Isaac Williams, the former Dean of Students, was absent from campus for several weeks at a time. It was subsequently discovered that Mr. Williams had been sexually harassing male students at Texas College. President Fennell has not yet issued a public statement on this matter.

Dr. Cynthia Marshall Biggins gave the impression that we do not have a title 9 coordinator. Later to find out that it's The Human resource department Mrs. Bowie who handles these affairs. The student body has no knowledge about Mrs Bowie. The administration has a long history of misleading  students and alumni so that we can’t make the proper contact. Changing student grades, falsely giving scholarships, covering up sexual misconduct and bullying. The enrollment number is low and the graduation rate is low. There were only about 57 graduates this year. 

Texas College Education Program:
The Texas College Education program is known for impeding student progress. It lacks the necessary resources to ensure graduates' success. When Dr. Fennell was questioned about this during the meeting with the softball team on March 27th, 2024, there was no response.

Texas College's new motto is, "Charting the course from good to great." We believe the initial step towards achieving greatness for Texas College is the removal of President Dwight J. Fennell. It is clear he doesn’t have his student body’s best interest in mind. He is generations behind and has refused to make the necessary changes to adapt to what the future of education is going to be. 

The most frequently asked question is, if the school is so inadequate, why not just transfer? Texas College is a historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal institution, and students are required to take at least one faith-based class each semester. This requirement makes it exceptionally difficult for students who started at Texas College to transfer to another school and still graduate on time.

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The Decision Makers

Texas College Board of Trustees
Texas College Board of Trustees

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