Morris Brown Alumni Group Calls For Dr. Kevin James’ Removal After Brief Firing

Morris Brown alumni are calling for Dr. Kevin James to be removed as president following his brief, one-week termination.

Alumni of Morris Brown College are speaking out against the reinstatement of Dr. Kevin James just one week after his firing and subsequent rehiring.

The newly formed watchdog group, Morris Brown Accountability Now, is calling for Dr. Kevin James’ removal just days after the Board of Trustees reinstated him following a brief termination, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. Made up of roughly 300 alums nationwide, the group pushed for leadership change after a whirlwind week in which James was fired and rehired.

“I still believe he was the right person for that moment, but that moment has passed now,” said Jeffery Miller, a former trustee and Morris Brown graduate who voted to hire James seven years ago, but has become one of his most vocal critics. “I believe it is a failure of real leadership and fiduciary responsibility to have brought him back.”

Miller and other members of the accountability group cite a “hostile work environment” and high staff turnover as key reasons for their lack of confidence in James’s leadership.

“Look at his turnover rate,” Miller said. “You can always tell leadership’s value and efficiency by the attitude of the followers. If you have people leaving within a year, within eight months of being brought on board, that’s a leadership problem. We can’t be on our fourth provost in seven years.”

Miller supported the board’s November suspension of James after at least four staff members filed grievances. Complaints included managerial intimidation, policy violations, a hostile work environment, mishandling of sexual misconduct reports, retaliation, and improper terminations, as well as unprofessional administrative tactics and presidential overreach.

“Dr. James is impulsive, tone deaf, lacks professionalism, displays severe issues of moral turpitude, and is such a dysfunctional character,” one grievance read.

The board cited James’ achievements, including restoring accreditation and leading other institutional improvements, when deciding to reinstate him. However, they acknowledged that his return “does not resolve broader concerns about workplace culture, trust, and employee experiences.”

“For the people that work in the environment he created, it’s going to be demoralizing,” Miller said of the board’s decision.