KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville College is East Tennessee's only Historically Black College or University. In 1997, the school lost its accreditation. After years of talking about getting it back, school leaders sent in an application in August.
In documents obtained by 10News, the accrediting agency the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools sent feedback in September. They found at least 23 compliance violations such as not reporting current student enrollment numbers, leadership confusion and financial concerns.
In a statement, three former Board of Trustees members said a group of former alumni presidents led by former board members, is working to keep the college going. Franklin Tate served on the Board from 2018 to 2022. During that time, he worked to convince the board to apply for accreditation, but he said he was rejected.
He said he tried to start the process himself but faced opposition from others at the school.
"I had to sue the board chair and the president to just place my eyeballs on our bank accounts and our student enrollment. Even though the law of Tennessee and any other state demands that trustees be allowed to view all material and financial matters related to the operations of the institution, they denied us like we had no power," Tate said.
Dasha Lundy served as Knoxville College's Vice President in 2021 before resigning in 2023. She said the application process should not have taken almost 30 years. Both Tate and Lundy said they believe school leaders knew they would not get their application approved.
"It's hurtful to have the application that they made a month ago rejected, but it wasn't unexpected. That's why we went, at least a month before that happened, to TRACS ourselves to self-report many of those violations," Tate said.
"It was a very reckless decision to make, because you only have two more chances to get it all right. And if you don't, then you will be denied and you have to wait a year to apply again. I do hope they do it right," Lundy said.
Of those 23 violations, finances were among the biggest concerns. In the accrediting agency's feedback, they said the school did not meet the financial stability standard required for accreditation. The school's almost $400,000 worth of debt to the city plays a part in that.
"To ensure the safety of the general public as well as our firefighters and police officers, the City did secure several extremely dangerous and dilapidated privately-owned buildings on the Knoxville College campus. This action was only taken after repeated requests to Knoxville College failed to improve the situation. The invoice for the cost of the repairs was sent to Knoxville College in June 2024," a statement from the City of Knoxville said.
The city said the next step in collecting the debt would be to place a lien on the college, meaning any future owner would be responsible for the debt.
Accreditation is the group's goal. More than that, they said they want to see the school restored to its former glory.
"It's amazing that it's still here by the grace of God almost 150 years later. That one man's vision is still alive. It may be on life support. But it's worth fighting for that," Lundy said.
10News reached out to Knoxville College for comment but has not heard back at the time of this article's publication.