Knoxville College announced in its newsletter that President Leonard Adams’ term will end on June 30th but will remain in his position until September 30th. By that time, a committee is expected to select a new president.
“His departure marks the end of a transformative chapter for the college, characterized by significant progress and development under his leadership,” the announcement said.
In an August 2023 letter, Knoxville attorney John P Valliant Jr. called for Adams and the board members of the school to resign. The letter, representing a group of former employees and board members, alleges the historically black college’s leadership engaged in financial mismanagement and created a toxic work environment, among other things.
“I believe the letter addressed my concerns about the administration of Knoxville College. The Board needs to choose its direction now,” Valiant Jr. said in an email responding to the announcement.
Michael Bowie, the chair of the Knoxville College Board of Trustees, said Adams resigned to focus on his company, Quest Community Development Organization, in Atlanta. In the announcement, Bowie said Adams was "instrumental" in leading the college closer to regaining accreditation.
Last year, Adams told several news outlets that the school was weeks away at the time from submitting their accreditation application through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, also known as TRACS, pending an audit.
WUOT learned in April of this year from TRACS that the school had yet to submit an application.
Bowie told WUOT that the board and Adams plan to submit an application to TRACS before September 30th.
"It's a process," said Bowie. "We are closer than we have ever been [to regaining accreditation]."
Former vice president of the school Dasha Lundy has spoken out on the college’s leadership.
“I am not happy with where we are,” said Lundy. “I don’t think he [Adams] had any intentions of getting [the school its] accreditation.”
Adams did not respond to comments about his resignation.
This article has been updated to reflect comments from chair of the Knoxville College Board of Trustees, Michael Bowie.
Correction: An earlier version of this story did not properly list Leonard Adams' company.
