In her first St. Louis appearance last Saturday, Lincoln University President Carolyn Mahoney said the university owes much to the region’s alumni chapter and was proud to be part of its annual Founder’s Day celebration.
Mahoney is Lincoln’s first female president and became the school’s 18th leader after officially succeeding David Henson, who retired for health reasons on Feb. 1.
“I’m delighted and humbled that I have been given the opportunity to carry on Lincoln’s great tradition with the students, faculty and staff at Lincoln University,” she said.
Mahoney comes to Lincoln from Elizabeth City (N.C.) State University, where she served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Prior to her tenure there, Dr. Mahoney, 57, was one of 12 founding faculty at California State University at San Marcos during the 1990s. She joined the ECSU administration in fall 2000 as dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Technology. She was appointed interim vice chancellor for academic affairs in fall 2002.
Mahoney said declining education budgets and cuts in student financial aid grants by the Bush Administration would make her job as administrator more difficult.
She said a great deal of her work at Lincoln will involve “garnering resources and activities to support university fundraising.”
Sam Coleman, a 1989 Lincoln graduate and president of the St. Louis Alumni Chapter, said Mahoney “has her work cut out for her.”
“We as the St. Louis Alumni Chapter support her 110 percent. I have nothing but tremendous respect for Dr. Mahoney,” Coleman said.
“She has a diverse background that could only enhance the university’s rich tradition.”
Within days of taking command at Lincoln, Maloney had to protect her school’s rich tradition from a fraudulent enterprise.
Two Jefferson City residents allegedly formed a phony Lincoln University “booster club” and solicited donations from 15 area businesses, funds which they then used for personal purposes. They registered the name “Tiger Paws Booster Club” with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office in November 2003 and solicited approximately $5,000 from Jefferson City-area businesses and individuals.
“Lincoln University is fortunate in the sense of community it shares with all of Jefferson City,” Mahoney said.
“As president, it is my goal to build on that relationship to create a positive learning experience for our students and a source of pride for the community. I will not tolerate any individual or organization that threatens to undermine those efforts.”
Mahoney will be paid $145,000 a year, the same salary Henson earned. She said she will not live in the LU President’s House, but wants to ensure that it remains a part of the campus.
“The President’s House is a rich part of Lincoln’s history, and to see Dr. Mahoney’s attitude about saving the President house was enough,” Coleman said.
“She is more than willing to work with the Board of Curators, the (Lincoln University) Foundation and The National Alumni Association.”
Mahoney must also deal with falling enrollment and the school’s uncertain future as “a black college.”
The ethnic makeup of the once all-black institution is now approximately 50 percent African-American in both the associate and undergraduate programs. In addition to white students, the school also has other minorities, including American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islanders
The school’s history begins shortly after the end of the Civil War.
Soldiers and officers of the 62nd United States Colored Infantry, stationed at Fort McIntosh, Texas, composed primarily of Missourians, established an educational institution in Jefferson City, which they named Lincoln Institute.
On September 17, 1866, the school opened its doors to the first class in an old frame building. In 1869, Lincoln Institute moved to the present campus, and in 1870 it began to receive aid from the state of Missouri for teacher training.
College-level work was added to the curriculum in 1877. In 1921, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill introduced by Walthall M. Moore, the first black American to serve in that body, which changed the name from Lincoln Institute to Lincoln University and created a Board of Curators to govern the University.