Why did the News Tribune undertake the investigation being reported today into the burgeoning travel budget of former Lincoln University President Kevin Rome?
Less than a year ago, Lincoln University officials publicly were lamenting the dire financial situation the school was facing due to declining revenue from the state, as well as stagnant enrollment growth. During those times, there were discussions of cutting programs, cutting faculty and staff, and other cost-saving efforts underway at the school.
Meanwhile, a steady stream of rumors and criticism was rising from the LU community about Rome's extensive travels. As we began looking into the former university president's travel expenses, it became apparent the level of spending had reached extraordinary levels compared to his predecessors at LU, as well as among other leaders of Missouri higher education institutions.
After months of research into LU records and interviews with university leaders, we learned:
- Rome traveled substantially more than his predecessors at LU and his peers in Missouri. Most of the trips were under the auspices of growing the LU brand by creating new partnerships nationally and internationally, visiting many alumni chapters around the nation multiple times and actively engaging with other historically black colleges and universities in promoting growth and funding for the institutions.
- There was no followup from curators or state officials to gauge the return on investment for the extensive travels - both nationally and internationally. When asked for specific benefits from those new partnerships, university officials could point to no specific gains that Lincoln realized.
- Lincoln is in the midst of an identity crisis when it comes to enrollment. The university has invested nearly a half-million dollars in the past few years to boost its recruitment efforts among black students regionally and nationally. The gains have been meager at best. Meanwhile, efforts to grow enrollment in Mid-Missouri - which traditionally has been the bulwark of LU's enrollment - has been put on the back shelf, and that enrollment is declining slightly.
The intent of this package of stories is to lay out the challenges Lincoln faces as an institution and encourage its faculty, leadership, alumni and community to clearly define the path the institution should pursue for its next 150 years of existence.