The Lincoln University Board of Curators is expected to vote next week on whether to explore a relationship with the 62nd and 65th Regiments Legacy Foundation.
At Tuesday's Board of Curators meeting, Board of Curators President Victor Pasley said he is going to ask Curator Treasurer Richard Popp to make a motion at the April 15 Board of Curators meeting to explore a relationship with the foundation and to seek outside counsel to ensure the new memorandum of understanding is done properly.
The Board of Curators met Tuesday to discuss the plan. It had previously only been a discussion among the Board of Curators Executive Committee.
Pasley said it's important to re-establish a relationship with the 62nd and 65th Regiments Legacy Foundation because the foundation has $8 million-$9 million that was donated over the years to support LU students, he said during a previous board Executive Committee conference call.
Before re-establishing the relationship, the board will need to create an affiliation agreement as part of its bylaws. It will also need to ensure the foundation is in compliance with all rules and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service and Missouri laws that are necessary for nonprofits to be validated in Missouri, Pasley said Tuesday.
After the board reviews relevant documents - including the old and new memorandum of understanding - and receives the necessary approval, the executive committee plans to set up a meeting with the foundation's executive committee to review the documents and discuss the possibility of re-establishing a relationship.
In December 2018, the university voided its memorandum of understanding with the then-named Lincoln University Foundation Inc. after university officials said they became dissatisfied with the foundation's fundraising performance and its level of autonomy.
In 2019, the foundation announced its name change to the 62nd & 65th, and the university announced it would accomplish its fundraising activities through its Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations.
LU and the foundation became involved in legal disputes stemming from the separation, with a lawsuit by each against the other in federal court over control of money, documents and use of the university's likeness.
The 62nd & 65th's lawsuit against LU was consolidated into the university's lawsuit against it in April 2020, upon the foundation's request. The combined case was dismissed in the U.S. District Court's Western District of Missouri after the court was notified of a settlement in the case.
The terms of the settlement include that the 62nd & 65th will "hold in trust and administer" 51 scholarship funds and 85 endowment funds.