Cookman STILL Lacks Permanent President

By Henson White

Bethune Cookman is putting out another president search, and it shows no signs of finishing before the semester begins.

The latest Interim president Dr. Lawrence Drake's contract expired on June 30th and Drake did not plan to return and has been off campus since May 26th and traveled until it had expired.

He only lasted a year at Cookman ending his tenure in the same month he began it last year. He replaced Hiram Powell who had retired in 2022 after replacing  Dr. E. LaBrent Chrite. Cookman has had 6 presidents or "interim" presidents over the past 6 years.

A quote given by Alumni to the Daytona Times voices their disappointment that the school body as a whole was not informed of his imminent departure.

"This shows a complete lack of leadership from the administration. This means we will be looking for our third interim president and we haven't had a full-time president in three years," said Percy Williamson, a 1978 B-CU alumnus and retired banker. "The university is rudderless; we need stable leadership. I am concerned about the direction of the university because the board of trustees is not leading it."

Currently, the interim president is Dr. William Berry who was the provost prior.

We will inform you of any new updates that may come in the coming weeks.