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Online Petition Calls For Bennett College Financial Administrator To Step Down

The Annie Merner Pfeiffer Chapel on the campus of Bennett College in Greensboro. BETHANY CHAFIN/WFDD

As Bennett College in Greensboro moves forward in its fight to save its accreditation, some students are demanding accountability from school leaders.

Bennett student Alexis Branch started an online petition calling for Vice President for Business and Finance LeRoy Summers Jr. to be removed. Branch is president of the school's Student Government Association.

The online document currently has over 200 supporters. It says Bennett has failed to progress under Summers' financial guidance.

In a statement, Bennett College says it's looking into the allegations made in the petition.

On Friday it was announced that Bennett had lost its appeal to save its accreditation with SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The Appeals Committee said the school had failed to show it has a stable financial base.

Within hours of the announcement, Bennett officials revealed that they had filed a lawsuit against SACS.

The school will remain accredited throughout the legal proceedings.  

Bethany joined the staff of WFDD in the fall of 2012. She received her B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Wake Forest University and focused on Anglo-Irish writing. Between undergraduate studies and graduate school, Bethany served as the intern to Talk of the Nation at NPR in D.C., participating in live NPR Election Night Coverage, Presidential debate broadcasts, regular Talk of the Nation shows, and helping to plan the inaugural broadcast of ‘Talk of the World.' She enjoys engaging with her interests in books, politics, and art in the interdisciplinary world of public radio. Before becoming Assistant News Director, Bethany was a reporter and Associate Producer for WFDD's Triad Arts and Triad Arts Weekend. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Bethany enjoys calling the Piedmont home.

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