Embattled Episcopal Church-affiliated university to declare bankruptcy, end accreditation fight

By Michael Gryboski, Editor Monday, May 04, 2026

A historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina, affiliated with The Episcopal Church, plans to file for bankruptcy and end its fight to maintain accreditation.

Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) announced last week that it “will initiate a voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring process” to “organize its financial affairs in an orderly and transparent manner.”

“The decision, made by the University’s Board of Trustees, reflects a deliberate and strategic step to advance the University’s long-term sustainability while addressing current financial realities,” SAU said. 

SAU will remain open during the process, according to the announcement, but will discontinue litigation related to its accreditation status, which is slated to conclude on May 15.

The university "will instead focus on supporting students through teach-out agreements, developing non-degree certificates and apprenticeship programs, and building a pathway toward reaccreditation,” it added.

“The institution reached this conclusion in cooperation with its accreditor, [Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)], to ensure impacted students were able to graduate from an accredited institution.”

Additionally, SAU Interim President Jennie Ward-Robinson has stepped down, and the board of trustees has appointed Verjanis A. Peoples as the new interim president of the university.

SAU was chartered in 1867 as the Normal School and Collegiate Institute, with its first classes being held in January 1868.

In December 2023, the  SACSCOC voted to remove SAU from membership amid concerns about the university’s financial stability, with an appeals committee upholding the decision in February 2024.

In response, SAU moved most of its classes online and cut about half of its staff to reduce costs. It also reduced its expenses by $17 million in 2024 in comparison to 2023. 

The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed in May 2024 that it was investigating SAU over allegations that its staff did not receive paychecks for multiple pay periods.

In July 2024, an arbitration committee appointed by SACSCOC unanimously voted to support reversing the accreditation removal, though it also stated that SAU would still be on probation.

Nevertheless, concerns about the university's financial stability persisted, with SACSCOC voting in December 2024 to remove SAU from its membership.

SAU appealed the decision, but that was rejected in March of last year. A 90-day arbitration process began in which the university remained operational, and graduating students received degrees from an accredited institution. 

SAU announced last July that it was taking legal action to regain its accreditation after an arbitration panel affirmed the SACSCOC decision to remove the college from membership.

In August 2025, SAU announced that it will remain an accredited institution as fall semester classes begin, thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Last year, SAU Interim President Marcus Burgess stepped down from office for personal reasons. The move led some, including Save SAU Coalition Chairman Benjamin Johnson, to express concern.

“In order to continue to have accreditation, you do have to have an interim and acting president,” Johnson told WRAL News. “And right now, with his resigning, we don't have an interim president.”

“How do you run a university like this, where you have an interim president for 18 months, and that person leaves? Now you have to go back and restructure that part of it, and we don’t know what the leadership is and what the vision is in that.”