Board to review president after rape comments

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY (AP) — The board of trustees at a university outside Philadelphia will conduct an internal review of the school president, who is under fire for comments he made two months ago about women and sexual assaults.

Lincoln University board chairwoman Kimberly Lloyd told The Philadelphia Inquirer after a closed two-hour meeting Saturday that the review of President Robert Jennings would be referred to an executive committee. A statement earlier in the day in which Lloyd threw her support behind Jennings and said the board was satisfied with his leadership, sparked calls for his resignation.

Jennings apologized last week for comments he made at a September all-women's convocation in which he spoke of women making false rape allegations, which some interpreted as him blaming women for sexual assault. He declined to comment Saturday, saying he would await the outcome of the committee's review.

State and national representatives from the American Association of University Professors stood outside the meeting with signs calling for Jennings' resignation. Some students staged a silent protest, dressed in black and wearing duct tape over their mouths with phrases such as "It's like I'm invisible" and "Who am I to speak?" written on the tape.

Tatiana Foskey, a junior communications major, said she felt uncomfortable when she heard Jennings' remarks.

"Everything about it was disrespectful. Rape is rape, no matter your gender," Foskey said. "He voiced his opinion, didn't know when to stop, and now he has to face it."

The state auditor general's office said last week that an audit of Lincoln University has been moved up following the comments, which Auditor General Eugene DePasquale called "disturbing." The office is auditing state-owned and state-aided universities' use of funding, including compliance with state and federal laws on campus safety, sexual violence prevention and awareness and protection of minors.

Jennings, who has presided over the historically black university in rural Chester County since January 2012, has been criticized by faculty members over declining enrollment — including a 7.3 percent drop after his first year — as well as a decrease in endowment and negative financial ratings. Faculty members took a vote of no confidence on the president late last month, five months after a similar vote by the university's alumni association.

Since 2009, Lincoln's full-time equivalent enrollment has fallen 26 percent, with this year's total expected to be about the same as last year with 1,875 students.