Bethune-Cookman University released a statement Monday saying it has resolved a lawsuit against its former alumni association resulting in that group’s disbandment.
Johnny McCray, Jr., and Michael Shorter, president and vice president of the Mary McLeod Bethune National Alumni Association, confirmed that the lawsuit had been settled, and the case file in the Florida Middle District in Orlando was closed on Friday, records show.
B-CU filed suit more than two years ago, following a split between the historically Black university and the alumni association that had helped raise funds for nearly 100 years. In 2021, the university’s trustees decided to start its own direct-support organization, the model most institutions of higher education use, and sever ties with the what was then known as the Bethune-Cookman National Alumni Association.
The alumni association had operated separately from the school and its leadership and publicly criticized B-CU trustees over a host of leadership, legal, financial and accreditation issues. After B-CU made it clear it would no longer allow the association to use the Bethune-Cookman name, logos and trademarks, the alumni group was forced to change its name.