Re “VUU president accused of fraud,” Free Press Feb. 1-3 edition:

I am a Virginia Union University alumnus and your article is not only embarrassing, but again indicative of extremely negligent administrative oversight on the part of the VUU Board of Trustees.

It is highly unlikely that the statement by the VUU spokeswoman that “VUU utilized a thorough and standard search and vetting with a third party entity in the hiring of Dr. Lucas” is truthful. Any reputable search committee and external third party most certainly would have carefully scrutinized the total tenure and record of Dr. Hakim J. Lucas at Bethune-Cookman University. The revelations should immediately have disqualified Dr. Lucas for consideration as a viable VUU presidential candidate.

This most recent incident is another indication of the poor and incompetent leadership of the VUU trustees. It is long overdue that accreditation bodies and potential donors demand new leadership on the Board of Trustees and replace current out of touch trustees with new fresh members prepared to restore a modicum of respectability and integrity to this historic HBCU.

Students and tuition-paying parents deserve much better than what currently exists at my beloved alma mater.

Gerald A. Foster

Henrico County