Cheyney University settles lawsuits with former administrators who alleged misspending

Cheyney University has settled two lawsuits with former administrators of its honors academy who alleged misspending of funds.

Thomas Sprague, the lawyer for Tara Kent, former provost, said his client regarded the settlement as “vindication” and was “very satisfied” with the outcome. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Nicole Rayfield, former director of Cheyney’s Keystone Honors Academy, would only confirm the matter had been resolved.

In a statement, Cheyney University said: “The university maintains no admission of liability. It does not hold any obligation beyond the settlements per the agreements reached with all parties involved, in an effort to move the university forward.”

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Neither the lawyers for Kent and Rayfield, nor Cheyney, released the terms of the settlement.

Cheyney’s honors academy awards full tuition and room and board scholarships to state students with promising academic records. Kent alleged in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed in 2019 that Cheyney, a historically Black university in Chester and Delaware Counties, under the direction of president Aaron A. Walton, “raided” funds that were earmarked for the honors academy and redirected them for other purposes as the university struggled financially.

She alleged that the funds were used to support students who did not meet the academy’s criteria and to pay for unrelated marketing and recruitment.

Kent also said in her suit that Walton “in at least one instance … awarded/approved the award of a substantial, six-figure vendor contract without requiring any competing bids.” When she raised objections out of concern the move could jeopardize Cheyney’s funding and accreditation, he fired her, according to the suit.

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In a separate lawsuit also filed in 2019, Rayfield, former honors academy director, said she was wrongfully fired in part for complaining about misuse of scholarship funds. Cheyney “improperly gave scholarships with the purpose of inflating enrollment” so the university could keep accreditation, the suit alleged.

Walton, a former Highmark executive who was hired in May 2017 to help turn around the institution, Cheyney, and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, of which Cheyney is a part, had declined to comment at that time.

In a court filing to Kent’s lawsuit, however, the state denied many of the allegations. On the procurement allegation, the system said Walton believed the website upgrade by Landesberg Design in 2017 was permissible as a “sole source” contract and did not require bidding.“ But later it was determined that procedure was not applicable to the project, which was remedied by [the system], said the filing.

Cheyney had issues with financial aid management before Walton’s arrival. In 2016, an audit found that Cheyney had improperly diverted more than $3 million in scholarship money, research grants, and other restricted funds and used it to plug a hole in its budget, an Inquirer investigation found.

» READ MORE: Lapses in oversight could cost Cheyney $29 million

The school was alsocalled out for failing to properly manage millions in financial aid funds between 2011 and 2014, which brought scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice. Cheyney is currently on a payment plan to satisfy its debt to the federal education department.

The school remains on “heightened cash monitoring,” which means it no longer receives advance payments for student financial aid but must request reimbursement.

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But the university has since had its accreditation reaffirmed and has balanced its budget for the last four years, according to school officials.

Kent spent her first decade at Cheyney as its dean, then became assistant vice president, associate provost, and provost in August 2017, overseeing the academy the entire time.

She currently works at Thomas Edison State University in New Jersey, serving as an associate dean and director of undergraduate studies.

Sprague,her attorney,said the case was due to go to trial July 17 but was settled before that. As part of the settlement, Kent received a formal letter from the executive vice president of the Pennsylvania state system, “acknowledging her excellent work throughout her tenure,” Sprague said.