The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DEGREES issued by Sojourner-Douglass College early this year were authorised by the college's president, according to former Dean Dr Kevin Rolle.

Dr Rolle denied assertions that he was involved in any untoward behaviour concerning the distribution of degrees awarded by Sojourner-Douglass in February.

He stressed that he had no involvement in the creation of the diplomas, and provided The Tribune with copies of correspondence between himself and SDC President Dr Charles W Simmons.

"Dr Simmons reached out to me in February this year and told me that they had degrees from Baltimore that they wanted to send to me as I did have contact with a significant number of the students.

"Some of the students had outstanding tuition, and he asked me to redirect the students to pay directly to Baltimore or to SDC's bank account," he said.

He acknowledged that his decision to continue assisting the college was an "error of judgement" because he has now become a target for embattled students seeking justice.

"A lot of students believe that I was somehow involved. I'm a managing director at Goldman Sachs, there is no need for me to want to defraud a couple hundred dollars from a couple students.

"What I did do actually when they came and said we don't have balances, I told them quite truthfully I really don't care about this just take the certificate and get out."

He continued: "I think that at this moment in time I've done everything I can to exonerate myself. I only followed a request, in no way did I benefit from it."

Sojourner-Douglass' US campus closed its doors in 2015 after it lost its accreditation in July and could not afford to reopen without the federal funding that was hinged on that validation.

However, its Bahamas campus did not close until the following July, when students were told that there would be no registration for the fall semester, and were advised to settle their accounts in order to receive official transcripts.

Dr Rolle was appointed as dean of the school in August 2016, replacing former dean Theresa Moxey-Ingraham. However, he told The Tribune that he found that the campus had been closed down when he arrived.