Former Lincoln University Provost Said Sewell has a new position - senior fellow of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
A news release announcing the appointment said Sewell will "join the nation's leading academic thought leaders in strengthening student success and public higher education's commitment to underserved student populations."
Sewell also served as LU's vice president for academic affairs, from August 2014 until October 2016, when he took an extended leave of absence for personal reasons.
Debra Greene currently serves as Lincoln's interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
Sewell left Lincoln a month after the Faculty Senate voted "no confidence" in his work as provost and VPAA by an 88-14 margin.
That vote followed nearly a year of disputes with many faculty members, including frustration with Sewell's recommendation some of Lincoln's music programs be cancelled and the history program be reorganized or terminated, resulting in the termination of five faculty positions.
"Dr. Sewell has repeatedly violated the principles of shared governance and has not responded in any substantive way to the concerns expressed by our members," last year's Senate "no confidence" resolution reported. "We do not expect any improvement from the current VPAA.
"Since the Fall of 2015, the faculty - through the Faculty Senate - has alerted the administration to this problem. No behaviors have changed.
"If anything, even more violations of our shared governance principles have occurred since that time."
None of that dispute was mentioned in the AASCU news release, which noted: "Sewell brings nearly 20 years of experience in higher education to the role, serving in various leadership positions in both historically black colleges and universities and predominately white institutions.
"Some of his accomplishments at LU include helping the school meet all five of the state's performance funding measures; rank in U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 50 HBCUs; receive a planning grant from the United Negro College Fund to partner with local businesses to provide career preparation for students; and secure over $25 million in external funds to support faculty research, extension efforts, student success, career pathways and general university initiatives."
Sewell, now 47, earned degrees from Morehouse College and Texas Southern University and a Ph.D. from Clark Atlanta University.
He completed the AASCU's Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI) in 2016.
The news release noted Sewell also has authored three books on politics and the political process, and is working on two books on empowering young black men and black male students.
"We are delighted to have Said join the AASCU Student Success Team," George Mehaffy, AASCU's vice president for academic leadership and change, said in the news release.
"He brings a wealth of experience and innovation, and we look forward to his many contributions to our efforts to significantly improve student success in all of our AASCU institutions."
The AASCU is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of 400 public colleges, universities and systems.