Arkansas Baptist College on Thursday announced that Calvin McFadden Sr. had resigned as president after taking the role in January 2023.
Regina Favors was named interim president, her third time in the role. No reason was given for McFadden’s departure, which continues the historically Black college’s years-long struggle for consistent leadership.
“The Board of Trustees has accepted the resignation of President McFadden and it is effective immediately,” Richard Mays Sr., chair of the college’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “We thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Mays said the college in Little Rock is thankful that Favors has, once again, “accepted the call to service” and that the board will soon begin the process of finding a permanent replacement.
“It is not merely one person or one department which makes up Arkansas Baptist College; rather, is a community effort which has sustained the college in days gone by and will continue to propel her into a bright future,” Mays said.
McFadden came to Arkansas Baptist from Cornerstone Community Church of Missouri City, Texas, which he founded in March 2022, according to the church’s website. Arkansas Baptist said that McFadden previously held a number of roles in higher education, including serving as an academic dean, chief of student affairs, dean of behavioral and social sciences and associate professor, with stops at Florida A&M University, Springfield College, Smith College and Norwalk Community College.
McFadden succeeded Carlos Clark, whose tenure as president was equally brief. He led the school for just 12 months before departing amid an alleged power struggle with the school’s board of trustees.
McFadden and Clark were preceded by Joseph Jones, who left Arkansas Baptist after only 15 months, during which the school’s debt and payroll rose to levels that threatened its ability to stay open.
Clark and Jones sued sued the school for wrongful termination.
The Higher Learning Commission in 2022 removed Arkansas Baptist from probation and reaffirmed its accreditation after the college emerged from a period of financial turmoil, but the commission warned that turnover in the college’s leadership positions posed a risk to its continued stability.
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