Benjamin Ola.Akande
Former president, Westminster College
Dear Editor:
In the Jefferson City News Tribune and the Fulton Sun articles on Sept. 2, 2018, reporter Phillip Sitter gave an excellent overview of how fiscal reforms that began during my term as president of Westminster 2015 and continued under Fletcher Lamkin’s current administration are making a difference in the financial stability of Westminster College.
However, except for a brief reference to the testimony in Callaway County Circuit Court by Westminster’s former Chief Financial Officer Joey Stoner, readers might have been led inadvertently to conclude that improper withdrawals from the college’s endowment took place during my tenure.
The truth is the “improper withdrawals” referred to in Sitter’s article took place long before I was installed as president of Westminster College in July 2015. These withdrawals were discovered in August 2015 after my tenure began and we presented options to the board and immediately began implementing the financial reforms.
I am happy to see that President Lamkin is continuing to take further steps to put Westminster on solid financial footing for many years – and generations – to come.