Shaw University president resigns after 11-month tenure

The first female president of Shaw University is leaving her position after less than a year at the helm of one of the oldest historically black colleges in the South, WRAL News learned Tuesday.

Posted 10:29 p.m. Aug 9, 2011 — Updated 2:58 a.m. Aug 10, 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. — The first female president of Shaw University is leaving her position after less than a year at the helm of one of the oldest historically black colleges in the South, WRAL News learned Tuesday.

The university called Irma McClaurin's resignation a "mutually agreed-upon decision," but declined to elaborate on the reason for her departure.

"This was a difficult decision by all parties, but we are in agreement that it is the best decision for all involved," the university said in a news release.

McClaurin took over the position in September from interim president Dorothy Cowser Yancy, the retired president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte.

Miss Shaw University Courtney Scott said she doesn't want McClaurin's departure to overshadow the positive things happening on campus. "It's truly a great university," Scott said, "(It has given) people the chance, so they can graduate and have something that nobody in this world can take away from them, and that's knowledge." The university's fall semester is set to begin next week, nearly four months after a tornado ripped through the downtown Raleigh campus, destroying the Willie E. Gary Student Center, which housed the cafeteria and two dormitories. Most other buildings on campus suffered minor damages, prompting the university to end the spring semester two weeks early. The school reopened to students in May. "Shaw University has seen many changes and experienced challenges in the last six months. And with change comes transitions," the university said.

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