West Virginia State University President Resigns Amid Pressure From School Officials

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia State University's president has resigned after facing pressure from school officials to leave office.

Nicole Pride resigned on Friday, less than a year after becoming the historically Black college's first woman president.

Earlier this month, five members of her senior Cabinet asked the school's Board of Governors to remove her "to allow for an investigation," The Gazette-Mail of Charleston reported.

Pride's resignation letter was read near the end of a special meeting Friday. The Board of Governors had met for more than four hours in executive session before that.

The push for Pride's removal came after cabinet members wrote a letter of no confidence to the board. The letter was obtained by the newspaper.

The cabinet members complained of "condescending and abusive dialogue" by Pride and "retaliatory practices."

"Her harassing dialogue and bullying behavior have contributed to a 'hostile work environment,'" the letter said. "Her executive leadership team has continued to dwindle as a result of a psychologically unsafe and chaotic work environment."

Board members unanimously voted to grant vice president and chief of staff Ericke Cage operational control of the university, pending the board's appointment of an interim president.

Pride was not present Friday, and could not be reached afterward for comment.

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