A North Carolina A&T employee was charged with embezzling more than $400,000 for over three years in December 2013.

After the N.C. A&T University Foundation Center discovered the issue Shirlye Cornelia Grandy, the former Director of Accounting was discharged in March of 2014. The position still has not been filled.

Students at A&T received only one email in regards to the incident, but no further information was released following the initial notification. As a result, students were concerned about whose money was being stolen and why there were not any further updates.

“It was the foundation’s unrestricted money,” said Ralph Fennell, the Interim COO for the foundation. “It had nothing to do with endowments, scholarships, departmental scholarships, or any other funds.

“It doesn’t affect the students. It’s an independent agency,” said Shirley Frye, President of the University Foundation. “The foundation supports the university in a variety of ways and the crime of stealing the money in no way compromise any of the foundations financial commitment to the students, the faculty, and programs that we support.”

The foundation is insured, but no further details have been released in regards to whether the foundation will get the money back.

Grandy is accused of stealing more than $400,000 over three years. Many concerned students and parents questioned how this was not caught.

“It happens everywhere. It just wasn’t caught,” said Frye. “We had a clean audit every year and it’s just one of those things that was caught and I’m pleased that we did. The way it was caught was in December of 2013 the foundation discovered some accounting discrepancies and then we immediately launched an investigation with some help of outside counsel, outside attorneys, outside CPA’s and we found that the director of accounting had misappropriated funds.”

The Director of Accounting is the top level of position within the accounting area. It covers a broad range of all the accounting aspects that would be taken by any financial organization. There have not been any current appointments or changes. An acting or interim person will fill in the position until a new Director of Accounting is named. Until then, Mr. Fennel, who is the Interim COO, may assist with financial matters.

“Mr. Fennell will be the interim COO, but we have not named that director of accounting yet,” said Frye. “I hope that we can do it pretty soon within the month of September.”

“Even though that’s not my role I’ve got experience handling financial matters at other Universities and Institutions, so they may ask me to just help the university help the foundation through this point, but there has been no appointment no changes,” said Fennel. “I’m just assisting at this time until the board makes an appointment that is when the spot will be filled. Work goes on, nothing is stopped.”

The Board of Directors is set to meet in October of this year. The foundation has set policies and procedures in place to ensure that current and future employees are not misappropriating funds and that this will not happen again.

• Mija Gary Reporter