Bennett College has filed a federal complaint against an alumnae association that has been using its trademarks and name. The all-female HBCU in Greensboro alleges that the Bennett College National Alumnae Association (BCNAA) is illegally "capitalizing" on its logo and reputation.
The college claims this use is threatening its accreditation status and causing confusion among donors, other alumnae, and members of the public. It's suing to stop the alumnae association from using its name and wants significant “punitive” monetary damages.
Why is Bennett College suing the alumnae association?
The Bennett College National Alumnae Association was founded back in 1948. For years, the BCNAA had a close relationship with its alma mater, with the association's president even formerly having a seat reserved on Bennett College's Board of Trustees.
That all changed in 2022, when an investigation revealed Bennett's former director of alumnae affairs stole more than $185,000 from the College and alumnae association. The College decided to press charges, which led to Audrey Franklin pleading guilty to multiple counts of felony embezzlement between 2016 and 2019.
According to the College, the BCNAA decided not to press charges for the money Franklin allegedly stole from the alumnae association nor cooperate in the investigation.
Around this same time, Bennett College was fighting to remain accredited amid severe financial challenges. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) revoked its accreditation in 2019.
SACSCOC claimed the College was not financially stable long term, even after it raised more than $8 million in a special fundraising campaign.
Concerned with how the BCNAA handled the embezzlement fallout, Bennett College decided to sever all ties with its alumnae association and prohibit it from using its name, logo, and other trademarks.
"Loss of accreditation would have been a virtual death knell for the College due to the severe negative impacts on enrollment, fundraising, and the loss of access to federal financial aid it would have entailed," the new federal complaint reads. "... (The Bennett College National Alumnae Association's) weak financial controls, oversight, auditing, and reporting posed unacceptable risks to the College."
What current risks does the university claim the alleged trademark infringement poses?
Bennett College says the BCNAA's continued use of its trademarks to fundraise, host events, and sell merchandise poses accreditation risks with its new accrediting agency — the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS). The College also accused the BCNAA of hosting events that compete with its own university-run alumnae department, which has allegedly caused confusion among donors.
"(Bennett College) must demonstrate to its accreditor TRACS that it maintains adequate oversight of affiliated corporate entities and auxiliary services," the complaint reads. "And has complete control over all its financial resources."
In the years following the embezzlement case, Bennett claims it later tried to "reestablish" a relationship with the BCNAA by setting up guardrails in which the alumnae association could become reaffiliated with the College.
Those negotiations failed and resulted in Bennett sending multiple cease and desist letters, calling for the Bennett College National Alumnae Association to change its name and stop using imaging that resembles the College's official seal.
According to the complaint, the BCNAA claimed it had ownership rights itself. WUNC reached out to multiple officers within the alumnae association for comment but did not hear back in time of publication.
Bennett College didn’t agree to an interview with WUNC but sent a statement from the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
"Bennett College has filed a federal complaint to protect its name and trademarks,” said Chair Cassandra Jones Havard. “We remain focused on our students and will not comment further on pending litigation."
In addition to suing for trademark infringement, Bennett College wants to collect punitive monetary damages and attorney's fees from The Bennett College National Alumnae Association. This includes "all profits realized" by the alumnae association and a request for the court to apply a "treble damage" charge that historically triples any awarded damages.
The total amount of damages would be determined at trial.
"(The Bennett College National Alumnae Association's) conduct has and continues to cause irreparable injury to (Bennett College) and to its business, reputation and goodwill," the complaint reads. "Unless said conduct is restrained by this Court, (it) will continue to cause irreparable injury."
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