Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 19, 1994 TAG: 9402190099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
H.D. Flowers II, 49, pleaded guilty to cashing paychecks made out to people scheduled to teach classes that Flowers ended up teaching.
Flowers was indicted by Montgomery County grand juries in October and January on charges of embezzling $15,300 from Tech and obtaining money under false pretenses during the summer sessions of 1992 and 1993.
The false pretenses charges were dropped Friday, and Flowers made the pleas to the three embezzling charges.
Flowers, who has resigned from Tech effective March 31, made a brief statement before being sentenced. He apologized to his students and said the situation happened "due to my being overworked and understaffed."
Flowers was placed on probation for four years after Circuit Judge Kenneth Devore suspended a six-year prison sentence. As part of his probation, he must repay the money.
Flowers was head of Tech's black studies program and a professor in the theater arts department when he first was indicted. He was removed as head of the black studies program just before the first charges were placed last fall but continued to teach.
Ray Hartley, Flowers' attorney, said Flowers had lined up instructors to teach classes during the 1992 and 1993 summer sessions, but the people canceled at the last minute.
Flowers apparently taught the classes when replacements could not be found. Tech faculty are limited to teaching two classes per summer session so that they are not overworked and so that students are able to receive the most possible attention.
Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith said graduate student King Godwin came to the university last fall and discovered he was credited as being paid for teaching 1993 summer school classes. But Godwin told Tech officials he had neither taught the classes nor received any payments.
Keith said an investigation revealed that Flowers cashed the checks written to Godwin.
During an investigation, authorities were told that Drexell Ball, an assistant to the president of Delaware State College in Dover, taught two black studies courses at Tech during summer school and was paid $4,000 in cash by Flowers.
But Ball later said he did not teach the classes or receive any payment from Flowers.
Keith said Flowers wrote a letter to his superior admitting to falsifying records and receiving the money.
Tech officials uncovered the 1992 embezzlement during a review of records after Flowers was indicted in October.
Keith said Flowers had arranged for C.W. Murray Jr., a professor at Norfolk State University, to teach a class during the second summer session of 1992. Once again, Flowers apparently taught the class when Murray could not. Keith said Flowers picked up a paycheck that was written in Murray's name.
"The intention wasn't to steal or embezzle," Hartley said after court. Instead, Flowers was "extremely overworked and allowed the stress and the overwork to take over his judgment."
Flowers should have had the classes canceled or made other arrangements with Tech to have the classes taught, Hartley said.
Flowers has a high level of support from his students and from many faculty members at Tech, Hartley said.
Larry Hincker, Tech spokesman, said Flowers had submitted his resignation in December effective March 31. It was accepted in January. Flowers is staying through March to continue work with graduate students under his instruction, Hincker said.
After a year at the University of South Florida as a visiting professor of theater arts, Flowers joined Tech in July 1991 as the first director of the university's black studies program. He worked at North Carolina A&T for about 10 years and also was on staff at Bowie State in Maryland and the University of Arkansas.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.