Tuskegee University says the American Veterinary Medical Association has agreed to revisit the procedures governing the university’s upcoming accreditation appeal hearing following a federal lawsuit Tuskegee filed earlier this week.

That was confirmed in a Friday filing in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, detailing Tuskegee’s voluntarily dismissal of its suit.

“We welcome the American Veterinary Medical Association’s decision to reconsider its procedures and to commit to providing robust due process in Tuskegee University’s upcoming hearing regarding the Veterinary College’s accreditation status,” Tuskegee University said in a statement to Yellowhammer News.

“On November 10, lawyers for Tuskegee University filed a lawsuit to ensure fairness and transparency in the policies and procedures that govern accreditation and professional standards.”

“We are grateful the AVMA has responded to the concerns that prompted our action. This reconsideration is an important step toward ensuring that decisions affecting our University students and faculty are made through clear, accountable, and fair processes.”

“We are confident we will now be able to properly present the notable improvements we have made since the AVMA’s visit to our campus in 2021,” Tuskegee University wrote on Friday.

Tuskegee filed its lawsuit on Nov. 10 seeking to halt an AVMA appeal hearing it argued would not allow the university sufficient time, documentation, or witness testimony to defend the accreditation of its College of Veterinary Medicine — the nation’s only historically Black veterinary program.

The complaint claimed the AVMA and its Council on Education imposed restrictive procedures that prevented Tuskegee from fully presenting evidence and from calling expert witnesses, while also refusing to release internal records related to the probationary accreditation decision. The university maintains that its veterinary college has made significant improvements since the AVMA’s last campus visit in 2021.

Tuskegee now says the AVMA’s decision to reconsider its appeal-hearing procedures is an important step toward ensuring the university can present its case under a fair and transparent process.

Further information about what changes the AVMA intends to make, or how the federal case will proceed, has not yet been released.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. Contact her at  [email protected].