suspended from their duties for misuse of conference funds. In addition, there were complaints that Vernon had been too close to some of his women parishioners. This was at a period when there had been several scandals among senior clergy in the AME and other churches, and its prestige was declining. In 1933 during the Great Depression, after the A.M.E. Church withdrew its support from Western University, the state provided funding. The governor appointed Vernon as head of the industrial department. He appointed a strong faculty and succeeded in getting its accreditation restored before stepping down in 1936. Books Vernon wrote two books on race and politics: The Upbuilding of a Race: or The Rise of a Great People, a compilation of sermons, addresses and writings on education, the race question and public affairs (1904) What the American Negro expects of World-wide Democracy: A statement of the Negro's Case and Cause (1919) References External links African Methodist Episcopal bishops 20th-century Methodist bishops Methodist missionaries in South Africa American Methodist missionaries 1944 deaths 1871 births Kansas Republicans Oklahoma Republicans Mississippi Republicans Tennessee Republicans American expatriates in South Africa