prevent the school's loss of accreditation. Efforts by the D.C. government to recover the funding after the school lost accreditation were unsuccessful. Elaine Ryan replaced Charlene Drew Jarvis as university president on March 31, 2009 after Jarvis had been president for 13 years. Prior to losing accreditation, the university was negotiating a merger with Graduate School USA (formerly Graduate School, USDA), also based in Washington, D.C. In May 2014, the Shakespeare Theatre Company announced plans to redevelop the former site of Southeastern University at 501 Eye Street SW into an actors' campus. These plans fell through and the campus building was demolished and the space turned into a parking lot. Notable alumni Apirat Kongsompong (born 1960), Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army Mohammed Barkindo (1959-2022), Secretary General of OPEC William Ralph Basham (born 1943), Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Director of U.S. Secret Service William C. Bilo (born 1944), United States Army Brigadier General, Deputy Director of the Army National Guard Howard Carwile (1911–1987), Virginia attorney and politician Hervey Gilbert Machen (1916–1994), Maryland Congressman Tolulope Akande-Sadipe (born 1966), Nigerian Congresswoman References External links Southeastern University at seu.edu (2009 archive; this domain now refers to an unrelated university) Southeastern University at southeastern.edu (2009 archive; this domain now refers to an unrelated university) Defunct private universities and colleges in Washington, D.C. Educational institutions disestablished in 2009 Educational institutions established in 1879 Universities and colleges founded by the YMCA 1879 establishments in Washington, D.C. 2009 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.