RALEIGH—A group of Shaw University Alumni is taking aim at the school’s current and former chairman and questioning whether their actions are in the best interest of the university. 

It is part of a federal lawsuit that was recently filed seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Shaw Alumnus and Friends, Inc. is a group that awards need-based scholarships to Shaw students. Christopher Young, an attorney representing the group, said that there is a group of alumni who have been ignored by the board—particularly the chairman of the board and the past chairman.

“They've tried everything.  They protested, they wrote letters and made calls, yet none of their issues have been addressed.  We would just like some change and some transparency,” said Young.

The suit says current chairman Joseph Bell and past chairman Willie Gary violated a conflict of interest policy when Shaw paid nearly $2 million for demolition and construction work and the companies were owned by the board members relatives.

The complaint also says the two chairmen have led the school’s Board of Trustees for about 20 years and during that time the university has faced low enrollment and scandal.

“For years there's been speculation of financial mismanagement and there's always something about the financial state of the university and we just want the university to run as it should be ran and it starts with the board.  We purposely didn't name the school in the lawsuit.  We love our school and we're just doing what we can to make sure the school's around for another 150 years,” said Young.

Though the university was not named in the lawsuit, the school’s president Tashni Dubroy, who took the help this summer released a statement saying in part:

“Shaw University is a financially stable and sound institution…in December of 2013, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission reaffirmed Shaw University’s accreditation with no findings, including affirming the University’s financial and physical resources.”

Time Warner Cable News reached out to the defendants, but calls were not returned.