The Florida A&M University (FAMU) Board of Trustees held a two-day virtual retreat on August 7-8 to answer questions and provide an update on the state of the school.
The first item on the agenda was the search for a president of FAMU. The Board of Directors last month appointed interim president Dr. Timothy L. Beard.
Chairwoman Kristin Harper said Wednesday that trustees must first determine the selection process before beginning the search for a new president.
“We will identify and prioritize the issues most important to this board in light of the needs of the university and, therefore, the needs of the president,” Harper told the trustees.
A fraudulent donation by a suspicious donor
FAMU’s BOT hopes to have a new university president appointed by June 30, 2025. Former president Larry Robinson, Ph.D., resigned on July 12 in the wake of a scandal involving bogus donations to the university from Texas hemp farmer Gregory Gerami.
The gift, a donation valued at $237 million, was recently declared “fraudulent” following an independent investigation.
The state hired the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney to investigate the donation. Investigator Michael McLaughlin concluded that the gift and Gerami were fraudulent.
The $237 million donation came in the form of private shares in the donor’s company, valued solely by Gerami. Moreover, McLaughlin told the BOT on Thursday that those private shares were never “properly” transferred to the university.
“The reasons for accepting this gift were senior leadership influence, secrecy and confidentiality, the compressed timeline due to the graduation ceremony, and a lack of due diligence and understanding of private stock ownership,” McLaughlin explained.
Who will take Robinson’s place?
A 15-member search committee will consider FAMU’s next president. FAMU’s Harper says the search committee will be made up of members of the board of trustees, university faculty and the student body.
“The search committee is responsible for recommending more than two qualified candidates to the board, who will be selected by a majority vote,” Harper said.
Harper said she was looking for presidential candidates who had certain qualities: “administrative experience, political capital and a focus on student success.”
The search is taking place because some FAMU students are also performing below average on the entrance exam on the first attempt. FAMU’s pharmacy, nursing and law students have been performing below average in recent years and are below the state-recognized benchmarks.
Click here to view the Florida bar exam score comparison.
“Given the competitive environment we are in today with the public university system, the goalposts are being pushed further and further back,” said Timothy Beard, FAMU’s interim president. “We need to be bold enough to put the resources into pre-university programs.”
Before coming to FAMU, Beard led Pasco-Hernando State College’s nursing program to a perfect admissions exam pass rate. Beard wants to replicate that success at Florida A&M by implementing mandatory tutoring sessions, mock exams and other measures to help students improve grades.
What’s next for FAMU?
The trustees will have further discussions about finding a new president and establishing checks and balances for those charged with overseeing donations. These discussions will take place in September at the next Board of Trustees meeting.
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