FAMU officials, including incoming president James Ammons plan to hold a news conference about the university's recent SACS probation sometime this week, after they get an official report letter detailing the accrediation agency's findings.
"We'll be prepared, in a very public way, to work to address those issues so we can restore the public's and SACS' confidence in the university," FAMU trustees chair Bill Jennings said recently.
A special SACS committee will visit FAMU in the fall to ensure changes (read progress) are being made and present its findings to the full commission in December. After which the SACS could extend FAMU's probation three more times for a total of two years. It can take FAMU off probation and grant re-accreditation or it can revoke accreditation entirely.
There are about seven dozen SACS accrediting standards colleges must follow, from campus facilities to the quality of academic programs.
Last year, SACS hit only one college with probation: Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Ala. And a small handful of schools remained on probation last year: American InterContinental University in Atlanta; LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis; and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C.
The SACS decision wasn't a complete surprise, given that serious red flags about FAMU's financial affairs go back at least four years.
"It was not something that dropped out of the sky," said FAMU trustee Daryl Parks, a former FAMU student body president who was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist in March.
Where did we go wrong?
FAMU's problems appear to have started with poor leadership by the FAMU Board of Trustees and former Chair James Corbin. It was Corbin who favored the appointment of Fred Gainous over favorite Charlie Nelms as university president. Upon taking office, Gainous in immediately fired the long time university comptroller and many of the university's financial staff. Many suggest this was done at the behest of Mr. Corbin.Later that year, the university had problems closing it financial books to the point that state officials threaten to hold the paychecks of top administrators until the records were completed.
Fast forward, after Gainous was fired and the BOT hired former Trustee Castell Bryant, a Corbin ally, FAMU officials made repeated assurances of progress, only to have outside reviews point out problems.
Six months after taking over, Mrs. Bryant was claiming victory. She said told legislators she'd erased a reported $52 million deficit and created an $8 million surplus prompiting the Joint Legislative Auditiong Committee to give her a round of applause. By July 2006, we'd began to understand that Mrs. Bryant's reported $8 million surplus was actually a $10.7 million deficit.
All the while, Mrs. Bryant received the complete unfettered support of FAMU Trustees and, her newest advocate, Chair Challis Lowe. Mrs. Bryant was also solidly backed by former Audit Committee Chair W. George Allen.
By early 2007, state auditors hit FAMU with their most scathing report in the university's 120 year history, listing 35 problems, including failure to pay employees on time, properly perform their annual evaluations and document leave time and sabbaticals.
It also didn't help that SACS' inquiry to FAMU about the state of the university's finances received what the organization deemed a response so "flagrantly evasive" that it ticked offed the organization's leaders at the highest level, prompting them to move up their scheduled meeting on FAMU from October to June.
See: Castell's Legacy of Shame
Knock, Knock SACS calling
Good summary, RN.
ReplyDeleteThe firings of V.K. Sharma, Marie Shetty, and Robert O'Kelley in FAMU's controller's office in 2003 were identified by the Florida auditor general as the biggest reason for FAMU's fiscal fumblings that surfaced during the Fred Gainous administration.
The state auditors wrote: "The University reassigned and terminated employees that previously had prepared the financial statements for the University. No formal training of new and existing staff was performed to provide adequate training and experience in areas such as bank reconciliations and financial statements preparation."
The surest way to derail an institution is to throw its finances into chaos. One must ask of Mr. Corbin, why would someone with the university's best interests at heart want to purge the controller's office of the employees who were instrumental in producing clean financial statement audits from 1978 to 2002?
It is clear that Corbin had a very personal grudge against the people whose only crime was submitting financial statements that consistently received a thumbs-up from state auditors. Perhaps he was angry because he was trying to tell state newspapers and the Board of Regents that FAMU was financially dysfunctional and the controller's staff was proving him to be a liar by turning in clean statements every year.
Way to get back at them, Jim! That will show them to stop challenging your efforts to publicly trash your alma mater!
WHY is BILL JENNINGS still speaking for the school? CASTELL and her gang railroaded the law school, as it was intended. All the parties involved in the mess, including JENNINGS, have not yet been held to account. CASTELL used and deceived the board with smoke and mirrors to get rid of DEAN PERCY LUNEY so that their plan to destroy the school could move forward. They refused to let the school operate at its full potential by thwarting LUNEY at every turn and withholding funds that rightfully belong to the school, funds that were badly needed for Bar Review and in many other critical areas at the school.
ReplyDeleteCASTELL may have fooled TALLAHASSEE, but many of us in Orlando say her game from DAY ONE. Too bad no one listened to us when we tried to speak up.
Corbin had it in for us because he thought HE should have been named president and when he wasn't, he decided to try to run the place anyway. Corbin's agenda from day one was to force Gainous to get rid of all the people with oversight of financial processes (Collins, Martinez, Sharma, Shetty, etc.) This was so there would be no one around to blow the whistle. The second step was to farm out everything to the politically connected like KPMG, MGT, and the host of individuals who suddenly became corporations just in time to get a sweetheart consulting deal with Castell.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but CORBIN is a big A&&hole!!! Get a life, it's not about you. No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER destroy FAMU or DR. Humphries legacy!!!!!!
ReplyDelete7:18--you summarized it best. Corbin wanted the presidency, and when he coudn't get it, he controlled Gainous and called the shots, because Fred didn't know his you-know-what from a
ReplyDeletehole-you-know where. Simple as that. That (plus Castell) is the reason we're in the state that we are in.
If I didn't know any better, I'd of thought that was Jar Jar Binks in that middle photo.
ReplyDeleteJar Jar Binks? Who? Lowe or Corbin?
ReplyDeleteEither way, they both look like something from another world.
Damn, Corbin looks like Uncle Reamus (LOL)!
^^^^ actually, Corbin looks like the Mr. Brown character from some of Tyler Perry's plays!!!!LOL
ReplyDeleteThe two worse administrations in FAMU history were both orchestrated by James Corbin, Gainous and Cast-Hell Bryant, thus the fix FAMU is in. James Corbin should be ex-communicated. We should put as much distance between him and the university as there is from the North to the South Pole.
ReplyDeleteCorbin said in the Tallahassee Democrat that he thought Cast-Hell Bryant did a very good job given the circumstances. I knew he was crazy...but now he's certifiable. He lives in Chattahoochee so just take him to the mental hospital. Cast-Hell Bryant was the worst president in FAMU history!
ReplyDeleteDamn Corbin! Can we bribe some other university to make Corbin an honorary alum so he'll leave us alone.
ReplyDeleteYou have to wonder that if in some world Corbin actually did what he thought was best for FAMU, what exactly was his vision for the university?
The vision of this university is to remain "hysterically" black! What a great way to run a school.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a GREAT idea for Dr. Ammons to get mystery callers and visitors to test ALL departments within FAMU campus. He will learn a lot. Talking about unprofessionalism, bad attitudes, and noncaring rude and always to busy to help anybody people. I have seen staff look at the caller ID and say, I’m so tired of her/him calling. Also, I have seen them put callers on hold to answer a long lasting personal call. We must stop pointing fingers and look at ourselves. I often hear people talk bad about FAMU, but the people I hear talking bad are the ones that do not do their job. One department he must stop is Hr. If one calls HR they will hear a messages of this nature "she/he is on do not disturb (what does that mean), she/he cannot receive calls at this time, and the list goes on. Business should not be handled this way. I haven’t been on an interview that did not ask about multi-tasking? Also, running people down to do their jobs should not be taking place. Leaving phone messages and sending emails about 5 or more times regarding the same problem/issue should not be taking place from no department on FAMU campus. Go to or call some of the same departments on FSU or TCC campus (the atmosphere and level of service is totally different). Some of the top people cannot and do not know how to write a simple report. But treats their staff like they are the dumb ones. I often ask myself how did they get a PHD. Some people jobs at FAMU is going to meetings and out of town to bring back nothing to support the university—this to must come to pass. Many of them think that they are getting by, but by and by all good things must and will come to end. Dr. Ammons I wish you success and you will definitely have my prayers and support. We cry about needing our jobs, but if we are causing the university more hurt than harm…get rid of them.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 6/25/2007 6:57 AM What are you smokin so early in the morning? & his cronies set foot on 1 Orange. Are we gonna blame Castell for the fact that none of you lazy faculty wrote anything worth reading? Is she also to blame for the mismanagement of funds and payroll to "employees" who never worked or who can't work because they are the underage teenage children of COL powerbrokers? Come on. Jennings & Humphries brought the school to Orlando. Humphries and Ammons handpicked Luney. If you going to tell the story. Tell the truth.
ReplyDelete