It's a new day in the FAMU public affairs office as new communications chief Sharon Saunders responded quickly and affirmatively, with both barrells blazing, to negative comments made about the university by former interim president Castell Bryant.Saunders, said Bryant "sounds like a person who has had a really bitter experience. Her comments are disturbing considering the fact that she is an alumna of the university and she has had more than two years to correct the problems."
Saunders, the university spokeswoman, noted that a highly critical auditor general's report on FAMU and the SACS probation occurred on Bryant's watch.
"FAMU was and remains a great institution of choice for students," Saunders said. "We have outstanding faculty, committed staff and some of the best and brightest students this state has to offer. We are very optimistic about FAMU's future."
Read more: FAMU fires back at Castell
Ok Ms. Saunders, I do not know you but I like you!!!! Thanks for the quick response and you did it with class, something Cast-hell doesn't have and never will. Again, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am so glad you responded in a way that showed that we are not going to just come up with some empty PC reply. It is clear that Ammons' team is saying that they are not going to let her just dog us like this.
ReplyDeleteI am so ashamed of her. I wander what Dr. Wanton and Vivian Hobbs has to say about their friend's interview. I guess Vivian's All-Stars are 2s also.
Hats off to Ms. Saunders.
ReplyDeleteCast-hell is just one sad cookie.
The fact that Ammons administration sounds so defensive and is so aggressive in denying Castell's allgeations, including ignoring facts she highlights, does concern me a little. I wonder how Ammons would explain only 12 or 84 merit scholars graduating from FAMU or non FAMU students in the Marching 100???? I wish him luck, when he finally gets around to doing something. It might help to start with signing a pay check or two.
ReplyDeleteRe: 3:24 AM
ReplyDeleteYou are just as sad as Castell & Co.
It is amazing that you don't take criticism very well. Everything is not "peachy keen." Obviously there are some issues regardless of who the chancellor is or is not. My thoughts are if the words are not good news then you had better keep it to yourself. No institution can thrive without understanding your problems and addressing them at face value.
ReplyDeleteDo we know the problems on the inside at UF, FSU, USF, FIU, FAU UWF, UNF, UCF, FGU, or UCF? We really don't need to know them. I accept that they are being worked out by their respective administrators. I believe this is what the State expects of them. Castell has so much malice in her heart!
ReplyDeleteCastell must have thought Sharon was a punk b*itch, little did she know.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah Cast-Hell's bitter and she should be! She's the worst president in FAMU's storied history. THE ABSOLUTE WORST! She gets no sympathy, no more money, NO NOTHING! Not even
ReplyDeleteR-E-S-P-E-C-T. She fired a College Football Hall of Fame Coach, lied about an $8M surplus, gave KPMG untold millions, etc., etc. Who gives a damn what she thinks any more? She's OLD news, literally and figuratively!
This is exactly why she runs around Tallahassee with a baseball cap on trying to hide. Stay in Miami!
ReplyDeleteCastell has a history of giving faulty, unsubstantiated numbers to the press. We saw that with her untrue claims about creating an $8M surplus (which turned out to be a $10.4M deficit).
ReplyDeleteNo one should believe any number that comes from Castell's mouth without written proof that has been verified by the higher education authorities.
maybe somebody oughta pull that cap off and see in the numbers
ReplyDelete"6 6 6" are on her forehead
correction
ReplyDeletesee IF the numbers "6 6 6" are on her forehead
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why she runs around Tallahassee with a baseball cap on trying to hide. Stay in Miami!
7/23/2007 10:43 AM
Don't stop there. Tell what you know !!!!
What was in that folder Jackie Maxie was seen passing to Castell through her car window last week?
ReplyDeleteSo almuna or almuni can't criticize the institution.
ReplyDeleteFAMU is a joke!
as a former student, i am by all of this. however, some of what she says does have merit. at this point, i would not recommend a family member or a friend to attend. that's just real talk. we have a lot of work to do, but it's not impossible. i am very hopeful that my glorious institution will get things together in the next 2 years. i'm speaking nothing but 'life' into this institution.
ReplyDeleteBill Maxwell is a poor excuse for a journalist. The man doesn't know his ass from his elbows.
ReplyDeletelies, d@mn lies, and statistics.
ReplyDeleteNotice what Castell did not say about the cohort of Merit Scholars. She did not say at what point in their studies the measurement was taken. Was the measurement taken after year 4, when the students were in 5 year business or pharmacy programs?
HOw is she defining a cohort? Are they students who matriculated in the same year or students who were funded by the same donors?
Her comments seem to say more about her intellectual dishonesty and lack of professional ethics than the educational process at FAMU.
Let's see if anyone seeks Castell's sound judgement and guidance for their Board of Trustees or Board of Directors. Her Delta soror runs a school in Daytona. Wonder if she would be interested in seeking professional advice from Castell.
She is bitter, vindictve, mean spirited and arrogant. Her picture must come down from Lee Hall at once. She attempted to dismantle FAMU. FAMU will rise again!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOnce again Castell is misquoting data and the St. Pete Times, Tallahassee Democrat, and other worthless rags are shedding all journalistic integrity and publishing her statements without the slightest bit of verification.
ReplyDeleteHere are the facts:
There were a total of 84 National Merit Scholars enrolled at FAMU in the 1997-98 academic year. None graduated in 1998-99. Two graduated in 1999-2000. Thirty-seven, count 'em, 37 graduated in 2000-2001 and 12 graduated in 2001-02. It's the last number she quoted, ignoring the 39 that preceded them. Without looking at individual student names it is impossible to be totally accurate, but a reasonable reading of the data would be that 39 of 88 graduated in 4 years, a 44.3% 4-year graduation rate; and 51 of 88, or 58% graduated in 5 years.
Perhaps Castell Bryant and Bill Maxwell aren't intelligent enough to understand the numbers. I hope so, because the alternative explanation is that they are unscrupulous and intentionally trying to harm FAMU. But I don't think the newspapers have any excuse at all.
^^^
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get you data from? If this woman was aware of these stats and intentionally skewed these stats then any supporter of the university should be calling upon the NAA, faculty, staff and students to sanction her.
FSU's band also allows (or allowed) TCC students in the band. It's one reason TCC is so big, and students come from all over the state to go to TCC. They can be in our bands and pledge our sororities and fraternaties. It's not a bad thing, but when school money goes to support the band, and money is tight, we gotta reconsider letting non FAMU students in.
ReplyDeleteJust brought two honor students aboard at FAMU and glad that FAMU is here to receive them. Thank God for helping us maintain beyond Castell the Brattler!
ReplyDelete1:32, damn, girlF, you doing some serious spottin', huh? All in folks' car windows, wondering what they're passing. Dang. So now, folks can't pass stuff to other folks w/o it being some kinda conspiracy? I bet you're the kind of person who likes to keep stuff going.
ReplyDeleteStatement from Student Government Association
ReplyDeletePresident Monique Y. Gillum
regarding former interim president’s remarks
“I wish you the worst kind of criticism for everything you do, because that makes you fight to achieve beyond what you normally would.”
I was truly appalled but not surprised by the comments made by former Florida A&M University Interim President Dr. Castell Vaughn Bryant in a recent St. Petersburg Times article. After two years of “service to Florida A&M”, she continues to function on fiction. Her actions send a terrible message to the University community, the state of Florida, and more importantly to the hardworking, intelligent and committed students of FAMU.
FAMU experienced its greatest fall from grace while under the perceived leadership of Castell Bryant. At times Dr. Bryant was a perceived visionary, with a plan, but more often than not Dr. Bryant lacked the appropriate skills and abilities to lead a four-year university. No where else in the state would the Board of Governors have allowed such an under skilled and underdeveloped academician to take the reigns of an accredited and leading university like Florida A&M, unless the ultimate goal was certain destruction. Dr. Bryant’s opinion of the student body is not rooted in fact, but rather in her lack of knowledge of and lack of communication with the student body of FAMU. The belief that one could lead an institution and never interact with students is a direct symptom of her unfit placement at the university. The caliber of student being educated at FAMU has been well documented:
* Misha Granado, a Spring 2007 graduate was selected as a Fulbright Fellow;
* Cymeia Hill, a Spring 2007 graduate, was recognized by the Florida Health Information Management Association as the Outstanding Health Information Management student in the state;
* Darius Graham, a 2006 FAMU graduate, was named by USA Today to the 2006 All-USA College Academic First Team;
* The FAMU School of Nursing achieved a 94 percent pass rate on the national licensing exam that all of its graduates take to become registered nurses. The national mean score for the exam is 88 percent;
* The Department of physics produced approximately 40 percent of the entire national production of African American Physics Ph.D.s this academic year; and
* Universities Department of Psychology has just been recognized as the number one producer of African Americans with baccalaureates degrees in psychology in comparison to other HBCU’s and among the top ten of all universities across the country.
Florida A&M is the stomping ground for African-American intellectuals, entrepreneurs, politicians, journalists, entertainers, legal scholars and the like. Despite the baseless claims of Dr. Bryant, FAMU never had a qualified audit before her arrival nor had it ever received probation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Since the arrival of Dr. Bryant, FAMU has gone from surplus to deficit, an unqualified audit to a qualified audit, enrollment increases to enrollment decreases, from unconditional accreditation status to probation. The record is clear that Dr. Bryant deserves exclusive credit for everything that she now criticizes about the university.
In my opinion, the St. Petersburg Times must stop glorifying Castell Vaughn Bryant. Her days as this institution’s “leader” have come and gone. In order to be considered a credible news source, the Times must begin reporting the facts about FAMU and not its own version of sensationalized fiction. While I have nothing personal against Bill Maxwell, I believe his opinion columns on FAMU have been textbook examples of poor journalism. By accepting Bryant’s distortions and half-treading in an uncritical fashion, he makes a mockery of the news profession. I charge the St. Petersburg Times to write a story on what is really occurring at the University.
Dr. James H. Ammons is FAMU’s leader and is committed to FAMU remaining among the premier colleges in the state of Florida. For 28 months, we were in the dark, we are beginning to now step into the light. More than ever the students, faculty, staff, and administration are committed to “Excellence with Caring.”
Monique Y. Gillum
Student Body President/University Trustee
Florida A&M University
-----------------------------------
Monie, You go girl!!
Ok Ms. Saunders, I do not know you but I like you!!!! Thanks for the quick response and you did it with class, something Cast-hell doesn't have and never will. Again, thank you!
ReplyDeleteCLASS??? I don't think so ... As a PR person Saunders' comment should have been: "It's highly unfortunate that her opinion is not favorable." That's it and then turn the interview as a platform for a new and improved FAMU. Let's not get ghetto. You should know better if you are a PR person.
FAMU has a loonnnggg way to go to even get to a respectable level. I see Ammons and Saunders spinning everything to look positive at FAMU and the school continue to decline. The FAMU crew did an great job of spinning everything here at NCCU... now the problems are starting to surface....
ReplyDelete7:19 and 7:38, Get behind thee Satan! Ammons' team is doing a GREAt job. For the naysayers, you'll come around when you see that things are looking up at FAMU. Yes, there is a payroll issue and Dr. Ammons is handling it. So Cassie and June, get on your brooms and quit trying to start up some mess.
ReplyDeleteSo Cassie and June, get on your brooms and quit trying to start up some mess.
ReplyDeleteThe word left behind by them to their troops still on the hill is to, start 6 fires everytime one is put out.
When Oh When will they send Dr Vivian Hobbs packing. She might be an OK teacher, but she had no clue about the accreditation process. If you think she does just hear her speak and you will be so embrassed and ashamed. No wonder we are where we are!!!
ReplyDeleteI am a proud FAMU grad, but to read some of these entries on this site is quite disheartening. Some of you on this site are doing more harm than good. Can we for once come together on a POSITIVE note and help uplift our school? How WE can help make our school better is what we need to be worrying about!
ReplyDeleteLet’s stop with the name calling, bad mouthin’, finger pointing, “he said, she said, we said.” That is not helping us achieve or exceed the goals we know FAMU is capable of.
Rattler Nation has given us a great tool so we can help uplift FAMU, bring the FAMU community together and continue its great legacy, not to use it to talk cash money trash.
All the time and energy some of yall put into these blogs to dog people can be used to help shed a positive light on FAMU in some way or form. Can we use our time wisely folks? We are on the World Wide Web and some of us are only adding fuel to the fire. Playing right into the stereotypes of what “they” think of us and our glorious institution.
WE are above name calling! Let the papers write what they want! Let the nay sayers keep on. What has FAMU taught us? To stay strong and achieve our goals no matter what obstacle is thrown our way. Let’s show the WORLD that we do have class, integrity and can still hold our heads high and right the wrongs despite all negativity.