When the Board of Governors and FAMU's Board of Trustees asked you to come out of retirement and become interim president to fix the crises at your alma mater, did you have serious reservations about accepting this big job?I had concerns. I received a number of calls from FAMU graduates and others encouraging me. I was not interested in the position, because I was looking forward to retirement. When it was announced that the BOT was looking for an interim president, the calls increased. I had conversations with some trusted friends. Then I had conversations with my family. When I reached a comfort level that I should pursue the "opportunity," I applied. When the position was offered, I accepted with concerns. I accepted believing that I could make a difference. I knew it was going be difficult. I knew it was going be painful, but I felt that it was something for me to do at this time in my life.
Read on: Castell opening up on FAMU
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I don't understand how someone with such negative things to say about her job ever expected to do any good. Sounds to me like she cane into the job with her preconceived notions and had an agenda for FAMU destruction on her mind. Well done casthell, you almost accomplished your goal. Too bad FAMU don't tolerate bull shit from you or anyone else! If we did maybe you would have succeeded with you plan
ReplyDeleteSIMPLY DISGUSTING!! I SOUGHT TO SUPPORT FAMU DURING THESE RUFF TIMES AND WENT TO LEE HALL TO MEET WITH THIS DISGRACEFUL RATTLER IN THE HOPES OF GIVING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO THE UNIVERSITY,SHE BLEW ME OFF! THEN TO TOP IT OFF I RAN INTO HER OUTSIDE OF LEE HALL AND SHE TALKED TO ME LIKE SH*T. WHILE AT THE SAME TIME DEAN LEWIS A MAN WHOM I HAD NEVER MET AND I SIMPLY WALKED INTO HIS OFFICE AND HE ASSISTED ME GREATLY! THIS WOMAN THINKS WHITE IS RIGHT AND THAT TIMES HAVE CHANGED ONLY THE WAY IN WHICH THE RACISM IS GIVEN HAS CHANGED THE EFFECT IS STILL THE SAME. MAYBE SHE SHOULD VISIT JASPER AGAIN!
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what was in that folder Jackie Maxie was seen passing to Castell through her car window last week?
ReplyDeleteOutrageous! But, I am going to take this energy and will to help FAMU. The nerve of her to say that she rates FAMU students a two out of four. Absolutely horrendous! I'm so glad she's NOT at FAMU anymore. Well guess what Cassie? Out of 4, I give your ass a -2 (and that's being nice). You, and only you, have hurt FAMU more than any white person could have. You are a disgrace.....and that is an understatement!
ReplyDeleteBryant, what scorn bitter women! This is probably the most cowardly act I ever seen. Your responses in the article was a slap in the face to all HBCU students & Alumnus. You sound worse than Ward Connerly.
ReplyDeleteCan you please stop trying to bring down Dr. Humphries legacy; it's not going to happen.
Your two minutes of fame are over. Go back to Nova and get a Doctorate on how to shut up!
I read the entire interview - it sounded pretty fair to me. I was disappointed that she did not give an endorsement to FAMU or Ammons, but it was fair and candid.
ReplyDelete7/22/2007 9:51 PM
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess you are Judge Clarence Thomas?
Anon @ 7/22/2007 9:51 PM, why would anyone want an "endorsement" from someone with no ethical standards? Is anyone surprised that she's cozy with the St. Pete Times. That paper will print comments from any lowlife who can't find one positive thing to say about FAMU. They do not know the meaning of balanced reporting when it comes to FAMU.
ReplyDeleteBill Maxwell was her go to person to get her point of view out towards the end of her presidency. You can tell his interview was very skewed to make CVB look as if she had a decent presidency.
ReplyDeleteIf he was a good journalist he would have asked one question: "With all the negative things you keep bringing up about the school, you were president for 28 months making over $300,000 a year. Why didn't you do more to change things that just let the public know about FAMU's shortcomings? You, more than anyone had the power to change things."
The fact that nothing like that question was asked, makes me know that CVB is a bitter women with a world of connections that sadly only get used for her benefit.
BTW, the cronyism question.....see how she dodged that one!!!!......lmao!!!!!
Face it guys; most FAMU students should be at a Community College. Humphries was the person who enabled FAMU to get/accept remedial students. He did this because he was afraid of the FSU takeover and thought large student numbers would keep the FSU wolf from the door. Unfortunately it has come to mean that the standard of FAMU students averaged over the student body is, at best, a 2 out of 4. (Class averages are normally 30% not 50% as per Cassies comments – ask your professors) We need to give up taking remedial students and recruit only those students qualified to be at a UNIVERSITY. There are plenty of students available without changing the racial make-up (though that too should change; there are plenty of other minorities as well as African Americans who FAMU should be accepting). Unfortunately to make the switch to a higher academically qualified student would see the FAMU enrollment plummet since it would mean that the standards of everything (faculty, staff, administrators and especially facilities) would require millions of dollars pumped into them before such qualified students would be attracted to FAM. Net result is that it will not happen and so we have to accept the low "average" student standard (2/4), the crappy facilities that only the poor or those of the third world would accept, administrators and staff that got their jobs because they are family or church members (the different -ships) and faculty that are unable to move because of their lacking abilities, their age, their martial affiliations, or some other similar reason that has forced them to stay. So its back to circling the waggons - that is why we hired Ammons.
ReplyDeletePlease do not lose sight of fact that there is "wickedness in high places" and they are trying their best get rid of FAMU. Unfortunately, Castell is on their side.
ReplyDelete7/22/2007 11:39 PM
ReplyDeleteBefore you make snap judgments about FAMU and take the comments of a bitter old woman seriously, pleas notice that she DID NOT rate herself. The reason she didn't rate the staff, is because SHE was a staff member as interim president.
If she was to rate herself, would she honestly give herself a subpar score???
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI read the entire interview - it sounded pretty fair to me. I was disappointed that she did not give an endorsement to FAMU or Ammons, but it was fair and candid.
7/22/2007 9:51 PM
Anonymous said...
7/22/2007 9:51 PM
So, I guess you are Judge Clarence Thomas?
7/22/2007 9:59 PM
I'll vote it's one of the following:
1. June Vincent
2. Rufus Little
3. Altha Manning
4. Vivian Hobbs
5. Liz McBride
6. Grace Ali
7. Eva Wanton
Dr. Ammons, when is Jackie Maxey getting her walking papers? She can't be trusted....at all!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete7/22/2007 11:39 PM
Face it guys; most FAMU students should be at a Community College.
I have titties so I'm lady.
Now, these are Black people that you're talking about. If WE don't give our own people a chance, who the hell will?
CVB's defenders have always been pure clowns who don't have a clue.
ReplyDeleteRemember the good Reverend Wilbert Hobbs? It was hilarious to see him taking pot shots at RN in his op-ed columns. He said he didn't need "some website" to tell him what's going on at FAMU when he could simply talk to Castell Bryant.
Hobbs preached about the need to tell the truth, yet he couldn't see through Bryant's flagrant lies. How could he not realize that practically EVERYTHING Bryant said about the so-called "financial clean-up" was a fairy tale?
If Hobbs believed his support of Bryant would give her any moral credibility with the FAMU public, then he was dead wrong. That woman tore many FAMU employees' lives apart without any justification or due process. Yet, Hobbs wanted us to believe that she is a saint and is simply doing "God's work."
I don't know what God Hobbs thinks he worships, but it's certainly not a God of justice, fairness, or integrity.
What about Bryant's other ignornance-spewing letter-writing preacher Rev. Joseph Wright? He's been hiding recently, as well.
You must credit the St. Petersburg Times for its brutally honest. coverage. I am sad to see Bryant making these kinds of comments, especially as an alumni. What I find most disconcerting is her comments about the declining role of a HBCU. She seems to see FAMU's role as a little more than a safety net college for shy black kids from rural towns. The challenge for Ammons will be to show the world that FAMU's has a larger mission which it can acheive.
ReplyDeleteIs it really true that only 12 of the 84 merit scholars graduated from FAMU? Shameful.
Less than 15% of FAMU's much-heralded merit scholars graduated from FAMU??????? It's shameful that we can't acknowledge that there is significant room for FAMU to improve and that are so focused on vilifying the messenger. Nice witch image, webmaster. Thankfully, the St. Petersburg Times has some standards, unlike FAMU's graduates who run Rattler Nation.
ReplyDelete7/23/2007 5:44 AM
ReplyDelete^^^^
And you still come on rattlernation every damn day. Give me a break. Keep reading the St. Pete Time's and stay off Rattlernation.
She was here for 2 years with the full support of BOT that gave here full authority over FAMU. So you tell me why FAMU is such disarray after her administration. She acts like all she was doing was sitting back and observing the whole time. But the fact she attack the students is just ridicules considering she didn't even try to recruit merit scholars or other so called quality students while she was here. She and her staff couldn't even bring any money into FAMU.
ReplyDeleteWe attack her cause she WAS and IS still part of the problem with FAMU. Five years we had to deal with incompetent Presidents and their administration two of which is Castell. Say what you want about Humphries but the decline came after he left not during or before. Say what you want in how he did it or what FAMU financial situation was at the time, but we still passed state audits, people was getting paid on time for the most part, money was being raised, and we was recruiting the best students. Now compared that to what did Bryant and Gainous did? I had my own issues with Humphries and how he ran things but I not going to deny his accomplishments.
As far as the Tampa newspaper was being fair and brutally honest well they should have put her in the hot seat over the decisions she made as President. The fact FAMU did no recruiting under administration. Ask her about all the mess that happened directly under her administration. Especially about KPMG and other contractors on campus that was paid a lot of money and now FAMU has nothing show for that money or work. Most importantly how contractors were made into VP’s and top administrators on campus and they were on campus with no contracts. All of which was against the rules set by the BOT and they was directly told NOT TO DO THAT but did it anyway. How she left FAMU with a bunch of debt that was done under her administration.
Castell-Bryant,
ReplyDeleteYou have reached an all time low. A prime example of how hate destroyed the hater.
Hell 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!
Maybe Jackie Maxey was showing Castell a copy of her "Get the Hell off Campus" letter. Maybe Eva should scoot over in that bed as Jackie should be joining her soon. However, there won't be enough room for Michelle's fat butt so she can hang out in the guest room.
ReplyDeleteSend all of their azzes packing.
anonymous said......
ReplyDeleteI ditto everything that has been said about our SORRY EX INTERIM CASTEL BRYANT. She should go away QUIETLY and rest into eternity. She has made the greatest travesty in FAMU's history. She even beat out Gainous; At least, he's sitting somewhere quietly, not bad-mouthing his Alma Mater.
I can't believe that she said that FAMU is for students that can't get into traditional university's.... Castell needs to get a life. I value my degree and I worked hard to get it!
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact that during the Humphries years, many of my friends were admitted to FAMU on a conditional basis b/c perhaps, they didn't have a high enough GPA or high enough SAT/ACt scores. But let me tell you one thing, all of those friends became college graduates b/c they were given a chance and one is a doctor, one a lawyer, two are teachers, one a principal, one owns a daycare and one currently sits in Congress. So, I don't believe for one minute that Humphries did wrong for admitting them. We all have different experiences and some people just don't test well. BUt, FAMU gave chances and I think FAMU should continue to give chances to our students b/c FSU or UF won't. FAMU is NOT a substandard school. I can name so many people who have walked on THE HILL who have gone on to great things.....(and RN you are one of them) and it hurts me that Cast-Hell would shine on us like that. But, she's bitter so I'll just ignore her ass.
ReplyDeleteNo one should believe Castell's numbers about National Achievement Scholars without verified, written proof. She has a history of fuzzy math.
ReplyDeleteRemember the reported $8M surplus that turned out to be a $10.4M deficit?
The lesson here is never accept anything Castell says without solid evidence.
The students you find at HBCUs, for the most part, are not students that would be accepted at traditional majority colleges.
ReplyDeleteRighttttttt... Those running highly successful law firms, heading up or holding top level positions in corporate America, judges, successful business owners, academians who are involved in top secret research at places like JPL, the patent office, Lawrence Livermore Research labs, or producing cutting edge technology like high performance millimeter-wave products, are folks who just couldn't cut it at a PWC.
This crackhead b*tch need to go somewhere and dry up...
Should anyone be surprised about this type of ignorance being spilled on Bill Maxwell's opinion column? The man doesn't like FAMU and seeks to trash the institution without any facts.
ReplyDeleteMaxwell is nothing but a token, yes-Negro for the St. Pete Times.
......Lawrence Livermore Research labs, or producing cutting edge technology like high performance millimeter-wave products.....
ReplyDeleteRighttttttt... so tell me who is doing this at FAM?
Dream on.
Wow! 2:41, you really don't have a clue. How about Keith Clinkscales, former editor of Vibe magazine, Congressman Kendrick Meek, former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, Congressman Alcee Hastings, Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Leander Shaw, Attorney Daryl Parks, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Movie Directors Will Packer and Rob Hardy, Actress Aneka Noni Rose, Actress Te'keyiah Crystal Keymah, Hip Hop artist Common (who is extremely intelligent), oh my gosh, I could go on and on but you should get the point. NEVER underestimate the sting of a Rattler. There are some outstanding Rattlers out there, so don't go there.
ReplyDelete2:41PM, do some research for once. Gain some knowledge about what you know nothing about. This is just 2 of the many FAMU grads doing great things.
ReplyDeleteResearch Dr. Jami Valentine and read a couple of papers that she collaborated on:
Determination of spin polarization of Gd and Dy by point-contact Andreev reflection
Interaction of turbulent plasma flow with a hypersonic shock wave
Or go through Dr. Tim Childs' corporate website to see what a FAMU grad is doing:
http://www.tlcprecision.com/index.htm
Do you use Norton Anti-Virus (Symantecs), the #1 rated anti-virus software? Check out their FAMU grad CEO.
You haters slay me. :p
This article to me is just SAD. I recently visited famu after about a 5 year hiatus. Also, for the past few years I have heard passing stories of this and that and I personally know one of castell's VP's. I can only assume the vp was honest when saying she was tough to work for but the plan was to clean things up. During my tenure on the hill there were scandals that broke, always folks complaining about financial aid and housing etc., but I grew to love the university despite minor hurdles. Man overall this article kind of surprised me and kind of hurt. From what I have read, what I have been told from alumni and current faculty. I would have to side against Castell. I agree every FAMU student that was accepted may not have had the greatest credentials but a lot of those same students that were given the chance have graduated and become successful citizens and some of went on to do some great things. Stories of plans to destroy the university by eliminating federal aid to students, revenge for political opinions from politicians, side deals for higher ups in corporations etc. popped up. But through all this upon visiting the hill I saw so much positive change on and somewhat around the campus. Many new buildings and additions some of which I envy because we didn't have it like that during our time. I think we have to know famu and its traditions will live on and I for one will definitely steer my kids to the hill to continue keep the legacies going.
ReplyDeleteCast-Hell Bryant had as much business being interim president at FAMU as "Bozo The Clown." On a scale of 0-4 she's a 0.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous wrote: "Now, these are Black people that you're talking about. If WE don't give our own people a chance, who the hell will?"
ReplyDeleteThe community colleges, that's who. Every semester, they give more breaks and more help to more underprepared black students than FAM does.
That part of FAMU's mission (giving a second chance to those who did not do well in high school) has largely been taken over by the CC's, which have invested heavily in remedial programs to bring those students up.
Whether or not FAMU continues to admit underperforming students, FAMU needs to greatly emphasize its efforts to recruit successful black transfer students from community colleges.
A recent year when I saw figures for how many community college transfers we had at FAMU, it was LESS THAN 50.
Amazingly, amazingly low. Our recruiters need to be camping out at TCC. We should be teaching on TCCs campus, if that's what it takes.
FAMU hires faculty to serve university students, not remedial students. We've got to figure out whether we CAN do both -- give remedial help to underprepared students and, at the same time, create a research university.
Those two aims move us in opposing directions and will spread our resources thin unless we decide which direction to pursue.
This is the kind of thing people mean when they point out that FAMU has some problems focusing its mission.
Her dare that Hog Mog of a President gives US a 2 out of 4???? Do she know that a FAMU Rattler-Present and Past-has a pride that burns deeper than ANY alumn of ANY COLLEGE???? Find me 10 Seminoles. Find me 10 Gators. Find me 10 Hurricanes. Find Me 10 Bison. (Howard) Find Me 10 Bulls. (USF) Find Me 10 Knights (UCF). Put all 60 of these so-called "School Representatives" against ONE-just ONE RATTLER-and SEE who RADIATES, EXUBE, and PROJECT PRIDE. THere ain't nothing, and I mean NOTHING, like a Florida A&M RATTLER. We can spot one another from a mile away. A Rattler gotta walk like nonother. A walk that says, "I Run This." (Most of the time, check the degrees on the wall; we DO in fact RUN it.) A class unmatched. A poise Unmatched. A HISTORY unmatched. The PERFECT Symbol of a seed blossoming into an Old Oak Tree providing shade for 120 years. Cassie B, ORANGE & GREEN IS A WAY OF LIFE. RESPECT IT!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe state does not give FAMU any funds for students taking remedial courses. Only those of us taking non-remedial courses are counted towards the FAMU total student FTE for university enrollment and the amount of money the state gives us. However FAMU uses the money we get from the state to fund both non-remedial as well as to also fund the remedial classes. Net result is that those of us non-remedial students get less of the pie than we should or would at any other Florida university. This means that our class sizes at FAMU are larger, the professors have to teach more than at other universities in the state, the staff have to handle more financial aid checks etc etc etc. In short the dollar at FAMU is stretched further because of Humphries wanting to have remedial students simply because he was scared FSU would take us over. Since about 35% of FAMU students are remedial (I have heard that it is closer to 45% since Castell) this means that each of us gets only gets 2/3 of the attention that we should get. Another way of looking at it is that each time we wait in line, say at financial aid, we have to wait 1.5 times as long to get service simply because of the remedial students. Likewise class sizes are 1.5 times larger than they should be etc etc etc. We need to get Ammons to stop accepting remedial students so the rest of us can get a quality education.
ReplyDeleteTo 2:41 and 3:58pm
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up!
Keith Clinkscales, former editor of Vibe magazine,..... Movie Directors Will Packer and Rob Hardy, Actress Aneka Noni Rose, Actress Te'keyiah Crystal Keymah, Hip Hop artist Common (who is extremely intelligent), ....
Yea like these are contributing to society. If these are FAMU grads then it is no wonder we are in trouble.
Who is this Jamie Valentine anyway. Some geek from a science lab. Like we need Andreev reflection or turbulent hypersonic shock waves. Do something real and get me my financial aid check and help get rid of Proctor so we can get taught something.
Vibe Magazine and Hip Hop artists...Now those are winners! Notice you didn't tell me who the great FAMU grad at Lawrence Livermore Research Lab is!
12:14. You don't know Dr. Valentine? Well WHEREVER you went to school, owes you a tuition refund. Oh, why didn't you mention Dr. Timothy Childs, Ph.D in Physics from Stanford University?
ReplyDeleteAnd friend, you'll have yet another Ph.D. Rattler, from one of the nation's premiere research universities to bow down to in December! I will be crossing the stage in a floppy hat! How about you? Bet you don't have anything going like that, do you friend?
Hahahahahahahahhahahahaha!
Keith was the CEO of VIBE -- not editor.
ReplyDeleteHe's now in charge of ESPN's publishing ventures.
You can read more here:
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:yjCvApI9euUJ:www.magazine.org/content/Files/ESPN091905.pdf+%22keith+Clinkscales%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us
A magna cum laude graduate of Florida A&M University, Clinkscales is also a Harvard MBA; serves as Treasurer of the Apollo Theater Foundation Board of Trustees; and is an Academic Director for the Stanford Professional Publishing Course. Clinkscales is also a member of PepsiCo’s Multicultural Advisory Board and of Young Presidents’ Organization
ReplyDeleteFAMU has produced many wonderful graduates.
ReplyDeleteThat, however, is not a justification for any FAMU policy -- especially not the policy of admitting so many students who do not meet the minimum admission standards.
It is quite possible that FAMU would produce many MORE wonderful graduates if it made a plan to raise its admission standards and academic standards and shunted unprepared students into community colleges to catch up and grow up.
5:54 and 5:57, thanks for the clarification! I knew he was outstanding.
ReplyDeleteAnd 6:46, FAMU has accepted some students in the past who did not have the requisite ACT/SAT scores and/or GPA's to get in (and the majority white schools do it too). But, they were given a chance and they graduated and have gone on to very successful careers. Everyone deserves a chance.
Even though I wasn't born back in the old days there was a time when blacks weren't allowed to be educated at all. Everyone deserves a chance and I don't see any reason why a less than above average or average student should be denied an education. My ancestors paved the way for me and many others with the opportunity to receive an education. I applaud any school that accepts these kinds of students. Just because you're remedial in high school doesn't dictate how you'll turn out in college. As I see it, you start over fresh in college anyway. Some will never get it because they'll never understand the struggles most blacks have faced and continue to endure. And for the record I've asked many TCC transfers why they choose FAMU and 95% of them said they choose FSU because of our financial aid issues. Its so sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteIf Castell feels she has to downgrade our students she needs to take a look at herself. Nothing that comes out that womans mouth is credible in my opinion. They need to issue a gag order on her because I'm sure what she's spitting is considered slander. FAMU is a great school and I'll stand by my alma mater 100%!
Anon at 6:46, I've been saying that for years. We'll reach MORE blackfolk and be able to teach more effectively and blow away Spelmans graduation rate if we itznay this Remedial student acceptance policy, ship those guys to a CC. We can automatically transfer them into FAMU after they are caught up, while FAMU herself focuses on recruiting hardcore high school as freshmen and scouring the CC world for transfers. There is no downside to this plan.
ReplyDelete