Ammons, Pernell defying critics

Less than a year ago, some newspapers were writing early obituaries for FAMU’s College of Law. According to the critics, the school had little chance of overcoming the administrative instability, academic controversies, and increasingly negative public perception that made its path towards full accreditation difficult.

Today, those naysaying voices are getting quieter and quieter. The reason: strong results have a way of shutting up skeptics.

In 2007, newly-installed President James Ammons made the law school a top academic priority and immediately began repairing the damage inflicted by former Interim President Castell Bryant. During his first months in office, he quickly restored $5 million dollars that Castell had withheld from the college’s 2006-2007 legislative appropriation.

The new administration’s decision to make a serious financial commitment to the law students has paid off. Through offering top-dollar for talent, Ammons lured LeRoy Pernell, who had served as Northern Illinois University’s College of Law dean for 10 years, to head FAMU’s law school. Pernell, in turn, assembled a high-caliber team of his own that included individuals such as current Associate Dean Jeremy Levitt, former director of Florida International University’s Program for Human Rights and Global Justice.

With the influx of state money, FAMU’s law professors were able to beef up their bar exam prep courses. Soon, students began performing better on the test. The College of Law boasted an 80 percent-plus overall passage rate last year and is on track to reach 90 percent in the near future.

Moreover, the college has garnered national attention for its clinical programs. Recently, National Jurist magazine ranked FAMU law seventh in the United States for providing clinical opportunities.

Leadership makes a difference. Ammons and Pernell didn’t come to FAMU with the mentality that the law students were 2’s on a 4-point scale who didn’t even deserve the funds that legislators assigned for their education. They arrived believing that, with the right level of support, FAMU’s lawyers-in-training could compete with anyone, anywhere.

It comes as no surprise that in its most recent site visit, the American Bar Association expressed confidence in the direction that Ammons and Pernell are taking the law school.

Critics take notice: full ABA accreditation is on the horizon.

View the St. Petersburg Times editorial board's take on FAMU law here and here.

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