Rattler Nation has learned that in the weeks leading up to last Thursday's buffoonery-filled FAMU trustees meeting, Professor Barbara Barnes reached out to certain board members and State University System of Florida (SUS) officials for closed conversations. The purpose of those communications, we're told, was to offer herself as a possible interim replacement for President James H. Ammons.Barnes previously served as Ammons' interim provost and dean of the now-defunct School of General Studies.
This is not the first time Barnes’ name has surfaced during talks regarding a FAMU interim presidency. Back in 2004 Barnes was on the short list of former FAMU Board of Trustees Chairman Jim Corbin, who initiated the start of the post-2001 FAMU decline that led to the university being placed on probation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2007.
Trustee Rufus Montgomery, a former director of African American outreach for the Jeb Bush for Governor campaign, now seems to have taken up Corbin's mantel by using his connection with Jeb to try and pressure fellow trustees to vote his way. It appears that Barnes' prospective candidacy has gained some traction with Montgomery and Bill Jennings, the last remaining FAMU trustee who was appointed by Jeb. Last week, they attempted to place Ammons on indefinite administrative leave, which would have made an interim presidential appointment necessary.
The accounts of under-the-table dealing concerning a potential Barnes interim presidency might remind many FAMUans of the embarrassing interim presidential search process that took place in 2004.
On December 2, 2004, the members of the FAMU trustees transition committee had the opportunity to bring two names forward for consideration for interim president. There were 15 nominees and applicants for the position.
Corbin and his two biggest cronies on the committee, R.B. Holmes and Challis Lowe, all “coincidentally” came up with identical top two picks: Barbara Barnes and Castell Bryant. Mary Diallo and Pam Duncan’s support for Castell gave her a majority of the committee’s votes.
Most of the committee members who included Castell on their list made it clear that she was their first choice.
At the time, some FAMUans believed that Castell was Corbin's number one favorite because he knew she shared his deep personal dislike of Ammons and former President Frederick S. Humphries while Barnes was seen as a power-seeker who did not have any actual loyalty to anyone (except herself).