Robinson: “Myopic snapshots” create misleading picture of FAMU

Interim President Larry Robinson’s latest op-ed urged Floridians to look past the “myopic snapshots” of FAMU in the headlines and consider the full picture. He says that when FAMU is viewed with an “objective lens,” it becomes clear that FAMU is strong shape both academically and financially.

From Robinson’s op-ed in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel entitled “Florida AM University's legacy is one of improving lives, community:”

Over the past 18 months, Florida A&M University has become an institution of national interest for a lot of the wrong reasons. But as the media repeatedly asked what went wrong at FAMU and focused on unflattering news stories, it may have been easy for the general public to miss more prominent yet less told stories of what goes right at FAMU.

Great things happen at FAMU every day making the university a major asset for the state, region and the nation. For over 125 years, FAMU has been critical to enhancing the lives of citizens and remains critical to fostering thriving communities of the future.

The portrait of FAMU that some have painted is one of a university fraught with turmoil.

But what these portrayals do not convey is the intricate collage of "great things" revealed only through an objective lens. They do not reveal the Florida A&M University that we know remains one of the nation's top producers of African Americans with bachelor's degrees, or the FAMU that in 2009-2010 produced 20 percent of the nation's African Americans with doctorates in the environmental sciences, 16 percent of the African-American PharmDs, and 20 percent of the nation's African-American doctorate degrees in the pharmaceutical sciences.

These myopic snapshots do not convey the image of FAMU that U.S News and World Report ranked as the country's No. 1 public historically black college or university (HBCU), nor of the FAMU that Washington Monthly magazine ranked as one of the Nation's Top 100 Universities.

The university that many believe they know through the events of the recent past is in stark contrast to the institution that the state, federal and private sectors continue to look to as a resource for both talented graduates for employment and solutions to complex research issues.

When our faculty gaze into the mirror they see images of marine scientists addressing the impacts of the BP oil spill, biologists, chemists and pharmacists on the verge of breakthroughs in cancer, HIV/AIDS and obesity, and physics and engineers on the cutting edge of research. The images they see are of faculty members who serve on major advisory boards for state and federal agencies such as the Florida Institute for Oceanography, Florida Sea Grant, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

These faculty see an image of the FAMU that has produced a stunning number of patents in the past year alone.

We do understand the concerns surrounding FAMU, and we understand that Floridians want to know the dollars they allocate toward supporting public higher education in their state are spent well. And we understand that sanctions such as the probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges raise red flags.

We are taking seriously the lessons of the recent past and working on bettering our institution, because like every university or organization, we must take stock of our challenges.

Over the past six months, we have engaged in a deep introspection and have identified on our own other areas not covered in the headlines that need improvement and have either addressed the issues or developed corrective action plans to do so. We have also worked on the concerns highlighted by the SACSCOC and are preparing for the association's September visit to assess our progress.

As we prepare for this important visit we will be able to share an element of our FAMU portrait that reveals 2011-2012 as the sixth consecutive year that the State Auditor General has given the university a clean audit for its stewardship of public dollars. We will be able to share a FAMU portrait that shows the recent Bar Examination pass rate of our law school graduates exceeding the average for all law schools in Florida.

The true FAMU masterpiece is layered with the compassionate and artful brush strokes of legends from our past, alumni who excel in all walks of life. I sometimes find myself mesmerized by FAMU's legacy and the opportunity that we have to work together to ensure that its true luster is visible for generations to come.