On Friday, the FAMU National Alumni Association (NAA)
released a letter that stated “the FAMU National Alumni Association’s position
regarding the attempted termination of President Elmira Mangum.”
Mangum narrowly survived two separate Board of Trustees
(BOT) votes that proposed terminating her contract during a conference call on
Thursday morning.
The first motion “to terminate the contract of President Mangum due to incurable cause” failed by a 5-7 vote. The second motion to terminate her contract “without cause” and with “no confidence” failed with a 6-6 split on the board.
The first motion “to terminate the contract of President Mangum due to incurable cause” failed by a 5-7 vote. The second motion to terminate her contract “without cause” and with “no confidence” failed with a 6-6 split on the board.
The Friday NAA letter did not state whether the organization
agreed or disagreed with the attempts to fire Mangum. It did say that the NAA
was committed to working with both the president and BOT do what is right the
university.
“We, the FAMU NAA, support FAMU, the Office of the President of Florida A&M University, and the FAMU Board of Trustees in accomplishing their respective goals and objectives for this educational institution,” NAA President Tommy Mitchell, Sr. wrote. “In doing so, we do not condone any actions taken to be divisive and destructive to FAMU, nor to the FAMU NAA.”
Mitchell added that: “The NAA would like to extend a special
invitation to the President and the FAMU Board of Trustees to sit down with us
and enjoy a ‘Rattler’ recalibration period. Let’s take an opportunity to
develop a strategy to work together amicably in a way that affords President
Elmira Mangum the opportunity to lead the institution and allows the FAMU Board
of Trustees to govern with success on Friday, November 20, 2015 in Orlando,
Florida during the weekend of the Florida Classic.”
Read the full NAA letter here.