But Clark says that recent cuts to the FAMU Office of Alumni
Affairs (OAA) are still hurting the NAA’s work to help FAMU.
The BOT invited Clark to submit comments on President Elmira
Mangum’s job performance as part of its annual evaluation process for her. He
mentioned the negative effect that the elimination of two OAA positions has had
on the NAA.
In May 2015, Mangum replaced Carmen Cummings-Martin with
John Michael Lee as the “New Head of Alumni Affairs.” Cummings-Martin had
previously led OAA since 2007.
The Mangum administration later began making even more
dramatic changes to OAA that then NAA President Tommy Mitchell said were
harmful to the NAA. The university laid off Regina Gardner, assistant director
of accounting, and Brandon Hill, coordinator of alumni engagement and
membership services in late 2015. Mitchell, speaking on behalf of the NAA
Executive Board, told Mangum that those ousters hurt the NAA because Gardner
and Hill carried out “duties that are crucial to the FAMU NAA accomplishing its
mission and goals for this academic year with success.”
In June 2016, Lee began a “special assistant” job in the
Office of President. Cummings-Martin is back to being the leading administrator
in OAA. But the Mangum administration still hasn’t restored the OAA staff support that it
cut last year.