One hundred twenty-six days into her deeply polarizing presidency, Marva Johnson has failed to quell the uprising at FAMU. Instead, the close ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a crescendo of criticism from prominent alumni and donors who accuse her of being an absentee leader, a poor fundraiser, and the "frontwoman" for a political operation they say is gutting one of the nation’s most revered historically Black institutions.
The discontent, which hasn't simmered since her controversial appointment, boiled over publicly during Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting. There, two of the university’s most distinguished graduates delivered a blistering, methodical indictment of her brief tenure, citing plummeting donations, administrative bloat, and a glaring lack of the very political connections she was hired to leverage.
Johnson, whose only prior experience in education was as the DeSantis-appointed chair of the Florida Board of Education, arrived at FAMU under a cloud of skepticism. Critics have never forgotten her role in carrying the governor’s water, particularly in the rejection of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course and the advancement of rules restricting accurate portrayal of history and slavery, and other race related content in classrooms—policies she tacitly approved from her state board perch.
Now, they say, she is presiding over a crisis of her own making.
“We require stability through leadership that is present. In Tallahassee, in Lee Hall, every single day,” said Chekesha Kidd, a member of the FAMU Foundation Board, her voice sharp with frustration. She laid out a damning report card, tying Johnson’s performance directly to the university’s most urgent needs.
“She must achieve R1 status as a top priority… Fundraising is her job as fundraiser-in-chief. The goals of the annual giving campaign should be tied directly to her performance,” Kidd stated.
“She was hired because of her relationship and her connections... And so it’s time to deliver on those,” Kidd added.
The critique grew more searing from Kim Godwin, the former president of ABC News, who made clear her protest was “not personal” but a matter of “substance.”
“FAMU changed my life, and it’s worth defending, protecting, and protesting wrongs against its history and its future,” Godwin said, directly addressing Johnson. “You decided to ride in on this train, a hostile takeover of the university by people who seem driven by their own aspirations for money and power. You decided you were going to be the frontwoman for their operation… so I accept your decision to do that, and therefore I don’t feel badly about calling it as I see it.”
Godwin eviscerated what she described as a 100-day “charm offensive” of ribbon-cuttings and meetings she believes are meant to “divide and conquer” opposition rather than engage with it. Meanwhile, she argued, the university is crumbling.
“The university’s administrative house is not in order. FAMU’s financial house is falling off a cliff,” Godwin declared. “Donations are way down. Alumni are disenfranchised and upset… We’ve added more than a million in administrative salaries to our payroll… while students are literally calling me asking for help to pay their rent so they can stay in school this semester.”
She pointed to the new hiring of an inexperienced athletic director who received a $75,000 raise for a “coveted job,” asking stakeholders to “grin and pretend when we clearly see the politics of it all.” She also questioned Johnson’s priorities, noting her presence at Fox News in New York and a partnership with the “failing the Metropolitan College of NY,” one of the worst college in New York State, while Florida State University maneuvered to “take over TMH without FAMU.”
The speeches laid bare a fundamental breach of trust between Johnson’s administration and the alumni base that is essential to the university’s survival. The central promise of her appointment—that her political ties would be a boon—now rings hollow to those who say they see only the costs.
Johnson's attempted to answer some of the claims leveled against her in her presidential report, but the push back fell flat. As one student sitting in the back of the room noted with a chuckle, "they read her for filth!"
For now, the president Johnson's "charm offensive" continues, but it is being met not with conciliation, but with a clear and unwavering demand: deliver competent leadership or expect the rebellion to grow.
“If you guys level up,” Godwin ended her remarks, “I’ll shut up.”
Until then, the protests, and the profound anxiety over FAMU’s future, show no sign of subsiding.