New FAMU SVP’s former college files for bankruptcy amid $50M-plus debt

Marcus Burgess

A North Carolina college, whose former interim president was recently recruited to FAMU by President Marva Johnson, filed for bankruptcy this week, according to news reports and court records. Saint Augustine’s University (SAU), which was led for more than 18 months by FAMU's new Sr. Vice President for Enterprise Partnerships & Innovation Marcus Burgess, owes between $50 million and $100 million it estimates to between 200 and 1,000 creditors.  SAU owes more than $14 million to the Internal Revenue Service and $8 million to other federal agencies, records show.

FAMU claimed Burgess had lead SAU through a 'remarkable financial turnaround'
Mr. Burgess, who began his role at FAMU on September 29th, is one of Ms. Johnson’s first major administrative appointments. His salary of $248,999 is a substantial raise from the $143,000 he earned at SAU. 

In a glowing announcement, Ms. Johnson praised Burgess as “a seasoned leader in higher education with more than two decades of experience.” FAMU further claimed that “Burgess had led the SAU through a remarkable financial turnaround, improved national rankings, and secured reinstatement of SAU's accreditation. "Under his leadership, the university saw a 96% faculty retention rate and an 18% increase in graduates, marking the largest graduating class in over a decade,” the FAMU announcement said.

During his tenure at SAU, Burgess was citied by the state of NC for failing to secure workers compensation for the university.

Court filings paint a different picture
Recent reports paint a starkly different picture. Legal documents reveal an institution in deep turmoil under Burgess’s leadership, making this week’s bankruptcy declaration a shocking contrast from the image FAMU projected just six months ago.

During his time at the helm, SAU was embroiled in a public and damaging battle over its accreditation and finances. SACSCOC revoked SAU’s accreditation in late 2023 and that the university has been fighting the decision ever since in the courts.

The alleged “financial turnaround” FAMU claimed in its press release is particularly difficult to reconcile with the bankruptcy filing. During Mr. Burgess’s interim presidency, news outlets documented crumbling campus infrastructure, lawsuits from unpaid contractors, and the very IRS debt that now tops the list of liabilities. The notion that he steered the university away from the financial abyss appears, in the cold light of bankruptcy court, to have been severely overstated, if not entirely premature. Financially, the university was openly foundering. 

Burgess' hire in sharp contrast to the 'new level of excellence' Johnson proclaimed 
Since taking over as President in August, Johnson she has promised a 'new era of excellence' and a relentless drive toward top-tier research status. Instead, her administration is rapidly becoming a case study in reckless leadership, defined by a pattern of baffling appointments, politically motivated partnerships, and a seeming disregard for the most basic standards of merit and institutional integrity.

“That Ms. Johnson would deem such a record worthy of reward is not just baffling,” said Meseret Hailu, a professor of higher education administration at the University of Georgia who has studied HBCU leadership. “It suggests either a catastrophic failure of due diligence or a conscious decision to prioritize personal alliances over professional qualifications. In either case, the FAMU community and the public deserve an explanation.”

The Burgess hire is not an isolated misstep but part of a distressing trend. Perhaps the most brazen example of this patronage system is the appointment of John Davis, the former Florida Lottery Secretary, as FAMU Athletic Director. Davis, a longtime Republican operative, has zero experience in athletic administration. His primary, and seemingly sole, qualification is that he played football for Florida State University three decades ago. 

Together, these actions paint a portrait of an administration unmoored from the principles of academic stewardship. They raise urgent questions about who is truly being served: the students, faculty, and legacy of FAMU, or a narrow circle of political allies and well-connected friends.

Johnson claims she intends to elevate FAMU, to attract top talent and sharpen its competitive edge. Yet nearly nine months into her tenure, the university isn’t just stumbling toward that goal—it is being steered away from it, at full speed, by a leadership team whose credentials and commitments are now shrouded in legitimate and growing doubt.  

For the SAU community the bankruptcy is a painful culmination of years of instability. For the FAMU community, the episode serves as a cautionary tale on the distance that can sometimes lie between the curated story of a hire and the complex realities behind a FAMU press release.