Four members of the FAMU Board of Trustees terms expired on January 6, 2006, and are waiting re-appointment. They are:Leerie Jenkins, Pam Duncan, R.B. Holmes and Challis Lowe. A fifth Trustee, Barney Bishop (who's term also expired Jan. 6) has already indicated that he did not wish to be re-appointed. Profiles of all current FAMU BOT members can be viewed here: FAMU Trustees
To date, Gov. Jeb Bush has yet to announce whether any of the current trustees will be re-appointed or if FAMU will have to get to know new trustees. Just so you know, Gov. Bush is not responsible for appointing or re-appointing trustees to our Board. He must split this duty with the Florida Board of Governors (who by-the-way are all Bush appointees).
Some may argue that of the 11 boards of trustees in the State University System of Florida, that FAMU's is by far the most disfunctional (see above photo) and has experienced the greatest amount of turnover. Thanks Jeb!
Who will be re-appointed and who won't has been a source of speculation for many FAMU watchers, and we certainly won't profess to have any inside knowledge. However, we do know that Challis Lowe has be the subject of an organized telephone and email campaign asking that she not be re-appointed.
Will Gov. Bush make the bold move and not re-appoint Mrs. Lowe, the Chair of the FAMU Trustees? There is precedent. Both Arthur Collins, the original chair of the FAMU BOT, and James Corbin, who followed Art as chair, were not re-appointed. So, it would seem, being chair doesn't bode well for being re-appointed.
More to come...