Talking with statewide reporters via telephone, FAMU interim resident (president) spoke proudly of her accomplishments over the past year.As the question of the presidential search came up again she was asked what she would say to the new president if she had to turn the university over on tomorrow:
“I would give them the report that I gave the board of trustees yesterday,” she said.
She added, “Then I will get in my car and hit I-10, I-75, the Turnpike and be in Miami in eight hours.”
Read more here: Bryant cites acccomplishments
And there would be a ten-thousand car escort to help her get to 10, 75, and the Turnpike, just to make sure she didn't forget where she was headed. Amen.
ReplyDeleteInterim President Rides Herd On FAMU; [FINAL Edition]
ReplyDelete(Rosemary Goudreau). Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Fla.: Oct 1, 2006. pg. 1
Interim President Rides Herd On FAMU
Educator Castell V. Bryant was enjoying retirement in Miami - on her couch watching westerns, as she describes it - when trouble at her alma mater summoned her back to work in January of 2005.
Years of mismanagement had erupted in financial chaos that threatened Florida A&M University's survival.
Bryant came out of retirement to assume the role of a sheriff riding into town to clean it up. As interim president, she has riled some FAMU employees and alumni with her no-nonsense housecleaning, but she has set the prestigious historically black institution on a promising course.
Editorial page editor Rosemary Goudreau recently welcomed Bryant to discuss changes at the university with the Tribune's editorial board.
Q. We assume you have a message you wish to share with us?
A. One of the first things we want you to know is we are continuing our efforts to modernize the university. In some ways, you can say we are reinventing ourselves.
The things we are doing are things that need to be done now. It will provide a different kind of environment for a new president to come into. So many things that need to be done right now could negatively impact a new president's relationship with the people at the university. It's better for us to do it now. A lot is at stake, and we have a few months to get something done so when the new president comes on board, that person will be able to build rather than reinvent.
Q. I thought you were going to be named [the president]?
A. No, I'm not. I have a contract until December '07. The purpose of that was to not give me repeated contracts. I am not an applicant. I don't want to work anymore!
I was on FAMU's board at one point, and we were doing a presidential search at the time. And I am the person that really, really pushed that an interim president in this situation should not be considered for the presidency. If you appoint an interim president and ultimately select that person, it will appear, whether it is true or not, that you gave an edge to someone. And I think, in order to change this environment at the university and to change the culture of the university, we need to free ourselves from that type of speculation.
I was home on my couch watching westerns. I'm looking forward to getting back to that.
Q. What is the culture of the university that you are trying to change?
A. We are in the process of becoming more fiscally responsible, customer-service-oriented. And, most importantly, we are focused on doing what we need to do at all levels to be sure that our students that we accept are successful and graduate.
If we accept a student at the university in whatever program, we have an obligation to that student to do everything that student needs, to provide everything that student needs to be successful. If we don't think we can do it, we should not accept the student.
Q. What does that mean?
A. That means our graduation rate isn't what it should be. Our freshman numbers are high. There is no relationship between our freshman numbers and our graduation numbers.
A culture is changed, or the lives of people are changed, not when you enter college, but when you get a degree.
We have a large number of first-generation college students. Research shows that one person from your family graduates, then it changes the quality of life for the family.
So we have an obligation to make sure those students graduate.
We aren't going to accept people we don't think can be successful or who aren't serious about school. You come to FAMU because you want to a degree and you are here to work with us. This is not just a place to go to get away from home.
Q. How are you doing at attracting top-flight students?
A. You know at one time, FAMU was one of the biggest recruiters of those students, and we are going to target [them]. When they come, we're going to keep them. They aren't going to come for a year and then leave.
If your graduation rate is less than 50 percent and you are a top recruiter of National Merit Scholars they are probably going to other institutions because of the challenge of the curriculum.
Q. How do you rebuild FAMU's image?
A. It's being committed to student success and then making all the hard decisions that need to be made to make sure that happens. That's from productivity of faculty, across the board - everything.
Q. How supportive is your alumni community?
A. As a whole, the majority are working in harmony and are extremely supportive. We do have a group of naysayers - regretfully, as in most things, they are the most vocal. I don't deny that, but I will tell you it will not govern what we do or how we do it. Recently I sent an open letter to alumni across the country, those who are members of the alumni association updating them on where we are and what we are doing.
Q. So when you think about December '07 and the new man or woman is on board if you are able to quantify by that time, "Here's the platter I want to hand over" - what does that platter look like?
A. I want us to be well along with becoming totally fiscally responsible. I don't want there to be any question in anybody's mind about how FAMU is using the money it receives from the taxpayers of this state. I want the students to come to use and receive the very best service and support they can receive. It won't be a finished process, but we will be well on the way ... for that person to build on.
And then I want the graduation rates to be such that you will see quality-of-life changes for the students who graduated from the university, for [their] families. I want us to continue to take first-generation college students, students that need extra help, but I want to do it in such a way that you will be able to see the impact of FAMU on the state of Florida.
And therein lies the justification to the citizens for the money they spend. I want people to know that FAMU is important to this state. And that is one of the driving forces that brought me back to this job.
Q. That's a tremendous sacrifice to be the one that takes the heat, and to do it without any big payoff in the end.
A. That was the reason I applied. I am a FAMU graduate. I have known for a while that if we didn't change, we would not be here much longer. I don't want anybody to say: "You know, a hundred years ago there used to be this institution." And the only way we are going to be able to do that is play by the rules.
Q. So is your reward the continued existence of FAMU?
A. That's all I want. All I want is for FAMU to be around 50 years, a hundred years from now. I attended this institution, my brother attended this institution, [and] my aunt attended this institution. I know so many people who would not have made it in this world at the level they currently enjoy had there not been a FAMU. So if I can do anything to make sure more blacks, or more minorities, have that opportunity, then that's what I should do.
It's not being a saint or anything. It's being crazy, to tell you the truth, because I could really be on my couch watching TV.
LETTERS; [FINAL Edition]
ReplyDeleteTampa Tribune. Tampa, Fla.: Oct 9, 2006. pg. 16
FAMU Is Losing Ground
Regarding "Interim President Rides Herd On FAMU" (Commentary, Oct. 1):
I applaud Florida A&M University's interim president, Castell Bryant, for her efforts in strengthening the university's financial and operational status. Bryant is a tactician, and I suppose that is what the university needs at this time. However, FAMU is losing ground competitively.
Former president Humphries, like most successful leaders, was a visionary. He was very instrumental in placing FAMU among the top universities in the country. Unfortunately, this external approach may have sacrificed internal operations. But some of the current changes at the university are done unilaterally without the thought of what drives programmatic support.
In most universities, athletics is the No. 1 driver of financial support, especially with alumni and boosters. With FAMU, football and the Marching 100 are the drivers; the current president does not know how to leverage the drivers with the outcome or goal of support for academic excellence. She does not understand how to merge the historic pride with building a reputation for the future. I am afraid that she is creating a new university at the risk of losing the greatness of the past.
SANDRA WEAVER
FAMU's success should concern all Blacks
ReplyDeleteAva L Parker. Miami Times. Miami, Fla.: Oct 18-Oct 24, 2006.Vol.84, Iss. 4; pg. 5D, 2 pgs
Every Black Floridian has a connection to Florida A&M University. Through memories of studying at FAMU or, like me, through family members who did so, or through our appreciation for Black history and culture, FAMU looms large in all our hearts and minds.
When FAMU excels, we all feel proud. When FAMU falters, we grow concerned - the telephone rings, the conversation at church sparks up, the chat rooms and blogs run wild. We always have our ears tuned to the news about this national treasure.
I am happy to say that the news is good. More freshmen are enrolling at Florida A&M, and Black Enterprise magazine just named FAMU its No.1 recommendation among colleges for Blacks - ahead of Howard University, North Carolina A&T, Harvard, Spelman College, Yale, Morehouse and Columbia. That's proud company.
These students coming to FAMU have made the right choice, and I want to applaud their decision. We all need to get this message out - it is time for students to return to the Orange and Green.
As a member of the Board of Governors, which sets policy and provides guidance for the State University System of Florida, I am familiar with FAMU - its administration, its budget and its Board of Trustees. As a native Floridian, I grew up with FAMU's legends and more - learned through my mother, my niece and my nephew, all FAMU alumni. I might have become a Rattler myself had I not received a scholarship from another institution. I love FAMU and I appreciate its history and triumphs.
FAMU has seen some rocky times - the headlines have not always been good. The university faces some serious problems - and it is overcoming those challenges, under the guidance and leadership of Interim President Castell Bryant.
Dr. Bryant and Board of Trustees chair Challis Lowe are steering FAMU on a course of improvement. They are putting in place modern systems of management that will only make FAMU stronger and are laying the foundation of success for a new president in 2007. They deserve our respect and support for all they are doing to raise FAMU higher.
Throughout these changes, FAMU has remained focused on its historic mission - providing high-quality education to Black families. FAMU's success is impressive.
Consider that: 1 ) more Black students earn bachelor's degrees at FAMU than at any other university in the nation; 2) FAMU is the top producer of Black Ph.D.s in physics; 3) The university has just received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a new research center and to increase Black graduates in astro-physics and astrochemistry; 4) FAMU is America's top producer of Black pharmacists; 5) FAMU charges some of the lowest tuition and fees in the nation.
What can we do to help FAMU continue this mission and build on this success?
We can get out the good word. We can become Rattler recruiters.
Florida A&M is an excellent value for young Blacks - an even better bargain with the improvements taking place now. We need to encourage our best and brightest to come to FAMU to pursue their degrees.
Tell them that Florida A&M University creates a special sense of connectedness for Blacks that they may not find at other universities.
Explain to them how FAMU has great colleges and programs that are getting stronger with an accreditation review now under way.
Let them know about FAMU's caring faculty and staff, professionals who truly understand Black students.
Talk to them about how you get a whole lot more than just academic training at FAMU - you learn about life experiences as well.
And remind them that FAMU graduates get good jobs - employers want what FAMU is teaching.
For more than a century, FAMU has provided excellence with caring to generations of Black students, and FAMU is now well on its way to another century of service.
Help FAMU forge on by spreading the good word and sharing me good news. It is time for students to come to the home of excellence and achievement that awaits them in Tallahassee.
By Ava L. Parker
Florida Board of Governors
Jacksonville attorney Ava L. Parker is a member of the Board of Governors, the constitutional body created by voters in 2002 to provide leadership and guidance to the 11 institutions of the State University System of Florida.
And we can't wait for her to get on the couch to watch tv. But there's another couch she needs to be on, and that's the one in a psychiatrist's office to help her understand why, in her drive to "right" the university, she did so much damage to so many people, so unneccesarily. Yes, we've got a couch for you, aalright, but there's no tv sitting in front of it. You can bet your bottom $$ on that one.
ReplyDeleteChange, as we all know, is a difficult thing for many people to accept. While Castell Bryant has done a multude of necessary things for (and at) the university, she has also created an environment that has created tension and low morale among its constituency: students, faculty, staff and many administrators. How good is a cure if it kills the patient? We all know that she had a daunting task before her when she accepted the interim presidency in 2005. The financial issues were overwhelming and present so many years before she came aboard, and she has done magnificently in rectifying those fiscal affairs. In doing so, however, she has also mistreated a great number of people at the university. If she did not "get her way" regarding certain issues and initiatives, she beheaded a number of people. While we know that you cannot please all of the people all of the time and most certainly should not try, it is necessary to construct a sound and feasible operation wherein an abusive environment does not become the order of the day. Castell Bryant failed to do that in many respects. She conducted university business as if the university belonged to her. There was no such thing as shared governance in her presidential operations. Had she engaged in simple acts of academic sensiblities, the university would be just as strong, fiscally, if not stronger, and many at the institution would not be so intimidated about speaking out about what they saw as mean-spirited and unnecessary attacks with an academic pitchfork against its university residents. Much of what she did was necessary, but much of her behavior in doing so was not. Accolades will be extended to her in terms of all of the successes, but what will history show regarding all of the abuse that people suffered under her interim presidency. I believe that one has to include the missteps along with the steps. It's only fair, but then again, Castell Bryant has no idea what the term "fair" means, academically and/or otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAva Parker has not read the audit report from last year. Castell has lied from the day she stepped on the campus about the fiscal picture and the overall condition of the University. Ms. Parker in her view must also realize that she has to give credit to "Challis" because they appointed this woman to the FAMU BOT.
ReplyDeleteTime to go Cast-Hell! Time to GO!
ReplyDeletehttp://rattlernation.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_rattlernation_archive.html
ReplyDeleteUmm... Isn't there an audit report from this past summer that we're STILL waiting on?
ReplyDeleteYelp!
ReplyDeleteGet to steppin Cast-Hell! Why don't you just take a jet and ride out........!
ReplyDeleteRN, I've had my cup of coffee and I'm on my way to shop for Christmas gifts.
ReplyDeleteI getting a lump of coal for the grinch who's trying to steal Christmas. W
hat would you like?
I am S O tired of hearing Castell and her minions say that the University was in a financial mess and that she fixed it! No one has ever published any factual information to support her claim that when she came on board there was a $50-million deficit! We've seen the audits and know that she lied about her "surplus" so why should we even begin to believe her claim that there was a deficit? This is critical, because it was that claim that she used as justification for all her "emergency" measures -- the ones that fired people willy-nilly and shut down recruitment. Without it, her most damaging actions are completely unjustifiable.
ReplyDeleteHow about we buy her a plane ticket and ship her car. ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, does the car train travel to Miami?
ReplyDeleteI'll start the caravan of automobiles. I'll even buy Castell's gas, if only she'll leave. In a Hurry. With Quickness. Pronto. Speedo. With Zoom. Zap. Zip. Zippo. & with Zippity-do-dah. One thing for sure: They'll be no going-away party for her, but there might be a go-away party for her.
ReplyDeleteThere may not always have been a good way of "fixing" problems but a lot of "dead weight" has been replaced by new people willing to do their job and not hide it or shove it away anymore for years.
ReplyDeleteThere may not always have been a good way of "fixing" problems but a lot of "dead weight" has been replaced by new people willing to do their job and not hide it or shove it away anymore for years.
ReplyDeleteAnd who are these "new people" who are doing their jobs so well?
Debra Austin - the JUCO administrator who shies away from tough decisions and can't distinguish a university-level research program from a doorknob?
Vivian Hobbs - The SACS point-person who can't even comprehend something as basic as the alternative credentialing process?
Rufus Little - The VP of Compliance and Audit who's a jelly-backed "yes-man" to Castell and is considered a joke by the State Auditor General's Office?
Gerald Dunn - Whoops, he had enough sense to jump ship. He doesn't want his reputation marred by the voodou accounting that's happening within the Bryant administration.
Kenneth Tague - Whoops, he's gone too. He was Bryant's buddy from Miami-Dade who she brought in to run financial aid. Bryant used to march down to Foote-Hilyer, curse him out in front of all his employees and tell him he was less than a man. She finally had no choice but to fire this incompetent former friend. But financial aid still hasn't recovered from the damage he did.
KPMG - They reported a surplus when there was actually $10M deficit. The State Auditor General's Office pointed out that anyone with even the most elementary understanding of finances should have been able to determine that the numbers KPMG submitted were not accurate by a long shot.
Altha Manning - the "yes-woman" who carried out Bryant's orders to hack apart the research division, which has led to a multi-million dollar drop in research contracts and grants. Have you seen the state of the alumni affairs office today?
Elizabeth McBride - while she wasn't brought on by Bryant, she's been an integral part of this inept administration. She's the great legal mind that brought us the SBI 8, Billy Joe case, and botched Percy Luney dismissal - with over 100 lawsuits to go.
These people are not doing their jobs. They are sending FAMU backwards and making us a public-laughing stock.
hey...what the hell is her address? I'll send her my sunpass, gas money, a cd to ride out with, and a just for me kit!
ReplyDeleteEWF
4:45, did you have to be oh, so cruel??? yes. yes you did. And methinks you did good, er, well.
ReplyDeleteGotta Go, Gotta Go! They all GOTTA GO!!!
ReplyDeleteIt should be a red flag that so many of Bryant's hires were willing to leave their current jobs to work under a temporary president. FAMU is becoming a meeting ground for administrative rejects.
ReplyDeleteIt's past time for Cast-Hell and her cronies to go. But it does no good if Corbin (behind the scenes), Lowe, WG Allen, Branker, etc., continue call the shots. We need an all out effort to get Gov. Crist to restructure the FAMU board in a hurry. Hell, Lowe still has yet to be confirmed. Let's start there. BTW, does anybody on RN know why she left Ryder?
ReplyDeleteA fight! a fight!
ReplyDeleteDebra Austin is paid 200g's to f*ck sh*t up, and CVB's buddy VH, who already made 80g's teaching nothing, was booted up to 110g'ss when her buddy hired her to mangled up what she already did not know. Let's hope someone, whoever it is, can come in and rectify this madness. Just makes no sense. No sense at all. The thing is: what did Debra know and when did she not know it? What did VH know and when, oh, when did she not know what she doesn't know? I'll take my answer off the air.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete"There may not always have been a good way of "fixing" problems but a lot of "dead weight" has been replaced by new people willing to do their job and not hide it or shove it away anymore for years. "
(12/21/2006 3:27 PM)
Yeah, well, these "new people willing to do their job" couldn't seem to get the first payroll certification through the ERP system today. After a few very frustrating hours spent trying to certify the accuracy of the payrolls, everyone was sent back to their offices and told that the University will just certify everything as being okay and approve anything and everything that was submitted!
All the $$millions Castell spent over the past two years on consultants doesn't seem to have accomplished the one thing that is basic and critical to the operation of any business, including the University: paying the employees!
How can there be ANY fiscal accountability when the people who know their faculty and staff, and who was at work and who took leave, are taken out of the loop and some techno-geek-consultant short circuits the checks and balances and okays everything?
This is the wonderful improvement in operations that Dr. Bryant so proudly claims as her legacy! I'd bet Henry Lewis or Fred Gainous would have at least made this train run on time!
Question ...
ReplyDeleteWhat was at the crux of the problem?
Was it a problem with the software, the hardware, the data, some combination of the three ... Or was it something ELSE?
Cast-Hell's accomplishments:
ReplyDelete- Fire as many people as you can
- Replace those w/valuable institutional knowledge
- Lie about finances; pocket $35K
- Destroy good infrastructure and accountability measures that were in place
- Spend $100K to try and improve her image visiting newspaper editorial boards
- Try to campaign to be permanent president w/help of board chair
It's just past time for her to go. Get to steppin' Cast-Hell. You ain't got to leave FL but you gots to get the hell up out of FAMU!
What goes around has come around. Time for her to go!
ReplyDeleteWhat is Castell Bryant's record with regard to the law school? How could she get rid of Percy Luney who did so much to get the law school up and running?
ReplyDeleteDo people really believe that what FAMU has had in terms of leadership since Humphries left is better?
ReplyDeleteLet's see: Revolving presidential door (Lewis, Gainous, Cast-Hell); dwindling enrollment; the Division 1 Disaster; significant reduction of industry cluster support; firings and scandals all over the news; lies about the university's finances; a $10 million, or is it $8 million surplus that has yet to be found. Is this good stuff?
Under Humphries FAMU led the nation in the recruitment of national achievement scholars (including Harvard); had the largest industry cluster of any HBCU in the nation; had a growing (not dwindling) foundation endowment; had growing (not dwindling) enrollment; became the largest single campus HBCU in the nation, etc.,etc., etc.
The difference is REAL clear! Under the Corbin-hater led board and hand-picked administrations FAMU has sputtered out of control; made nearly disastrous decisions; fired key administrators with institutional knowledge; etc., etc., etc.
The winds of change are blowing and a change is gonna come. The sooner, the better!