| | |||
| Candidates | President Thelma Thompson (DeLoatch) | ||
| Immediate Supervisor | | | |
| Direct Supervision | | Provost/VP for Academic Affairs, | |
| NSF Ranking | 327 | U. North TX 150 | 381 |
| # of Campuses | 1 | 3 (** | 1 |
| Enrollment | 6,333 | 25,300 | 3,448 |
| | 1,886 | 8,200 | 422 |
| | 8,219 | 33,500 | 3,870 |
| Full-time Faculty | *184/234 | 895 | 174 |
| Full time employees | 900 | 3,077 (211)+ (35)++ | 699 |
* = Phds
** = Johnson's provost of this campus
+ = # of African Americans
++ = # of African American Faculty
The NSF rank reflects all research spending, including federal grants. FAMU rank is 221.
Read More: Ammons in final 3 for job
Here's the latest Ammons article. Let's bring back Ammons and his entire administrative team, especially Charles O'Duor for Fiscal/Administrative Affairs and Roland Gaines for Student Affairs.
ReplyDeleteHiring Ammons is hiring a proven team!
==================================
Ammons in final 3 for job
NCCU leader continues to seek Florida A&M post
Anne Blythe, Staff Writer
Published: Dec 19, 2006 12:30 AM
DURHAM - James H. Ammons, chancellor of N.C. Central University, is one step closer to having to choose between working in Durham or Florida.
The NCCU leader survived another cut in candidates competing to become the next president of Florida A&M University.
Ammons, a former provost of the 119-year-old university in Tallahassee, is among the final three, according to FAMU officials.
It could be March before Ammons knows his fate. The FAMU trustees hope to seat the next president by March 8.
A return to Florida could make NCCU the fourth historically black UNC system school looking for a new leader within a six-month period.
N.C. A&T University in Greensboro named a new chancellor in November. Elizabeth City State University and Winston-Salem State University are searching for new leaders.
Ammons, a FAMU graduate who grew up in Florida, has been NCCU chancellor since 2001. He has been at the helm as the university works to expand its enrollment numbers and enhance its reputation as a leader in training young African-American students in biotechnology.
When asked two weeks ago whether he would he would return to FAMU if offered the president post, Ammons said it was too early to make the decision.
He was attracted to the job, he said, because he and his family have strong ties to FAMU.
Erskine Bowles, president of the UNC system, has known about Ammons' interest in the Florida job for several weeks, according to a system spokeswoman.
Ammons said Bowles told him that he wanted him to stay in Durham. But Ammons has said he is flattered by the attention of his alma mater.
FAMU, established in 1887, is larger than NCCU with its nearly 11,910 students and 889 faculty. NCCU has about 8,600 students.
On the list of candidates with Ammons are: Thelma Thompson, president of the University of Maryland at Eastern Shore in Princess Anne; and Howard C. Johnson, provost of the University of North Texas in Denton.
The three were selected from a field of six after two days of interviews late last week.
They are scheduled to return to Tallahassee on Jan. 17, 18 and 19 for sessions with faculty, students, alumni and the community.
The trio will be asked to attend a meeting of the FAMU board of trustees Feb. 1.
Ammons did not return a call Monday seeking comment.
If Ammons were to be offered the FAMU job and to leave NCCU, it is unclear whether he would court some of the administrators here to return to Florida with him.
Shortly after his arrival, Ammons mined FAMU to fill key administrative positions at NCCU.
Charles O'Duor, vice chancellor for financial affairs, worked at FAMU before coming to NCCU. Sharon Saunders, director of public relations, also was at FAMU before joining the NCCU staff.
Kimberly Phifer-McGee, interim administrator and coordinator of instructional and faculty development at the NCCU Center for Teaching and Learning, has a FAMU link, as does Roland Gaines, vice chancellor of student affairs.
During his tenure at NCCU, Ammons has built on the money and prestige that former Chancellor Julius Chambers helped bring to the Durham campus.
NCCU had struggled for years with dwindling enrollments, low SAT scores for incoming freshmen and buildings that were falling apart.
Under Ammons, enrollment numbers and SAT averages have moved up. Millions of dollars have been funneled into a new biotechnology training program.
But he also has had to battle problems with mold in residence halls.
During the spring, he tried to keep the campus calm after news broke that an NCCU student -- hired through an escort service to dance at a team party -- alleged that she had been gang-raped by three Duke University lacrosse players.
In an October issue of Inside Higher Ed, Ammons co-wrote an article about that time: "Lessons From the Front Lines."
The above article is from the NC News & Observer.
ReplyDeletePress Release - USM Board of Regents Names New UMES President
ReplyDeleteMay 23, 2002
USM Board of Regents Names New President of University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Thelma B. Thompson, vice president for academic affairs at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA, and a long-time liberal arts dean at the same institution, has been named the 12th president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents announced today. Thompson will succeed Dolores R. Spikes, who retired last September. Since Spikes's departure, Jack Thomas, executive vice president of UMES, has served as interim president. Thompson will begin her new position on July 1.
Nathan A. Chapman Jr., chairman of the Board of Regents, said, "Thelma Thompson is the ideal candidate to lead this historic institution. The depth and breadth of her experience in higher education, combined with her energy and enthusiasm, will be an inspiration to the campus. This is an exciting time in the life of UMES, which has a growing reputation for excellence and a wealth of possibilities before it. The university is unique on the Eastern Shore and in many ways in all of public higher learning, and it deserves a unique person like Dr. Thompson as its president."
(See below for fact sheet on UMES.)
Thompson has served for four years as vice president of academic affairs at Norfolk State, where she is responsible for 39 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs serving about 7,000 students as well as more than 400 full-time teachers. She works with governing boards, alumni groups, community leaders, and state and national education agencies, and manages a nearly $40 million budget. In the absence of Norfolk's president, she is responsible for the daily operations of the university. She helped raise $11 million to establish the university's Wilder Center for the Performing Arts.
From 1990-98, Thompson was dean of Norfolk's School of Arts & Letters. In that capacity, she managed five academic departments and handled the daily operations of the school.
Of her appointment at UMES, Thompson said, "It is a great honor for me to be chosen to lead this historic institution. It is my goal to respect its wonderful past, while at the same time I want to maximize its potential in what I call a broadband style - meaning it's about students, faculty, staff, alumni, everyone in UMES's extended community. With the students at the center of the enterprise, I want to work with all constituencies to make UMES a respected center of learning. We are entrusted with the minds of young students, and to me that makes education much more than a business. It dictates the future of our nation, and our graduates tell us who we are as a society."
Interim USM Chancellor Joseph Vivona called Thompson "precisely the right person to take the reins at UMES."
"She is joining a beautiful campus that is never content to sit idle," Vivona said. "Her record of achievement and can-do attitude will be a good match, and I suspect that you'll see the campus leadership constantly challenging itself to attain the next level. It's going to be a good time to be at UMES."
Prior to Thompson's career at Norfolk State, she served two years as associate dean and professor of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), and eight years before that as assistant chair in its English department. Her service in various capacities at UDC extends back to 1979, when she was appointed director of freshman English.
She has also taught English and literature at Howard University, the City University of New York, and, most notably, at the USM's Bowie State University in its reading program from 1974 to '76.
Thompson holds a doctorate in English literature, which she earned from Howard University in 1978. She received her master's in English from Howard six years prior to that, and her bachelor's in English from Howard two years prior to that. She graduated cum laude. Thompson also holds a teacher's diploma from Bethlehem Teachers College in Jamaica and an education certificate from London University.
Thompson is a member of the Modern Language Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, Phi Beta Kappa, and the African-American Writers' Guild, among her more than a dozen professional associations. She is the former national president of the College Language Association and a co-founder of the Caribbean Studies Association. She also has served as co-chair of a Southern Association of Schools and Colleges leadership task force for redesigning the accreditation guidelines for a number of southern institutions.
Thompson is the author of dozens of essays, journal articles, and editorials, most addressing issues in education. Her book The Seventeenth Century English Hymn: A Mode for Sacred and Secular Concerns was published in 1988. She wrote the poem "Centurion," which will appear in Critical Essays on W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of Black Folk, to be published this year by the University of Missouri Press.
Thompson has two grown children and two grown stepchildren.
New provost Howard Johnson
ReplyDeleteHoward Johnson UNT has selected Howard C. Johnson of Syracuse University as its new provost and vice president for academic affairs. Johnson, who was executive vice provost for academic affairs at Syracuse, served that university in a number of teaching, scholarly and administrative roles for 30 years. At UNT he will oversee the academic side of the university and reports directly to President Norval Pohl. He replaces David Kesterson, a professor of English who became provost in 1998 and is returning to the classroom.
Johnson's accomplishments at Syracuse include enhancing the quality of doctoral programs, developing new professional master's programs, encouraging program improvement through rigorous review, creating aggressive graduate student recruitment strategies and implementing programs to attract outstanding faculty. Charged with increasing the diversity of the Syracuse faculty, he played a major role in the recruitment, retention and mentoring of at least 55 new African American and Latino faculty and professional staff members.
Johnson, a professor of mathematics and mathematics education, earned his bachelor's degree from Chicago State University, master's degrees from the University of Illinois and Chicago State, and a doctorate in mathematics education from Northwestern University.
Thompson came to UMES in July '02
ReplyDeleteAmmons came to NCCU in April '02
Johnson came to UNT in Oct '03
Chicago State University is a predominately black institution so those with the argument that Johnson-ain't-got-no-HBCU-experience need to just shut up!
ReplyDeleteIs his experience from the administrative side or as a student? If the administrative side, what are the dates?
ReplyDeleteThanks in advance.
His undergraduate degree is from Chicago State University, possibly first masters as well.
ReplyDeletePerhaps he can do for FAMU law what he did for NCCU law. We need help!
ReplyDeleteNow is the time for the faculty, alumni and students to UNITE! United We Stand, divided we fall!
ReplyDeleteThompson has grown a tiny HBCU, more like a large high school. Her next move should be a mid-sized one. We don't need OJT (on the job training) @ FAMU!
Johnson needs to understand the HBCU culture and environment, which is a lot different than UNT (University of North Texas). Chicago State? Is that a real HBCU, with a complete HBCU environment? Please!
Ammons took what he learned @ FAMU and applied it @ NCCU. The results are significant. NCCU went from a mid-sized HBCU to a large one and is in a growth mode. He's doing what FAMU needs to have done.
It's time for the faculty, alumni and students to hold a town hall meeting and come together behind Dr. Ammons. This should be done in early January.
We must "seize the time," "fight the power," and do what's ultimately BEST for FAMU.
It's time to "Get UP, Stand Up and Fight for FAMU!
Anon 12/19/2006 9:44 AM FAMU law needs help?What in the world is going on down there?
ReplyDeleteDon't ask the provost
ReplyDeleteI like Johnson (UNT is a great school) and Ammons. Either one would be a good pick....considering who they picked as finalist (they could still do better).
ReplyDeleteA more relevant question about Johnson seems to be has he ever governed, managed or supervised in an HBCU environment? Which is much difference from his work experience. Not whether or not he attended an HBCU.
ReplyDeleteFrances van Tassell, chair of the Faculty Senate, announced today that 356 of the 491 votes (or 72 percent) cast in a faculty referendum expressed "no confidence" and 135 (or 28 percent) expressed "confidence" in the ability of Provost Howard Johnson to lead the university as the chief academic officer. The 356 who voted no confidence represent 45 percent of the total faculty who are eligible to vote.
ReplyDeleteThe vote of "no confidence" does not require Johnson to resign or be fired.
"The administration and UNT System Board of Regents recognize that we need a broader campus understanding of the improvements that are planned at UNT and the changes that are underway," Chancellor Lee Jackson said in a statement released to media.
"Howard Johnson is working diligently on exactly the broad program goals that he was asked to when he was appointed Provost, and he is leading the working groups who are bringing those goals into greater clarity in our new strategic plan. … We note the results of this election as a significant expression of faculty concern. We ask the faculty and others to join with the Provost in creating a better and more professional dialogue than has prevailed in recent months."
Johnson, in a statement sent to campus Tuesday evening after returning from a SACS meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, about the university's accreditation, said:
"I listened not only to the results but to the vigorous dialogue prior to the vote. In this discussion I heard a need for greater campus-wide understanding about the goals for academic affairs outlined in the Academic Plan, and more discussion about what it will take for us to realize them. I heard a need for more information, greater transparency and more faculty engagement in the decisions about the university's future. I heard that there is disagreement on this campus about how to respond to the challenges that face our university.
Let there be no mistake, higher education is facing hard changes and UNT is not exempt from that reality. I was brought in to take Academic Affairs forward. As I continue to do so, I pledge to facilitate increased discussion about our goals, more dialogue about the steps we must take and greater support for the individual contributions we will all need to make. I pledge to give faculty a greater voice in crafting the future of the university a process I have already started in the development of the Academic Plan. I make a renewed commitment to engage diverse voices in the process of creating that future.
We cannot avoid change but we can engage each other more strongly and respectfully, drawing on our significant strengths to take us forward. "
Sixty-three percent, or 491, of the university's 783 voting eligible faculty members participated in the referendum.
The university's full-time, tenure or tenure-track faculty received ballots via email at 10:21 a.m. Nov. 28 and had until 5 p.m. Dec. 5 to cast a ballot.
The referendum election was established Nov. 9 when 42 of the senate's 48 senators voted, with a 29-13 outcome, by secret ballot on a resolution presented by senators John Booth, Regents Professor of political science; Michael McPherson, associate professor of economics; and Earl Zimmerman, professor of biological sciences.
Traditionally, 10 to 20 percent of faculty participate in Faculty Senate elections.
What difference does it make if Johnson has been an administrator @ a HBCU? If he's a good administrator, he's a good administrator. Rattlers have to get out of the mindset that only a FAMU grad is qualified to run FAMU. The last three "interims" have been Rattlers and they've done a crappy job. It would be good to get some new ideas in place and not some one who has a ton of connections to others affiliated with FAMU. A clean slate is needed!!!
ReplyDeleteWell said 1:52 PM. What if FSU used experience at a predominately white institution as criteria before hiring the tons of FAMU alumni who work there?
ReplyDeleteWhat ton of FAMU Alumni are working at FSU? I would like to know the numbers. The President at FSU is also a graduate. Look at all the graduates FSU has in the Legislature! They have looked out for FSU's best interest. We cannot compare the two schools. They are Apples and we tend to be Lemons. We cannot compare Apples to Lemons. NO WAY an FSU Graduate would destroy and lie about the finances at their Alma Mater. They would have been kicked-out the door when all five of "Billy Joe's" Assistant Coaches were fired early on in 2005. There are no Castell's at FSU.
ReplyDeleteI'm checking out these links and right about now, Thompson is not looking so impressive.
ReplyDeleteShe and Ammons started about the same time, but he has left her in the dust when it comes to recruitment (something we need like yesterday). Ammons has more full-time faculty with PhDs then she does totally.
Dollar per dollar their operating budgets are about the same, but he sure is making a dollar stretch.
RN do you have anymore data we can look at?
I commend you for publshing the information regarding the vote of no confidence for Dr. Johnson and even some of his comments. I read his whole letter to the faculty published on the web and not just the excerpts.
ReplyDeleteHe discussed why he believes the vote was taken---issues around tenure and how he distributed faculty salaries. He made more stringent requirements for tenure at the university and although all faculty did receive some salary increases, it was proportional to the contributions made. In other words, people who were bringing in research dollars and notoriety to the campus were given better increases. He discussed the importance of maintaining the productive faculty who are widely pursued by other universities.
Their is no mystery to the hbcu experience. We keep thinking that all any one needs to run a an hbcu university is attendance or work there. The elements for being a great university have nothing to do with race.
I believe Mr. Johnson is committed to African Americans and our educational opportunities (students and faculty). If not, he would not have been committed to trying to bring more African Americans on-board at Syracuse and UNT.
Furthermore, do people hire our students because they have the AA experience or because they have a good education?
Fianlly Ammons and Johnson are suitable choices for FAMU.
Furthermore, do people hire our students because they have the AA experience or because they have a good education?
ReplyDeleteFianlly Ammons and Johnson are suitable choices for FAMU.
12/20/2006 4:15 PM
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Yes! Absolutely! It broadens their color spectrum and makes them look like they are doing the right thing.
To 1:52 pm
ReplyDeleteThere is a BIG difference between being a good administrator and being a good administrator in an HBCU environment. Don't kid yourself. Let's stop being crabs in a bucket. Ammons IS A RATTLER! Ammons has prepared himself well. Obtained the skill sets FAMU so desperately needs right now and is offering his service. All FAMUans should be proud and rally to welcome him home as President!
The A-Train is moving!
ReplyDelete"Chicago State University is a predominately black institution so those with the argument that Johnson-ain't-got-no-HBCU-experience need to just shut up! "
ReplyDeleteRunnin shet and attendin shet is two different things so YOU shut up!
"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWhat difference does it make if Johnson has been an administrator @ a HBCU? If he's a good administrator, he's a good administrator. Rattlers have to get out of the mindset that only a FAMU grad is qualified to run FAMU. The last three "interims" have been Rattlers and they've done a crappy job. It would be good to get some new ideas in place and not some one who has a ton of connections to others affiliated with FAMU. A clean slate is needed!!! "
These FSU people really need to get a life.