Ammons was one of the "top provosts in the country" when he was at Florida A&M, said the Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., co-chair of the Florida A&M's presidential search committee. Click here to read more. Howard Johnson and Thelma Thompson vie for the big chair, as well. One wants to be a facilitator, while the other wants to tell our story. Click here to read more.
RN are there any other articles on the other candidates in their home states?
ReplyDeleteBranker is the only search committee member who did not vote for Ammons to be a finalist. She is either 1) Ignorant; 2) Has an Agenda or 3) Did I say Ignorant. She is officially now a stooge in the Cabal to destroy FAMU. She is intellectually dishonest and stain on FAMU.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting development. I wonder if Branker voted for the provost from Bowie St. and the candidate from FAU instead of Ammons and the fellow from UNT? Thompson, the Bowie St. candidate and the fellow fron FAU were all referrals from Challis Lowe, correct?
ReplyDeleteI think with the current BOT makeup, the "cabal" is only Lowe, Jennings, Allen and follow the leaader Branker. And yes...she is ignorant. Anyone who has seen a BOT meeting on FAMCast can tell you that. Sometimes I wonder is she just staring off into space or is she actually paying attention to the meeting. To her credit, I don't think she's out there to intentionally destroy FAMU but that she does what she is told by Challis Lowe. With 4 cabal members remaining because the other key ones broke camp (Holmes, Diallo, etc.) we have 9 people who we can "hopefully" count on to be objective.
Your points are all interesting and I can honestly say that I have come to the same conclusions. I thought that it was just me for a while there. What I want to know is, what's at stake for these people? We already know what's at stake for FAMU. If we don't get Dr. Ammons, it may be as a result of our own inactivity during this process. The battle has already leapt to home turf- we'd better act like it! Dr. Ammons would definitely get rid of the 'Trojan Horse' Debra Austin and cast militia.
ReplyDelete[i]Branker ...2) Has an Agenda[/i]
ReplyDeleteRemember that Branker is from Jeb Bush's office and continue to carry his water for him where FAMU is concerned. She could care less if FAMU falls by the wayside.
Word is that Charlie Crist is on our side and is letting them know this. The Ammons placement means potentially a lot of political capital for him where we are concerned. Those opposed will be on their way out...
11:51--why must Branker be "ignorant" simply because she chose to exercise her right to cast a vote for the person who she wanted to be a finalist? Why is she out to "destroy" FAMU. Why is she "intellectually dishonest" because she did not vote for whom YOU wanted her to vote for? I don't know the woman's motives for how she voted from Eve's housecat, but I certainly give her the right to cast a vote for whom she wanted without categorizing her and defaming her as "ignorant." You sound more ignorant than she to even write such drivel.
ReplyDeleteA hit dog will holler, huh?
ReplyDeleteanonymous 4:47
ReplyDeleteBranker is not voting for herself. She is voting for the Alumni...since she holds a seat in part because she is an alumnus. An overwhelming majority of Alumni want Ammons. Now this would not be enough to guide her vote, but take into consideration that she was the only person who voted for Palmer on the search committee. She did not even think Ammons should be in top 3. The search criteria put a premium on Presidential stature in their description...Ammons is the most senior sitting President in the pool. The seacrh committee designed a criteria that put a premium on raisng funds and Thompson has raised 4 million dollars in two years which the Hollins group said is below par for a sitting President. The search committee put a premium on accreditation experience.Thompson serves on a SACS committee.
Ammons chaired a SACS committee and has conducted fourteen (14) SACS visits; 4 at Predominantly White Institutions and 10 at HBCUs.
There are some on the BOT who wanted Thompson before the interviews just looking at the resumes. Thompson's resume does not compare to Ammons or johnson's resume so why is she being chosen by these num nuts. Becuase she IS BEING INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST & IGNORANT.
Once again Branker is exercising a right for me. It is not her right to do willy nilly as she pleases. It is a sacred right placed in her stead to do what is right. There is no logic whatsoever to not selecting Ammons as ONE of the three finalist.
THE BOT needs an enima.
It's now clear why Challis Lowe demoted R.B. Holmes from his position as search committee chairman and made Laura Branker co-chair.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete12/17/2006 5:53 PM and 12/17/2006 6:46 PM
You have both expressed my exact sentiments when it comes to Branker. She has brought absolutely nothing to the table since she has been appointed. The only thing that has improved is her sorry attendance record.
how could you NOT vote Ammons in the top 3? He is running away the most qualified candidate on paper to be the next president. And they say his interview was very on point. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI think they will go on and give Ammons the position, I just wonder how much the BOT will try to hinder him from getting things done over the next few years.
Run these women off the durn and campus along with the Kappas. They are hazing the school to hell. Oh it's true.
Get off my Nupes:0)
ReplyDeleteNo articles on other candidates. If we find them, we'll post them. If you find them email them to me at: AnMRattler@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI think there are two candidates who are definite and one who is an absolute no go.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about Thelma Thompson. Although a sitting president, I do not think she has what it takes to move FAMU forward. Furthermore, she will be 67 when she takes office. I am not trying to age discrimininate but should'nt we hope for someone who could possibly stay at FAMU for 10 years, still vital and energetic?
The dreams many of us have for our university will take more than 5 years to put in place. Thelma Thompson is on the downside of her career and how many more years will she work? She is eligible for Social Security. Could she be just taking this job for a retirement relocation to Florida and a possible increase in salary? Is she only thinking 5 years out? We need a few years of stability and I would like to see a president who could give the school minimally 8-10 years.
We can be assured that Ammons as a native Floridian would make FAMU his last professional stop. We don't need a third president at FAMU with a golden parachute hanging out on campus after only 3-4 years (Humphries, Gainous and Thompson?)---also don't know Walter Smith's status.
Besides that, what does she have to offer? UMES is a beautiful campus that is growing in leaps and bounds. When you look at its curricula, very minimal arts & sciences, agiculture and environmental sciences and health sciences. She could be potentially helpful in starting a physicians assistant program at FAMU, that's it for the health sciences.
When you look at research dollars at UMES $19M, way below what FAMU has and most in agriculture and a couple special marine science and airway programs that probably don't really fit our mission.
Student population is 1/3 the size of FAMU. Alhough promoting diversity, the majority of UMES students come from DC, DC suburbs, Baltimore and Baltimore suburbs and the eastern shore.
The eastern shore of MD is very laid back, rural. Although it is exhibiting growth, it is not a metropolis by any stretch. How does UMES currently recruit and how does she propose to increase our enrollment?
I am not sure she is ready for the FL politics and living under the microscope of the FL media and the Tallahassee Democrat.
UMES does not have football and football changes the whole dynamics of your athletic department and funding needs. Excessive travel by the president during football season, attending home football games and schmoozing on weekends. She has her fall weekends free.
UMES only has a pep band that plays basketball season. Therefore, no appreciation of the needs of the Marching 100. Issues around travel, need for band uniforms, etc.
Also UMES has minimal graduate programs (offers about 3-4 PhD programs) and no professional schools; although it has a couple of professional programs in the health sciences. No understanding of the requirements of a law school.
All in all FAMU is a big job for a person in her twilight years. We need someone who has done it or at least been around a big college environment. I support Ammons, but I thik people should not sleep on Howard Johnson as an alternative.
The Unversity of North Texas represents alot of what we aspire to. 50 PhD programs, all kinds of special centers, Division 1.
Thansk RN.
ReplyDeleteWould like to have read what the other candidates' media is saying about them making our finalist list.
However if it hasn't created a buzz in their respective communities, maybe it's just me, but that seems strange.
Thanks again for checking.
Now 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).
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.
I think it is more important that FAMU learns the Big Boy culture and expectations of a major university. We don't just aspire to be a good black school. We want to be a great university that has predominantly african americans and embraces that culture. The staff, faculty and others can help wth the traditions of hbcus. We need to grow beyond the black college arena and that way of thinking---a few peanuts is OK. FAMUans want the whole bag of peanuts just like UF, FSU and USF are getting. We need to push the envelope.
ReplyDeleteWe have two good candidates in Johnson and Ammons.