The Tallahassee Democrat, yesterday, share some of their thoughts on some of the qualities that FAMU's 10th president should have. Here's some of what they had to say:So much thought and consideration and vision must go into this important decision if the university is to go forward in its unique mission of attracting minority students and, challenge No. 1, making sure that they succeed and graduate.
A new FAMU president should be:
Far better at communicating more openly and in far more diverse public and political arenas than any president to date.
A change agent who is biased against the status quo in terms of management and administration.
Able to work with the Board of Trustees in such a way that the board's role is clearly defined as setting policy but not intruding in day-to-day operations.
A visionary who can articulate and lead FAMU in its goals.
Ready to tackle FAMU's special mission, which includes addressing academic underpreparedness, undergraduate retention and graduation.
Highly effective at raising money from alumni, businesses and other private sources, and skilled in financial management.
A holder of academic credentials sufficient to win the trust and support of existing faculty, and helpful in attracting new faculty and recruiting promising new students.
The complete article is here: FAMU seeks something close to perfection in new leader
I sure hope that
ReplyDeleteYelp
ReplyDeleteIt is my hope that FAMU comes up out of the "whatever" is going on. I would certainly like to hear some input from alumni from the 70's and earlier - those who have a little "history" behind their belt. How many of these bloggers were around "before" Humphries? It appears that that's how far most of the frame of reference is coming from.
ReplyDeleteIn looking back, FAMU has had a history of problems. This isn't just starting. When I was in school there BE (before the eighties), finances, poor accounting, and administrative issues were a problem It is a snowball effect. I wouldn't want to inherit the job of prexy without some honest and wise counsel- the concern would be in finding the "wise" counsel. If I were to take the job - to be honest, I wouldn't know who to trust.
We throw words around like "SACS" and "accreditation", NCATE and finances, ACT/SAT scores - how much do we know about the impact and the implications of these on an institution - particularly an HBCU.
Most faculty know up front that these days a terminal degree in most areas is the Ph.D. and is a requirement on most major college campuses. There were a lot of faculty in my matriculation days who were ABD and got caught in a trap. Everybody knew it. Most of them were 'grandfathered' in.
But today it is not the case - and not just at FAMU. Also SACS requires at least 18 graduate semester hours in the content area in order to teach on the college level. This is even standard for the community college level for that matter. I don't mean to sound elitist, but why were the people (SBI) brought on in the first place without at least being close to obtaining proper credentials? And if they were, why didn't they complete the terminal degree, or other SACS requirements in a timely manner? In my day SBI was all that (and a bag of Rattlers)!
As you well know finances have always been a concern -from the student perspective and faculty/staff. Most faculty/staff at one time or another have experienced late paychecks. Financial Aid has been a dark cloud. Registration used to be a pain - but I must admit, it has come a long way! And FAMU is a good school.
Concerning leadership, there have been some shortcomings in several of our presidents(and I can go as far back as Gore) - that's the nature of people: They are highly skilled in one or two areas...and the "pits" in another..And to be honest, I can see some great things that came out of them all. Some have even ventured into areas that many have dared not touch - and the uncovering is a painful revelation.
BUT what concerns me the most is the need for FAMU. I would hate to see it go the way of some of these other institutions. I have a vested interest there. And with that need, we must find a (1) Permanent leader (2) Insightful Leader (3) Wise leader (4) An encourager (5) a Morale builder (6) A thick skinned leader (cause "we" can vicious sometimes - and you know what I mean) (7)A team builder (8) A bridge builder (9) and a disciplined leader.
That's some big shoes to fill - and MOST of us don't want to put them on - we just want to watch the steps of the person who does. And if we are going to be foot watchers, why not offer some help about the pitfalls and detours ahead that we are aware of. If not, we may be leaving tracks behind us for the hunter to catch up and snare us. Talk is cheap, but talk with wisdom is refreshing, uplifting, and provides answers. There is a way to talk and speak such that even the most vile will have to listen.
I hope and pray that FAMU does rise up to be all it can be and is capable of being. It is a great institution. With all its flaws, you would be surprised how good of a shape it is in comparison to some other HBCU's.
We've just got to make it a hallmark institution. Why not provide a post for "ideas" on how we can enrich and support FAMU - and I'm not just talking about money. Not just from hearsay, gossip, namecalling, and throw-offs. Invoke ideas from professional and gifted Rattler alumni that we have all over the US. Involve students who have insightful strategies and agendas beyond interroom visitation and caf food. Analyze and categorize the different areas and then present it to the new administration.
I may sound silly, but it's a try. You never know where it might go. And if even one item is accepted, it's a start. Cast off the old acronyms. Let our mention of CVB stand for Champions of Victory Begin (at FAMU). Let VH stand for Valiant,Higher (Institution of Learning).........Remember at the end of the day when all of this will have subsided with the times - our words may be our sustainer or our cancer..
..with love from a Rattler (alumni and former employee)
I agree with the old school Rattler. Many of the posters on this and other Rattler interest boards are in need of self reflection in terms of what they have contributed and are willing to contribute to our University. Time.....Money?
ReplyDeleteSadly, the greatest effort many will expend is to offer loud and constant criticism.
I'm a current faculty member at FAMU, and I know that shared governance is one of the initiatives that has been offered to the administration on several occasions. Believe me when I tell you that nobody wants to hear such a thing coming from faculty. Many people are active in terms of attempting to right what they see as wrongs. Nothing ever goes anywhere, and most everyone who attempts feels slighted, discouraged and ignored. for the most part, the faculty is an invisible lot.
ReplyDeleteFaculty member, I sympathize with you. The administration of FAMU is a case study in how not to manage. Almost any management book counsels a new leader to come in and first get to know the lay of the land. CVB, read no such book and consequently came in with the mindset of one of the fictional characters in her beloved westerns.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone should have told her, the westerns were fiction.
Can someone tell us if we have lower our standards for admissions? Are we taking students with SAT/ACT scores and GPAs that do met the minimum requirement just to have warm bodies?
ReplyDeleteSomething has definitely happened if the average test scores and gpas have decreased. Does anyone care to take a stab at why they have decreased.
There are two sides to the SAT/ACT dilemma. It is true that we want FAMU to enroll top scholars into its programs - and it should be that way. The paramount concern however is retention and graduation rates. There are students (with high SAT's, IB's, etc) and still they have to take remedial courses despite those scores. There are also students who barely get a score on SAT/ACT but have good work ethics and do well. We know by now that these scores should not be the end all.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, GPA's should be higher coming into college. Some of those students who have lower scores/GPA should consider going to a community college first - then transfer to FAMU(it also gives them time to mature). Sometimes the pride of the student or parent won't consider this option because it seems less than standard, so they send their child off to struggle at a 4-year institution.
I believe that FAMU should have academic standards for acceptance, but at the same time if some are not accepted - those might be the same ones who are cutting through the screen doors of homes while we are at work because they can't/won't/don't know how to make a living - or never had a good mentor to guide them.
The crucial time is the freshman year. That is the make or break for many students. Strategies should be employed (and I know some are already in place) to help students who have been accepted move on to graduate and in a reasonable time based on their ability to handle a certain level of course load. That takes gifted and creative ideas.
FAMU's academic reputation should not hinge on what's coming in - but what it produces.
what's the saying -- you get what you put in?
ReplyDeleteFAMU needs to knuckle up and set up a CC pipeline with a nice transition program for all these unprepared students. They need to leave all that "everybody should have a chance at FAMU rightaway" crap back in the Jim Crow days where it belongs.
ReplyDeleteSay what you want, the quality of academic life for many of the students are at best disconnected. It starts with housing and community membership. The student should be IN COLLEGE with work study. Not Working and taking classes. Look at the quality of academic life(residence)and graduation rates of schools like Bowdoin College and Vanderbilt. http://www.bowdoin.edu/reslife/mission.shtml and http://academic.bowdoin.edu/ir/data/retention.shtml, it is all related. Also, http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ResEd/main/HallAbout.php, and http://search.vanderbilt.edu/query.html?rq=0&col=vandy&ht=0&qp=&qt=graduation+rates&qs=&qc=&pw=100%25&ws=0&la=en&qm=0&st=1&nh=10&lk=1&rf=0&oq=&rq=0&si=1. This is worth investigating. I think that these efforts will help shape the envenomation of studentRattler ownership. These schools house most and ALL of their undergraduates respectively.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting you chose to highlight Bowdoin. Not too many of us are familiar with those upper tier New England liberal arts colleges.
11:10
I don't believe FAMU should be an early intervention program for potential thieves and convicts.
Vanderbilt along speaks for itself.
ReplyDeleteI doubt very seriously if at-risk students make up %30-80% of their incoming freshman class. They probably don't even exist and if so a very tiny population amounting to less than %1 and probably some legacy admit.
At $57,762 a year just to attend undergrad you can bet they are getting the cream of the crop and very few at-risk, low SAT/ACT scores, and average GPAs as a part of their incoming freshman class.