The FAMU Presidential Search Committee met yesterday and advanced six names from a pool of more than 35 formal applicants. The six candidates will be interviewed in person next week by the search committee, which then will shrink the prospective presidents list to three people.If the FAMU BOT or Committee doesn't feel comfortable after talking to the six, it could elect to reopen the search and start over.
In addition to the presidential search committee members, BOT Chair Challis Lowe was right there in the mix during the selection process, cajoling and having her say. She was lobbying strongly for Thelma Thompson, Larry Palmer, and Howard Johnson. In fact, at one point she made it clear that she recruited these candidates and wanted them to remain in the search.
Conspicuously missing from the list of 12 or even 6 finalist is Henry Lewis, the former interim president, and State Senator Al Lawson.
What's particularly astonishing, after being under contract for over 6 months, and being paid over $270,000 (+ expenses), Mrs. Lowe's Hollins Group was only able to turn up 36 candidates. This is, perhaps, another blow to a search that has supposedly been underway for over 24 months.
The list of candidates is quite impressive- i.e. the corp giants like Johnny Taylor and Bob Beatty. Taylor cut his legal teeth at Blockbuster/Viacom/AutoNation and is capable of hanging with the likes of Wayne Huizenga. Bob Beatty has handled everything from the Miami Herald to Bell South. Obviously there is something at FAMU that makes this stellar group of people wanna work here.
ReplyDeleteReally, they were the first individuals cut from the list and all recruited by Challis Lowe.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line whether they were "cut" or not --- they (along with U.S. Ambassadors, top level government officials) put in an application & that has a lot to say about FAMU's reputation. Has FAMU ever had a more impressive listing of applicants for president? I would say not. Why is it that you are so contrary so early in the morning?
ReplyDeleteMe thinks 12/7/06 at 8:37AM point is top level higher education administrators.
ReplyDeleteI am not impressed or enamored with the list. Ammons accomplishments in higher education stands above all of them, but why isn't the list populated with a lot of university presidents with the same/comparable or even greater accomplishments.
Our problem "now" is fundamental and will require leadership with a keen understanding of higher education, retention, attrition, recruitment, research, academic freedom, etc.
This is the bread and butter/foundation of any successful institution and without it you have what we are experiencing today.
But, then maybe the previous poster I referenced is not even thinking along these lines.
Bob Beatty would be great in helping raise money from corprate America
ReplyDelete12/07/2006 9:42 AM corporate monies aren't as necessary as a keen understanding of higher education, retention, attrition, recruitment, research, academic freedom, etc per 12/07/2006 9:30 AM.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there aren't many Ammons-like candidates. That is scary. For me, Ammons sets the bar for which is required. The great news is that he has what it takes. The bad news would be if we don't get him...
I think we are forgetting Dr. Thelma Thompson. She is the president of UMES and is doing wonderful things for that university. Although she has only been president for about 4-5 years there is a tremendous positive energy from that school. They are growing in leaps and bounds. The state of MD is pumping tons of monies into the school, building all kinds of new buildings. Some of this was in the works before she arrived but she is certainly taking advantage of it. I suggest you go to their website and look at the Strategic Plan for the university and current accomplishments. Alumni participation has doubled, research dollars have doubled. Although UMES is considerably smaller than FAMU, the infrastructure is solid. She is also close to the DC area and is well known politically at the Federal level.
ReplyDeleteAll and all, I think we have a varied group of decent candidates. It just depends on the philosophy and direction the BOT wants to go.
There are others I would have liked to see in the pool but because of the sunshine policy, I guess many presidents would not weigh in unless it was a sure bet that they would at least make the top three.
It would be interesting to see the list of 36. There were a couple of people that I think would have been interesting that did not make the list---J. Keith Motley of Univ. of Mass system.
A&T just selected a new president also from the state of MD---Coppin State. I think from our candidate pool, we will end up with a stronger president.
^^^^^
ReplyDeleteAnd she has applied for almost every presidential opening up and down Eastern seaboard. Her VP's are sending out CVs left and right.
Something is wrong in Maryland and we need to find out why her administrative team is jumping ship.
Al Lawson did not belong on the list that's why. Other than running an unsurance agency and being a state legislator what are his credentials to run the largest hbcu? Where is his scholarship (terminal degrees)? Where is his direct fundraising experience (to corporations not via legislative initiatives)? Where is his leadership of a large organization? Al Lawson would be a good lobbyist for the university. That's about all...
ReplyDeleteAs for Henry Lewis, you see there were no Deans on the List---Presidents, Vice Presidents and Provosts. I am sure if we look at the rest of the 35, there will be some deans in that group. Once you take the persons who had the highest ranking academic experience and add in the corporate types for a different mix, Henry was not strong enough to make the cut of 10. An interim president for a year is really not enough experience. He should have taken the risk of getting a VP for the last two years. Granted he had no idea that the interim would last what will probably be about 2 1/2 years by the time the new president comes on board. However, that's life...
Absoulutely, Henry Lewis did not belong on the list!
ReplyDeleteAMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou may be right. The something is wrong may or may not be her. Coppin State, UMES and Bowie State are all showing turnover of presidents in the last few years. Could it have something to do with the education politics in the state of MD? Coppin State's president just went to A&T and he was only at Coppin a couple of years. Bowie State just got a new president from Elizabeth City State. FAMU just got our Dean of Education from Bowie State. The only thing that has not changed in the black college arena in the state of MD is Morgan State; however, they are not part of the SUM system, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI've put in an email to the Alumni President to get his impressions of Dr. Thompson. Will share info upon receipt.
Isn't Ammons the person responsible for hiring Percy Luney at the FAMU COL? Didn't he have the last say in the FAMU COL dean selection? Mmmmmmm. That's very very interesting---was the FAMU COL sold out/exchanged for his current position at NCCU? Why is he making a U-turn back to Tallahassee so quickly?
ReplyDeleteUMES Alumni President, that is...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...Isn't Ammons the person responsible for hiring Percy Luney at the FAMU COL? 12/07/2006 10:53 AM
ReplyDeleteI believe Luney was named in March '01
and Ammons was named Chancellor of NCCU in February '01. There is some crossover. However, Luney was on payroll at NCCU for only a short period while Ammons was there.
Add me to that chorus!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS, AMMONS!!!!!!!!!!
Ammons hand picked Luney because the committee appointed to recommend candidates for the law school dean forwarded 3 names to then FAMU Provost James Ammons who exclusively chose the man who jacked up FAMU COL. Its on the net! See for yourself. The truth is coming to light about FAMU COL and the web is tangled mess and all roads connect at NCCU.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.famu.edu/oldsite/about/admin/vppa/News/Archives/Carolyn_Collins/Americorps/NASA_Fellow/law_school_dean_selected.html
It's funny that someone would question the motives of people searching for a new job. Haven't you guys ever switched jobs?
ReplyDeleteIf Ammons considered the FAMU presidency to be his dream job, why wouldn't he apply at his first opportunity?
I'll take Ammons' one bad hire to Castell/BOT's many bad hires all day every day.
ReplyDeleteJames Ammons had nothing to do with the Cunningham law chair scandal or any of the other problems that beset the FAMU College of Law after he left in 2002.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to find out what happened in relation to the Cunningham law chair, you need to ask the people who were at the meeting that finalized it: Shirley Cunningham, Percey Luney, Fred Gainous, and Bill Jennings.
Sorry, but you can't blame this one completely on Gainous. Cunningham's first agreement was signed by none other than the jack-legged Henry Lewis. The proceedings are over and the truth was real..... ugly.
ReplyDeleteWhile Al Lawson might have legislative experience and would be able to make connections in that arena, he has not one iota of experience in terms of what to do at a university. He runs an insurance agency, for God's sake. Probably has not set foot in a classroom since he got his master's degree--which is another whole issue itself--to even know the tenor of the students that are at a university. Has anyone heard the man talk? Do we really want6 someone of his inarticulation to represent the University. I think not. He should never, ever been on anyone's list, except perhaps as a middle school or high school principal at best. Secondly, James Ammons was nominated for the position. That's not to say that he didn't readily acept the offering. What's he going to do? Practice the same concepts that he learned from Fred Humphries. And why is it that he wants to come back here anyway, after he was part of the mess that he & Humphries made over the years. Remember, Ammons got out of Dodge on a jet, or have we forgotten all of the scandal surrounding the Humphries administration. I think the BOT needs to bring someone in who is not associated with the University, someone who can provide new insight and articulate a new governance of the University's affairs. Anything less will be abominable. Why turn around and hire someone who was at the University before?
ReplyDeleteAre the final six candidates the absolute best that the Hollins group could come up with? I suspect that it is. With all of the horrible press over the past 3/4 years regarding FAMU's affairs, it's no wonder that there's not a more academic/intellectual pool of applicants. I just htink we can do better. If Ammons becomes the new president, what new direction is he going to bring to the University? He brought new programs and instituted new initiatives at NCCU, because that was a fairly small institution, so it appears, rightly so, that great new things were happening (and they were). But what new things did he learn at NCCU that he can bring back to FAMU. Hell, he took what he had learned at FAMU to NCCU. But what is he going to bring back? It's not as if he's been presdient at more than ONE university and provost at ONE university. Give me a break.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...And why is it that he wants to come back here anyway, after he was part of the mess that he & Humphries made over the years. Remember, Ammons got out of Dodge on a jet, or have we forgotten all of the scandal surrounding the Humphries administration. 12/07/2006 3:41 PM
ReplyDeleteName one scandal.
And why is it that he wants to come back here anyway, after he was part of the mess that he & Humphries made over the years.
ReplyDeleteFAMU was not in a mess when Ammons was here. FAMU was the #1 recruiter of National Achievement Scholars, #3 in research grants among Florida's public universities, busting at the seems in enrollment, continuously expanding its corporate partners through the Industry Cluster, and steadily growing its university foundation.
Ammons wants to come back so he can take FAMU back to its days of prosperity. He also wants to push FAMU up to research-university status, something that is long overdue.
Remember, Ammons got out of Dodge on a jet, or have we forgotten all of the scandal surrounding the Humphries administration.
Ammons was vigorously recruited by the University of North Carolina System, one of the most prestigious public university systems in the country. They did not see FAMU as a "mess" under Humphries-Ammons. Ammons has received outstanding evaluations at NCCU and clean audits. He's also responsible for a tremendous increase in enrollment, research grants, and private gifts at that institution.
If Ammons becomes the new president, what new direction is he going to bring to the University?
ReplyDeleteJames Ammons wants to take FAMU up to Research Intensive (and eventually Research Extensive) classification on the Carnegie ranking system. Currently, all but a few of Florida's public universities (FAMU, FGCU, UWF, New College, and UNF) have already reached research designation.
In a 1998 addendum to FAMU's SACS report, Humphries and Ammons unveiled a plan to get FAMU up to research designation by adding a large number of new Ph.D. programs, primarily in the sciences.
Fred Gainous and Larry Robinson continued to support the plan to get FAMU to research status. However, Castell V. Bryant has been adamantly opposed to the move. She worked to systemically roll back progress by cutting down the research division and slowing down the processes for creating the new graduate programs that FAMU needs to reach this goal.
James Ammons will make history by taking FAMU up to research status and making us one of the top producers of blacks with Ph.D.s in America.
Question to the poster today at 3:41 pm, if FAMU and Ammons were so scandel ridden, why did the University of North Carolina System recruit him so aggressively? Why are they pumping millions of dollars in research, construction, E$G and private donations into NCCU? If Ammons' CV and work performance at FAMU were so messed up, why would they trust him with all of that loot?
ReplyDeleteJust asking.....
But what new things did he learn at NCCU that he can bring back to FAMU. Hell, he took what he had learned at FAMU to NCCU. But what is he going to bring back?
ReplyDeleteJames Ammons has clearly learned excellent management skills at NCCU. The audits there have been very clean ever since he took the helm.
Ammons did take what he learned from FAMU to NCCU (e.g.: student recruitment, fundraising, grant-raising, etc.) However, he did not get a chance to complete the work that he started at FAMU.
Again, Ammons and Fred Humphries wanted to make FAMU a research institution. That's the next and most critical goal that Ammons has for his alma mater.
NCCU had very few graduate programs when Ammons came in, so it will take a while to prepare that institution to move up to research categorization. However, FAMU -- thanks to the work that Humphries and Ammons did -- is much farther ahead. If we can get rid of Castell Bryant, who's fighting hard against research, and replace her with Ammons then FAMU will soon be one of the premier centers of graduate education in America.
FAMU was certainly in a mess when Humphries and Ammons were at the University. The mess that CVB has been "attempting" to straighten out did just "get that way" when Gainous was here. We all know that Ammons is smart, personable, etc. but let's call a spade a spade.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the blogger ever said that Ammons weren't qualified, but qualifications don't necessarily mean tht a person isn't scandal-free. Apparently NCCU needed someone of Ammons' calibre, because they didn't, obviously, have that before. Ammons certainly is qualified, but FAMU needs someone not associated with the university. Period.
ReplyDeleteFAMU was certainly in a mess when Humphries and Ammons were at the University. The mess that CVB has been "attempting" to straighten out did just "get that way" when Gainous was here.
ReplyDeleteThe mess that FAMU faces today has been caused by Castell Bryant.
-Bryant is the one who created the 2,000 student enrollment decline by cutting recruitment.
-Bryant is the one who created the decline in research grants by slashing apart the research division.
-Bryant is the one who created a disaster of annual audit by reporting a surplus that never existed and failing to report a $10M decifit.
-Bryant is the one who created a decline in private giving by refusing to fundraise.
These are all problems that Castell V. Bryant created herself. She cannot blame any of those of Fred Humphries and James Ammons.
if other folks are not bothered by the so-called "scandal", i sure as hell ain't. ammons is good people, qualified, smart, popular with the staff, students, and administration. i think he'll make a fine president at famu, and i hope the BOT sees fit to show a bit of adacemic decency and hire the man. unknown scandal or known scandal. doesn't much matter to me.
ReplyDeleteI think the bot have already decided who the next pres. is going to be. Someone please tell me why would a person except a permanent Executive position under an interim CEO? mmmmm. Maybe the pre-selected staff is a package deal!!
ReplyDeleteWe all know that Challis Lowe is running the show. And the new president has already been picked. Everything else is just theatrics.
ReplyDeletevery possible
ReplyDeletePlease say it ain't so!
ReplyDeleteY'all can say all the things you want about CVB--who most definitely ain't no friend of mine---but we all know that the University was in a pure mess when the woman got here. Now, I don'tlike the woman any more or less than the next person, and she most certainly has had a nasty attitude since she's been here, but the problems that she inherited didn't get that way when she set up shop in Lee Hall. The school was a mess during Hump's and Ammons' tenure; it's just that things were not made public the way they are now, and neither James Ammons or Fred Humphries fired all these people, many who did not deserve to be fired. Maybe a lot of them could have been transferred to aother positions, but CVB simply didn't want them there, regardless of their finances or what. She's been nasty alright, but many of these problems were there when she got there. She's done some very ugly things since she's been there, to faculty, students, administrative folks and everybody inbetween, and will, no doubt be remembered--not, of course, that she cares--for having a stink attitude and firing a lot of people, and treating people like dogs. But you must admit that, even if she has done a mountain of atrocious things--and I'll be the first one to say so, she's made an attempt to do something, whether or not she succeeded. And I don't like the woman no more than anyone else.
ReplyDelete