The Florida A&M University (FAMU) National Alumni Association (NAA) met today in Atlanta, Georgia at its 2007 Winter Meeting and voted to officially endorse the candidacy of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Chancellor James H. Ammons to become the tenth president of Florida A&M University.
“After having an opportunity to meet and listen to all of the candidates this week, it is clear that Dr. Ammons is best prepared to lead Florida A&M University into the future,” said Alvin Bryant, MD, National President, FAMU-NAA. “Dr. Ammons’ highly successful experience at a university similar in size and focus makes him the best choice for our University.”
“Further, the vision he expressed for our University and the direction he expressed we should be headed is in line with the goals and aspirations of our alumni, and the position statement of the Board of Trustees” Bryant added. “We believe that Dr. Ammons can hit the ground running and build strong and productive relationships with core university constituency groups that will be necessary to immediately begin moving FAMU forward.”
Victor Gaines, president of the Marching 100 Band Alumni, said, “Dr. Ammons’ experience with the NCCU Marching Band has shown that he understands the role of a high profile band and how a band such as the Marching 100 can be utilized as a tool to market the university and increase enrollment”.
“All of the candidates were impressive in their own way, however, we felt that Chancellor Ammons’ track record and success leading a university that is similar, in so many ways to FAMU, makes him the best qualified candidate for the job,” said Bryant.
On February 1, 2007 the FAMU board of trustees meets in Tallahassee to interview the three finalists.
Alumni leaders favor ammons
What else is happening at the Winter Meeting? Inquiring minds want to know.
ReplyDeleteammons knows bands, therefore he is going to lead famu to the promise land....give me a break! famu is one big chicken fight....and it will continue until the state moves in....
ReplyDeleteI'll be glad when the FSU lovers like Anonymous 11:49a stay outta FAMU's gatdamn business.
ReplyDeleteTwo thumbs up for the Alumni Associations' endorsement of Dr. Ammons ...
From the Tallahassee Democrat
ReplyDelete"Search continues
What's Next? FAMU presidential search
Jan. 26-30, Trustees visit campuses of finalists"
Was this a part of the published search schedule or something new?
increase enrollment? ya'll can't even educate and retain the ones you have. the band will solve it though! ha ha ha...bring on the band...ammons is more of the same hey but that is what famu wants....play it band...go marching one hundred just don't take the pillows!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteincrease enrollment? ya'll can't even educate and retain the ones you have. the band will solve it though! ha ha ha...bring on the band...ammons is more of the same hey but that is what famu wants....play it band...go marching one hundred just don't take the pillows!!!!!!
1/21/2007 9:18 AM
To the idiot that posted this...go hang yourself...
truth hurts don't it
ReplyDeleteammons knows bands, therefore he is going to lead famu to the promise land....give me a break! famu is one big chicken fight....and it will continue until the state moves in....
ReplyDelete1/20/2007 11:49 PM
This we know... He won't be hiring any staff from a community college in Tampa...
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeletetruth hurts don't it
1/21/2007 2:54 PM
LOL! Your side must of lost, huh?
we also know that ammons is a recycled leader with stale ideas...it is the 21 first century and famu is still caught in the 20th...the only loser is famu no matter who is brought in...
ReplyDeletefamu needs to quit worrying about enrollment and start educating the ones it enrolls. tcc has a better academic reputation the famu....lol!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeletetruth hurts don't it
1/21/2007 2:54 PM
Naw, what would hurt more if you're a graduate of FAMU talking all this sh!t. If you're an FSU supporter, then well I understand your comment. You people are boring and pathetic and in order for your life to be worthwhile, you've committed yourself to being concerned about what happens at FAMU. White or Black FSU supporter, you still suck. So please do us a favor and go hang yourself.
To:
Anonymous said...
famu needs to quit worrying about enrollment and start educating the ones it enrolls. tcc has a better academic reputation the famu....lol!
1/21/2007 5:17 PM
You can get the finger...the middle!
Some of you really need to find something constructive to do with your lives.
ReplyDeleteAmmons is the best choice and most qualified of the 3 candidates, the FAMU students, faculty, and alumni know it, and the FAMU NAA has now endorsed him.
Thanks, NAA, for stepping up and supporting a candidate.
AMMONS IS A WAY BACK TO THE FUTURE. FAMU NEEDS SOME ONE WHO CAN CLEAN HOUSE. NOT SOMEONE WITH ALLEGENCES. AMMONS MAY BE GOOD BUT WILL HE REALLY MAKE SOME HARD CHOICES ABOUT KICKIN SOM BUTT WITH THE STAFF AND FACULTY?
ReplyDeleteTell me, why would a faculty need their butts kicked if they were working WITH and not against their boss???
ReplyDeleteAnytime you're working together, your level of drama decreases significantly, and your production INCREASES.
All of your comments are important but I think the most important is what type of a "real" leader will Ammons be in this role. We all know that FAMU is the bomb but you should think carefully about the types of decisions that he will have to make that may include alumni in a negative way. You should probably talk to NCCU Alums to see what they think of the decisions he has made or not made in behalf of the NCCU. My feeling is that Ammons will make a good President if he is willing to acknowledge when his leadership makes mistakes and not deny that he was aware of incidents that happen on campus. Such as in this article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsobserver.com/215/story/460100.html
Former NCCU police chief paid off harassment claim
ReplyDeleteAnne Blythe and Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writers
DURHAM - The former police chief of N.C. Central University gave a woman in his department $25,000 to settle a sexual harassment complaint against him, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court.
McDonald Vick, NCCU police chief for 11 years, said under oath that he did not tell university officials about the payment, which went to a subordinate with whom he was having an affair. According to the court filings, only one university official knew about the payment while other school officials apparently never questioned why the complaint was dropped.
That private settlement and other details about a campus police department plagued with sexual discrimination and harassment complaints were revealed in hundreds of pages filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greensboro. The new documents were part of a lawsuit separate from the sexual harassment complaint Vick settled with personal funds.
Deonna Renna Hooper, who claims she was the victim of sex discrimination and wrongfully terminated in February 2002, describes in court papers a police department where sexual discrimination, harassment, shoddy record-keeping and tampering with crime logs were tolerated.
'Who do you call?'
"This evidence demonstrates a systemic and deep disrespect for women's rights and the law, and it highlights the difficulty in holding police accountable for illegal conduct," said Scott Holmes, the Durham lawyer representing Hooper. "Who do you call when the police commit a crime?"
Vick, the chief who left NCCU five months ago to become the University of Kentucky's top cop, sent a picture of himself in a skimpy swimsuit to one of his employees, according to those filings. Also in those filings, Vick admits to shredding documents.
The depositions also depict Chancellor James H. Ammons Jr. as an official who admitted to signing recommendations on employee grievances he had not read or reviewed. Ammons, who took the helm of the university in 2001, is named in the lawsuit and declined to comment Wednesday.
Hooper, the plaintiff, also declined to comment.
Vick could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The lawsuit is not the first sexual discrimination allegation lobbed at the department while Vick, the former chief, was at the helm.
Inquiry in 1990s
In the late 1990s, the university hired an outside investigator to look into complaints about Vick's behavior toward women. More than a dozen female employees were fired or quit in a two-year span during his tenure.
Although that investigation exonerated the chief, Vick's deposition brings new details to light.
Not only did Vick acknowledge he had an intimate relationship with the officer who accused him of sexual harassment, he also admitted to paying her from his personal account shortly before a hearing on her allegations.
"We reached a settlement with her because basically she wanted some money, and so we reached a settlement with her," Vick testified.
Vick said he did not publicly disclose the agreement, but Audrey Crawford-Turner, then the equal employment opportunity officer at NCCU, testified in her April 19 deposition that she knew about the payment. Vick told Holmes during the deposition that he did not think he had a duty to report the agreement.
Crawford-Turner told Holmes in her deposition that she did not report the exchange because she thought it was a private matter, even though it involved an allegation of a university employee against her superior.
"The public has a right to know when the chief of police settles a sexual harassment suit," Holmes said Wednesday.
On Feb. 17, shortly after the announcement of his new job, Vick retreated to his NCCU office with a former department employee and shredded old and outdated administrative memoranda, personal bank records, copies of disciplinary forms from Student Services and other papers, according to the court filing.
Vick's account differs
In response to written questions from Holmes after the deposition, Vick asserted that he did not shred any documents pertaining to the Hooper case.
Hooper, according to a statement filed by Vick with the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, was "terminated for insubordination and leaving the scene of an accident after wrecking a police vehicle."
But in the federal suit, Holmes claims the department trumped up the wreck accusation and gave Hooper harsher punishment than male officers accused of assault and of leaving a rape kit unsecured in a lunchroom refrigerator.
On June 16, 2003, Lt. Michael Watlington received a written warning for an incident in a female student's dorm room, according to the Wednesday filings.
Watlington was on the fourth floor of Baynes Hall on June 2, 2003, when he approached the student in her room without her permission, according to the warning included in the filings.
The officer grabbed a photo album and started thumbing through it and then told her, "Your boyfriend is sure keeping you thick," an interaction that the student described as intimidating.
A captain's warning
Watlington's captain, Victor Ingram, found the incident "unacceptable," according to the filings, and warned that any more violations would result in further disciplinary action. In his deposition, Ingram said Watlington's behavior could have been considered larceny, breaking and entering, and sexual harassment.
Watlington, who is still employed in the NCCU police department, also was accused of shoving a student in the campus library. He could not be reached.
In his deposition, Ammons said he thought the Watlington incidents were more serious than Hooper's accident, in which she struck a guardrail with a patrol car. Her superiors in the department later admitted she reported the incident within minutes, according to the court filings.
"I think, based on what you're telling me, the officer's involvement with this student and the student prior to that constitute, I think, a seriousness or level of seriousness above leaving the scene of an accident, if no one was hurt," Ammons testified.
[b]Ammons became NCCU chancellor in June 2001. Although he was not at the university when many of the complaints about Vick arose, he was the university's top official when Hooper, who started working at the university in March 2001, says her harassment began.[/b]
Ammons testified that when he is asked to review grievance committee cases, he signs whatever letters the lawyers prepare for him.
Staff writer Anne Blythe can be reached at 932-8741 or ablythe@newsobserver.com.
Anon, 2:29--"all" of FAMU's faculty have not endorsed Ammons. I'm a faculty member and I've not done so. I've been at the university for over 15 years, during the Humphries/Ammons administration, and I know how James Ammons didn't care $10 about women in administrative positions, and I also know that he, as much as Humphries, as much as those before him, was as much to blame for the financial shennigans and fiascos that the university is now facing, as much as anyone. So, be mindful of what you post. All faculty members are not so eager to have James Ammons back in the saddle. He was lucky that the NCCU position opened up, because he really did need to get out of Dodge, for all sorts of reasons, a few of which shouldn't be posted here on this blogspot.
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah, yeah... thanks for all of your I knows...
ReplyDeleteI've been at the university for over 15 years, during the Humphries/Ammons administration, and I know how James Ammons didn't care $10 about women in administrative positions..
ReplyDeleteI seriously doubt this person has been at FAMU for over 15 years. It sounds like another desperate attempt from that bootlicking weasal Vincent June to attack Dr. Ammons without justification.
Dr. Ammons has a fine record of hiring capable, qualified black women to high-ranking university positions.
At FAMU, Dr. Ammons promoted black women such Gladys Lang to associate provost (she later suceeded him as provost when he left for NCCU). He was also instrumental in hiring Anna Vaughn-Cooke as dean of the Graduate School.
Dr. Ammons has also hired very skilled black women to senior administrative positions at NCCU.
A black woman, Beverly Jones, serves as Provost and Vice-Chancellor (the number two position in the university).
A black woman, Susan L. Hester, serves as Interim Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement.
A black woman, Sharon Saunders, serves as Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Public Relations.
Dr. Ammons does not have a problem with gave strong black women a chance to lead, as Vincent June wants us to believe.
Humphries, as much as those before him, was as much to blame for the financial shennigans and fiascos that the university is now facing, as much as anyone.
That is not true. FAMU received clean operational audit opinions from the Florida Auditor General during every year of Dr. Humphries' tenure. Check the documents.
FAMU's Division of Fiscal and Admnistrative Affairs is in such poor condition today because James Corbin pressured Fred Gainous to fire all the senior financial administrators who had successfully prepared the financial statements for decades. The state auditors directly identified that loss of institutional knowledge as the reason for FAMU's recent bad audits.
Your attempts to lay blame at the feet of Humphries and Ammons is completely without substantiation from the state auditors.
He was lucky that the NCCU position opened up, because he really did need to get out of Dodge, for all sorts of reasons, a few of which shouldn't be posted here on this blogspot.
You sound just like Vincent June --a classic liar, fraud, and rumor monger. You want to try and throw libelous mud on Dr. Ammons because you know you can't provide any evidence to support your negative claims against his administrative performance.
The majority of members of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Union support Dr. Ammons. The NAA supports Dr. Ammons. The only people who are trying to tear him down are anti-FAMU Bryant-Corbin cronies like Vincent June and Rufus Little.
All that really needs to be said is that the other two dn't fit the bill. Students don't want anyone else at this point, but AMMONS! How about digging up some GOOD about the other two. Watch Rattler Nation RISE when Ammons gets busy on the fourth floor in Lee Hall.The open door will be back for students to talk to the president.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Dr. Alvin Bryant and the NAA for endorsing Ammons. It's past time to end the era of chaos at FAMU caused by Corbin and crew.
ReplyDelete4:25---I stand by my previous post.
ReplyDeleteHey anonymous 1/22 4:25
ReplyDeleteWhy did you stop there with the facts.FAMU have an Associate Controller that does not know what a Financial Statement is. And why is P.Nottage-Watson still on payroll-Lou Murray is NOT. Is this a sisterhood thing with CAss and co.
I am in strong support of the NAA and the Faculty Senate! And this morning I read that senators of the student body gave an endorsement to Dr. Ammons. Therefore, with a large majority of the stakeholders endorsing one candidate, and with this particular candidates and his present place of employment, I really think it would behoove the BOT to get on board with the consensus and bring in the "Most Qualified" candidate. Moreover, on February 1, 2007, we should all be able to recite the words of Joe Bullard and say to Dr. Ammons and his family, "Welcome Home Rattlers!!!"
ReplyDeleteHubba dat.
ReplyDelete