Capital Outlook publisher Rosevelt Wilson opined, "as the search for a new Florida A&M University president enters its final days, it is time for the FAMU Board of Trustees to rise to the true meaning of its calling and do what is best for FAMU.
The finalists will be back on campus next week for a series of meetings with the university’s various stakeholders, and will return for the final time as candidates to meet with the full board on Feb. 1.
At that point it becomes the responsibility of the board of trustees to do the single most important thing it will ever have to do: hire the president.
Because of the significance of this decision, every board member privately must ask himself or herself and answer the question: “Will my decision be driven by a personal and/or political agenda or by what I believe in my heart is in the best interest of Florida A&M University?”
continue reading at: Keep personal/political agendas out of search
it seems mr. wilson is adding his own political agenda by commenting on the process. i will go out on a limb and say he wants ammons in as prez. and if it is decided otherwise the entire process was self serving politics not in the best interest of the university. famu would be better served transitioning into a major research institution by opening its doors becoming more ethnically diverse, attracting a greater number of students and increasing it's donor base. additionally, the state is facing a huge increase in the number of students. the famu campus is under utilized and will change with the states needs. it can be done without compromising famu's mission.
ReplyDelete8:50 AM you are absolutely about FAMU needing to transition to a research institution. I am not against Ammons, but I am against the same ideals being recycled with each Administration. FAMU deserves to be known for more than A** shakin' Marching 100.
ReplyDeleteWhat's Mr. Wilson's devious political agenda? Getting FAMU a strong president? Demanding that the trustees keep this search clean after the last two were clearly rigged?
ReplyDeleteWe need to keep the corruption characteristic of the last two Jim Corbin presidential searches out! Too many FAMU trustees were voting based on which president would let them put their hands farthest in university's pigggy bank.
There are efforts right now to try and throw this current presidential search off-track by resorting to the politics of personal destruction. FAMUans must ask why there are trustees and university administrators who are trying to hurt the process by spreading lies, rumors, and innuendos about a specific candidate.
Mr. Wilson is right on point! Let's not permit this presidential search to be derailed by the same type of manipulation and political manuevering that killed the last two searches!
Don't let the Castell Bryant's cronies fool you. She and her good buddy Corbin are trying to tear this process apart just like they did the other two.
ReplyDeleteBryant and Corbin both schemed to make sure that Charlie Nelms dropped out of the running so they could hire Fred Gainous. They lied to Nelms and the public, saying that there were not enough votes to hire Nelms (when there really were more than enough).
Now, Bryant and Corbin are trying to make people believe that most FAMUans don't support James Ammons and that there are not enough votes to hire him. Are we really going to let these same people rig another process right before our very eyes?
Don't be swayed by the disinformation. Bryant and Corbin do not have FAMU's best interests at heart and are not telling the truth about the presidential search process!
1/10/2007 8:50 AM,
ReplyDeleteIf you are so concerned about FAMU becoming a research university, then why are you against Ammons? Under Ammons' leadership, NCCU receives more sponsored research contracts and grants than UMES and University of North Texas, Denton COMBINED!
Ammons added numerous Ph.D. programs while he was FAMU's provost. He also helped FAMU climb up to #3 in sponsored research among Florida's public university. Thelma Thompson and Howard Johnson do not have his research and graduate education experience by a long shot.
And furthermore, why does FAMU need to be more "ethnically diverse?" You didn't mention any reservations about Florida International University having a majority Latin American student body. Why are you singling out the only majority black public university for criticism? Why shouldn't a majority black public university be able to exist right beside the predominantly white and Latin American public universities?
Are you Vincent June? You sound just like him. June supported Bryant's decision to cut funds for recruiting the brightest black students but then asked for more money to "diversify" FAMU by recruiting more white students.
Your arguments are lame and do not add up. Try looking at facts before you start attacking presidential candidates or demanding that FAMU bring in more white students.
rdhqodoyWell, d*mn, poster 10:04--aren't you in a snit this morning. I teach at the university and I venture to say that while James Ammons is good at what he does (and by the way, I was teaching at FAMU when Ammons was named provost, so I know what he's done and not done), I do believe that we need to start looking outside the university for persons not associated with the university. What is everyone so afraid of that they don't want to look anywhere else. I think the Denton candidate will do a fine job, but of course, I recognize that I'm in the minority here on this site.It never ceases to amaze me how people in this day and age are so afraid to go beyond what they think they know for sure.
ReplyDelete1/10/2007 10:29 AM,
ReplyDeleteFAMU simply needs to hire the best qualified candidate. Period. The fact that a particular candidate worked at FAMU in the past should not disqualify him or her.
You support Howard Johnson but you have not stated why he is better than Ammons.
Again, NCCU does receives almost three times the sponsored research contract and grant money that North Texas, Denton does -- even though NCCU is only a third of the size.
Howard Johnson has more staff a larger budget than Ammons but still can't net the same amount of research funding that Ammons gets with far less resources.
If Johnson comes in, FAMU will continue to slide backwards in sponsored research (just like it is under Castell Bryant -- who gutted the research division).
We need a president who knows how to get the dollars from the National Science Foundation and leading international research corporations. Ammons has a strong record in this area. Johnson has an extremely poor record in this area.
When Ammons was provost he got results in sponsored research. We were #3 in sponsored research among Florida's public universities. We were doing better than UCF, USF, FAU, and FIU. That's the level to which FAMU needs to return. Ammons has a proven record of success that shows he can take us there; Johnson does not.
What's up with the law school and why can't they find a permanent dean?
ReplyDeleteThis comment is neither a pro or con against Johnson but an observation. Johnson has only been at UNT 3+ years. From his writings I would venture to say part of hs responsibility was to make the campus a more research intensive university and to strengthen the faculty and reward and encourage them for research. In that regard UNT is still a work in progress.
ReplyDeleteWe cannot negate his more than 25-30 years of experience at Syracuse in various positions in academic affairs and as a faculty member. Syracuse, no doubt does qualify as a research intensive university and he certainly had some experience there.
I believe we have 3 candidates with various strengths and weaknesses. We are discussing shades og gray. All persons involved have reached the highest levels in the academy. I believe FAMU can grow under any of these individuals. It's not like we are considering people with no academic experience or persons who are just entry level professionals. All three persons are proven professionals, it comes down to what flavor of ice cream you like.
Anonymous 12:53...its a shame that people look as the candidates as equals...name one thing other than beeing a woman that Thompson does or has done better than Ammons? Thompson should not even be in this discussion. Name one thing Johnson does better than Ammons. Arguably one could say he can manage research based on his experience at Syracuse? The research was at Syracuse before he got there, he didn't create the stream. Nonetheless, less just say you give that to Johnson. In my eyez the coversation stops their because Ammons is a phenomenal securer of the research dollars and he has Johnson on all other issues. I support Ammons and then Johnson. Thompson is just a waste in my eyez.
ReplyDeleteGuess what? Even in the real world the best person does not always get the job. Sometimes people hire based on chemistry, based on their personality and how well their personality will work with the new employee. How well the new employee will fit the corporate culture, etc.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, supposed you worked for a laid-back company and now you to go work for a Pfizer or an IBM both in-your face type corporations. Hiring managers will want to decide whether the new employee will fit in the environment and flourish. Whether the person will be aggressive enough. It's not a question of expertise and experience, all that is on the resume.
The whole point of the hiring interview is to confirm information on the resume and to determine a person's personality, work style, energy level and to decide whether the dynamics will work.
Many companies administer psychological test to help get at some of these issues. They ask questions to determine how you problem solve; again to see if you fit in the organization.
It is no difference here. The final analysis will probably not be based on paper and credentials, but whose personality, vision and temperament best fit the BOT.
We have seen in the past that the BOT wanted to hire people who did what the BOT wanted and really did not have a vision on their own. We have no idea whether this BOT will higher a go-getter where they can sit back and ask a few questions or whether they will hire someone they will micromanage and oversee every step.
We shall see.
Ammons is an "old hat" and is a huge part of why the University is in the state of affairs that it's in! What's the fear in looking beyond the horizon and bringing in someone who has no politcal ties or hidden agendas? What is the BOT afraid of? What's wrong with having a "fresh face" in the place! Why can't folks think beyond the highest hill?
ReplyDeleteThe reason the university is in the "state" that it's in is because the James Corbin cronies came in and began dismantling structure and infrastructure of accountability that was in place and firing people with valuable institutional knowledge. Now they're afraid for their own job security. Isn't it funny how what goes around comes around. Cast-Hell and Company...See Ya and I wouldn't wanna be ya! Outta Here With A Quickness!
ReplyDeleteWhat "INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE?"
ReplyDeleteAll that term is is nothing but a smoke screen to refer to the only person with the keys to the file cabinet, or who refused to give up the password in our antiquated computer system!
Some of that "knowledge" possibly would have still been up there ... If only they had actually been capable of performing the tasks they were being paid to do.
For what it's worth - They probably still haven't gotten rid of enough of them, so it's going to be interesting to see just who remains AFTER the next President gets in place.
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BTW - Don't think you're going to see the same James Ammons that left here should he get the position. He's been in the shadows of one of the most storied colleges on the planet, and I'm sure he has soaked in quite a bit being in that atmosphere - and peeking from behind the bushes - ESPECIALLY after that rape case up there - so don't think he's going to come back to see the same old stuff he left.
He's going to come back to the Hill expecting more FROM all of you - especially those who claim to want him back so bad ... I just hope you don't disappoint him when he starts calling you all out to show and prove for real.
8:21---Corbin didn't "come in" and do all the things which he has been accused of (and I'm no fan of Corbin, that's for sure). A lot of this stuff was done during the Humphries/Ammons years. You simply cannot deny that. To deny that, you are not being objective. I agree with 7:04. Why is it that we cannot look beyond FAMU graduates. What are we so afraid of. The past five presidents (interim back down to Humphries), while they may contributed their share of "whatever" to the university, perhpas it's time for the university to look beyond its own home-grown people.
ReplyDeleteCorbin didn't "come in" and do all the things which he has been accused of (and I'm no fan of Corbin, that's for sure). A lot of this stuff was done during the Humphries/Ammons years. You simply cannot deny that. To deny that, you are not being objective.
ReplyDeleteAre you INSANE?
Corbin is responsible for:
-Rigging the 2002 search process in favor of Fred Gainous;
-Pressuring Gainous to fire all the senior officials in the controller's office, which the state auditors said removed all FAMU's institutional financial knowledge and directly caused the bad operational audit 2004;
-Pressuring Gainous to hire grossly irresponsible JRE Lee, III as AD, who ran up a $3M+ deficit in the Athletic Department;
-Rigging the 2004 interim presidential search in favor of Castell Bryant. Bryant ran up a $10M deficit, shut down the recruitment program (cause the sharp enrollment decline), gutted the research division (causing a multimillion dollar loss in research contracts and grants), and has completely neglected FAMU's fundraising operation.
Please do not insult our intelligence by trying to exonnerate Corbin. Corbin is directly responsible for the decline that FAMU has experienced since Humphries and Ammons left. Under Humphries and Ammons, FAMU's enrollment was soaring, research contracts and grants were steadily increasing, and private gifts were pouring in.
The simple fact of the matter is that Humphries-Ammons made money for FAMU. Corbin-Bryant have caused FAMU to lose millions every single year they've been in charge.
No amount of spin will help you redeem Corbin. He is responsible for things that FAMUans accuse him of doing. The facts prove it.
What Goes Around, Sho Comes Around!
ReplyDelete