Overall, Florida's new Governor Charlie Crist gets pretty good marks. I mean, so far he certainly says the right thing and seems less combative and arrogant than his predcessor. Crist certainly raised the hopes of FAMUANS early on when he pulled back Gov. Bush's late term appointments, including that of FAMU trustee Jesse Tyson. Crist inadvertently signaled to FAMUANS that he was concerned about our dysfuctional board and that he was going to make strides to clean it up. Yet, since his grand announcement no action has been taken and Mr. Tyson continues to serve on the FAMU BOT until Crist either decides to reappoint him or replace him.
We strongly urge Mr. Crist to move forward and replace Mr. Tyson now.
Within 72 hours of recinding Bush's nominee to the Florida State University BOT, Mr. Crist had already named a replacement. Why is he dragging his foot with a replacement for Tyson? Maybe its time for us to start calling his office and ask him.
Email: Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com
Phone: 850-488-7146
Fax: 850-487-0801
FAMU trustee appointment pulled back
Branker, Lowe must go
Snakes among us!
I admit to having been very pleasantly surprised by Governor Crist's first few weeks on the job. However, before I feel like he is concerned about our dysfunctional board, he will have to ask several current BOT members for their resignations. Only after he has done that, and replaced them with the highly competent people we deserve -- wise folks who are respected as educational leaders -- will he have convinced me that 1. He understands the depth of the problem; and 2. He really cares.
ReplyDeleteYes the BOT needs to be changed. First, Laura Branker should resign. She let everyone know she has a personal problem with Dr. Ammons and should therefore do the honorable thing and step down. If not, she should feel the pressure of the RN. Gov. Crist should replace Tyson ASAP. He has proven that he has no clue and Challis is Low should resign after all her manipulations to the presidential process failed and Thelma Thompson exposed for the fraud she is. That would create an opportunity for three new board members to help Dr. Ammons hit the ground running with a majority of the board working with him.
ReplyDeleteObviously you would rather have people on your board who is well-versed in academia versus someone who can bring money to your school. Jesse Tyson arranged for Exxon-Mobil to give $1M for the MLK Memorial Project through Alpha Phi Alpha, and you wanna kick him off of the board just because he misspoke at one meeting? Shyt, for $1M he can misspeak all he wants. Ya'll got them other clowns on the board who can't and haven't scraped together two red cents for FAMU over the past years, including the ones who voted for Ammons.
ReplyDeleteTyson did not do a thing for the $1M. He is a fraud just like Thelma Thompson. He should be off the Board immediately. You must remember he only works for Exxon-Mobil and he does not own it. Funds in corporations are set-a-sides for a given purpose. He is employed by them to effect change with those dollars for its designated purpose. Give us a break about individuals who are working in Corporations. Since we have documented that Tyson does not have the best interest of FAMU at heart, it is good that he is being replaced by the Governor.
ReplyDeleteTyson hasn't brought sh*t to the FAMU BOT yet, and has become a Castell/Lowe/Allen lackey. That's the problem with him.
ReplyDeleteInstead of looking for solutions or helping FAMU resolve issues he's fallen inline with the obstructionist.
to anon @ 2/21/2007 7:48 AM....
ReplyDeleteumm...this is a higher education institution. it appears you are saying it's wrong to have someone "well-versed in academia"?!? it's an academic institution! this is not to say raising funds isn't important, but an understanding of the business you are representing is a necessity.
would tyson go into an exxon-mobil meeting and not understand the institution for which he is working? i doubt he would go far in corporate america behaving like that. why should we expect less for FAMU? even if he did have anything to do with the donation from exxon-mobil, what money has he brought to famu?
Wait a damn minute! Isn't that Mark Foley in dat picture?
ReplyDeleteI hope this isn't a recent pic.
Word in a small circle close to Governor Crist is that his homeboys, Rouson, Haynes and "Shady" Grady are trying to cut a deal to replace Tyson with someone other than a former FAMU SGA President.
ReplyDeleteRemember folks in central Florida have a saying, "Jesus had Judas...... black folks got Darryl Rouson, Watson Haynes and Grady Irvin."
What does attorney Grady have to do with our BOT? Isn't he a BCC graduate?
ReplyDelete9:20--You should use the verb "are" instead of "is" in your opening statement. That's plain old subject-verb agreement. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 9:20. Talk about somebody who's not "well-versed," well, you got that right, because you certainly are not. Check out your grammar before you start talking about $$. Obviously, you do not have any, because you would purchase a basic grammar handbook before you decide to go online dissing folk. (And that "s" is purposely deleted.)
ReplyDelete12:41--Grady Irving, Grady Irving. Hmmm-m-m-m....Is he that fellow from "Sanford and Son"? I thought Grady was dead. Damn, Grady still living? Grady must be, like two-hundred, by now. Matter of fact, I think we oughts to resurrect Fred and LaMont. With what we have now on the Board, there isn't much difference in the no-clue, clown aspect.
ReplyDeleteDat.
ReplyDeleteGrady Irvin, Esq, is a 1984 B-CC SGA President. And a graduate of Stetson Univ. College of Law.
ReplyDeleteGrady's charachter is very questionable.
He's the BCC alum that threatened to file an injunction if the BCC BOT named Henry Lewis as president.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Grady Irvin concerned about who is appointed the FAMU's BOT? Why doesn't he want a former FAMU SGA president to take Tyson's place?
ReplyDeleteWhat is Irvin's agenda?
What certain FAMU SGA president are you all referring to? I'm curious to know why a BCC graduate has any say so in what goes on at FAMU. I mean old boy should have been helping BCC become a university before 2007.
ReplyDeleteI mean old boy should have been helping BCC become a university before 2007.
ReplyDeleteMan, that was cold.
We must admit that there are a handful of people on the Board who need to be replaced, however, we certainly don't wish to have a "yes" board where everyone agrees, either. Look what has happened since CVB has been there. Carte Blanche. Different opinions and dialogue are needed on any board in order that there is a different perspective heard and/or challenged. I am certainly no advocate of the snakes among us, but I do believe that different perspectives and interjections are good for any kind of academic board. We cannot rubber stamp everything all the time. (Now, of course, I do expect to hear all kinds of negatives on this comment, but that's good. It simply drives home my point that a bit of diversity, not adversity, is needed when it comes to the business of moving our university forward.)
ReplyDeleteIt simply drives home my point that a bit of diversity, not adversity, is needed when it comes to the business of moving our university forward.) 2/21/2007 11:10 PM
ReplyDeleteNo one wants a rubber stamping BOT. The current situation at FAMU can be attributed to a handful of rubber stamping BOT. The majority of the BOT are clueless, don't understand the role of FAMU in higher education, let alone higher education and how its suppose to work.
Let's not forget that they have created these current problems by their inactions and the appointment of their current president.
Ammons nor FAMU desires this bunch of thugs.
Didn't this Branker woman graduate FAMU several years back? Was she a student when Ammons was first appointed Provost? What's the deal with her?
ReplyDelete