There is no doubt that FAMU's BOT is fractured into two camps. Roosevelt Wilson sees the split as an in-town -v- out of town split. I'm not sure I agree with him on that but the split exist for sure.Here's Mr. Wilson's "Against the Grain" column on the topic.
FAMU’s 13-member board is made up of six appointed by the governor, five by the Board of Governors and two reserved for presidents of the student body and Faculty Senate.
For the most part, with a couple of exceptions, the split in the FAMU board seems to be almost a double split - between in-town and out-of-town members, and those whose sole objective is doing what is best for FAMU and those whose primary objective is to defend, protect and support Interim President Castell Vaughn Bryant.
Continue reading: Reconsider how trustees are named
The issue of our current BOT strangely has some of the same similarities that Bruce Gordon discussed this morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Gordon said that there are 64 Board members in which he answers to 17 directly. The issue in his mind was that this group was not only making policy for the NAACP, but personnel decision, choosing the path of the organization, ultimately dictating what the CEO of their organization should do, when to do it and how to do it. Importantly, Gordon said that he has worked in corporate America of 30+ years and worked with a number of boards and has never had the problem of the board trying to run the organization before. As I listened to Gordon's conversation I couldn't help but to think of the last four years of our BOT. Is it me, or is our BOT the most popular BOT in the state of Florida? This group has not only governed the university (its job) but has made personnel moves that have turned out to be totally outrageous, such as allowing an interim president to hire a full administrative team, and not on a interim bases mind you. Now, many of my colleagues agree that part of the reason Dr. Humphries retired when he did (after the signing of the law school, proposal for FAMU to receive a med school, new rec center and gym in plans) was because he understood that members on the BOT were out to get him, which has been very evident since then even today. At this point, I hate to say this but--- I would rather see less of our "skin folk" on the board if that means a group of people that will govern the way that a BOT was meant to govern. Just my thought.
ReplyDeletenow you know the purists and merger-paranoid FAMfolk will go crazy if there are more YTs on our BOT. Especially if one managed to get himself elected chair.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when Ammons comes on board, this BOT needs to step the hell back and let him do his job. Hey BOT: SHUT UP, write the donation checks, show up sometimes at various fundraisers and "society" events, and stick to approving or denying Ammons' ideas. Basically, do what they did with Bryant, except exercise the disapproval button if it is warranted.
On the TJMS, Gordon just exposed the NAACP. Noticed he stopped short of saying that the NAACP is RELEVANT, he just said "the NAACP could be relevant..."
While I certainly don't agree with the way the BOT operates sometimes, I do believe that a healthy board and a vital board needs the different viewpoints of its members. Roosevelt Wilson of the Capital Outlook, sees a fractious board because certain members are not within the geographical locale of the university. While this might be a concern in some respects, I don't see that it should be reason for the vitriolic rants that he expouses. I also am of the opinion that we need a few dissenters on the board, if not for a broader view of the issues of the university, then certainly for a more balanced finality of commmunication. We do not want a board that agrees with everything the next person has to say. A good, healthy dialogue, not divisive, mind you, will be a good thing. Especially when the new president comes on board. A new chair is needed, for sure, but now a chair who will rubber-stamp whatever the issues and concerns are. That's what is happening now, and look at the turmoil that we see and have.
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ReplyDelete12:07 pm said:
Roosevelt Wilson of the Capital Outlook, sees a fractious board because certain members are not within the geographical locale of the university.
No, he said he saw a fractitious board because those outside of the geographical locale place their loyalty to Castell over the interests of the university.
Roosevelt Wilson is an idiot
ReplyDeleteThe Board of Trustees of FAMU was the smartest thing that Jeb Bush has ever done in his entire political life. The man proved to be the most powerful Gov. in the history of mordern Fl.Having said that he knew what Karl Rove knew to get his brother elected president, let black folk destroy black folk and you just sit back and watch. I BOT is made up of two kind of Black folks and these two types have been around since slavery; The slave who says,"lets just be happy dat we's live n massa lets us eat n praise da lawd! What fa you's talkin bout da north?" This slave is,F. Gainous, G.W.Allen,Corbin,Debra Austin (listen to her talk) read her view on the Pappas report( I read every word of the report and here statements)and look at her resume. Then there is the second kind of slave who says, " What you's mean you going back nigga I's a kill ya first, we's goin north freedrom aint fa dem to give I's was born wit it I jua gots to go North to gets it." example F. Humpries look at what he did as President of FAMU taking it from falling down, enrollment around 4,500, Lee Hall closed,Presidents office in Gibbs?(now someone tell me why does Walter Smith have a buliding named after him?)to over 13,000 students and taking the lime lite from FSU and trust me those white people were steaming about that and now under the leadership of the likes of CVB we have been going backwards everysince 2002. It is now the time for all of the Black Folk with the soul of the LION to rise up and support Dr. Ammons and the BOT will have to follow. WE MUST PUT OUR MONEY BEHIND DR. AMMONS AND WE MUST RETURN TO VOTING IN BLOCKS AND SEND A MESSAGE TO FL ELECTED OFFICALS! MONEY,MONEY, MONEY TO SUPPORT DR. AMMONS!
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