Just when it seemed sparring over financial management of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering was subsiding, comments by a top FSU administrator have refueled tensions.In a Tallahassee Democrat opinion piece published Thursday, Florida State University Provost Larry Abele said students at the joint college are being hurt by a lack of necessary supplies and "appalling" building conditions, while beleaguered faculty members are hamstrung by poor money management by Florida A&M, which pays the college's bills. He called for greater oversight by the college's Joint Management Council. He'd also like a stand-alone line item for the college in FAMU's budget to ensure greater financial accountability.
Tensions rise
Most students don't see problems at E-School
Yea well we need July to get here first. So we still have a good 2 months of this to tolerate. I don't see what so hard you given 10 million to pay the bills so pay them and be done with it. Actually I take that back I do see the big deal. Its called firing to many people and not hiring replacements making one or two people responsible for doing mutiple jobs and dealing with the usual red tape nonsense. But yea all the whining in the media not resolving anything and just making things worse.
ReplyDeleteSomeone must speak up for FAMU’s involvement in the COE. Both Wetherell and Abele have made public statements, based on a preliminary audit, that said or implied that FAMU was not worthy to be in the COE. Al Lawson spoke out and I support him.
ReplyDeleteIf Al Lawson and Richardson had not led the effort to keep the $10.4M at FAMU, FSU would have total control of the COE. Something stinks at FSU, the administration and faculty are working to get FAMU out of the COE and would have achieve it with Castell Bryant‘s help, if Al Lawson, Richardson, and others had not spoken up. The FSU “community” is also apparently “divided” on this issue: Wetherell says FSU should manage COE funds and Provost Abele says FAMU should manage the funds. This fight will continue even after Ammons gets here. I commend Al Lawson for speaking up. He is taking heat from both sides on this issue. Go Al!
I think that FSU supports having FAMU manage the $10.4 million but it wants that to be a line item. The concern, as Provost Abele has stated it, is that FAMU is not spending the money the legislature has appropriated for the Engineering school, and that FSU is having to make up the difference with its own budget and with dollars its faculty bring in in grants. Some of the FSU faculty with grants are furious at this and want to leave the COE.
ReplyDeleteSomething stinks at FSU, the administration and faculty are working to get FAMU out of the COE and would have achieve it with Castell Bryant‘s help, if Al Lawson, Richardson, and others had not spoken up.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Laswon and Richardson spoke up does not mean that the COE is not facing serious problems. This issue is not over. COE faculty are willing to let FAMU manage the COE, but FAMU must spend the money the legislature allocates to the COE on the COE, not on other programs. Also, FAMU cannot continue to stand in the way of COE pursuing a strong research focus expecting to use grant overhead brought in by faculty, primarily on the FSU side, for general purposes for which the COE budget is intended. FAMU is going to have to change the way it does business or FSU haws every right to raise this issue again. And it will.
7:19--you asked and answered your own question.
ReplyDeleteSplit the schools! FAMU is a hindrance. The relationship needs to end and will! Now it is FSUs turn to let it's stakeholders and supporter be heard. Lawson is playing politics with FSU and it's student's well being. FAMU and FSU need to go their separate ways. FSU stakeholders contact your board of trustees, president, and Al Lawson and be heard. Senator Al did not consider FSU's interest and come election time Seminole Nation will not forget this.
ReplyDeleteThere is no community at the COE. The FAMU students don't like it. The FSU students don'e like it. The FAMU faculty don't like it. The FSU faculty don't like it. FSU's administration doesn't like it. The only ones who seem to like it are Al Lawson and the FAMU alumni. Split the COE. End the joint college. Divide the budget. Give FAMU the building. And let FAMU and FSU each define their own communities, given their very different visions and missions. There is no reason to continue on with such a dysfunctional relationship which harms FSU and FAMU alike.
ReplyDeleteAbele's comments also apply to CESTA and the Perry-Paige bulding.
ReplyDeleteDon't think FAMU will get the building or any of the buildings for that matter. FSU is expanding it's soon to be Southwest Campus surrounding the Engineering School. FAMU is not the major player, it is FSU. Wake up!
ReplyDeleteFAMU is not the major player, it is FSU. Wake up!
ReplyDeleteSo you are conceding FSU IS in control of the COE? Wait a minute, I thought that we stopped that from happening? If theuy are in control anyway why did we raise such a fight last week? What am I missing and will FAMU ever have any impact on the direction of the COE, or is it really an FSU program that borrows the FAMU name?
You people killed most of the Seminloles and pay a few (not all of us) to keep quiet. "Seminole Nation", those big supporters are corporations, not your cuntry asses. You really don't have an e-school and you should be "let" out of it and go co-op with UF. You didn't deserve to be apart of the deal anyway. Desegregation and Integration are comparatively at odds. Should we shut down a branch of the military if it does not seem to be of partisan interest? One would fix the problems and move on respectfully. What are you gonna do when all of the blacks begin to attend FAU and FIU? oh klan wins, all minorities are corralled in central and south florida. This blueprint os soo antiquated and we have seen all of this before. You just want us to turn out mindless information handlers, not thinkers. It's not yours in the first place. Backoff GAINES ST.
ReplyDelete"What am I missing and will FAMU ever have any impact on the direction of the COE, or is it really an FSU program that borrows the FAMU name?"
ReplyDeleteFSU has no desire to borrow FAMU's name. All things beging equal, FSU would rather not have a COE affiliated with FAMU. FSU does not want to take anything from FAMU. Everyone agrees that FAMU should have its COE.
However, I think everyone would agree that FAMU and FSU have different missions. FSU wants its academic majors to be ranked and world-class. If FAMU shared that same goal for the COE, then there would be no problem. However, FAMU would have to demostrate that it is willing to increase its COE admission standards to the level of FSU students so that the COE can reach the goal of it being a world-class program. If not, the FAMU/FSU COE will never work. Just split the two schools equitably and everyone will be happy.
At the very least, can we all agree that having a separate line item for FAMU's COE budget would be a good idea? It would ensure that monies are actually going towards the COE, something everyone can agree is in the best interests of both FAMU and FSU students.
Incedentally, I find all of this FSU vs. FAMU stuff quite ironic. Supporters of the whitest, most segregated, and most redneck racist alumni in our state, UF, just sit back rubbing their fat bellies chuckling at the conflict between FSU and FAMU. UF has been stealing money from the other state universities in Florida for decades. If either FSU or FAMU had any sense, they would team up and pull the money away from Gainesville and send it to Tallahassee.
Anybody who has tried to put through a Purchase Order in the past two years knows how byzantine FAMU's purchasing system is.
ReplyDeleteIt got worse with PeopleSoft and worst under Bryant, who has to sign every requisition for paperclips and staplers.
Having FAMU manage anybody's finances is a punishment I would not wish on our enemies!
Is there any way we could get FSU to manage FAMU's finances? Or TCC? Or Kaiser? Or the New Beginnings Preschool?
Lord save us from ourselves!
FAMU law school - a disaster. The bar passage rates are out. FAMU is second to last at 52.4%. The state average is 70.9% FIU, established the same year as FAMU, is first ion the state, with 94.4%. Why are so many FAMU students failing the bar exam? This is embarassing. Ammons must take charge.
ReplyDeleteFlorida State needs to get out of this "partnership". Let FAMU have an engineering program to run as an HBCU engineering program while FSU is free to compete with the best national engineering programs.
ReplyDeleteThe current college of engineering has been outgrown.
Change it!