SGA President/Trustee Phillip Agnew has written Board Chair Challis Lowe asking her to schedule an emergency BoT meeting to discuss "the recent audit, the Engineering School and the lack of communications (from the administration) regarding the issues facing our institution.Agnew, who got an earful from students at a campus "Town Hall" meeting last Wednesday, and made the request on last Friday, says the students are concerned and confused and need straight answers from the administration to ease the tension and avoid further confusion.
Trustee Duncan outraged!
Trustee Pam Duncan, echoed Agnew's concerns and added that she is "outraged by Dr. (Castell) Bryant's constant lack of notice" to the board regarding major issues. "The leadership of this administration is out of control, continues to make decisions that are detrimental to the this great university, and acts with total disregard to the members of this board or its stakeholders," Duncan wrote in an email to Lowe. "We are NOT serving our students! An emergency meeting is absolutely necessary."
Castell in the dark about E-School issues
Castell racks up record number of audit findings
Castell's mess infuriates legislators
Students want answers!
Mr Agnew - Do you have so little respect for our new president that you are unwilling to give him a chance to resolve this issue? He can communicate with the members of the Board of Trustees about this. You are stealing his opportunity to address the problejm for your own political attention. This is a difficult set of isssues and reasonable minds are going to disagree about the course of action. Give Ammons a chance to work through this instead of tryong to bind him to your own position on the matter.
ReplyDeleteFAMUAN editorial board says its OK for FSU to take opver engineering. Uncle Toms.
ReplyDeleteOK for Florida State to manage joint budget
By: Editorial Board
Posted: 4/2/07
The State of Florida is doing FAMU a favor while the University deals with an audit and more than $39 million dollars that were handled without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
State lawmakers have stripped FAMU of financial oversight for the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering it jointly runs with FSU, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.
FSU President T.K. Wetherell's response to the change was, "Who would you rather have manage your money?"
Although it may seem as a slap in the face to some people, for the past 10 years our University has been in control of the budget for the school, overseeing payments and operations.
If our University misses pay periods for faculty and delays students' financial aid and net checks, then why not let FSU handle budget operations for the College of Engineering?
There are more FSU students and professors at the college than students and teachers from FAMU anyway.
It seems wise to allow the University with the most representation in the college control the finances. This would be one less situation for FAMU to deal with while it sorts out all the other issues that have negatively impacted the University.
Interim President Castell V. Bryant said, "It was OK with them for FAMU to be the fiscal agent for 10 years, so why wouldn't it be OK with me for FSU to be fiscal agent for a while?"
Brent Hatchett for the Editorial Board.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2007 The Famuan
I am with the FAMUAN. There is nothing wrong with this. Agnew is a drama queen. Let it rest. Move on and get our financial house in order.
ReplyDeleteAgnew is right to seek answers.
ReplyDeleteCastell is the drama king!
You guys are vicious! Agnew can never do right! FIRST, you all get angry and say he does nothing. Then when he does something...the RIGHT THING...I might add...you disagree with that! Famuans are never happy!
ReplyDeleteBravo Agnew!
ReplyDeleteNEWSFLASH!!!
ReplyDeleteFSU is not waiting for James Ammons to come to Tallahassee. They are trying to take the E-School now!
And futhermore, Castell Bryant is the one who inflicted the present financial problems on FAMU. Under Fred Humphries, FAMU had clean operational audits and REAL surpluses.
Agnew is doing the right thing to fight FSU's attempts to takeover the E-School.
Agnew is doing the right thing to fight FSU's attempts to takeover the E-School.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
Castell won't fight, so students must!
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteMr Agnew - Do you have so little respect for our new president that you are unwilling to give him a chance to resolve this issue? He can communicate with the members of the Board of Trustees about this. You are stealing his opportunity to address the problejm for your own political attention. This is a difficult set of isssues and reasonable minds are going to disagree about the course of action. Give Ammons a chance to work through this instead of tryong to bind him to your own position on the matter.
4/02/2007 1:54 PM
Are you retarded or just overly stupid...The University can not wait until Ammons gets here to address our current issues--Bonehead!
I think it is refreshing to see a Trustee demand answers and responses regarding the next ninety days until Ammons gets here!
To Anonymous 1:54pm;
ReplyDeleteAre you serious? Like, for real, are you serious? Ammons doesn't come on board until July. So much can happen in 3 months, that it doesn't make sense to wait around to resolve pressing issues.
And where is the word from Ammons on this? Doesn't his silence concern any of you?
ReplyDeleteAnd where is the word from Ammons on this? Doesn't his silence concern any of you?
ReplyDelete4/02/2007 4:33 PM
He does not assume his position until July...it would be downright unprofessional for him to provide public commentary on matters being addressed during the current administration.
It would show a lack of restraint and class for him to talk publicly. The BOG and the Legislature have had the good sense to inlcude Ammons in their discussions, but the decions are not yet his to make for FAMU...duh!
Interesting that he is willing to trade off lack of restraint and class for bad results for FAMU. He has already lost us the engineering school. What's next, law or pharmacy or architecture or journalism?????
ReplyDelete6:31,
ReplyDeleteHE has not lost anything. When he assumes his position in July then he will be accountable for all actions taken. Until then, Castell is accountable...so don't put the blame on the wrong person. I pray that someone can save us from the demise that other HBCU's have faced in recent years. I know that with prayer and our mighty Rattler Spirit, we can accomplish anything.
uhh, 6:31.....
ReplyDeleteare you on drugs? remember-just say no!
1:54--so what's the deal with the griping about Agnew's trying to get to whatever. Dr. Ammons, when he comes, will certainly have anough problems without any kind of at-the-moment "interference" from Phillip Agnew. Agnew's a student leader. Dr. Ammons is the new president. Apples & Oranges. What real power does Agnew have in terms of simply asking for an emergency board meeting? Agnew isn't "stealing and opportunity...for his own gain." If he wasn't doing ANYTHING, you'd still find something to complain about. You're probably one of those folk who complain all the time about nothing, because an out-going student president's appeal for a meeting is not asking for much. Good gracious. Find something of merit to complain about, because this dog won't hunt.
ReplyDelete4:33--are you crazy? Dr. Ammons is still the president of NCCU. He's trying to close out his tenure there. He has administrative, fiscal and academic matters to attend to. NEWSFLASH: He's coming to FAMU. Give the man a second to get his own doggone house in order. Believe me, there's plenty of work for him to do once he gets here. He'll have no idle time. Some of you people here on this board just don't stop and think about what you're writing, just writing, writing, writing, with no sense of logic anywhere. Dr. Ammons is a professional. It would be highly UNPROFESSIONAL of him to make public comments on the intimate aspects of what is going on at FAMU at the moment. Also, he may be, according to his contract, barred from making public comments regarding FAMU, until after he officially gets here. Those of you are advocating that he speak out on these currents issues need to take a chill pill. Folks are always speculating about this, that and the other. Beofre the man officially becomes the 10th president and actually set up shop on the campus, there is just so much we can expect the man to do. For the last time: Let him close out his own school. It's not as if he's just sitting somewhere twiddling his fingers. Good heavens!
ReplyDeleteNEWFLASH: No one in the political power structure in Florida is very impressed with Ammons. Hence, the movement to resolve these issues before he arrives and Humphrieizes them all over again.
ReplyDeleteActually, Dr. Ammons is quite well respected in both the state and nation. The "Newsflash" is that just because someone posts something on the Internet, doesn't mean it's true. Anonymous 7:09 PM sounds like a purveyor of sour grapes -- one of Castell's crew, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteAmmons is old school and I fear incapable of tackling FAMU's problems. This is by no means a defense of Castell. She needed big time outside help from the beginning, but chose to try and hide FAMU's ills instead of immediately retaining the best help inside and out. The cat always gets out of the bag at some point!
ReplyDeletewhat do you people Ammons to do? jump ship in the middle of the semester like Larry Rivers did last March, without even completing the semester? Now, that was a real class act. Not, mind you, that we're talking about class, God forbid, but let Ammons close out the NCCU business; it's not as if he doesn't know what he's coming to already. Good heavens! Give the man a minute to get here. Now, whether or not he is up to the task of resolving the uiversity's woes is beside the point of this commentary. My point is: just let the man get here first. Then let the sharpshooting begin. Folks already believe that the man can walk on water; well, when he doesn't deliver in the manner in which folks thinks he should, folks will be hollering for his head. Damn if he does, damn if he doesn't. Ammons may be "old school" but he damn sure is making new $$. Hello?
ReplyDelete...and I'm sure many of those who have such tart opinions about what is going on at FAMU don't give a dime back to FAMU.
ReplyDeleteSTFU...please!
Some have just have brains and don't know what to do with them. President Agnew is SGA president. In case you don't know what that means, it's STUDENT Goverment Association. That means he is the leader of the STUDENT body. He is acting upon the request of the STUDENTS to are demanding answers as to what is going at FAMU.
ReplyDeleteCollege of love and charity
ReplyDeleteWe gather 'round thy noble shrine
We lift our voice in praise to thee
And ask a blessing all divine
FAMU, FAMU I love thee
I'll fight and win whatever the battle be
The orange and the green
Our sons will ever defend
And loyal to thy voice of love attend
FAMU, FAMU
FAMU I love YOU
College of love and charity
ReplyDeleteWe gather 'round thy noble shrine
We lift our voice in praise to thee
And ask a blessing all divine
FAMU, FAMU I love thee
I'll fight and win whatever the battle be
The orange and the green
Our sons will ever defend
And loyal to thy voice of love attend
FAMU, FAMU
FAMU I love YOU
It is going to take more than a sermon of love to correct FAMU's books. What is up with the overtly religious crap that comes out on this board? We are talking about Education and not Religion.
ReplyDeletewhat do you people Ammons to do? jump ship in the middle of the semester like Larry Rivers did last March, without even completing the semester? Now, that was a real class act.
ReplyDeleteRivers left FAMU after twenty-nine years of loyal service.
Furthermore, Rivers was very open and honest with FAMU community about the circumstances that made it necessary for him to go to FVSU during the middle of the school year.
Rivers shared the fact that he was offered the FVSU presidency on February 13, 2006, with the stipulation that he must come to FVSU thirty (30) days from the time of his acceptance.
The reason the Georgia BOR was so anxious to get Rivers in office is simple: FVSU was falling apart under Kofi Lomotey.
Former FVSU president Lomotey was universally disliked and distrusted within the FVSU. Alumni from all the across the country rallied for his removal. He was also completely detached from the student body. Lomotey had absolutely no sense of shared governance, and thus, ran into tremendous resistance from the faculty, as well.
Lomotey's incompetence resulted in the loss of FVSU's teacher education program. A new teacher education program was established at neighboring, predominantly white Macon State. Sound familiar, Rattlers? It's just like what happened when the state shut down FAMU's law school and created a new law school at FSU.
Lomotey's reputation was so impaired after being fired from FVSU that he could not even secure another university presidency. The best he could do was become provost at Fisk. And already, some of the Fisk alums I know are asking why in the hell someone like him was hired.
The Georgia BOR told Rivers that FVSU needed him to come in immedidately to reverse FVSU's enrollment decline, get the financial books in order (before another scathing state audit), and rebuild the academic programs that Kofi Lomotey had let fall to the ground.
Like most FAMUans I know, I was sad to see Rivers leave our campus. However, none of us can fault him for wanting to save his alma mater. We're looking for James Ammons to do the same when he comes back this summer.
FAMUans came out in great numbers for Rivers' inauguration last week. Ammons was on the program (dressed in his NCCU chancellor's gown). Also in attendence were:
-Former FAMU presidents Walter Smith and Fred Gainous;
-Capital Outlook Publisher Roosevelt Wilson and his wife;
-Interim dean of FAMU Arts & Sciences Ralph Turner (Rivers' sucessor), along with the entire central administration for the college;
-Rev. R.B. Holmes (a FAMU trustee and hopefully the next board chairman);
-Dr. Genyne Boston, chair of the FAMU Department of English;
-The entire FAMU Department of History, Geography, and Political Science;
-LaNedra Carroll, FAMU's Director of Public Relations.
-Many more FAMU students and faculty members than I can name.
FAMU loves Larry Rivers and the strong FAMU delegation at his inauguration proved it. We're happy to see FVSU growing and prospering under his leadership.
Each one, reach one!