Larry E. Rivers, Ph.D., D.A., of Fort Valley State University will keynote Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) Martin Luther King Convocation at 9:25 a.m. today in Gaither Gym.The general public is invited to attend.
The program will also feature elementary-school students from FAMU DRS, the FAMU concert choir and a special rendition of King’s “I Have a Dream” that will be performed with the FAMU Band. FAMU President James H. Ammons will present MLK leadership awards to Andrew Gillum, Phillip Agnew, and the Student Coalition for Justice.
GIVE ME A BREAK!!!! Phillip Agnew....that uncle tom Andrew Gillum. I guess its time to call granny Barbara in Jamaica, and advise her to put a jacket on. It truly is a cold day in HELL!!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW!
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 9:18,
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, Phillip Agnew, then student body president during CVB's regime, cast the "winning vote" to bring Ammons in as president. Seems like a rather fair return on the investment. As for Commissioner Gillum, I think he did a pretty respectable job as president of SGA, and he has done admirable things in the Tallahassee community for students-in-need on the southside. I think, overall, it's ok to honor these two young men. The world won't come to an end if these two young fellows are honored, and after the convocation no one will remember the whole thing anyway. Their being honored certainly is not worth the bashing that you've tried to instigate. People get awards everyday for things as trivial as picking up a rock off the sidewalk. I say let the kids have their public due, find a new topic to go ballistics over, and let's move on.
It's no surpise that the same people who dislike Ammons dislike the young leaders he recognizes with awards.
ReplyDeleteIf you hae a problem with individuals like Gillum and Agnew then be prepared to be upset for the next several decades because they are FAMU's future.
I take it that the two posters defending Mr.Agnew are Alumni, and never got to actually experience the leadership of Phillip Agnew. Mr. Agnews leadership role reflected that of the Reverend R.B. Holmes. when CVB came into office Mr. Agnew pranced across FAMU with that "Castell we must obey" mentality that Mr. Holmes was exhibiting on the BOT...He was a true lame duck president that spent most of his time organizing parties..Alot of students was frustrated with him because just like Castell his administration became an reflection of hers....Students where literary disenfranchised and tired of the incompetence of the university administration, and the student run administration.....It wasnt untl STUDENTS stood up and pressured Mr. Agnew to get off his behind, and ask the tough questions on the BOT..instead of playing puppet and being hushed by Castell all the time(if you dont beleive me just look through the archives on this blog)...Yeah Agnew did Martin Lee Anderson movement ill give him credit for it, but the deciding vote for Dr. James H. Ammons i was an insider when that whole event went down, and i would let you know im an Ammons supporter 100%....but when the vote was over Mr. Agnews exact words were"I might have voted for Dr, Thelma Thompson...she had some good ideals, but when she got smart with me during that interviewing process that was her arse...." Im happy that we have the right individual leading our great school...ill give Agnew partial credit for the vote, but how he commented on it was totally irresponsible...so just like Reverend R.B. Holmes did(the same people who praised Castell) Mr. Agnew starting jumping around campus like nobody remembered how he was castells puppet. As for Mr. Gillum he does the minimum for the community....he could be doing more...i would have waited alittle longer before i ever decided to even award him anything.....
ReplyDelete1/17/2008 4:27 PM
ReplyDeleteTake those nonsense back to the kiddie blog -- "Fridays on the Set" or whatever it is. No one believes you!
You're definitely not up to having a conversation with the grown folks.
No one's "defending" anyone. My response to poster 9:18 are fairly straightforward: Let the guys get their award from the president. The president can give awards to whomever he wishes, and these two guys are whom he wishes to give an award to. Hello? It's not that big of a deal. Let's not make a great commotion out of something that needs no commotion at all. Let's simply move on to a topic of substance. Period. End of story.
ReplyDeletePlus, 4:27, Andrew Gillum has been a great role model for a community of young men and women of color in Tallahassee. Any time someone offers an alternative view of something, there's always someone that thinks everyone ought to think alike and behave the same. Gillum is only one person (and I don't know him or Agnew, but I have kept up with what each has done over the years). He can only do so much. It's not as if he's Chief of the World and is obligated to fix every single problem that the university ever had or the city of Tallahassee has ever had. What have YOU done to make your community a better place? Nothing??? I rest my case.
ReplyDelete6:47....WOW!!!! Calm down buddy you going crazy....its really not that serious....lets move on.....
ReplyDeleteIt is serious. I'm so damn tired of these people coming on here and trashing the young leaders who are out there trying to do positive things in the community.
ReplyDeletewell this is what you do support the students of this university most of these comments are alumni rejects that are not looking out for the university, or Castell supporters with their scale. Im a student, and if you are an alumni i respect alumni like you. No matter what FAMU still produces the best.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone actually attend the MLK Convocation today? I just wanted to know if it was as good as last year. Mr. Agnew gave the keynote last year, the first student to ever do so, and he was AWESOME! If the majority of FAMU students ever bothered to go, they would know that. He should have gotten an award just for that speech. Had he given the keynote again today I think I might have tried to make the trip back to Tallahassee just to hear him speak.
ReplyDeleteBut, back to the initial subject at hand. How was convocation? How was Dr. River's address? Just curious.
i think dr. rivers left the university too soon. he left before he knew that james ammons was going to be the president, and now, i think he regrets going to preside over a school with 2,500 students. i thnk he's trying to inch his way back "home." that's what i think.
ReplyDeleteOK. Let's talk about the fact that there were only 3 people in convocation today! Why didn't the university change the convocation date and time? In all my many years convocation has never been on a Thursday at 9am.
ReplyDeleteDr. Rivers is where he always wanted to be. Back at his undergraduate institution, Ft. Valley. If you ever talked with him on a personal level (even during the FAMU Golden Age) you would know the affinity he hadfo r Ft. Valley.
ReplyDeleteLook Miss 1:05, there were definitely a lot more than three people in convocation. It was well attended but not well publicized; besides the flyer did not say that the classes would be closed so teachers had class anyway. The gym was not packed but the crowd was typical for an unannounced convocation. I agree with 7:13, Dr. Rivers is where he wants to be and happy to be the President at his alma mater. He is not trying to get back to FAMU. How about you go and apply over there with him.
ReplyDeleteJust a note...Trustee Spurgeon Williams is credited with the vote that brought Dr. Ammons back to the Hill.
ReplyDeleteThe count was 7-6. EVERY vote was indispensable.
ReplyDeleteTake away Agnew's vote and this university would have a president who would have failed to keep SACS from pulling the plug in December.
There would be a special legislative/Board of Governors task force meeting right now to determine how to transfer FAMU's programs and assets to FSU.
That is an interesting comment and shows why we major in the minor.
ReplyDeleteThe vote was 7-6 and the fact is that there were a few undecided and a lot of work was put in to sway them by a dedicated group of folks.
7:13, I have talked to Rivers on a personal level, and I do know the affinity he has for his undergraduate institution. An affinity for something, however, does not necessarily mean that the person has no desire to return to the institution where he spent nearly three decades. Believe me when I tell you that the River wishes he was back at Florida A&M University. But that Flow ain' happening any time soon.
ReplyDelete8:40, how do you kow the man is happy? Because he's there?
ReplyDeleteRivers has big plans for FVSU and seems committed to remaining there for a long while.
ReplyDeleteFt. Valley State U. Makes Cuts to Grow Amid Challenges, Changes
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Associated Press
Dec 16, 2007, 15:30
FORT VALLEY, Ga.
The long list academic programs shutting down at Fort Valley State University may seem like a death sentence for the public historically Black institution, but it's actually part of the school's plans for a revival.
With a new president at the helm, Fort Valley has emerged from a $2.5million budget deficit by shuttering 12 programs and revamping the remaining offerings.
The university is boosting its once plummeting enrollment by hundreds with an expansive recruitment program, posh new apartment-style dorms and promises of a bright future.
``Some folks told me they had put Fort Valley on life support, that it was on its way to withering up,'' said President Larry E. Rivers, a Fort Valley State graduate who took charge 18 months ago. ``It's a new day in the valley.''
Fort Valley, like many other public historically Black colleges, is still recovering from the deep imprint racial politics left on the nation's higher education system, said Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund and former chairman of the Fulton County Commission.
After years of living in the shadow of their majority White counterparts, historically Black institutions are working aggressively to draw students, he said.
``They were underfunded, and they didn't have the facilities,'' Lomax said. ``Historically black colleges have had to redefine themselves, to make sure they had the resources to upgrade and create.''
At the same time, the competition for Black students has increased as colleges nationwide try to improve diversity by recruiting more minorities. Historically Black colleges now have to fight for the students who once had no other choices.
``What integration did ... was it gave our students an opportunity to be selective,'' said Dwayne Ashley, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which provides support for public historically Black colleges.
Two years ago, Fort Valley was an aging campus that still hadn't completely recovered from the segregation-era decades when Georgia gave more support to majority white colleges than it did its three public historically Black institutions: Fort Valley, Savannah State University and Albany State University.
Fort Valley's enrollment had declined for nearly a decade. It hit 2,100 in the fall of 2006 after the state suspended accreditation for the university's teacher education program, sending 300 students in search somewhere else to get a degree.
For eight consecutive years, the university had received a low rating from the state on audits of financial records, in part because the financial aid department liberally bestowed tuition waivers, helping swell the deficit.
Donations were stagnant.
After Rivers took the helm in March 2006 he went on a speaking tour, expanded the recruitment program and sent his students to high school across the state to talk about their institution.
The university began airing monthly TV shows on a local station to talk about programs and projects on campus.
Donations increased. The university's endowment grew $2 million, to $5.5 million.
Rivers eliminated the campus' deficit by closing low enrollment programs, including programs in physics and office administration, and by laying off 15 employees and not filling vacancies left by retirements. He closed most of the university's teacher education degree programs and is opening new ones to regain accreditation.
The university, which began as a trade school for Blacks, is focusing on its teacher education, health science and agriculture programs, said Daniel Wims, vice president for academic affairs.
Rivers had a 3,000 pound bronze statue of the university's mascot, a wildcat, placed in a commons area between academic buildings. The statue, students say, is the symbol of a new type of energy on campus.
``It seems like it's getting better every year,'' said Jasmine Wilson, 18, a freshman from Columbus, Ga., who said attending Fort Valley State is a tradition in her family.
To reach out to students, Rivers put his profile on online social networking sites Facebook and MySpace. Like many faculty and staff members at Fort Valley State, he makes sure students know they can e-mail or call him any time.
It's that nurturing and family-like atmosphere that minority students often cite as the reason they continue to choose historically Black institutions like Fort Valley over majority White campuses.
``I went to other college campuses but I didn't get that home feeling like I did at Fort Valley,'' said freshman Darrell Lockhart Jr. ``I was talking to my friends that went to other campuses. They feel alone. They say they don't know anybody.''
Anticipating an enrollment spike this fall, the university opened a $44 million, 951-bed housing complex, financed by the private Fort Valley State University Foundation. Every room was reserved in the first two weeks they were available.
Fort Valley saw the largest enrollment increase of any public college in the state this fall with a 17 percent jump to 2,500 students. Rivers says he wants to see that number increase to 15,000 over time.
Another 500-bed housing building will open next fall, and the university has plans for a $20 million science building and a new stadium.
Rivers wants to expand the university's offerings beyond its traditional teacher education and agriculture-based programs. He's eyeing a nursing and pharmacy program and would like to expand the veterinary technician program, the only accredited one in the state.
Students say they can feel the evolution.
``When I first started attending here, people used paper and pen in class,'' said Shanoria Morgan, a junior at the university. ``Now we sit in class with laptops. Now there's more pride in our school.''
rivers wanted to be the president of FAMU, but knew it wasn't going to happen; he then had to settle on FVSU.
ReplyDeletePhillip Agnew is good people and he cares deeply about FAMU and its constituents. I know the brother personally and he is a man on principle.
ReplyDeleteRivers has been positioning himself to become president of FVSU for years. Ask the students and colleagues who knew him best. He's always said that he felt FVSU has needed more agressive leadership in the post-segregation era and that he had an oligation to help out his alma mater.
ReplyDeleteWhen Fred Gainous appointed Rivers to the Arts & Sciences deanship, it was widely known among the faculty that it was a stepping stone towards the FVSU presidency.
Both Rivers and Ammons see Humphries as a mentor. FAMUans have come to expect their president to have experience leading a university. Rivers knew that Ammons went to NCCU to get ready to lead FAMU and supported him.
However, now that Rivers is getting presidential experience at FVSU, who knows what might happen after Ammons retires? On the other hand, many people think that Rivers wants to personally guide all his FVSU projects through for the next 10 years.
Only time will tell...
no one cares where Larry is.
ReplyDelete^^^Speak for yourself.^^^
ReplyDeleteGo FAMU!
Go FVSU!
Again, no one cares where Larry is.
ReplyDelete