Rattler Nation has learned that the new year will bring new leadership at the FAMU School of Nursing as Dean Mary Ella Graham has been replaced by Ruena O. Norman. Dr. Norman is a former Associate Dean of the SoN. Ironically, Dr. Norman was demoted by Dr. Graham.Graham was appointed Dean by former interim president Castell Bryant, on June 27, 2006. Graham's appointment came as a result of a "national search" by the Hollins Group that included four local candidates. Graham had previously served as dean and professor of nursing at Tennessee State University.
Mrs. Graham's tenure has been marked by controversy, her leadership style has been described by nursing faculty as "divisive and ineffective."
Her handling of complaints by former students over the school's internal examination has also come under fire.
Graham will be leaving the dean's office about the same time that Allied Health dean Cynthia Hughes Harris leaves her post to take over as provost.
Also see: Hollin's Group paid $50,000 for Nursing Search
(remember each of the green phrases highlighted above is a hot link to a related story.)
Can Mary Ella refund the $50,000 for that bogus dean search done by the Hollins Group?
ReplyDeleteout with the old, in with the new! the new school year is as good as time to start as any.
ReplyDeleteRN, what about the SBI dean?
ReplyDeleteIm shocked we're actually promoting from within!!!! Haven't seen that in a while. Lately, it seems you have to be a friend or family member of someone in the BOT or FAMU Foundation Board of Directors to get a position, let alone a decent salary.
ReplyDeleteFAMU actually promoting people (and hopefully looking for competence).....WHAT A CONCEPT!!!!! I pray this trend continues because i feel lately my generous donations to the school have been sadly pointless. Good luck and congratulations!!!!!
Sorry to be off subject, but What ABOUT the SBI dean(gasp)?
ReplyDeleteAsk the faculty.
ReplyDeleteYea...any word on the SBI Dean? She has not produced anything. Word on the street is she has spent a sizeable amount of SBI's cash on trips all over the country; yet has come back empty-handed. Lack of confidence is growing rapidly among Faculty, Students, and Alumni. It also appears she does not have the academic credentials to be Dean of a business school (aka her PhD doesn't fit). This wouldn't surprise me---look who hired her.
ReplyDeleteFIRST OF ALL... SHE WASNT DEMOTED BY GRAHAM..SHE IS THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO RESIGN BECAUSE SHE COULDNT DO THE JOB... LETS GO BY FACTS, GRAHAM WAS THERE FOR THOSE STUDENTS.. SHE WOULD ALWAYS LISTEN AND HELP ALL OF THEM. BRINGING IN NORMAN WAS A MISTAKE. GRAHAM SPENT THIS YEAR CLEANING UP NORMAN'S MESS. JUST WAIT AND LET TIME TELL WHAT THE TRUTH IS...
ReplyDelete1:56, This didn't just happen. Believe me when I tell you that it's been in the works longer than you know. It's just being made public now, is all. Things at famu don't just happen out of the blue. I teach there, and I can tell you some horror stories. Trust me on this one.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we have to second guess every personnel decision at FAMU? Personnel decisions happen at every university and organization EVERYDAY. You employees that work for FAMU need to spend more time doing your jobs instead of posting gossip on this blog. Earn your pay or get the hell on.
ReplyDelete3:18, i suppose that you're at home and not on someone's time clock, right? Maybe some of the jobs these folks have IS to blog everyday. Who made you the blog police?
ReplyDelete3:41
ReplyDeleteI'm an alumnus of FAMU and a retired multi millionaire. I do not wish to be a blog police, but to outsiders, I'm sure we look like a very dysfunctional group of idiots.
I support Dr. James Ammons and prove it with my financial support. I do not intend to micromanage or second guess things that I am not qualified to perform.
Please keep it clean.
Famu, I hope we followed the policy with this decision.
ReplyDeleteHello??? Did any of you realize that "questionable test" was already in place before Mary Ella got there??? The faculty did not want to change it... How about we fire them?
ReplyDeleteI agree. If I were looking for a positive reason to attend FAMU I would be turned off by some of the entries on this blog; especially those coming from its students and employees of the university. As an alumnus of this great university, it is amazing to see the asenine and highly speculative remarks. We need to more cognizant of the WHO that may visit this blog. Einstein states, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." I totally support Dr. Ammons and the university for the strides they have made to correct the wrongs that have been inflicted. May we all gain such wisdom.
ReplyDelete"retired multi-millionaires" have time to blog? must be a slow day at the bank.
ReplyDelete5:23, Retired millionaires have time to do what they want to do, idiot!
ReplyDelete4:51 I agree. It's unfortunate that some choose to start the New Year off with negative commentary; second guessing well-deliberated and well-founded administrative decision making. It's obvious that someone will always have an axe to grind and will avail themselves at the first opportunity. It's simply unsound to contribute to the drivel by slandering competent professionals. Woefully incompetent, self-serving leadership has been the undoing of the nursing program over the past 17 months. Dr. Norman's true reputation speaks for itself and her significant contributions to the successes of the School of Nursing are undeniable. With the support of dedicated and competent faculty and staff the program will reassert its mission. We all want to see the School of Nursing extract itself from the distracting chaos and re-focus on the business of producing competent and highly-skilled nursing professionals.
ReplyDeleteFirst, don't question well-qualified, licensed individuals who challenge, educate, and prepare nursing students to provide safe and competent nursing care. Secondly, Dr. Norman and faculty/staff will take FAMU SON to the next level in 2008.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a valid reason for the president to make such a change. This situation is more serious than meets the public's eye. Dr. Norman will be an asset in the administrative role. Those that really know her knowledge and talent know the Programs are in capable hands. Faculty keep on putting out those great nurses.
ReplyDeleteA proud graduate.
2008 is going to be a great year at FAMU. Dr. Ammons continue to do YOUR job, to keep FAMU strong and proud. Shake up what needs to be shaken up.
ReplyDeletebut why would a so-called "retired
ReplyDeletemulti-millionaire" want to blog on this board in the first place, you nitwit. multi-millionaire. yeah, right.
I would think that millionaires--retired or not--would be reading and writing or engaged in something productive, not arguing with people on some damn blog site. Must be a real slow day at the bank.
ReplyDeletemy mother had knee surgery on both knees over years ago (Dec. 2003), and the most comepetent attending nurses were FAMU graduates. They took damn good care of my mother, and I told them what a wonderful job they were doing. They were informed, skilled, knowledgeable, and talented. Plus, they had great bedside manners. I was so proud of them. They CLEARLY outshone the "theory" nurses from FSU, who stood around like they had never even been inside a hospital, much less had some kind of nursing degree. My point? Whoever was the dean of nursing at that time SENT some great folk out into the world, and whomever their professors were, well, they trained the students professionals very well. FAMU has always had a great history of teaching, and it shall continue. If Ruena Norman is not up to the task, then she should not be there. I don't know the lady from Eve's house cat, I just know the history of the SON and it's always been reputable--a few mishaps here and there, but overall, a damn good school. that's my two cents.
ReplyDeleteStop all the gossip. Let's just hope the best for the students. PLEASE.
ReplyDeleteAmen!!!! No matter what dynamics are occuring, we must not lose focus that the student is most important factor in the equation of higher education. Make your comments, if any, meaningful and encouraging for those who are seeking a quality education from FAMU SON.
ReplyDeleteLet's not talk about credential, Dr. Ruena Norman has the appropriate credential, whereas Mary Graham has a BSN, and the rest of her degrees are in Education (MEd & EdD), so she should have never been in the school of nursing to begin with, which means that she is not even qualified to teach in anything in nursing. She really does need to give FAMU back the $50,000 that was wasted searching for her, they didn't have to go far, the gutter.
ReplyDeleteThe School of Nursing was thriving and surviving long before she came along. She is known for destroying schools, just ask TSU, because she is incompetent and that is what incompetent people do when they are surrounded by faculty members who out-rank them.
So, good bye Mary Ella Graham, and hello Dr. Ruena Norman.
Lets talk about competency. Have you ever had a conversation with Ruena Norman. I was a student there and she cant even have an intellectual conversation. Oh question, is Ammons the one that made the choice?
ReplyDeleteMary Ella's lack of competence is matched only by her dearth of social skills. The messages that her two and a half friends left in her support are ridiculous. Strange how they didn't have anything positive to say about the former Dean. They just seemed to have an axe to grind with Dr. Norman.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone took the time to research Mary Ella Graham's past, they would find some VERY interesting information indeed.
Interesting like she's has a couple of law suits outstanding at Tennessee State?
ReplyDeleteGeeezzzz! Did the Hollins Group do a background check?
ReplyDeleteThe statements made about Dr. Norman and Dr. Graham are utterly disgusting. Whether they are true or not they represent a direct reflection of the people making them. You are clearly very defensive and very disrespectful. Both Dr. Norman and Dr. Graham deserve better. Just let Dr. Norman do her job.
ReplyDeleteI don't know Dr. Norman well, but I do see that she carries herself well and seems to truly carry the spirit of FAMU. I am an outsider and only know her from the community, but she does represent FAMU well, and seems like she believes in leading by example. So I agree with 10:48, your FAMU SON has been thriving and surviving a long time. That speaks to dedicated faculty, leadership on principle, and standards for Nurses. I beleive this is what causes your FAMU nurses to continue to stand out. I would not compare them to FSU (please rise above that), but would actually say they can hold their own against ANY Nursing program. Continue on. I also think your President has made a good choice for Provost, and that you will see in increase in faculty morale, research productivity, and leadership (starting with SON). Much success to Florida A & M. I truly feel like you all have weathered the storm of JEB/ Board of Trustees/ and Interim Resident Bryant. Now hold your heads high and live up to the standard that FAMU's legacy entails (including how you use this blog)
ReplyDeleteBlogger 12:18. What you stated above is very profound and I will hope that every blogger on this board will take what you stated has the rule and not the exception.
ReplyDeleteDid you all know that your comments can be traced back to your computer and specific portal used to access the internet?
ReplyDelete2:04, shhhhhhhhhhh. Just let them keep blogging. But you know what the deal is. the CVB crew is determined to use this site to undermine the resurrection on the Hill. It's kinda funny because they aren't aware that their bitterness is apparent and their views don't seem the least bit objective.
ReplyDeletevindictive, bitter, overly aggressive, surly and rude. Sound like any particular camp to you?
we know this, 2:04, but my question is: who's going to bother to engage the effort to do the tracing? after all, folks have been saying some awfully horrendous things on this site ever since its inception a few years back, and folks are blogging from all over the country.
ReplyDeletePLEASE STOP...
ReplyDelete4:14, I just thought it would be interesting, my boyfriend has a degree in computer technology and he is very good with deciphering internet blogs. He did it for me on facebook once. I just thought about how funny it would be to post that information.
ReplyDelete