While delivering his inaugural address before an audience that included Board of Governors Chairwoman Sheila McDevitt, FAMU President James Ammons reaffirmed his commitment to expanding the university’s Ph.D. offerings.Specifically, Ammons stressed the importance of FAMU’s Center of Excellence in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (or COESMET), which was approved by the Board of Regents as part of the State University System’s 1999-2003 Strategic Plan. The program’s purpose: increase black Ph.D. recipients in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The center enables FAMU to grant Ph.D.s in the following areas: Physics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, and Agricultural Systems Engineering.
COESMET was a legacy of FAMU’s fight against the BOR’s Three Tier proposal, which attempted to limit FAMU’s mission to baccalaureate and masters degree-level education. Following protests led by FAMU students, faculty, and alumni, the BOR agreed to a compromise. FAMU would receive a special “Comprehensive/Doctoral” category and Ph.D. programs in STEM fields in which blacks were severely underrepresented.
Even as Ammons beamed with pride while discussing the center, he reminded the audience that COESMET remains far from completion.
“We were approved to award the degrees, but we haven’t received the funding,” Ammons explained.
So far, FAMU has only gathered enough money to launch one of the doctoral programs. The university initiated its Ph.D. in Physics shortly after 2001.
Ammons further stated that COESMET is a critical part of his larger goal: to make FAMU the number producer of blacks with Ph.D.s. FAMU already leads the nation in producing blacks with baccalaureates.
While the 10th president did not mention it by name, the ongoing FAMU-FSU College of Engineering controversy loomed large in his address. Although FAMU will be the sole owner of all COESMET’s degree programs, the Ph.D.s in Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, and Agricultural Systems Engineering all require access to the E-College’s courses and lab facilities. Late last week, FSU launched yet another effort to push FAMU out of the E-College. If successful, it will prevent any of those four doctoral programs from getting off the ground.
In our upcoming coverage, we’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look at the latest engineering debacle.
FAMU knows it cannot handle its own E School. FAMU can't even graduate over 40 percent of its students in 6 years, and you want more graduate programs?
ReplyDeleteSounds like ya'll need to concentrate on recruiting students for your undergrad first.
Sounds like your bitchass needs to stay off our page !
ReplyDeleteYou truly need to stay off..sounding like a shovel of horse you know what..
ReplyDeleteLOL........FAMU is scared to have there own school because they know they will run it into the dirt.
ReplyDeleteYou mean, like FSU has run its football team into the dirt?
ReplyDeleteYou mean, like how our Business School continually out performs FSU's ? And, our Public Health students run circles around FSU's ? You mean like that don't yah?
The Board of Governors chair, Sheila M. McDevitt, has never called for the removal of FAMU's graduate programs.
ReplyDeleteThat's pure nonsense.
Please remove this wildly erroneous statement from your pages.
Bill Edmonds
Director of Communications
Board of Governors
State University System of Florida
FAMU lives on planet orange and green. The school needs to go pick its reputation out of the gutter. You rattlers are not even in the same league as the rest of the SUS. FAMU knows that it is not MAN enough run its own E School. FAMU is scared!
ReplyDeleteBill,
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing that out. It has been corrected. Our apologies.
-Ben Davis
Ben, why would Rattler Nation write that in the first place? Would it be to make people angry and irrational fanning misunderstandings and resentment.
ReplyDeleteBen -- That's for making that change.
ReplyDeleteClass act.
Bill Edmonds
Director of Communications
Board of Governors
State University System of Florida
class act? thug more like it. the fact that he even posted those falsehoods it low rent and yellow journalism. rattler nation is the black version of fox news!
ReplyDeleteBen Davis has issues... remember the NCCU/New Birth Church controversy? He needs to be removed from handling this site. He insights division because he is a KOOL-AID drinker of the Ammons administration.
ReplyDeleteSo, sad... definitely not a class act. Thanks Bill for calling him to the carpet!
Every news organization makes a mistake every now and then. The great ones acknowledge them and keep on moving. What RN did today was acknowledge his mistake ---in a very public way. He's to be commended for that.
ReplyDeleteThe substance of the article remains the same. Deal with it.
Ben Davis is a class act. National news organizations and journalists make mistakes sometimes. That's the nature of this business. Ben Davis was man enough to own up to this oversight and tood appropriate steps to correct it. Great job Ben. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteGO FAMU!!!!!!
Ben Davis only made the correction because he was EXPOSED by a Board of Governors personnel! WAKE UP Kool-Aid drinkers! Notice he still didn't take full responsibility "Every news organization makes a mistake every now and then. The great ones acknowledge them and keep on moving. What RN did today was acknowledge his mistake ---in a very public way. He's to be commended for that. The substance of the article remains the same. Deal with it." PATHETIC!
ReplyDeleteNope! Ben Davis controls the comment delete button!
ReplyDeleteDeal with that!
The fact remains, Bill- If T.K. and FSU want the School of Engineering SO bad, then why in all of these years haven't they addressed their concerns to the U.S. Dept. Of Education's Office of Civil Rights Division? I think we know the answer to that. He got his hand slapped once. If he keep on, he'll get slapped with a lot more. Bank on it.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore this is a blog. Not FOX NEWS.
ReplyDeleteSo NOW the BOG is "communicating" with us? lol
ReplyDelete8:30, You have NO idea what the challenges are when it comes to retention and graduation here at FAMU. When I attened FSU, I NEVER had to ATTEND class and NEVER saw a professor, research my foot. Just because I'm not "visibly black" I got away with a lot of foolishness. Good thing I was a curious reader and prepared MYSELF for graduate school.
ReplyDelete