2008: The FAMU Year-In-Review

January
The year began with new leadership at the FAMU School of Nursing as Dean Mary Ella Graham was replaced by Ruena O. Norman. Dr. Norman, a former Associate Dean of the SoN, ironically, had been demoted by Dr. Graham.

Under Norman's leadership student test scores have risen, with FAMU graduates achieving a 100% passage rate on the most recent state exam.

Later in the month, the FAMU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences received the seal of approval from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education and and was reaccredited through 2010.

And despite the winds of change brewing across the country, FSU's T.K. Wetherall wants to operate like its still 1950 Florida by trying to force FAMU out of the Joint College of Engineering. The FAMU Trustees balked at the idea. But, T.K continues to work behind the scenes to get his way.

The ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, initiated a partnership with the FAMU J-School and inked four students to jobs and internships.

February
President James Ammons began warning the FAMU community of possible layoffs and other cost cutting measures as result of impending state budget cuts. Ammons detailed plans to cut $19 million from the university's general fund.

Meanwhile, the FAMU faculty continued to make amazing new discoveries in Physics, attract great speakers and lectures to campus to enhance students academic experience.

Finally, Disney's 10-year sponsorship of the Florida Classic came to an end as the company decided the throw its support behind the Orlando bound SWAC/MEAC Challenge.

March
The BOG Task Force appointed to monitor and provide assistance on FAMU's financial operations, after Castell Bryant, showered praise on the University's recovery efforts. It would later be learned that while the BOG was trying to oversee FAMU's operations they were having problems of their own.


FAMU students remain engaged in public service reaching out to help students at FAMU DRS, train students in the caribbean, and inform residents in rural counties.

Meanwhile, change was about to come to America.

April
Months before the bottom fell out of the stock market, about 45 FAMU students learned that the had secured Wall Street internships. Months later the architect of FAMU's Wall Street take over would be unceremoniously dismissed by a underperforming dean who mistakes photo-ops for real achievement.

May
FAMU academic programs continue to earn top marks from their accrediting agencies as the the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications "strongly recommends" reaccreditation for the FAMU Division of Journalism.

The FAMU journalism program is the sixth program at the University to earn reaccreditation since July 2007.

Students in the Institute of Public Health (IPH), housed in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS), received a 100 percent pass rate on the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) national certification examination. The average pass rate on the exam is 76.63 percent.

June

The task force formed last year in response to lawmakers' concerns over financial mismanagement at FAMU ended its work -- concluding that the university has taken steps to deal with most of the problems identified in past state audits.

SACS followed suit removing FAMU from a year long probation.

July
Things even got better at FAMU Developmental Research School as the school shook its nagging F rating and improved to a C.

Improvement was all around until the FAMU Athletics website went down for two weeks and later reappeared with a new domain name which disappointed Rattler fans to no end.

August
The follies of the FAMU Athletic Department, under Bill Hayes, continued. After kicking off the month off announcing a new media and broadcast partner in the upstart Black College Sports Network weeks later the deal was scrapped in favor of Vantage Media Partners, who had held the contract for the past 21-years.

It was determined that the BCSN bid was the most expensive of the three proposals and that the upstart was unlikely to deliver on its promises.

A similar Hayes signed marketing deal, with NC Based, ISP Sports was cancelled after it was discovered that the A.D. had signed a contract binding FAMU to be governed by the laws of the State of NC.

Rattler fans also beat back a highly touted Hayes plan to fence in the Bragg Stadium parking lot and require all who enter on football game days to have tickets.

Just before the start of the season, former University of Kentucky quarterback Curtis Pulley decided to trade in Kentucky blue for Rattler orange & green, when he enrolled in FAMU. Pulley would later play a critical role in helping the Rattlers post an 8-3 season.

September
As the fall semester started, FAMU saw its enrollment increase by 600 students and announced an ambitious goal of increasing enrollment to 15,000 students by 2010.

The Leon Country Commission voted to give FAMU $175,000 of the $200,000 it had requested to help the university market its athletic and cultural events. The money came from the reserve fund of the county's Tourist Development Council.

As African American enrollment at all Florida public universities declined sharply, FAMU's enrollment gains bolstered the system' overall number.

For the second year in a row, a team of three business students from FAMU's School of Business and Industry claimed first place at the National Black MBA Conference's case-study competition in Washington, DC. Of course, SBI Dean McKinnley-Floyd, who was in Washington for the Black MBA Conference, didn't attend the student's competition because she "was setting up an SBI reception".

Michelle Obamaand Jill Biden dropped by the Quad on Atlanta Classic Saturday to hold a “Change We Need Voter Registration Rally” and over 8,000 turned out to show their support.

October
Ending months of speculation, FAMU and Victoria Secrets Co. announced that FAMU would be the newest college to join its line up of 30 featured in its V.S. PINK brand clothing line. The line went on sale just before Christmas.

On the first day of "early voting" nearly a 1,000 FAMU students woke up early to march to the polls to help change America. FAMU Trustee R.B. Holmes Jr. called it a "Pentecostal (type) experience".

And, for the first time in 22 years, FAMU inaugurated a president.

November
FAMU students were an eyewitness to change as the broadcast the historic election returns to the nation on TV- One.

For the first time ever, ESPN's College GameDay broadcast their world famous telecast from an HBCU-- Florida A&M . For two solid hours America got an up-close look at the Rattler experience and discovered that we are second to none.


December
For the third time in history, the Presidential Inaugural Committee invited the FAMU band to participate in a Inaugural Parade.

The invite caps off a stellar year for the 100rd which has seen them featured on CNN, the CBS Evening News, and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

And, the follies continued in the FAMU Athletic Department, under Bill Hayes, as former Assistant AD for Development Clayton Smith was fired following a lengthy investigation.

Hayes also riled Volleyball coach Tony Trifonov who complained that the A.D. was trying to undermine his program.

Now, we understand that Hayes has reportedly hired his son-in-law as a direct report.

You may also be interested in: 2007 FAMU Year-in-Review and the 2006 YIR