Yesterday, the FAMU Board of Trustees brought an abrupt end to former Chairman Bill Jennings’ powerful role as a committee-of-one in charge of negotiating changes to President James H. Ammons’ contract. The board voted to create a more open process by establishing a committee of multiple trustees to propose and review modifications to Ammons’ contract, including the bonus clause. New Chairman Solomon L. Badger, III will appoint the committee.
The bonus clause approved by trustees in 2007 currently states: “Based upon his achievement of annual goals and objectives…Dr. Ammons shall receive an annual performance bonus. It is intended that said annual performance bonus shall be in the range of 25% to 35% of the annual base salary.”
Trustees voted to honor the existing bonus clause for the past 2009-2010 fiscal year by granting Ammons a bonus at the 25 percent ($81,000) minimum level permitted by the employment agreement. The motion to approve the bonus noted that it was not a reflection on Ammons’ performance but a response to the university's tight budget.
Ammons told the trustees that he is ready to work with the contract revision committee. "I look forward to reviewing the work of the board," he said.
Before the chairmanship election, Rattler Nation learned that there was a strong possibility of a deal being cut to let Jennings keep his power as the chief negotiator and committee-of-one for reworking the presidential contract. All hope of that died once it became clear that Jennings ally and Vice-Chairman Richard A. Dent, III did not have enough support to be a competitive candidate for the chair position.
Dent was visibly unhappy after the elections even though his fellow board members let him save face by permitting him to keep the vice-chairmanship. He avoided eye contact with other trustees for much of the rest of the meeting, tried to cut Badger short on a couple of occasions, and gave Badger a brief lecture about the proper way to proceed with the agenda. Badger remained cool and just went on with the order-the-of business.