Bill Jennings made a weak attempt to hide behind Rufus Montgomery during yesterday’s trustee meeting, but it did little to mask who was really leading the move to place FAMU President James H. Ammons on administrative leave.Jennings has been hard at work trying to a build a pathway to Ammons’ exit for well over a year. He tried unsuccessfully to remove the super-majority clause from Ammons’ contract, which remains his biggest hurdle to pushing Ammons out of office. The super-majority clause requires a vote of two-thirds (or nine members) of the Board of Trustees in order to terminate the president with or without cause.
The fallout from the November 19 death of Marching 100 drum major Robert D. Champion created an opportunity for Jennings to try and get around his super-majority problem. Yesterday, Montgomery and Jennings asked trustees to place Ammons on an indefinite administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigates what happened to Champion. A vote for forced leave would only require a simple majority of seven votes.
At yesterday's meeting, Jennings had a difficult time even coming up with a sensible reason for why Ammons should be placed on leave. He told trustees that “Dr. [Julian} White alleges that he informed Dr. Ammons through letters about hazing” prior to November 19 and that he fears Ammons’ continued service as president could adversely affect the FDLE’s investigation into that matter. Jennings failed to offer any actual confirmation that White’s allegations are true or that they are part of the FDLE probe or that Ammons actually received the letters. The FDLE is conducting a criminal investigation into Champion’s death and has described FAMU's administration as being "very cooperative with us."
The clear personal nature of Jennings’ battles with Ammons have cost him big in terms of his clout with fellow trustees. Months ago, Rattler Nation reported that it appeared Jennings’ ego had been hurt because he was seemingly receiving the lame duck treatment from the administration as his second term as chairman came toward a close.
Trustees have handed Jennings two big rejections since he left the chairman’s seat. They first elected Solomon L. Badger, who has never been on good terms with Jennings, as the new chairman. It became apparent close to the election meeting that Jennings’ close ally Richard Dent did not have enough votes to be a competitive candidate. Word had spread on campus that Jennings was slated to receive a powerful subcommittee leadership appointment if Dent got a hold of the gavel.
Then later, the trustees gave a final “no” to Jennings’ request for Ammons’ super-majority protection to be removed.
Rufus Montgomery and Charles Langston were the only other trustees that Jennings could get to go along with his latest attack against the president. Even Karl White and Richard Dent, who generally side with Jennings whenever he picks a fight with Ammons, sounded too embarrassed to support what the former chairman tried to do yesterday. They both expressed concern that an administrative leave decision might be too rash.
Jennings is wrong to try and use the Marching 100 tragedy to give legitimacy to his longstanding personal clash against Ammons. He has succeeded in creating more negative headlines for the president. But in the process Jennings has only deepened the distrust that many FAMU trustees, students, faculty, and alumni have for him.