FAMU presidential applicant list has very few names that deserve to be taken seriously

The list of FAMU presidential applicants released earlier this week is an embarrassment to the school. It barely has any candidates who are remotely qualified to lead a research university.

FAMU is classified as a “Doctoral Research University” (DRU) by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. That accomplishment resulted from hard work to build FAMU’s doctoral programs and is constantly under attack.

Former FAMU President Frederick S. Humphries led the struggle against the Three Tier Plan of the Board of Regents. It called for FAMU to be a bottom tier “comprehensive” university that would focus mainly on teaching undergraduate students. Former FAMU President James H. Ammons led the fight against the Pappas Plan. The Pappas report, written by a consulting firm hired by the Board of Governors, recommended that FAMU become a baccalaureate-only school.

Humphries and Ammons both knew how to grow and defend FAMU’s research programs because they had top-level administrative experience at research universities. Humphries led Tennessee State (currently a DRU) before becoming FAMU’s president. Ammons previously served as FAMU’s provost.

The list of FAMU presidential applicants lacks anyone who is a current president of a DRU or higher. It only has one person who is even a number two official at a DRU. That applicant is Morgan State University Provost Joan Robinson.

Phyllis Dawkins, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Dillard University, has also applied. Dillard has a Carnegie Bac/A&S classification, which means “Baccalaureate Colleges--Arts & Sciences.” Dawkins is also still getting her feet wet with senior-level university administration. She came to Dillard in 2009 as an associate provost. Dawkins just became the provost in 2011 and is still learning the ropes of the number two role.

Only one sitting president of a higher education institution has applied for the FAMU presidency. That individual is Malcolm X College President Anthony Munroe. Malcolm X College is a community college that focuses on associate’s degrees.

Delaware State University Executive Vice President and Treasurer Amir Mohammadi and Indiana University of Pennsylvania Vice President of Administration and Finance Cornelius Wooten have also thrown their hats in the ring. The demands of financial management are very different from the detailed knowledge and skills that are needed to grow research programs.

FAMU MUST advance from the DRU level to the Carnegie RU/H “Research University (High Research Activity)” level, the second highest classification, in order to compete with the majority of the State University System of Florida (SUS) schools.

Florida Atlantic and Florida International are already RU/H schools. Florida State, the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Florida are at the top Carnegie level, RU/VH: Research Universities (Very High Research Activity).

The stakes are too high for FAMU to settle for a presidential candidate who doesn’t have experience in building the types of programs that FAMU needs to raise its research productivity. The overwhelming majority of the current presidential applicants simply don’t have records that show they can get the job done.