 |
| Rufus Montgomery and Bill Jennings, or the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion |
The push to give Scott control over the FAMU Board of
Trustees by putting Rufus in the chairman’s seat is already old news on campus.
Back when the presidential search process was suspended in March, Rattler
Nation learned about behind-the-scenes plans to call for a special meeting to remove the
incumbent chairman and hand the gavel to Rufus.
That attempted coup fell flat due to the lack of the
super-majority required to remove a board officer. Section 3.2 of the board’s
operating procedures states: “Officers may be removed after reasonable notice by
an affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the members of the Board.”
There were not nine votes (out of the 13) to dump the
sitting chairman and appoint Rufus in his place. But when the board votes for
new officers on August 8, only seven votes will be needed to elect a new
leader.
Rufus is the last person who should be running board
meetings as FAMU determines who will serve as its 11th president. He has shown
no independence from Gov. Rick Scott.
The majority of trustees voted to heed the Southern Association
of Colleges and School’s warning not to let the governor direct presidential
employment decisions. They also voted 6-5 to adopt the legally-required 1.7
percent cost-of-living tuition increase (which they offset through a 9-2 vote
to decrease university fees by $1.75 per credit hour).
Rufus brags about his “clout” with the governor. But he has
shown himself to be completely useless in protecting FAMU against Scott’s
budget vetoes. He kept his mouth shut when Scott line item vetoed $2M for
electrical/technology upgrades and $500K for the Panama City mosquito lab from
FAMU’s legislative appropriations in 2011. Rufus also did nothing when Scott
line item vetoed $1.5M for FAMU Crestview Education Center in 2012.
Scott clearly has a one-sided relationship with Rufus. Rufus
just does what he is told with no questions asked. FAMU has gotten absolutely
nothing out of this deal.
Florida Polytechnic University, Scott’s pet project, is
sending a clear message about the direction in which the governor is taking the
State University System of Florida. That university’s board is stacked with six Scott appointees and five from a Board of Governors that is scared of
Scott. It has already decided against offering tenure to professors.
A crony for a governor who isn’t a strong supporter of
tenure or FAMU’s critical facility needs should not lead the search for a new Rattler president. Even though there is heavy pressure to vote in a chairman
who will be more to Scott’s liking, the Board of Trustees must not betray the
school by giving it away to the governor’s office.
It is time for the real FAMUans on the Board of Trustees to let Rick Scott know that FAMU is not his personal plantation.