Mangum in no rush to start search for permanent AD

FAMU President Elmira Mangum is not in a rush to start the search for a permanent athletic director. She wants her interim AD, Nelson Townsend, to restore stability to the program.

“We will start the search for a new athletic director soon,” Mangum said in a quote published by The FAMUan. “But I don’t know when.”

She added detail to her explanation in a later interview with the Tallahassee Democrat.

“I want to stabilize the department before we start searching for a permanent AD,” Mangum said. “We want to come together as one unit. We want to stabilize in terms of (the department’s) mission and its organizational structure and its purpose and goals. Nelson has been a part of my advisory committee and we have a host of issues we’re working toward solving.”

Townsend, 73, previously served as FAMU’s AD from 1986 to 1987 and again from 2005 to 2007.