“For the good of the institution and to prevent charges of
undue political interference, I hope that our elected officials will allow our
Board to do the job we were appointed to do,” he said.
WCTV-6 contacted the SACS headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. and
asked it about the issue. The television station reported that: “A
representative with SACS says if the FAMU Board of Trustees remove Montgomery
as chair solely or largely because the legislators asked them to -- that would
raise concerns. SACS is not looking into the matter at this time, but, FAMU
could get a warning, probation, or lose accreditation.”
On Wednesday, a number of FAMU alumni in the Florida
Legislature sent a letter to the FAMU Board of Trustees that said they wanted
Rufus out of the chairmanship. The group included Rep. Alan Williams, Sen.
Arthenia L. Joyner, Sen. Dwight Bullard, Rep. Mia Jones, Rep. Shevrin Jones,
and Rep. Bobby Powell. Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum also signed the
letter.
Williams told WCTV-6 that he and the others who signed the
letter made the request “as alumni, not as elected officials.”
But the authors of the letter all signed it with their
elected offices listed under their names and included a
statement in the letter that said: “As elected officials – all alumni of FAMU – we have a fiduciary
responsibility in working with our State University System and unfortunately we
have lost confidence in Trustee Rufus Montgomery’s ability to serve as chairman
of the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees.”
The letter also used the official seals of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.
The letter also used the official seals of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.
The report by WCTV-6 is the first to confirm that SACS is
following the latest round of controversy at FAMU and hasn’t ruled out any of
its options for eventually getting involved.