SACS: Removing FAMU chairman mainly because of lawmakers’ request would raise red flag

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Yesterday, FAMU Board of Trustees Chairman Rufus Montgomery rebuffed a group of state lawmakers who made a public request that he either resign or be voted out of his leadership position. He hinted that those legislators might hurt FAMU’s ability to abide by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Standard 3.2.4, which says university boards must stay free from political interference.

“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.”

SACS Standard 3.2.4 states that each member’s governing board must be “free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and [protect] the institution from such influence.”

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 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.

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