Voting “No Confidence” Kellen Winslow, Sr.
Mangum got off to a friendly start with Graham when she
began her first term as SGA president back in May 2014. That soon changed in
the fall when the two clashed over Mangum’s first athletic director, Kellen
Winslow, Sr.
Winslow angered many FAMU supporters by saying that the
athletics department should be torn down and rebuilt “the right way,” firing
Head Football Coach Earl Holmes during homecoming week, and asking the
student-athletes who complained to him about Holmes’ firing: “Don’t y’all have
a book to read?”
Hundreds of FAMU students showed their anger by booing
Winslow during the 2014 Homecoming Convocation. Graham let The FAMUan know that
she was also disappointed with Winslow.
“We’ve seen everything that has unfolded these last events … regarding the firing of the coach, everything with Kellen Winslow’s acts and performance at convocation,” Graham told the student newspaper in 2014.
Graham then supported a unanimous “no confidence” vote
against Winslow on the Board of Trustees’ (BOT) Athletics Oversight Committee
on November 7. She also voted in favor the full BOT “no confidence” vote
against Winslow that passed 6-3 on November 17. Winslow resigned on December
15.
Average Marks on Mangum’s Evaluation
When it came time to evaluate Mangum, Graham gave her
average marks on July 9, 2015. She rated her as “Meets” expectations in seven
areas but “Exceeds” expectations in only one area. Graham withheld numerical
evaluations for “Internal Relations” and “Board and Governance Relations.” She
also included some criticisms of the president.
“Dr. Mangum and her team would do well to provide more clear
and timely decisions, particularly on external issues that arise,” Graham
wrote. “I have been at times [been] baffled by what I characterize as a ‘slow’
response on matters that did not in my estimation require lengthy
consideration.”
Graham also hinted at the Winslow controversy and other questionable hires
by Mangum.
“I have at times been disappointed with the relationship
between Dr. Mangum and this board,” Graham wrote. “I believe that some- not
all-of the issues are self-inflicted. It should be noted that some of the
issues do stem from direct reports to Dr. Mangum, and she as the leader has
been held responsible.”
Voting “No” to a Proposed Bonus and Motions to Terminate
The next month, Graham was targeted for impeachment by the
Student Senate and appealed to Mangum. Mangum overruled the impeachment
decision on October 9, but talk spread that Graham was less-than-happy with the
way the president handled the SGA controversy.
Less than ten days later, Graham joined the eight BOT
members who voted against awarding a bonus to Mangum based on the results
of her first year evaluation.
Graham did vote against two motions to fire the FAMU
president on October 22 and her vice-president, Justin Bruno, led a march to
Gov. Rick Scott’s office the next day in support of Mangum.
Renewed Tensions over Administrative Problems
Things calmed down for a short while but tensions soon rose again
when Graham publicly blasted the Mangum administration for botching
important duties. At the March 10 BOT meeting, Graham said staffers in the
Division of Finance and Administration made FAMU look “silly” by missing a
state deadline that almost caused the university to lose $2.3M.
Mangum has since made little secret of her frustration at
having to deal with SGA leaders who she can’t count on to always be in her
corner.
Now Mangum is backing the request of the candidate who lost
to Bruno in the SGA presidential race to redo the entire election even though the only
reported problems were at the law school campus in Orlando. Bruno says his
opponent’s campaign manager works in the FAMU Office of Communications and that
Mangum is supporting “a deliberate attempt to manipulate the outcome of this
election to work in favor of the administrators that are involved.”
The questionable actions Mangum has taken regarding the SGA
election look like an effort to make sure that the next FAMU student body president won’t
be as strong as Tonnette Graham.