FAMU alumni president: Lawson is best choice for FAMU chair

Today, the Tallahassee Democrat published an op-ed by Lt. Col. Gregory L. Clark, president of the FAMU National Alumni Association. Clark urges the FAMU Board of Trustees (BOT) to elect Interim Chairman Kelvin Lawson to a full term as its chair. The BOT is scheduled to hold its officer elections during its meeting on June 10th in Tallahassee.

From Clark’s op-ed:

As president of the National Alumni Association of Florida A&M University, I urge your attention to the matter of the formal appointment of the current interim FAMU Board of Trustees chair and former vice-chair Kelvin Lawson.

In my role as a leader and as an alumnus, I urge the appointment of Interim Chair Lawson and strongly encourage all alumni and citizens who care about higher education to support him as well…

Lawson has demonstrated an ability to lead in the face of significant adversity, including matters related to the president’s office. I believe, if it is possible, that he will be the chair who can finally achieve some progress regarding the president’s evaluation, which has made his board tenure a constant challenge.

He is a skilled and articulate communicator, and it is time that we have a Board Chair who understands the duties that are attached to the role and behaves in a way that is consistent with that role and its serious responsibilities. He is not going to resign when things get tough, and he has personally assured me that he has the energy to see the potential term as chair all the way through.

The Board of Trustees has been constantly challenged, and the turnover in leadership comes with many costs to the entire university community and our reputation. We do not need a third chair in three years.

Trustee Lawson has not only the longest tenure on the board and the institutional knowledge of the past, but he also has been steady and forthright, unafraid to make decisions that call the question and move the ball forward in matters pertaining to roles and responsibilities. He has the energy and the temperament to see these serious matters through while keeping what is best for the university as his compass.

Read the full op-ed here.