FAMU needs aggressive push to R1 status

On Thursday, November 30, the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees (BOT) will meet to discuss its options for selecting the 12th president of the school. Back on November 9, the Florida Board of Governors granted the BOT a waiver to forgo a national presidential search. It is expected that the BOT will consider Interim President Larry Robinson for the job.

One of the long-term goals for the 12th president of FAMU must be a big expansion of the university’s research activities. FAMU needs to aggressively push toward R1 status in order remain competitive in Florida and across the nation.

FAMU reached “R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher research activity” in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in 2016. It was previously categorized at what is currently “R3: Doctoral Universities – Limited research activity.” The highest research category is “R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest research activity.”

Five of the public universities in Florida are already at R1: Florida International University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and University of South Florida.

Florida Atlantic University is R2 and is on track to become R1 in the near future.

The State University System of Florida schools that do the most research tend to get rewarded with the biggest amount of public funding in Florida. Now all the R1s in Florida are racing to qualify for the “Preeminent State Research Universities Program” so they’ll be eligible for the millions of dollars in that program.

If FAMU doesn’t make strides toward R1, it won't just find itself falling behind in Florida. FAMU could also lag behind North Carolina A&T University and Prairie View A&M University. Those two schools are both R2s, but their presidents are both working to make them into stronger research universities.

At NCA&T, Chancellor Harold Martin has announced his plans in “Preeminence 2020.” One part of that plan calls for NCA&T “to be a national, premier research-intensive doctoral, science and technology-focused learning institution.” It adds that: “Over the next decade, the competitive advantages fostered through the university’s research initiatives will attract new relationships and partnerships. These relationships will drive the reputational quality of the institution and sustain high-quality faculty and enrollment growth.”

Prairie View A&M University President Ruth J. Simmons is the former president of Brown University, an R1. According to the Texas Tribune, “she wants to raise the university’s profile by recruiting top research faculty and inviting world-renowned speakers to campus.”

Past FAMU Presidents Walter L. Smith, Frederick S. Humphries, Fred Gainous, and James H. Ammons all did important work to help increase the number of Ph.D. programs and amount research activity at FAMU in order to help the university climb up the Carnegie Classifications.

FAMU can’t afford to get left behind in the race toward R1. The long-term strategy for expanding FAMU’s research programs needs to be discussed before the BOT votes on a 12th president.