Former SGA President Kristin Harper elected BOT chair

The FAMU Board of Trustees, yesterday, unanimously elected Kristin Harper as its new board chair.  Harper — a FAMU alumna who graduated with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the university — is the founder and CEO of Driven to Succeed LLC, a global market research and consulting firm that provides Fortune 500 companies with brand strategy consulting and leadership training.

She succeeds Kelvin Lawson, who served in the role an unprecedented three terms.  Lawson decided not to seek reelection.
 
Harper is a relatively new comer to the Board having been appointed in October 2019.  She was elected as vice chair of the board in April.
 
Since joining the FAMU Board, Harper has chaired the Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement Committee, and was instrumental in helping to craft the university’s current strategic plan “Boldly Striking”.
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Harper becomes only the second woman, following Challis Lowe , to lead the FAMU board since it was formed in 2001.

Gibbons elected vice chair

The FAMU trustees also elected board new comer Deveron Gibbons , of St. Petersburg, to serve as Vice Chair.  Gibbons, who earned an MBA and a J.D. from FAMU, joined the Board in late March.  He beat out Trustee Kenward Stone on a 10-2 vote.

Gibbons over the years has been a prolific fundraiser for the FAMU College of Law has a vast amount of higher education board experience in Florida.