The presidential seek for Florida’s pre-eminent traditionally Black college, Florida A&M College (FAMU), continues in Tallahassee, however not with out controversy over the method. Many within the FAMU neighborhood imagine that one candidate, Marva Johnson, was added to the Board of Trustees interview checklist beneath suspicious circumstances, after three different candidates had been determined upon, based on the Tallahassee Democrat.
Some within the FAMU neighborhood, together with filmmaker Will Packer, imagine that Johnson, a former member of Florida’s Board of Schooling and appointed to different boards by present Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Republican Gov. Rick Scott, was pressured onto the checklist by FAMU board Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons, a declare he has denied.
Johnson carried out her interview with the FAMU Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Might 14. Two different candidates, College of Maryland Japanese Shore Provost and Vice President for Tutorial Affairs, Rondall Allen, and College of Central Florida Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, Gerald Hector, have already accomplished their interviews. FAMU’s Government Vice President and Chief Working Officer, Donald Palm, is about to interview on Might 15; he has drawn help from the FAMU neighborhood and alumni teams.
Johnson is conscious of the scrutiny behind her alternative to interview and the method by which it unfolded. Earlier than interviewing with the board, she acknowledged the opposition to her candidacy, saying, “I noticed no less than one media publish the place somebody requested, ‘How did she get right here?’”
A few of that opposition on-line has come from a few of the college’s most well-known and most vocal alumni, together with filmmaker, producer, and FAMU alumnus Will Packer, who was current for Johnson’s interview. In a March 9 video posted to Instagram, Packer mentioned, “HBCUs are beneath assault. MAGA is making an attempt to take over management at a number of of our beloved establishments. Proper now, FAMU is within the bullseye. Hear me loud and clear.”
Packer continued, “Florida Republicans who sit on the presidential search committee have named Marva Johnson a finalist for the FAMU presidency. Let me inform you somewhat bit about Marva Johnson. She is a profession lobbyist with no expertise in larger schooling administration.”
Packer mentioned his opposition to Johnson is “not nearly her being a staunch Republican,” clarifying, “Everybody has a proper to their very own political affiliations.” Nonetheless, he mentioned the beloved establishment can’t enable a “hostile takeover by somebody who’s aligned with a celebration that has loudly and proudly espoused ideologies that assault range and various establishments, assault equitable economics, and assault inclusive ideas.”
The famed Hollywood producer mentioned range, fairness, and inclusion are “the precise pillars that establishments like FAMU had been constructed upon.”
Former mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, additionally shared a publish on Instagram in opposition to Johnson, saying, “At this time is the day {that a} horrifically unqualified political plant, Marva Johnson, will interview for the presidency at Florida A&M College, the #1 Public HBCU per U.S. Information & World Report.”
On the finish of her interview, Johnson famous the controversy behind her addition to the interview course of: “Thanks for the belief you’ve put within the presidential search committee and the trouble that you just’ve made to run a course of that’s protecting and clear. I do know it’s been impacted by a couple of difficulties, however I respect the trouble.”
The FAMU Board of Trustees is anticipated to satisfy on Might 16 to vote on one candidate who will then transfer ahead for a remaining interview and affirmation from the Florida Board of Governors.
