by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
April 24, 2025

FAMU has named four finalists for president, with a final vote scheduled next month. How the search committee developed its list is under question, however, with some trustees saying there are “clouds hanging” over the process.

Under Florida law, presidential search committees, comprising university trustees, stakeholders, and a university system Board of Governors (BOG) member, work on a confidential search before presenting a list of finalists to the public and trustees.

FAMU trustees questioned Thursday whether to investigate the legality of the search so far.

“Certainly, there may be a rumor mill,” FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper said during a virtual meeting Thursday, adding the board has an obligation to address those rumors.

FAMU released its list of finalists Tuesday. the Tallahassee Democrat published the names on Monday. Harper questioned how the names of finalists were released to the newspaper before the university formally announced them, considering the nondisclosure agreement signed by the members of the committee.

Harper called it “grossly unfair” that the names were released before the university announced them.

The list has four finalists, including University of Maryland Eastern Shore Provost Rondall Allen, University of Central Florida VP for Administration and Finance Gerald Hector, FAMU Chief Operating Officer Donald Palm, and former Florida Board of Education Chair Marva Johnson.

The Democrat reported: “There has been wide speculation that [search committee chair Deveron] Gibbons insisted on adding Johnson” to an already existing list of three finalists.

The Board of Governors is requesting information related to the search, according to FAMU trustees, although that request is not part of a formal investigation and does not pause the search, they said. The Phoenix did not receive a response to a Thursday request for comment from the BOG.

The scope of the BOG request for information was unknown Thursday.

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Pause or not?

Trustees debated whether it would be proper for FAMU to conduct its own investigation and pause the search before final interviews and a vote is taken during the week of May 12.

“There are too many clouds hanging over this process,” trustee Earnie Ellison said. He served on the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees when that university suspended a presidential search due to ethics concerns.

“We are not just potted plants,” FAMU Trustee Belvin Perry Jr., a former judge, said, adding that the board has its own fiduciary duty.

Gibbons insisted FAMU “has conducted a transparent, inclusive process.”

“This is almost laughable. We have run a very clean process,” Gibbons said, objecting to a pause on the search.

“We are being reactionary to a group of people who are hurling around rumors and innuendo,” Gibbons said, decrying a “witch-hunt.”

Eight trustees voted against pausing the search to hire an independent consultant to investigate the process, while five supported doing so.

From outside the process, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, a political science instructor at FAMU, has called one finalist “weak” but did not specify which one, the Democrat reported. Proctor said “the public now believes the process of a search is a farce,” and called on trustees to “peer through the haze of this Hanky Panky Express and restart the search process.”

The search began after former President Larry Robinson stepped down after announcing a $237 million gift that was later found to be fraudulent.

While lawmakers at the Capitol struggle to reach an agreement on a state budget, Trustee Kelvin Lawson said FAMU is “on thin ice” as lawmakers decide how much money the school will receive next fiscal year.

“I don’t think we have enough facts or precedent to stop or slow this process,” Lawson said.

Presidential search tension

Presidential searches have been a major topic of discussion in the Florida Capitol this session, with the House passing a bill with broad support that would eliminate the confidentiality of presidential searches and end BOG involvement.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has worked to install political allies as presidents of public universities, said he will veto the bill if it gets to his desk.

Johnson was appointed to the Florida Board of Education by former Gov. Rick Scott and was appointed by DeSantis to serve on the Florida Scholar’s Academy Board of Trustees. That’s an education program for juvenile offenders.

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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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