Despite the varied discussions behind the failed $237 million donation by Gregory Gerami, Florida A&M president Dr. Larry Robinson still enjoys significant support amongst Rattler Nation. Per a recording obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, at the FAMU Foundation Board’s general meeting on May 31, he garnered a vote of confidence during the National Alumni Association Conference in Tampa, Florida.

“I’m coming from a place of wanting to make sure our university is okay,” FAMU Foundation board member Gregory Clark concluded the meeting. He shifted his focus to Robinson and remarked, “Dr. Robinson, as I told you before, stay the course, sir.”

FAMU Foundation Vice Chair Kenneth Neighbors read a statement on behalf of Foundation Chairwoman Lisa R. LaBoo, who was not present at the meeting that said, “The last couple of weeks have been challenging regarding the current situation that we are working through. However, one of my favorite phrases is, ‘This, too, shall pass.'”

He continued, “During challenging times we learned from the situation and come out stronger on the end,” Neighbors continued. “We must stand together as one FAMU to continue to support our institution, and all the students that are relying on the financial support of the foundation.”

Florida A&M has paused the alleged $237 million gift from Gregory Gerami after massive skepticism over the validity of the donation. Florida A&M President Dr. Larry Robinson announced the decision in an emergency meeting with the FAMU Foundation on May 9th.

“With regards to the gift and the processing of it and so forth, in terms of future processing, we’ve already decided it’s in our best interest to put that on hold,” he said during the meeting.

Robinson reported that the school would pause progress until assessing the value of the stocks gifted by Gregory Gerami, CEO of Batterson Farms Corp and a trustee of the Isaac Batterson Family 7th Trust that made the donation. Following the halting of the alleged gift, Florida A&M Vice President of Advancement Shawnta Friday-Stroud has resigned from her position. The resignation was was announced hours before a scheduled Board of Trustees meeting about the alleged donation. Stroud had direct conversations with Gerami about the supposed donation, as she spoke about in the May 9th meeting with the FAMU Faoundation.

“After having several conversations with Mr. Gerami, Ms. Simmons-Smith put together a proposal of certain programs that she thought he might be interested in supporting. She also had an initial screening done of him…From there, we decided on an initial amount based on what he was interested in supporting here at FAMU. After having conversations with those individuals, we came up with an amount.”

In the May 15th Board of Trustees meeting, Robinson addressed his error in how the situation was handled.

“I saw in this unprecedented gift, the potential to serve our students and our athletic programs in ways unimaginable at that time. It would truly be transformational, I believe. I wanted this to be real and ignore the warning signs along the way. There was no personal gain, but the impact on our students and our university would have been extraordinary.”

Despite Gerami’s fraudulent donation, the Tallahassee Democrat reports that Florida A&M has still been the recipient of donations from other external organizations.

“I just want you all to know that we are still receiving gifts,” Robinson said to board members in the meeting. “I think it shows the confidence that our external partners still have in the university as well.”

During the meeting, a staff member mentioned that FAMU is nearing a $2.2 million donation from Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company. Furthermore, Greyhouse Financial Corporation reached out to the university expressing interest in setting up a technology grant and center for entrepreneurs, with an initial sum of $750,000, and a potential future contribution of $2.2 million to support the university’s technology center.