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Florida A&M's Board of Trustees voted 8-4 on Friday morning to move forward with Marva Johnson as the university's next president. The decision was made during a public session where several alumni and supporters expressed opposition to Johnson. Johnson is now waiting to be interviewed and approved by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees all institutions in the State University System of Florida.
Johnson, currently Vice President of State Government Affairs for Charter Communications, served eight years on the Florida State Board of Education. She was appointed for a first four-year term by Governor Rick Scott and later reappointed for a second term by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Four trustees voted for Donald Palm, who was also one of the four candidates for the 13th presidential role. He currently serves as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at FAMU. Earlier this week Palm received an endorsement from the Florida A&M National Alumni Association.
“We are proud to formally endorse Dr. Donald Palm as our preferred candidate for the 13th President of Florida A&M University,” FAMU NAA President Curtis Johnson said in a May 10 letter to the association’s members obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.
He added in the letter, “Dr. Palm’s deep connection to FAMU as the current chief operating officer, former faculty member, and long-standing champion of our mission, positions him uniquely to continue our trajectory of excellence.”
The letter accompanied a “Presidential Preference Survey” conducted by the university's National Alumni Association. The results revealed that FAMU’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Donald Palm, received 81.75% of the votes cast by active members. However, the total number of votes was not disclosed to the Tallahassee Democrat.
During her appearance on campus during the search, Johnson defended herself and her intentions.
“I was not sent here to dismantle FAMU,” she said in a public session on Wednesday afternoon.
However, she demonstrated a lack of regard for a statement by an alumnus that laid out his concerns about her candidacy in a hyper charged political climate in which diversity equity and inclusion is under attack.
“The young man earlier made a comment not understanding why FAMU Law School was taken. It was taken because of Jim Crow racism. That's why it was taken. And the concern that many of us have right now is not that you're a Republican. FAMU has had other leaders that have been affiliated with the Republican party. The concern is that in this current climate where you have a governor who is anti-woke, anti-critical race therory, anti DEI, following the lead of his president who does the same things.
Following his comment, Johnson responded, “Just because I say something and I say it with passion doesn't make it true.”
A key point of debate among critics of Johnson's potential appointment by the Florida Board of Governors is her proposed compensation. During a recent board meeting, trustees approved a compensation range between $450,000 and $750,000. This range was recommended by the university’s presidential search committee. Notably, Johnson had requested a $750,000 salary in her application but did not disclose her current earnings at Charter Communications.
In an unusual move, Florida A&M Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper was stripped of her authority to negotiate the compensation package. Instead, trustee Nicole Washington was given the responsibility of contract negotiations with Johnson, following a 6-4 vote. This decision broke from the board's standard procedure of assigning the chair the responsibility of handling negotiations.
Trustee Michael White, who proposed the change, faced pushback from some board members. “It's quite apparent that lightning struck and hit here at FAMU,” Trustee Belvin Perry said, backing Harper to negotiate the contract. “I find it horrible that in an institution that values love and charity, there is no love and there is no charity.”
The search for a new president at the university began in the summer of 2024 after Dr. Larry Robinson stepped down from the position. Larry Robinson presided over immense growth for Florida A&M since assuming the role as president of the institution in 2017. In his tenure, Florida A&M claimed the status as the number 1 public HBCU in the nation according to US News & World Report's recent rankings released in 2023.
His resignation followed a controversial incident in May 2024, when the university received a fraudulent $237 million donation from Gregory Gerami during the commencement ceremony. The situation sparked significant backlash from both the Florida A&M community and the broader HBCU community. In August, Florida A&M alumnus Dr. Timothy Beard was appointed interim president and is serving a one-year term while the search for a permanent president continued.
