A decision over who will be Florida A&M University's next president is expected Friday. The four finalists are visiting the campus this week, and on Wednesday, the candidate garnering the most local pushback made her visit.
Marva Johnson is a lobbyist and executive for the telecom company Charter Communications She was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott to the State Board of Education, and she has ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Before trustees on Wednesday, Johnson touted her skills in navigating the corporate world and the state Legislature.
“As the leader, I am championing resources. I am moving mountains if they get in your way,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be the best academian at this point in my career.”
While Johnson fielded questions from trustees, dozens of students and alumni gathered to protest her candidacy at a rally across the Tallahassee campus.
The prospect that a DeSantis-aligned candidate could soon lead FAMU has alarmed students, faculty and alumni, who celebrate the university's legacy of Black excellence, social mobility and cultural pride.
"There is only one candidate of the final four who the students, the alumni and the faculty of this beloved institution have overwhelmingly said, 'It's not her time,'" said Will Packer said, a movie producer and FAMU alumnus. "There is only one candidate who has the potential to do irreparable harm to the university's relationship with its community and with its donor base."
The rally was held at the Performing Arts Amphitheater that Packer donated to the school.
"FAMU does not need this. FAMU does not deserve this. Not now. Not again," he said. "Not another public embarrassment. Not another questionable decision by leadership. Not another hit to the FAMU community's faith and trust in the system by which it is governed."
Backlash over FAMU’s apparent failure to properly vet a multimillion-dollar donation from a dubious donor brought fresh scrutiny to the school's institutional governance last year. Then-president Larry Robinson later resigned, opening the door to new leadership at the school, at a time when DeSantis and his appointees have been exerting more influence over the state's public universities.
Supporters of the university, which hosts about 10,000 students at its campus a few blocks from the state capitol, have long argued the state has underfunded the school, sending more resources to predominantly white institutions like Florida State University, across the railroad tracks from FAMU.
The prospect of the DeSantis administration wresting more control over the HBCU plays into longstanding anxieties that the state could cut into some of the university's signature programs — or even merge the school with FSU, an idea lawmakers contemplated in the 1960s.
“We cannot go down in history saying that we had a responsibility and we lost the illustrious FAMU,” Quincy Griffin, a pastor and alumnus, said at the rally. “Not on my watch.”
Elijah Hooks, a political science student at FAMU and chief of staff at the Florida Student Association, pointed to recent attempts by DeSantis allies to overhaul the University of West Florida in Pensacola and New College of Florida in Sarasota.
“They want students to not learn things such as Black studies,” said Hooks. “They want them to be controlled by certain narratives and certain beliefs.”
The efforts to “restrict what we can and cannot learn” is a spit in the face to his ancestors, Hooks said, leading the crowd in chants of “No MAGA Marva!” in a reference to President Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” agenda.
Two other finalists have already spent a day on campus: Rondall Allen, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, on Monday; and Gerald Hector, senior vice president for administration and finance at the University of Central Florida, on Tuesday.
The only internal candidate is Donald Palm, the university's executive vice president and chief operating officer. He is slated to meet with students and faculty Thursday. The FAMU National Alumni Association voted overwhelmingly to endorse him.
FAMU trustee Deveron Gibbons, who chairs the presidential search committee, has defended the school's process as “transparent” and “inclusive” and applauded the finalists.
“I’m grateful to my fellow trustees, who have approached this process with integrity and care every step of the way. Their commitment has been instrumental in stewarding a process that reflects the values and aspirations of the FAMU community," Gibbons said.
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