Florida A&M University's bitterly divided Board of Trustees on Friday selected Marva Johnson, an attorney and corporate executive, as the school's next president, despite an outcry from alumni and students who questioned her qualifications and ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Johnson, a Charter Communications executive and former chairwoman of the State Board of Education, was one of four finalists to become FAMU president. The appointment requires confirmation by the state university system's Board of Governors.
Johnson's selection in an 8-4 vote came amid major turnover in the leadership of state universities and colleges, as DeSantis and his allies have tried to overhaul the higher education system. During the past two weeks, search committees at the University of Florida and Florida International University announced presidential selections, and University of West Florida President Martha Saunders said she will step down.
More than a dozen FAMU alumni and donors vigorously opposed Johnson's selection during Friday's meeting, including some who supported finalist Donald Palm, the university's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
"The truth of the matter is that the baggage that comes with finalist Marvin Johnson is not worth any perceived value brought as a non-traditional candidate. We can't afford another high-profile controversy attached to our university and university's image. We can't afford to be associated with anything that has the slightest whiff of undue manipulation," Will Packer, an author and film producer who is a Florida A&M graduate, said.
But trustee Nicole Washington, an educational adviser based in Miami Beach, said the state's only historically Black public university needed to adapt to an evolving landscape in higher education.
"I respect the viewpoints expressed but … they may not be the same strategies that will take to move us forward," Washington said. "I'm excited for new leadership who's going to be capable of navigating these complex challenges."
Florida A&M came under intense scrutiny last year when the school accepted — then ultimately rescinded — a $239 million donation from a purported hemp entrepreneur after questions arose about its legitimacy. Fallout from the controversy led to the resignation of former FAMU President Larry Robinson. Timothy Beard, a retired president of Pasco-Hernando State College, has served as interim president of FAMU since July.
Monica Williams Harris, an attorney who serves on the FAMU Foundation's board of directors, said Johnson "is not ready to lead this institution." Harris said alumni threatened to drop their financial support for the school if Johnson was selected.
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"If you are honest about this assessment and don't yield to political pressure, that you will realize that she is not the right person at this time to lead this institution," Harris said.
Pushback against Johnson from the FAMU community intensified after former trustee Earnie Ellison was forced to resign this month when the university system's Board of Governors asked that his name be removed from consideration for Senate confirmation. The Board of Governors on Thursday named Raphael Vazquez, a Tallahassee businessman, as a FAMU trustee — a day before the vote on the presidential selection. Vazquez supported Johnson.
Trustee Belvin Perry, a retired judge and former prosecutor, said Friday that Ellison was "mysteriously" removed after asking for a pause in the presidential search process. Perry, who voted for Palm, said he was not pressured by the governor's office but had a conversation about the "pros and cons of each candidate" with one of DeSantis' aides.
"You cannot overlook the strong alumni and their voice. You cannot overlook the students and their voice, particularly so when they are based on reasons, based upon solid facts," Perry said, adding that the result of Friday's vote was a "foregone conclusion."
Board of Trustees Chairwoman Kristin Harper vehemently opposed Johnson's nomination and suggested the selection could damage the school's long-running reputation as one of the nation's top historically Black universities.
She pointed to Johnson's interviews on campus, saying "there was a lack of intellectual depth and a gap in cultural connection that was just painfully blatant."
Harper also noted that Johnson is seeking $750,000 in annual compensation — which would be at the maximum end of the $450,000 to $750,000 presidential salary range approved by the trustees Friday. Johnson also did not meet all of the requirements for the job, according to Harper.
"As a fiduciary, I don't think it's financially responsible to select a finalist whose qualifications pale in comparison to others and whose salary requirements we cannot afford," said Harper, who voted for Palm. "I also have to go on the record as a Black woman in an age of merit-based hiring decisions. How can one justify settling for a candidate who does not meet all of the position criteria or turning a blind eye to exceptionally qualified candidates?"
Proponents of Johnson, who is Black, argued that she would be well-placed to advocate for funding from the state Legislature.
"This moment calls for someone who understands the systems that fund and govern us, because right now, our survival depends on how we navigate those systems. We cannot depend solely on alumni giving to get our needs. The reality is that most of our funding comes from the Florida Board of Governors and the state Legislature," Jamal Brown, a pharmacy professor who is president of the FAMU Senate Faculty, said.
Animosity between board members who aligned with Johnson and those who didn't flared toward the end of Friday's 3 ½-hour meeting, as trustee Michael White made a motion to have Washington negotiate Johnson's salary — a task generally handled by the board's chairperson.
"It's like a Lifetime movie," Harper said, adding that she was "offended" by the move.
Perry defended Harper and said the effort to remove her from the negotiation process "adds to the odious odor of what's going on in this body. … I just find it horrible that in an institution that talks about love and charity that there is no love, there is no charity."
After a series of procedural maneuvers failed, the board voted 6-4 to have Washington negotiate the salary.
The higher-education overhaul in Florida coincides with efforts by DeSantis and other Republican leaders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and restrict the way Black history can be taught. Critics of Friday's vote linked Johnson's selection to those initiatives.
Genesis Robinson, executive director of the Equal Ground Education Fund advocacy group, said he was "deeply disappointed and troubled" with the board's move. He called historically Black colleges and universities the "pillars of Black civic power and self-determination."
"This is bigger than one hire. Across Florida, we are witnessing a troubling trend — the suppression of Black political power, the rollback of DEI, attacks on academic freedom, and now, the co-opting of our institutions, Robinson, a FAMU graduate, said in a statement.
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