Florida A&M University is ablaze following the appointment of Marva Johnson to the school's presidency. Alumni, students and other FAMU stakeholders are weighing how best to move forward. Johnson is a controversial candidate for her ties to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, as he works to remake higher education in the state. Now, the school's interim president is urging calm amid backlash and boycott threats in response to Johnson's appointment by the FAMU Board of Trustees.
"I urge you to stay engaged and remain connected," Interim President Tim Beard wrote in a statement. "Your advocacy, your feedback and your financial support are crucial to ensuring that our institution continues to thrive."
Johnson was a last-minute addition to the presidential finalist list. She boasts a long career in government but has little higher education administration experience. On social media, state Attorney General James Uthmeier credited Johnson getting the job to the DeSantis administration, which has steadily exerted direct influence on public university presidential picks.
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church pastor R.B. Holmes says he supported FAMU Chief Operating Officer and fellow finalist Donald Palm for president, but is now praying for a peaceful resolution.
"Put FAMU first," Holmes said in a statement to WFSU. "I don't believe the members of the Board of Trustees are out to destroy Florida A&M University. I believe FAMU's best days are still before her."
Johnson is a lobbyist for Charter Communications, one of the largest cable companies in the United States. She has degrees from Georgetown University and Emory University and earned her J.D. at Georgia State University. In 2014 she was appointed to serve on the State Board of Education by former Gov. Rick Scott. She was reappointed to the board by DeSantis. During her interview with FAMU, Johnson pushed back on criticism that she lacks higher education experience.
"I've actually been engaged in higher education for years," Johnson told the group.
But many in the university community point out she's never taught a class, whereas the other finalists, including Palm, had lengthy academic credentials. Talethia Edwards, a lifetime member of the FAMU Alumni Association, said she thinks the process that made Johnson president-elect was a cloudy one.
"When you see these qualifications, with four people applying for the same job, and you look at those qualifications side by side, and the person least qualified--with not a successful interview--selected by the majority with that vote, it brings lots of questions," Edwards said. "No one likes dark clouds or conjecture or speculation, and there's a lot of that around."
Chuck Hobbs, a writer and attorney whose parents held major jobs at FAMU, and who earned his master's degree there, acknowledges Johnson's strengths.
"She has an accomplished resume. But it's an accomplished resume with regards to lobbying, telecommunications, and the law, not with regards to higher education," Hobbs said. "There's been a lot of speculation— 'Oh, they just don't like her, they're not giving her a chance because she's a Republican.' No, that's not it at all. In fact, I registered as a Republican as an 18-year-old in 1991. And I was a member of the Republican party for 23 years."
Johnson is a registered Republican. In recent years the GOP has targeted concepts like Affirmative Action, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and other programs that benefit minorities. Those ties have aroused distrust among the FAMU faithful given that the institution is a Historically Black University. DeSantis himself has also waged a so-called "War on Woke," which he likens to a divisive ideology. Hobbs says he's troubled that Johnson was an elector for President Donald Trump in 2020, which has led him to question her judgment.
"If she saw and witnessed all of the things that he did during his first administration, all of the race-baiting, all of the profanity-laced comments about Haiti and African countries and black NFL players and black stalwart politicians like John Lewis and Elijah Cummings. He was constantly race-baiting, and yet she saw and heard all of that, and still she decided to hitch her political wagon with him," Hobbs said.
The situation at FAMU is also echoing in the halls of Congress.
"This particular individual appears deeply unqualified…to carry out the mission of Florida A&M University. And it is my suspicion that she will not last long at the institution. She will be a failure," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies, D-N.Y., said during a press briefing Monday when asked about FAMU. "We are not going to allow the Trump Administration to take over Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country to whitewash our history and to try to indoctrinate the young people of America with their extreme and failing ideology."
At other schools where DeSantis has worked to install presidents, there's been an uptick in concerns over free speech and academic freedom.
While vocal online, on FAMU's campus, numerous students and faculty refused to discuss the matter in recorded interviews with WFSU.
"We care about who the president is, but we care about our futures more," a student said while declining to give her name.
Her friend agreed, saying, "I approve this message."
FAMU alum Talethia Edwards is dismayed by this.
"You go to a university not to matriculate in fear or to think about if what I say will be a determining factor in where I end up, what job I get, what positions or boards I get to serve on," Edwards said. "This is America. We should be able to say whatever we want to say."
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