On the eve of a meeting that could determine whether Florida A&M University President Elmira Mangum’s contract will be renewed, a group of former FAMU presidents sent a letter Thursday to the school’s board of trustees urging against a renewal.
“With some sadness, we are of the collective opinion that a favorable renewal of the president’s contract will not be in the best interest of FAMU,” they wrote. “It is clear that something must be done to preserve the integrity of the university.”
The letter was signed by former FAMU presidents Frederick Humphries and Fred Gainous and former interim presidents Castell Bryant and Henry Lewis.
“Unfortunately, the disenfranchisement of students, faculty, alumni, staff and community seems to have thrown the university off course,” the letter said. “We agree that the stalemate that is currently in place creates a culture that will not allow for growth or stability. It is impossible for any university to thrive amid constant dysfunction.”
The letter arrived as the board of trustees prepares to take up Mangum’s contract, which had already been a matter of dispute.
The Tallahassee Democrat newspaper published the letter shortly before a meeting Thursday of a special committee responsible for evaluating Mangum’s job performance. The committee met briefly without reviewing revised documents she had submitted.
Other people who signed the letter included the Rev. R.B. Holmes, a former trustee; Tommy Mitchell, immediate past president of the FAMU National Alumni Association; Narayan Persaud, a former trustee and former president of the FAMU Faculty Senate; Leon County Commission Chairman Bill Proctor; and Umi Selah, also known as Phillip Agnew, a former FAMU Student Government Association president.
The contract had not been on the agenda for Friday’s meeting of the full board but was added this week. The board has until the end of June to decide whether it will renew the contract, which expires April 1, 2017.
Last month, interim board Chairman Kelvin Lawson asked Mangum for a 45-day extension beyond the June 30 deadline, but she refused on the advice of her attorney.
Following Thursday’s meeting of the presidential evaluation committee, Lawson and Mangum said they did not know whether the trustees would make a decision on the contract
“We’re not sure yet,” Lawson said. “It all depends on the decision we make with the president around the original idea of the extension, so we’ll see.”
“I don’t know what they’re going to do,” Mangum said. “The contract discussions are with the board’s attorney and my attorney.”
Lawson said the board would stick to its original timeline for the president’s performance evaluation, which is expected to be complete in September.
Friday’s meeting is expected to attract large numbers of FAMU alumni. But Mangum told reporters she would not use her scheduled presentation to the board to defend herself.
“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, and that is working in the best interests of the students and the university,” she said.
Newly appointed trustee David Lawrence, a former publisher of the Miami Herald, said he did not know enough to come to any conclusion about the contract.
“I respect the former presidents, but we’re now in 2016, and we need to judge this by this president’s record — what has occurred or not occurred during her tenure,” he said. “And we need to be fair.”