What’s New
Florida A&M University alumni, students, and faculty are outraged after the university’s Board of Trustees last week tapped a former political appointee of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to lead the state’s only public HBCU.
Several members of the university community said in petitions and in viral social-media posts that Marva Johnson’s appointment opens the HBCU up to political interference from a governor that is antagonistic toward diversity initiatives and the teaching of African American history.
“After the publicly embarrassing challenges this institution has faced over the past year, we can’t afford another high-profile controversy attached to our university’s image,” Will Packer, a film producer and 1996 graduate of the university, said during the board meeting and again in a widely-circulated statement on social media. “We can’t afford to be associated with anything that has the slightest whiff of impropriety and political manipulation.”
The Details
In the week’s leading up to the board’s vote, Johnson — a former member of the Florida State Board of Education — faced criticism from FAMU alumni, faculty, and students for her political ties to DeSantis, who has radically reshaped higher education in the state. Students at FAMU started a Change.org petition to voice their opposition to Johnson’s candidacy.
“DeSantis has made it his mission to erase DEI and CRT from Florida’s schools. Johnson’s political appointments and education policy track record show that she is aligned with that agenda. That directly threatens the values FAMU stands for — uplifting Black students, teaching our full history, and fighting for justice,” read the petition, which had received nearly 16,000 signatures as of Monday evening.
In 2023, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 266 and House Bill 931 into law, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, the use of diversity statements, and identity-based preferences in hiring at public colleges. In response to anti-DEI legislation, FAMU has scrubbed several websites referencing its diversity initiatives and eliminated $4.4 million in funding for 15 DEI programs, according to The Famuan, the university’s student newspaper.
DeSantis has overhauled trustee appointments and restricted how faculty teach about race at colleges across the state. Most recently, he pressured the University of Florida to call off a dean search for having “radical progressives” who opposed the state’s anti-DEI laws as candidates.
Earlier this month, the University of West Florida’s president resigned after DeSantis said he would overhaul the university’s “liberal programs” and appointed a Heritage Foundation fellow to sit on the Board of Trustees.
Last year, Florida Atlantic University called off its presidential search when a known DeSantis ally complained that he was passed over for the job.
“A decision to vote in favor of Marva Johnson reflects a reckless disregard for the stakeholders who have placed their trust in you,” Amy Wheeler, a FAMU alumna, told the board last Friday. “Your silence speaks volumes today.”
Nicole Washington, a FAMU trustee who voted in favor of Johnson, said the appointment could help move the university forward. “I’m excited for new leadership who’s going to be capable of navigating these complex challenges.”
The Backdrop
Johnson’s appointment comes less than a year after the abrupt resignation of the university’s previous president and the release of a report revealing that the institution had rushed the vetting process for a failed $237-million donation announced during its 2024 commencement.
In August, the university’s interim president demanded the immediate resignation of multiple senior leaders in the cabinet in an effort to “restructure” the leadership of the university.
After multiple delays in its presidential search, FAMU announced the finalists for presidency in April. Alumni have publicly speculated that Johnson was added as a last-minute finalist after three others had already been voted on.
“The FAMU Presidential Search Committee has conducted a transparent, inclusive process and identified four exceptional candidates to move forward,” Deveron Gibbons, a trustee and chair of the presidential-search committee, said in a statement announcing the finalists. “Each brings a strong record of leadership.”
The other finalists were administrators from the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and the University of Central Florida, and FAMU’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Donald Palm.
One day before the vote to select the university’s next president, the State University System of Florida’s Board of Governors appointed Raphael Vazquez, a FAMU presidential-search committee member, to serve as a new trustee. Vazquez joined seven other trustees in voting for Johnson, who has no experience as a university administrator.
Johnson was appointed to the Florida State Board of Education in 2014. She was elected chair in 2015 and served for four years. She is currently working as a lobbyist, serving as group vice president of state-government affairs for the telecommunications company Charter Communications.
Johnson was selected by the board in an 8-4 vote. Palm, who had been endorsed by the university’s alumni association weeks earlier, was the only other candidate to receive votes.
“Florida A&M University has long stood as a beacon of excellence and empowerment. To be considered for the opportunity to lead this storied institution is the honor of a lifetime,” Johnson said in a press release from the university. “I will approach this role with bold vision — focused on student success, innovation, and national prominence — while building strong bridges with the FAMU community and honoring the legacy that makes this university so special.”
What’s Next
Johnson will take the helm of the university this summer, pending confirmation from the state Board of Governors.
In the press release, the university highlighted Johnson’s career in the telecommunications industry and public-education policy and wrote that she “expressed her commitment to FAMU’s legacy as a top-tier HBCU and its rise in research, academic achievement, and social impact.”
The university last year established a Carnegie Research 1 Task Force to align research infrastructure, faculty support, and graduate programs with the benchmarks required to achieve Carnegie R1 classification, according to the university.
Under the Trump administration, the university’s research goals may be hindered. FAMU’s pharmacy school is reeling from the termination of a $16-million National Institutes of Health grant that supported research on racial disparities in cancer treatment.
Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation terminated a $1.6-million dollar collaborative research grant at FAMU and four other Florida colleges dedicated to improving the career outcomes of historically underrepresented minority women in STEM.
In a press release posted Monday, Timothy L. Beard, the university’s interim president, said, “We also recognize that the outcome of the Board vote was surprising to many. There was a strong desire among some stakeholders for a more traditional choice. The Board vote reflects a vision for navigating a rapidly evolving higher education landscape — one that values innovation, adaptability, and strategic partnerships to position FAMU for long-term success.”
