Pressure Heats Up on FAMU's Gainous

Photo credit: The Famuan FAMU President Fred Gainous, shown at Aug. 27 convocation, said, "I certainly can't control the actions of individuals. I can control what I do."

By Steven Jumper, Rachael Shackelford and Diamond Washington
Black College Wire

More than 1,000 signatures claiming to advocate a "change in leadership" are listed on an online petition criticizing Fred Gainous, president of Florida A&M University.

Launched Aug. 27 by members of the Jacksonville and Miami-Dade chapters of the FAMU National Alumni Association, the petition questions the president's decisions and motives on 13 counts.

Gainous was named president by FAMU's Board of Trustees in 2001.

Now heading into his third year, Gainous finds himself confronting many of the same trustees who supported his appointment.

There are rumors that some plan to use the Sept. 14 trustees meeting to call for Gainous' resignation.

Gainous' supporters draw attention to several accomplishments during his tenure. For them, major improvements in the class registration process, the integration of an accounting system known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and the accreditation and reopening of the FAMU Law School serve as proof of the positive steps made under Gainous.

Those who have challenged Gainous' leadership have not been as understanding.

Among their most recent causes for outrage is the resignation of Henry Lewis, the dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Included in Lewis' reasons for resigning, as outlined in a letter to the Office of the Provost, were complaints concerning his salary compared with that of other pharmacy school deans and a lack of dialogue with Gainous on issues regarding the school. Gainous accepted the resignation Aug. 25.

Representatives and supporters of the national alumni association plan to address the Board of Trustees at its Sept. 14 meeting, said Vanessa Byers, president of the Miami-Dade alumni chapter.

"This is not an anti-Dr. Gainous petition, this is a pro-FAMU issue," Byers said.

Byers, along with Demetral Wester, a member of the Jacksonville alumni chapter, according to the Web site, created and wrote the petition. Wester presented it as a resolution at the Florida Region Alumni Conference in July, Byers said.

She said the Florida Region voted against supporting the resolution.

Many alumni were not aware of the rationale behind Wester's resolution, "so we changed the format to the online petition."

The petition began amid criticism that Gainous had divided staff, faculty, alumni and students, an accusation Gainous denied in an Aug. 26 interview. He said he has attempted to unite the university.

"We came in with a theme of creating one FAMU," Gainous said. "I don't think that's divisive."

Love Collins III, vice president for development, said the focus of those concerned should be to build up FAMU. He said they should stop fighting "in a public brawl."

Gainous has not been the only FAMU official criticized. Many of the trustees have been accused of inconsistency and lack of support for the president. Some observers question whether certain trustees are positioning themselves for consideration for presidency.

Gainous said he did not feel any pressure to step down, and that if his agenda had changed it was because the situation (such as the environment and resources) "dictates that it change."

"The pressures that I feel are to do the best that we can for Florida A&M University," Gainous said. "I can't control everything. I certainly can't control the actions of individuals. I can control what I do. I intend to do the best job that I can and to have Florida A&M University move forward. We are not reacting to opinion."

When asked his biggest fear concerning the upcoming meeting, Gainous said there were none.

"I don't have any fears about that meeting," Gainous said. He also said that he could not answer why the Board of Trustees was reconsidering his presidency.

"We will have an evaluation that is scheduled for December," Gainous said. "I will suspect at that time they will let me know."

Steven Jumper, Rachael Shackelford and Diamond Washington are students at Florida A&M University who write for The Famuan. Jumper may be reached at [email protected].

Posted Sept. 4, 2004