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FAMU Far from Its 1997 Pinnacle

Photo credit: Florida A&M University Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, talking with FAMU community in 2001 about his plans to resign, led the university at its peak.

By Ebonie Ledbetter
Black College Wire

Most students, faculty members and alumni at Florida A&M University know that FAMU was "College of the Year" -- in 1997, eight years ago.

The university earned that title from Time magazine. It is not clear when the university will return to that level of prestige.

In 1997, FAMU, led by President Frederick S. Humphries, became the first university to be designated college of the year by both Time and the Princeton Review, according to CNN.

At the time, FAMU was the No. 1 school producing blacks with baccalaureate degrees and the leader in recruiting National Achievement Scholars, winners of a National Merit Scholarship Corp. competition established in 1964 to provide recognition for outstanding black American high school students.

Humphries, university president from 1985 to 2001, personally recruited top black scholars and created stability during his tenure, according to the university's Web site.

A former vice president under Humphries who now works at Florida State University recalled a positive campus atmosphere in 1997.

"When FAMU won the award, I had just started [working at FAMU], . . . people were elated and there was a good atmosphere," she said.

"As a FAMU alumn[a], it was a great feeling to work hard to make a difference in the lives of the students," said the former FAMU vice president, who asked not to be named.

Others agreed, including Michael Smith, who works for the university's honors program. Smith was a senior in 1997.

"FAMU was flourishing, the culture on campus was rich and everyone was proud to say they were from FAMU," he said.

"It was a time when Humphries was here and everyone loved him."

Smith added that Humphries handled issues at the university differently.

"We didn't have as many administrative problems. We had problems, but they weren't as paramount as they've become," Smith said.

The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Larry Rivers, was director of the Masters of Applied Social Science Program then.

"It all seemed to come together in 1997 -- we had a capable administration and a smart student body," Rivers explained.

"The students helped us become College of the Year because they wanted to show they loved FAMU and wanted to project a positive image of FAMU throughout the country."

After Humphries resigned, the university underwent a period of administrative stability: financial problems, unfilled dean positions, the removal of President Fred Gainous in fall 2004, overspending and the termination and resignation of top administrators.

"The business of the university and the financial department deteriorated" after Humphries left; "the leadership no longer set the tone or had a sense of the pulse of the university and student life," Smith said.

Rivers said he believed the university continues to be great, but "people would like to see more stability as it relates to the central administration."

Of the administrative changes, he said, "Some people have perceived the changes as growing pains of the university," Rivers said.

"But the changes have caused some students to attend institutions where the changes are not so pronounced."

The university's recruitment of National Achievement Scholars has also decreased since 1997.

According to the FAMU Web site, the university recruited 73 of these students in 1997 compared with 12 in 2004.

Rivers attributes the decline to a lack of resources. "We are not offering the money (in scholarships) that we were offering in 1997," he said.

Despite FAMU's financial and administrative problems, enrollment has increased from 10,998 students in 1997 to more than 13,000 in fall 2004, according to the university's Department of Institutional Research.

FAMU has also kept its title as the nation's top producer of black baccalaureate students, reestablished its College of Law in Orlando, Fla., and maintained one of the top collegiate bands.

It has also implemented many on-campus renovations and additions.

"The University has grown physically. SBI was renovated, the GC Building, Science Research and Allied Health buildings were built and the journalism building is being built now," Smith said, referring to the School of Business and Industry and the General Classroom, or Benjamin L. Perry Building.

FAMU continues to have financial and administrative issues, including a freeze on university spending.

Smith said the university is not as good as it was in 1997, but "we have the opportunity to make it [as good] and even better."

The interim president, Castell Bryant, "is trying to bring back the spirit and structure" of the university.

"I love working here," said Rivers, a FAMU employee for 28 years. "Overall, FAMU is solid and academically sound and I have no doubt the adjustments it's going through will result in an even better institution."

Ebonie Ledbetter, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for the Famuan.

Posted April 18, 2005