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FAMU Trustees Rescind Firing of 8 Faculty Members

By Ebonie Ledbetter
Black College Wire

Photo credit: Jamaal McKnight/the Famuan Challis Lowe, chairwoman of the FAMU Board of Trustees, right, and Castell V. Bryant, interim FAMU president, both came under fire at the trustees meeting.

Controversial firings.

The Florida A&M University administration ignoring proper procedures and shared governance.

Very few topics lacked controversy as the university Board of Trustees endured harsh criticism of FAMU's leadership at its June 29 meeting, at which the board rescinded the recent firings of eight School of Business and Industry faculty members.

The firings fired up the audience and some board members, especially when it became clear that not all of the laid-off faculty members were unqualified or lacking PhDs.

The administration had failed to notify the eight professors properly, give them due process or offer them other positions, according to representatives of the Faculty Senate. That violates the board's agreement with the United Faculty of Florida Union.

Patrick Liverpool, interim dean of the School of Business and Industry, said the school wants to restructure its entire program by limiting the portion devoted to professional development, such as job interviews, professional dress and resume training.

But business school officials didn't fully inform the faculty about the curriculum change and the interim dean did not inform the board until the day of its meeting that two of the professors were in fact qualified.

"Where does one go to get justice at this university?" asked Thomas Jefferson, one of the business school professors. He spoke of the letters ordering the professors to leave their offices in five days. "They want to redo the letters because they screwed up. But in the court of law you can't give your word back, and they can't give those letters back."

The university's plan to fire 40 more professors by Dec. 31 because of a lack of credentials also led to protest.

William Tucker, the faculty's chief negotiator, said the firings in general have affected faculty morale. "There is gripping fear -- people are wondering who the 40 are -- that's 10 percent of the faculty."

The controversy over firings continued with the case of Investigator General Michael E. Brown, who was placed on paid leave by Interim President Castell V. Bryant on June 15 for opening an investigation of top administration officials. The general acts independently from the administration and is not supposed to be controlled by the university president.

Bryant said the state auditor general is looking into the matter and the inspector general should return to the university if no problems are found.

But the inspector general's lawyer said he should not have been placed on leave for doing his job.

Tucker agreed. "The administration can't stop an investigation," he said. "The board ignoring the firing of the inspector general is condoning wrongdoing."

The Rev. R.B. Holmes, a trustee, wrote to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush asking for his intervention in the inspector general matter, the Associated Press reported on July 4.

However, Bush's communications director, Alia Faraj, said, "The governor has the full confidence in the presidents of the university system to take the appropriate decisions and make personnel actions. This has all happened when he was traveling,'' the news service reported.

A draft audit report for the 2004-05 school year shows gaps in financial reports and a $2.7 million surplus instead of a previously reported $8 million.

Trustees such as Holmes and Mary B. Diallo, Faculty Senate president, questioned the $5.3 million gap, but Bryant said the administration could not accurately speak about the finances until the university compares its findings to those of the auditors.

Many speakers said it was urgent to appoint a permanent president.

Holmes set an August 2007 deadline for hiring a president, but various speakers wanted one sooner.

National Alumni Association President Alvin Bryant said alumni want a new president by December.

Bryant objected to the firings and said the administration cannot "throw out university procedures," and challenged board Chairwoman Challis Lowe to properly enforce the policies of the university or resign.

Some members of the board, as well as speakers from the public, defended Bryant's right to make certain decisions.

"I had no idea about the severity of FAMU's problems until I became president," Bryant said.

Ebonie Ledbetter, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for the Famuan. She may be reached at [email protected]

Posted July 5, 2006