FAMU Foundation Directors pump the brakes on President-select Marva Johnson's salary demand

Get the Point!

Three old friends and FAMUly members, Florida A&M University Foundation Directors Laurence A. Humphries Attorney Moni Jay, and Chekesha Kidd, moved, seconded, and strenuously argued on behalf of a motion to table discussion about the potential compensation packet for President-select Marva Johnson earlier this afternoon.

Director Laurence Humphries

While today's Foundation committee meeting had been highly anticipated due to speculation that some Johnson supporters on the FAMU BOT wish for the Foundation to rubber stamp funding allocation that would far exceed the pay of former President Larry Robinson, I believe that the committee's unanimous move this afternoon was wise when considering that at this point, the full membership has yet to be presented with any proposed contractual terms or comparability studies that consider similar presidential pay constructs at HBCUs, first and foremost, and within the Florida State University System.

Director Monica Williams Harris

With Ms. Johnson having requested a salary of $750k per year, and the State of Florida only required to pay $200k of that (with the remainder having to come from the Foundation), I believe that it was extremely smart to take a step back so that members can carefully scrutinize existing funds and potential funding sources—particularly in light of the fact that several MAJOR FAMU donors have already joined tens of thousands of FAMU students, alumni, and supporters in strongly objecting to Ms. Johnson's selection.

Director Chekesha Kidd

Further, cognizant that some of these major and smaller donors have indicated that they may withhold future donations in protest of her selection, and at least one advocacy group, the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP, having indicated their plans to litigate objections to what many FAMU stakeholders see as a process that was rigged by Florida MAGA leaders in Ms. Johnson's favor, I extend kudos to all of the Foundation members for choosing deliberate scrutiny over political expediency!