The Florida A&M University board of trustees agreed Monday to keep President James Ammons on the job despite an ongoing investigation of the school’s famous “Marching 100” band, rejecting a recommendation from Gov. Rick Scott that Ammons be suspended.
The board’s decision came in the wake of building pressure on Scott to butt out of the inquiry at the historically black university, with the regional accrediting body and the head of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus both telling the governor to keep his distance. And in explaining the decision, FAMU Board Chairman Solomon Badger sent an implied warning shot at Scott and others.
“We will stand firm against outside influence, regardless of how well-intended,” Badger said during a teleconference to discuss Ammons’ status.
The board did agree to set up weekly meetings over the next 60 days to remain apprised of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s investigation into what happened to drum major Robert Champion, whose death after a hazing incident was ruled a homicide last week by Orange County medical examiners. Champion died in Orlando following the annual FAMU-Bethune Cookman football game on Nov. 19. FDLE has since announced that it also is looking into the band’s finances.
Badger also said the board would meet at FAMU next month to conduct Ammons’ evaluation.
And in a statement issued following the meeting, the board said it was too soon to force Ammons to step aside, even temporarily.
“Until information and results from the ongoing investigations are made available to the board, enabling it to effectively conduct a fact-based deliberation on the role of the administration and the President in these matters, the board is deciding to leave the status of the President unchanged,” it said.
Scott publicly waded into the controversy last week, calling on the board to suspend Ammons to remove any doubts about the thoroughness of the investigation. Ammons said after a Friday afternoon meeting with Scott that he would consider the advice, but the board action Monday would keep him on the job for the time.
The governor released a statement following the meeting saying he would follow the board’s decision.
“For the sake of appearances, and to assure the public that these investigations are clearly independent, I believe it would have been in the best interest of Florida A&M University for President Ammons to step aside until all of these investigations are completed,” Scott said. “However, we have a process in Florida for the administration of the State University System, and that process has been followed.”
Over weekend and leading up to Monday morning’s meeting, pressure had been building on Scott to remove himself from decisions about Ammons’ future — including a letter from Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, FAMU’s accrediting body.
“Having been a college president, as well as being a parent, I truly appreciate the seriousness of the issues with which the University is dealing as it relates to the reported hazing events of recent weeks; however, the issues are those of the University and as such should be handled by the governing board,” Wheelan wrote.
In an interview Monday, Wheelan said the board was free to suspend Ammons if it believed it was necessary, but not because of pressure from Scott.
“If they do it because he tells them to, that jeopardizes their accreditation,” she said.
Losing accreditation could endanger federal financial aid to students, but Wheelan said the organization was likely to place an institution on warning first. She also said SACS has taken no steps toward investigating FAMU over the governor’s comments.
On Monday, Rep. Mia Jones, the Jacksonville Democrat who chairs the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, also urged the university’s board to make its own decision.
“Governor Rick Scott is our state’s Chief Executive Officer, and while he is certainly entitled to an opinion, his actions or influences on the management and governing of the University could jeopardize FAMU’s accreditation under the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,” said Jones, a FAMU alumna. “It is the position of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus (FLBC) that the Board of Trustees be allowed to fulfill its duties in the manner outlined in Florida statutes without influence from the Legislative or Executive branch of government.”
By Brandon Larrabee
