The State of Florida is doing FAMU a favor while the University deals with an audit and more than $39 million dollars that were handled without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
State lawmakers have stripped FAMU of financial oversight for the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering it jointly runs with FSU, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.
FSU President T.K. Wetherell’s response to the change was, “Who would you rather have manage your money?”
Although it may seem as a slap in the face to some people, for the past 10 years our University has been in control of the budget for the school, overseeing payments and operations.
If our University misses pay periods for faculty and delays students’ financial aid and net checks, then why not let FSU handle budget operations for the College of Engineering?
There are more FSU students and professors at the college than students and teachers from FAMU anyway.
It seems wise to allow the University with the most representation in the college control the finances. This would be one less situation for FAMU to deal with while it sorts out all the other issues that have negatively impacted the University. Interim President Castell V. Bryant said, “It was OK with them for FAMU to be the fiscal agent for 10 years, so why wouldn’t it be OK with me for FSU to be fiscal agent for a while?”
Brent Hatchett for the Editorial Board.