Left to right, Kenny Daugherty, Deveron Gibbon and Brianna
After the resignation of former President Larry Robinson and the input of Interim President Timothy Beard, the Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Myers McRae search committee continue the hunt for a permanent president.
According to BOT member Deveron Gibbon, Interim President Beard is unable to apply for the president position due to his signed contract.
A listening session was hosted by Gibbon, Kenny Daugherty, and Brianna Douglas from the Myers McRae search and consulting committee in the Multi-Purpose room via Zoom for concerned staff, students, and alums.
The session was meant for the committee to take notes on what characteristics the public is looking for in the new president. There were over 200 guests on Zoom, resulting in the session to exceed the hour.
Anyone in the Zoom call was able to raise their hands to be added to the queue for questions, as well as those in the room.
Deveron Gibbon responded to all of the questions asked.
WHAT IS THE SEARCH TIMELINE?
“The best consideration date for this is March 14, and then on March 20, the committee will meet to review to decide which candidates to interview virtually in that first round of interviews, and then on March 27 is the tentative date for the first round of interviews, and with campus visits being set for the week of April 7.”
Can the Board of Governors or the governor have veto power over the selection?
“The Board of Governors does have veto power over whoever is selected. They will have to go to the Board of Governors, just like the Board of Trustees here would have to approve the individual that we- the search committee- come up with. That’s why they have to be presented to the Board of Governors, and then they’ll do their background checks and other things, and then we will move forward from there.”
With the recent pullback on DEI and the attacks on HBCUs, is it possible that FAMU could get a non-black president or even non-black candidates?
“I am not able to answer that question. We will look at the resumes presented before us and look for the best. More than likely it’ll be someone who understands the culture of FAMU and what it represents…”
The most common request from the public was for a president who understands the lifestyle of an HBCU student and someone who genuinely wants what’s best for the university.
The committee allowed the public to write nominations for president on the FAMU website, famu.edu.