FAMU Trustees Non-Renewal of Mangum Contract Ignores Students’ Voices
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Something incredibly wrong is happening at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. Student voices are being ignored in favor of the wishes of those who — mistakenly — think they have FAMU’s best interests at heart. They do not.
As the Student Body President and the sole student representative on the FAMU Board of Trustees, it is my responsibility to ensure that the interests of the student body reign supreme. Students campus-wide often voice to me overwhelming support for Dr. Elmira Mangum to remain president of this institution. This overwhelming support shows that the students believe in her vision for the university to be a best-in-class, land-grant, doctoral research university with a global impact.
The students who have chosen to enroll at and return to FAMU under President Mangum’s leadership are generating more than $127 million in tuition and fees for the University. This surpasses the $97 million investment by the State of Florida, the half million in donations by the FAMU National Alumni Association, and the approximately $200,000 plus in donations we receive from the employee giving campaign. I must note here that I am by no means downplaying any of the efforts of these groups, in fact, we the students appreciate every dollar that is raised and provided to help afford us a high-quality education.
But my point is that without the students’ financial contributions, our presence, and our journey to one day become alumni, there would be no FAMU, which means there would be no Board of Trustees.
Despite this reality, the voices of FAMU’s student body have been largely absent from the ongoing deliberations over the future of the University. All things considered, it will ultimately be the students who are impacted by the decision of the Board of Trustees to not renew the contract of Dr. Mangum. And this would be a grave mistake.
We, the students, have been positively impacted by her many contributions to FAMU, she is working from the inside out on issues that not only matter to the students but impact our progression at the University, for instance faster processing of financial aid. I served as one of four student representatives on the committee designed to improve this process in 2014, so I know firsthand how hard she worked to support the students and ensure that they are included in decisions that impact us.
She also oversaw increases in financial grants and scholarships that have helped many students cross the finish line, students who may not have otherwise made it. From the distribution of free passports to Dr. Mangum’s open door policy, which allows us to resolve issues quickly, FAMU students have greatly benefited from her leadership. There is also widespread student support for her decision to uphold the right of students to govern our own affairs and elections, according to our Student Body Constitution and Florida State Statutes — allowing us to exercise our rights as a Student Government Association.
If the voices of students are silenced, then the FAMU Board of Trustees will ultimately be voting against the outcry of the heartbeat of this Institution. And without a heartbeat what good is a body? A vote to dismiss Dr. Mangum will send a message to our students that our board values petty differences over excellence, politics over progress, gossip over metrics, and self over students. While some of my Board colleagues believe they are acting in the “best interests of the university,” I challenge them to show tangible evidence that dismissing Dr. Mangum is, in fact, in our collective “best interest.”
I often ask myself, how can our board seek to fire arguably the most successful FAMU president since Dr. Humphries left in 2001? How can any trustee reasonably justify taking an action that jeopardizes our accreditation reaffirmation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, potentially halting a $100 million capital campaign to improve instruction and facilities, and dismisses a stakeholder-based strategic plan to move FAMU forever forward?
While students are struggling to find the resources to remain in school, I challenge our Board to justify spending more than $1 million dollars to pay out Dr. Mangum’s contract and sabbatical, hire an interim president, and start a search for and ultimately hire a new president? How does our Board take action that makes this university more prone to being victimized by a larger strategy to destabilize and close HBCUs?
An objective outside observer would conclude that Dr. Mangum has had a positive and profound impact on the University and its students. We believe she is a strong and courageous advocate for the University, and she has brought change to FAMU that has made it better for students. The student body collectively believes that changing presidents at this critical juncture would be a mistake and would be disruptive to the university.
Although students may not voice this through the traditional forms of media, our generation chooses to enact our First Amendment rights in unique ways, including media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. No matter the medium, I cannot ignore the words of the people I go to school with every day. Fellow Board members, it is time for us to accept the facts: our STUDENTS want Mangum.
At the request of my constituents, I would like to invite the members of the BOT to attend our Student Government Association town hall meeting with students and other university stakeholders to afford everyone a safe environment to collectively discuss what is in the best interest of the University moving forward. We propose that this town hall take place September 14, at 6 p.m. I am eagerly looking forward to this dialogue as a pivotal point in the future of our institution.
Jaylen Smith is the president of the FAMU Student Government Association and a member of the FAMU Board of Trustees.
