Florida A&M University President Elmira Mangum has issued a response to her Board of Trustees. Mangum is accusing the board of micro-managing her and says the claims of financial irregularities during her tenure are "baseless".
Mangum issued her response Wednesday evening, several hours after FAMU's board of trustees called an emergency meeting for 7:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss what it calls "financial irregularities". At issue are missing paperwork related to the approval of $300,000 in renovations to the President's House, the addition of a $70,000 garage, and the issuing of more than $60,000 worth of "signing bonuses" to FAMU administrators hired by the President.
Mangum issued a strongly-worded letter rebutting the board's claims. She says the renovations done to the home were done prior to her arrival at FAMU in April 2014 and were approved by the board. And she also notes with the exception of Provost Marcella David, all the signing bonuses were awarded according to state law. Mangum calls David's bonus an accounting mistake which was corrected October 20th.
Mangum and her board, specifically Chairman Rufus Montgomery, have been at odds almost from the start of her tenure. She's also been criticized by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees all the state's public universities.
Read the statement below:
