Governor Rick Scott has filled three vacancies on Florida A&M University's governing board. Most of the departures come after a failed bid to unseat the school's president. Scott has started reshaping the makeup of the board, and some of the newest members are already familiar names. The new appointees are: former Public Service Commission Chairman Matthew Carter, child advocate and former Miami Herald Publisher David Lawrence, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Gary McCoy of Destin.
They fill the seats left by Lucas Boyce who stepped down from FAMU's board earlier this year; longtime FAMU Trustee Spurgeon McWilliams, a critic of FAMU President Elmira Mangum who quit shortly after a failed board vote to oust her; and former FAMU Board Chairman Rufus Montgomery, another Mangum foe who stepped down after opposing both Mangum and the newest board chair, Cleve Warren.
Lawrence heads the Children's Campaign, which lobbies state lawmakers on children's issues. Carter is an attorney and former legislative staff director, who, in addition to his role with the Public Service Commission, has also served on the state university system's Board of Governors since 2012.
McCoy served in the Air Force from 1969 to 2011 and is a former commander of the Air Force Global Logistics Support Center at Scott Air Force Base.
More changes to FAMU's board are coming. At least three other current members have terms that expire in January. And Scott and the Florida Board of Governors can either reappoint those members, or name new ones to oversee the school.
