Florida A&M University’s governing board has signed off on a list of expectations for interim President Larry Robinson, and it's still trying to get a handle on its athletics budget deficit.
Robinson says he plans to increase FAMU’s six-year graduation rate, grow the number of students employed right after college along with their wages, and reduce the cost of attendance.
“These goals were not designed to be lay-ups. They were designed to be a stretch...This is what we’re now going to charge the administration--our senior leader—with delivering for us during the next 12 months," says Board Chairman Kelvin Lawson.
Many of Robinson’s metrics line up to those set by the Florida Board of Governors, which uses a similar system to award or take away funding to schools based on how well they perform.
Meanwhile FAMU's Board is still working on getting rid of an athletics deficit that spans the past seven years. And on the way, they’re also calling for the FAMU Boosters club to be revamped. The Boosters are a direct-support organization for athletics, and still owes the school money. Athletics Director Milton Overton says the sides are making progress.
"$30,000 has been transferred," says Overton, "and the rest is in things like A-frames. When you come to the games we put out the A-frames which indicate names of people who have donated at a certain level…and there’s a value on that. It’s an operational value."
The board had been considering whether to suspend the organization. The move comes after the Boosters fought a decision to transfer game day parking revenue to the athletics department.
