A Florida A&M University board of trustee member is calling for an emergency hearing of the school’s governing body following the donation of the single-largest financial gift in FAMU’s history.
Immediately after the announcement of a $237 million donation to FAMU made by Texas hemp farmer Gregory Gerami this past weekend, WFSU and several other outlets began asking questions related to the structure of the gift.
A university spokesman told WFSU the money came in the form of shares in Gerami’s privately owned company, Batterson Farms. The university says the plan is to sell the shares before the end of the year, but given the company is private, it’s unclear how that will be done and who would facilitate the sale.
During a meeting with reporters Monday, of which WFSU was not notified, Gerami defended his gift to FAMU.
“The stocks have been held by the university for over a month now, so I don't know where the confusion or the skepticism would be since it's already in a financial account with the university,” said Gerami, as quoted by the Tallahassee Democrat.
Others are not so sure. FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Deveron Gibbons is calling for the university to be more transparent regarding the circumstances for receiving and the process of vetting the gift. Gibbons says he found out about it during Saturday’s commencement when it was announced by University President Larry Robinson.
“A donation of this nature requires the highest degree of transparency and inquiry, and to this point that has not occurred. As Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, I have a responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the university I cherish – but I have deep concerns that this process is moving too quickly to embrace a gift without proper scrutiny,” said Gibbons in a statement released by Sachs Media.
The $237 million would be more than the value of the total U.S. market in 2023, according to the National Hemp Association. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report placed the value of hemp production in the U.S. in the open in 2021 at $824 million. According to the most recent publicly available information, The Batterson Farms Trust, as of June 2023, had an annual revenue of $111,232. The company’s revenue at the same time was approximately $60,000. This month, the company updated its financial report to show $482 million in revenue. That’s from a Dun & Bradstreet report. The Duns report acts as a business credit report for private and small businesses.
“I will say everything is out there,” said Gerami as cited by the Tallahassee Democrat. “The only thing that you cannot find is the money. That's really the only thing you can't find online.”
Gerami pulled out of a planned $95 million gift to Coastal Carolina University last year. According to the The Myrtle Beach Sun News Geramy said he changed course because he felt disrespected by school officials and accused them of racism, which CCU has denied.
