The Florida A&M University board of trustees has concluded its two-day retreat in Orlando. It was the first gathering of the trustees that Marva Johnson attended as the university’s president.
Johnson told trustees her mission for the first 100 days is to “continue to listen.”
“I was honored to be welcomed on my first day officially on the main campus by community faith leaders for a prayer breakfast," she said. "We had more than 15 faith leaders, and it was an incredibly inspirational experience. And I look forward to carrying their blessings with me not just for the first 100 days but well beyond that.”
Johnson’s presidency has received pushback from members of the FAMU community who are concerned about her lack of experience in the higher education field and her ties to Republicans like Governor Ron DeSantis. But the trustees are touting their recent success before the legislature.
Trustee Belvin Perry says lawmakers allocated $10 million more than the university had asked for.
“Last year’s budget request was $55.5 million," he said, "and the university was allocated $65.5 million – more than we asked for, which is a tremendous achievement.”
This year trustees are eyeing a legislative budget request of $70 million. Twenty million of that would go to restructure faculty and staff compensation.
At their September meeting, the trustees are scheduled to give their final approval of the legislative budget request. They’ll also take action concerning a potential bonus for interim FAMU president Timothy Beard, who stepped down last month to make way for Johnson.
