FAMU presidential search now faces review by state Board of Governors

Florida A&M University's presidential search is under scrutiny as the Florida Board of Governors has asked for a list of individuals who signed nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) as part of the process.

But the requests don't stop there. The governing board has also asked FAMU for access to a video of the presidential search committee's closed meeting where members voted on an unranked list of four final candidates .

While an April 21 letter about the NDAs was addressed to FAMU interim President Timothy Beard, a separate letter dated April 23 regarding video footage of the committee's closed session was sent to FAMU's interim General Counsel Shira Thomas, who dropped a bombshell on university trustees in an April 24 meeting when she said the Board of Governors has opened an investigation on the search. 

"The Board of Governors Office has received concerns surrounding confidential information related to the FAMU Presidential Search," Board of Governors' Inspector General and Director of Compliance Julie Leftheris told Beard in the April 21 letter. "We are currently evaluating the information and the appropriate action to take."

Both letters were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat following FAMU's virtual board meeting April 24, where Thomas – who initially indicated an investigation by the Board of Governors – later said the governing board's inquiry "speaks to confidentiality regarding the presidential search."

On April 15, the Democrat reported a list of names being discussed by the Rattler community as likely candidates for the job – and most of those names ended up being on the list of finalists released to the public. ​In 2022, Florida enacted a law making most of the public university presidential search process confidential, save for finalists. 

In a text message to FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper, Board of Governors Vice Chair Alan Levine – who also serves on FAMU's 15-member presidential search committee – said that statements being made about the governing board's concerns with the search are "patently untrue."

At the same time, Levine says the confidentiality issue that the Board of Governors is taking into consideration is "separate and distinct" from the search committee following procedures for selecting the final candidates, which he says was "100% done by the book."

"I think we have four excellent candidates," Levine told the Democrat during a phone call April 28. "The only thing I'm concerned by is that the names of the candidates were leaked out before we even interviewed them." 

"Anybody who violated their nondisclosure also violated the law by doing so," he added. "It's unfair to the candidates who entered the process by virtue of a promise that their name was going to be held confidential."

According to Board of Governors Regulation 1.002 on presidential searches and selections, "Failure to abide by the requirements of the non-disclosure agreement may subject an individual to civil or criminal penalties under Florida's Sunshine Laws."

The concerns and requests for more information also come as circulating  rumors  are on the forefront of discussions about the FAMU search, including claims of premature salary negotiations and search committee members being pressured to add an extra candidate to an unranked list of finalists that was recently announced. 

Discussions at the trustees' April 24 meeting came after speculation that FAMU board Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons insisted on adding Marva Johnson – a former Florida Board of Education chair also appointed to other boards by both former Gov. Rick Scott and current Gov. Ron DeSantis – to what was initially a list of three  final candidates  committee members interviewed and voted on during closed sessions.

Although Gibbons is aware of the claims, he has not admitted to them and said during the Thursday trustees meeting "all of these innuendos and rumors that are flying around are not accurate in any way, shape or form."

Despite a few trustees pushing for the search to be paused, most board members voted in favor of continuing the process. "In this case, the violation of the nondisclosure agreement didn't have a bearing on the process," Levine told the Democrat. "There's no reason to have halted the process."

Besides Johnson – who is currently group vice president of state government affairs for  Charter Communications , an internet and cable TV concerns that operates under the Spectrum brand name – the unranked list of the four final candidates include:

• Rondall Allen, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,  University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

• Gerald Hector, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance,  University of Central Florida . 

• Donald Palm, FAMU's executive vice president and chief operating officer.

After hearing discussions in the community and on social media about the lack of transparency in the presidential search, Levine says he encouraged Florida State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues to review the videos of the search committee's meeting to validate his report about the "integrity of the process, which is indisputable." 

"This is not an investigation," Levine said. "This is the chancellor literally just validating what I shared with him." 

It is unclear what the Board of Governors' next steps will be after reviewing the requested information. As FAMU moves forward with the search for its new leader, campus visits and public forums are scheduled to be held May 12 to May 15.

Tarah Jean is a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at  tjean@tallahassee.com . Follow her on X:  @tarahjean_ .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Alleged leak sparks look into FAMU presidential search secrecy