FAMU search committee identifies four final candidates for president. Here's who they are

Florida A&M University's presidential search committee has narrowed its applicants for president down to an unranked list of four final candidates amid preliminary discussions in the Rattler community of who was in the running. 

"There was a great pool of candidates," the committee's chair Deveron Gibbons, who also serves as vice chair of FAMU's Board of Trustees, told the Tallahassee Democrat April 21. "It was a very hard selection process, but it was very open and transparent. I felt like everybody worked very hard to try to find the four most competent people to lead FAMU." 

According to a prepared message that FAMU's Deputy General Counsel Iris A. Elijah shared with the search committee April 21 on behalf of Gibbons – and that is expected to be posted on the university's presidential search website – the four final candidates are: 

• 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

• Marva Johnson, Group Vice President, State Government Affairs, Charter Communications

• Donald Palm , Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, FAMU 

The names were identified by the Tallahassee Democrat on April 15 .

"The finalists are a cross section of the very best people to lead Florida A&M into the future," Gibbons told the Democrat. "FAMU is a launching pad for so many leaders across America and the globe, so we really want to get the best and brightest to lead it and build on the excellence of the past, the current and the future state of FAMU's brand." 

FAMU's search comes after former President  Larry Robinson  stepped down last year following a major multi-million-dollar gift mishandling, where an  investigation report  found the donation to be 'fraudulent.' Interim President  Timothy Beard  has been serving in the role since August for a one-year term. 

Although candidates' information was not yet disclosed to the public during the 15-member search committee's  closed sessions earlier this month where first-round interviews were conducted, the four final candidates were all among the names that have been mentioned prominently in texts and conversations in the FAMU community. 

State Rep.  Gallop Franklin II , D-Tallahassee, was also believed to be a prospective contender in the search. But his name is not included in the unranked list of finalists, which comes during a time when a  series of Republican politicians  are being selected to lead public colleges or universities under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

More: FAMU's closed search for its next president: Who may be in the running?

There has been wide speculation that Gibbons insisted on adding Johnson – a former Florida Board of Education chair who has been appointed to board positions in the past under both former Gov. Rick Scott and DeSantis – to what was initially a list of three final candidates that committee members interviewed and voted on during closed sessions in a downtown Tallahassee office space.

But Gibbons says there were "no issues with the process whatsoever." 

"The process worked just like it was supposed to," Gibbons said. "It's unfortunate that people don't know what they're talking about. We were all bound by NDAs (nondisclosure agreements), and I would hope that people are not violating the NDA because what I have seen and what I have heard is not accurate related to the process." 

Under Florida Board of Governors Regulation 1.002 , part of the presidential search process requires university trustee boards to present their final list of candidates to Board of Governors Chair Brian Lamb for review and approval . Details of when this step was taken during FAMU's search ahead of the four finalists being announced are unclear. 

More: Board of Governors' tight control over president searches raises concerns from trustees

Although the university planned to announce the final candidates sooner, Gibbons told the Democrat the announcement was held back to be "sensitive to the issues that were going on with our neighbor next door," referring to the April 17 mass shooting at Florida State University that left two dead and six injured. 

"Last week's shocking and tragic events on the campus of our next-door neighbor Florida State University have underscored the importance of a strong and permanent leader for our own institution," Gibbons said in his prepared message. "We share their pain and pray for healing for the entire FSU community." 

Related news: After shooting, a subdued return for FSU students with tears and flower-lined walkways

As FAMU moves on with its presidential search, the four candidates will participate in public forums during the week of May 12 for the university community to get to know them and explore their vision for the institution. The next steps of the process would then consist of the Board of Trustees voting on the selection of the president before the Florida Board of Governors votes on whether to confirm the selected candidate.

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: FAMU's presidential search committee selects four final candidates