FAMU board OKs high-end deal for new president Marva Johnson amid affordability concerns

Florida A&M University's  Board of Trustees has approved a five-year  presidential contract  for  Marva Johnson  – an agreement that includes a $650,000 base salary, as well as annual retention bonuses and other benefits. 

"I have grave concerns about the language in the contract," FAMU board chair Kristin Harper said at a June 6 virtual trustees meeting. "I have concerns about the financial burden this places on the university and the university's inability to fund this sweetheart deal of sweetheart deals." 

While trustees were not given clarity on whether the  FAMU Foundation  has the means in its proposed 2025-2026 fiscal year budget to afford the high-end salary, the board has the power to make the foundation's board of directors shift money from athletics and scholarship funds to pay for Johnson's compensation. 

And if the foundation does not make moves to support the salary contract, it could possibly face decertification, according to FAMU trustee Nicole Washington, who voted for Johnson's presidential selection. 

"Given where we are and conversations I've had with the Board of Governors, we should direct the foundation to revise its budget," Washington said. "If the foundation decides not to do so, then we have to explore next steps which, unfortunately, could be decertification. I'm going to trust that we're not going to get there because the foundation is doing really good work and has continued its commitment to the university." 

Johnson's contract – with terms that would start Aug. 1 – must also be approved by the  Florida Board of Governors , which will meet June 18 on Florida Atlantic University's campus to consider ultimately confirming Johnson as FAMU's next president despite pushback from many alumni, students and others who want to stop the move. 

Many oppose Johnson's selection due to concerns about political influence and lack of experience. They maintain Johnson was hand-picked by Gov. Ron DeSantis as part of his mission to overhaul higher education in his political mold. 

A 'competitive yet balanced' contract for Johnson 

After a two-hour-long discussion, the contract for Johnson was approved in an 8-3 vote and comes after the board approved a  salary range of $450,000 to $750,000 . 

Among the board members who voted in opposition of the contract's terms were Harper as well as trustees Craig Reed and FAMU Student Body President Zayla Bryant – all individuals who did not support Johnson during a recent presidential selection. 

While FAMU trustee Belvin Perry, Jr. is the only other trustee who voted against Johnson's selection, he was not on the board's June 6 virtual call. 

Board member Emery Gainey, who voted for Johnson, was also not on the call during the vote. But trustee Natlie Figgers – who missed the board's previous meeting during Johnson's selection – was in the June 6 meeting and was among the eight members who voted in favor of the contract. 

On top of Johnson's base pay of $650,000, the possibility of her earning an $86,000 annual bonus based on her performance evaluation, along with other incentives, could bring her total salary to over $750,000 after her first year at the helm. 

The contract also includes a 3% annual pay increase, the use of the FAMU president's house on campus, car expense reimbursements and guaranteed faculty employment at the College of Law following the end of her tenure. In addition, a $150,000 annual retention bonus could be paid out to Johnson in her third and fifth years as president. 

"While it's nice to talk about times past, I think we have to look forward," said Washington, who, instead of Harper, was designated to negotiate the contract with Johnson. 

As Washington explained why she decided to negotiate the approved contract terms with Johnson – group vice president at  Charter Communications – she referred to the average compensation of presidents in the Florida State University System, which is $933,000. 

"The compensation package before you today is competitive yet balanced and reflects both the support of this board and high expectations of accountability for the president-elect." 

FAMU stakeholder says contract includes pay for 'simply showing up' 

As concerned trustees questioned the terms of the presidential contract – with questions mainly coming from Harper and Reed – an aura of unsettledness began at the top of the board meeting as FAMU alumni and others urged the members to bring the contract negotiations back to the drawing board. 

FAMU Foundation member Chekesha Kidd – a strong opposer of Johnson for president who also  created a petition  against her candidacy during the search  – says the contract on the table offers "sky high pay" with "zero performance accountability." She suggested resetting the $650,000 base salary proposal to $450,000. 

"As you stated, FAMU is judged on results," Kidd said on the June 6 call, referring to a comment made by Washington at a previous meeting, "but this deal rewards simply showing up." 

FAMU alumna Remi Kent, whose son will be enrolled at FAMU as a freshman in a few months, said the controversial, high-end presidential contract chips away at the confidence she had of sending her child to the HBCU (historically Black college or university). 

"I've made the decision to entrust FAMU with my child's future," Kent said, "but this proposed presidential contract for Marva Johnson deeply undermines that trust." 

Feeling sympathetic toward the university's alumni and students as frustrations have run high since the thick of the presidential search months ago, trustee John Crossman – who voted for Johnson – asked Washington if anything can be "tweaked or adjusted" in the contract to help address concerns of many in the FAMU community and beyond. 

"We definitely are at a fragile season in FAMU's history," Crossman said. "I'm trying to think of what we can do more and more to make steps moving forward in trying to make sure that people are listened to, heard, and well engaged." 

But while addressing concerns, Washington said the contract is "not going to pay itself." 

"We've done all that we can to maintain a level of competitiveness, and I did everything I could to maintain the range that was provided," Washington said. "I hope that helps people move forward when think about how we can continue to rally around and provide support for the president-elect." 

FAMU trustees question affordability of contract, trust issues 

Both Harper and Bryant questioned Harper on the terms of the contract "prioritizing retention over performance" given that a $150,000 annual retention bonus is greater than the possible $86,000 annual bonus based on her performance evaluation. 

"That sets a clear indicator that her presence is more important than her performance," Bryant said. "It's just not really adding up."

Harper said her preference would have been an annual retention bonus of $50,000 had she been the one to negotiate Johnson's contract instead of Washington, which was a move that breaks the usual procedure of the board's chair handling the employment agreement for a new president. 

"I find it highly difficult to approve a contract that significantly exceeds the $750,000 cap that we put in place," said Reed, who later in the meeting proposed amending the base salary in the contract to about $388,000. The motion failed during a vote. "(The contract) seems extremely rich, and the question is how we're going to be able to afford it as a university." 

Shifting the board's focus, Washington called out the FAMU Foundation and said its proposed 2025-26 fiscal year budget is what concerns her the most when considering university funds. 

She said the budget proposal – which was postponed by the foundation's Board of Directors at a May 30 meeting to take a deeper look into available funds – is $1 million greater than it was last year while the foundation currently has a 40% reduction of donor pledges.

She also says the proposal is missing $400,000 of scholarship money that was included in last year's budget. "I think that's an area we as a board should look more deeply into," Washington said. 

Despite the lengthy discussion of concerns surrounding the contract, Johnson supporters on the board such as trustee Kelvin Lawson said they supported its terms. 

Although Lawson expressed having initial uneasiness about the dollar amounts in the contract, he said he reached out to FAMU's Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation Anthony Neal for clarity. 

"I was told that if we went with the upper limit of the range, it would not impact the foundation's ability to execute on the plans they have in place," Lawson said. "With that, I became more comfortable with the numbers." 

But looking at the bigger picture, Crossman believes the root of the board's concerns and issues at hand is a lack of trust. 

"The deeper issue that we got to get our arms around is trust," Crossman said. "There's a huge number of the alumni that do not trust this board, and I think there's some of the board members themselves that don't trust each other."

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at  tjean@tallahassee.com . Follow her on X:  @tarahjean_ .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU may have to shift funds to cover new president's proposed pay