Fundraising, business skills ideal qualities of next president, FAMU panel suggests

Having backgrounds in fundraising, business and education in terms of student success are among the qualities Florida A&M University's president search committee decided the institution's new leader should possess. 

The committee met Tuesday evening over Zoom to discuss the ideal profile of FAMU's next leader during its search, where it expects to name the university's 13th president by this summer.

"The trend has been that a lot of these presidents are coming from the business world," FAMU Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons – also chair of the search committee – said on the virtual call. "We found that, most of the time, they're usually very good at running the administration of a university and have been able to be a lot better fundraisers."

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The Tuesday meeting came less than a month after the committee met for the first time on Jan. 15 to kick off the search process and digest rules, such as Florida's Sunshine Law, that come along with their new roles. 

But in efforts of having a clear idea of what to look for in the HBCU's (historically Black college or university) next president, the committee members took the time to express the qualities they believe are most important to consider before their recommended criteria is reviewed by FAMU's Board of Trustees .

"We need to be a little bit more direct about asking (applicants) what they've done in the past in terms of fundraising, how much funds they've raised in the past, how much they've raised as it relates to endowment, and any efforts they've made in terms of supporting athletic programs," said committee member and FAMU alumnus Curtis Taylor, who is also president and CEO of Tallahassee Urban League . 

While Gibbons explained that a section on strengths and skills was left as an open-ended part of the criteria where applicants would be able to share their fiscal experience, he says changes will be made to implement Taylor's suggestions.

Gibbons also emphasized the importance of getting a quality pool of applicants, adding that he's already received at least 15 calls from interested individuals with inquiries about the president's position. 

"There are so many presidential searches going on, especially for HBCUs," Gibbons said. "I would rather have a wide scope and cast a big net than a small one where we miss on a candidate that we should have had." 

Besides FAMU, other HBCUs with president searches include Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana and Talladega College in Alabama.

Agreeing with Gibbons, Kimberly Godwin – FAMU alumna and retired ABC News president – said she's in favor of having broad qualifications to "include the corporate community" and expects that the university will receive many applications. She also believes student success is a crucial factor when considering candidates. 

"In addition to the fiscal and administrative responsibilities of the school – which are huge and right up there – students' success needs to be part of almost every question," Godwin said, referring to the university's need to increase graduation rates.

According to the Florida Board of Governors' performance metrics, FAMU improved its four-year graduation rate last year with a 6.6% increase from 2023 to bring it up to 35%, making it the largest one-year increase in the State University System of Florida as it inches toward the goal of 46%. 

At the same time, the university's four-year graduation rate remains the lowest in the state's system. Also, when it comes to FAMU's six-year graduation rate for students who are awarded a Pell Grant in their first year at the university, a 7.9% decrease was seen last year from 2023's 57.5%. 

More: FSU makes Top 3 in performance-based funding metrics; FAMU on 'watch list'

"I'm really interested in how candidates, from wherever they are, can keep people engaged and on task in an organization," Godwin said. "In our case, it would mainly be about keeping our students engaged and on task to graduate because I think that is one of our biggest issues. We need someone who can inspire and grow the student body."

In addition, committee member Cheryl Harris – senior vice president of Sourcing and Procurement at Allstate Insurance – added that the Board of Governors' expectations for Florida's universities should be incorporated as an appendix in the position criteria to shine light on state-level accountabilities. 

"Our performance-based funding is dependent on meeting those expectations, so understanding them is critically important," said Harris, also a FAMU alumna.

The search committee's recommended presidential profile will go to the university's Board of Trustees for review once the committee members' suggestions are implemented, according to Gibbons.

What's next

• Trustee members are scheduled to meet Feb. 12 for committee meetings ahead of a full board meeting at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 13 in the Grand Ballroom at FAMU, where the presidential search's position criteria and marketing plan will be discussed.

Contact Tarah Jean at  tjean@tallahassee.com  or follow her on X:  @tarahjean_ .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU search committee wants next president to have fundraising skills