Without a Board of Trustees quorum at meeting, FAMU's presidential search further delayed

The process to start finding a new president for Florida A&M University won't get started anytime soon.

The reason? Enough of the historically Black university's Board of Trustees didn't show up to a special meeting Wednesday. Without a quorum, they couldn't pick a search firm.

And so, with seven out of the board's 13 members absent, the main purpose of the virtual meeting had to be postponed.

"It's extremely disappointing that today was scheduled as the time when the board was available and there is not a quorum to be able to move forward with this important action item," Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper said during the five-minute meeting. "We will have to take action some other time."

The panel was supposed to choose an executive search firm as FAMU seeks a new leader after former President Larry Robinson's resignation . Interim President Timothy Beard was appointed in August to serve for one year in the meantime.

The board's next regularly scheduled trustees meeting will be Dec. 5, which will also be the trustees' last regular full board meeting of the year.

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

Who didn't show up for the meeting?

The absent board members were Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons, as well as trustees Kelvin Lawson, John Crossman, Belvin Perry Jr., Nicole Washington, Michael White and Jamal Brown.

Some had personal reasons for being unavailable. At the same time, the search firm candidates were on the virtual call, according to Harper.

The university's meeting materials show a pre-qualified list of 10 firms for consideration, including Buffkin/Baker – the firm currently working with Florida Atlantic University, which has a search underway after a  previous search that was suspended  because of a state investigation.

"I do apologize to the firms on the call who have carved out their time to be here with us so that we could make a decision," Harper said. In an August trustees meeting, she shared her vision of ideally having someone named president by June 30, 2025.

A date is not yet scheduled for the board's next meeting to discuss the firm selection, but here is a list of the 10 executive search firms being considered and the HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) where they completed presidential searches in the past five years.

• Buffkin/Baker:Not applicable

• Greenwood/Asher & Associates:University of the District of Columbia

• Helbling & Associates:Not applicable

• Higher Talent:Not applicable

• Isaacson, Miller:Howard University, Clark Atlanta University, University of the Virgin Islands, Savannah State University

• Myers McRae:Kentucky State University

• Renaissance Search Firm:Not applicable

• Russell Reynolds:Fisk University

• Storkbeck Search:Hampton University, Tuskegee University, North Carolina A&T State University, Spelman College

• TM2 Executive Search:Currently leading searches at Arkansas Baptist College and Philander Smith University

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

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU president search delayed after board can't get quorum for meeting