Bob Sparks: FAMU drama heads into next act

Florida A & M University, unfortunately, is again in the news. President Elmira Mangum and the university’s Board of Trustees are in conflict and have been for some time. Public spats between Mangum and Board Chairman Rufus Montgomery have escalated.

On Wednesday, four sitting legislators and the mayor of Tallahassee called a news conference to urge Montgomery to step down as chairman. All are FAMU alumni.

“We would like for the chairman to look at what is going on and to simply say that he loves FAMU enough that he will continue to work on behalf of the institution, but that he will step down as the leader of this board,” said Rep. Mia Jones of Jacksonville.

She was joined by Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner of Tampa, Sen. Dwight Bullard of Miami, Rep. Alan Williams of Tallahassee and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. The call to Montgomery is the latest step in the legislators’ criticism of his leadership.

On June 18, Joyner, Bullard and Jones were joined by Rep. Shevrin Jones of West Park and Rep. Bobby Powell of Riviera Beach in signing a letter to the Board of Governors complaining about Montgomery’s style as “dangerously close to bullying.”

Within the past two months Mangum received less-than-flattering performance evaluations from the entire FAMU board, not just Montgomery. In recent days Montgomery said Mangum hung up on him during a call seeking information. Mangum said what happened on the call amounted to a violation of her employee rights.

During Wednesday’s news conference, Williams and others said the ongoing conflict is damaging the FAMU “brand.” No one can dispute that.

The FAMU brand has taken serious hits since the November 2011 hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. Hiring Mangum as the first woman president from an Ivy League institution — Cornell — was supposed to be a seminal event that would put the school back on the path to a brighter future.

It hasn’t worked out that way, but those interested in FAMU’s well-being (I count myself among those) should avoid jumping to conclusions.

Only one side is being told.

If this were a game of public relations, Montgomery and the Board of Trustees would be losing. They are now portrayed as micro-managing bullies of Mangum.

The recognition they are in second place in a two-team struggle may be the factor behind the board’s decision to allocate $75,000 to hire a PR firm. They clearly need some kind of advice in getting out their side of the story, whatever that is.

Was Wednesday’s call for Montgomery’s resignation, or ouster, premature? Is it entirely the fault of Montgomery and the board? What kind of latitude was Mangum promised by the board when she was hired?

Is the board micro-managing, or is the president failing to keep them properly informed of significant developments? Is her vision properly communicated to those responsible for the overall governance of the university?

The PR game portrays Mangum as the aggrieved party. If that is not the case, or if there is blame to go around, Montgomery and his colleagues are now in a position where they need to get their side of the story into the marketplace.

Montgomery was quick to refuse the request to resign. In addition to reminding everyone he was recently re-elected chairman unanimously, he offered a nuanced defense.

“While certain elected officials have always stood behind FAMU, their vantage point doesn’t afford them the same level of interaction or responsibility required of the chairman of the board and other trustees,” he said.

An honest translation of that statement would read something like “you do not know all that is going on; the president has some culpability here.”

While Montgomery is a Republican, the Democratic elected officials said their call for him to quit has nothing to do with politics. OK, but it is interesting that the picture some of the news outlets chose to illustrate the story was one with Montgomery walking with Jeb Bush.
Despite being in the lead in the PR battle, Joyner made the unfortunate decision to insert gender politics into the issue.

Montgomery’s “action has a chilling effect on persons who would seek to be presidents of the university in the future, and particularly women,” she said. “It appears there is a gripe against women. That’s the appearance, the perception.”

In the end, this relationship may be beyond repair. If so, keep in mind Mangum is only in the second year of a contract worth $425,000 annually. Would the FAMU Board of Trustees eat nearly $1 million of that contract or allow her to seek another job? Or would they collectively look in Montgomery’s direction?

Let the facts determine the outcome.

Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. Column courtesy of Context Florida.