Office of the Chancellor 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1614 Tallahassee, FL 32399 Phone 850.245.0466 Fax 850.245.9685 www.flbog.edu
July 16, 2012 Larry Robinson, Ph.D. Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University Office of the President 400 Lee Hall Tallahassee, FL 32307 Dear Dr. Robinson: First, let me commend you for agreeing to assume the leadership responsibility of Florida A&M University on an interim basis and thank you for your phone call today. Based on actions taken today at the FAMU Board of Trustees’ meeting, this is a short summation to ensure that the Board of Governors understands the road map forward at this stage, since many of the items may involve its future communication or action steps:
At a meeting in August, the Board of Trustees will have a confirmation vote regarding the Interim President appointment, which ultimately would come before the Board of Governors for final confirmation.
If our office receives inquiries or recommendations regarding interest in the Interim President or Presidential search, we will refer them to the FAMU President’s Office and the Chair of the Board of Trustees to submit information there.
You and I will soon discuss the follow-up information that FAMU provided as requested by the Board of Governors of FAMU at our June Board meeting. Attached please find the previous follow-up correspondence regarding questions and priorities in the “University Work Plan” presented by FAMU. We will contact you soon regarding preparation for your presentation at the Board of Governors’ September meeting. As reflected in the attached letter following the June Board of Governors meeting, there are several somewhat complicated issues that our mutual sense of urgency will help resolve.
As you know, the University received the attached letter in late June from SACS (Southern Associates of Colleges and Schools) regarding its ongoing concerns. They requested a report by July 26 on four different standards. I would like to request that you and I discuss the University’s response prior to it being submitted, if possible.
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July 16, 2012 Page 2
Being the University’s top administrator during this time is undoubtedly a unique challenge, and you should be commended for your commitment to the University. The Board of Governors and my office will continue to offer assistance in any way possible, and we reaffirm our commitment to FAMU’s future.
Sincerely,
Frank T. Brogan Chancellor
c:
Dean Colson, Chair, Board of Governors Solomon Badger, Chair, FAMU Board of Trustees
Office of the Chancellor 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1614 Tallahassee, FL 32399 Phone 850.245.0466 Fax 850.245.9685 www.flbog.edu
July 5, 2012 James Ammons, Ph.D. President Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University 400 Lee Hall Tallahassee, FL 32307 Dear Dr. Ammons: At its June meeting, the Board of Governors approved a 12 percent tuition differential increase for FAMU, contingent upon receipt of additional information addressing the University’s efforts to improve student retention, progression, and graduation rates as well as an analysis and plan to reduce debt incurred by students. We have reviewed the material that you provided on June 27, 2012. It represents a good starting point for a continuing discussion between our staff and your staff. We look forward to working with you this summer to prepare for an update to the Board of Governors at its September 12 meeting. Our initial review of the material indicates that there are a number of issues that will require attention, including: the extent to which components of the University’s plan are either currently in-process or are conceptual; the extent to which components are sufficiently robust to achieve their intended result, such as the projected number of new advisors; the extent to which conceptual components are in a developmental stage sufficient to see implementation by Fall 2012; the costs associated to successfully complete each component of the University’s plan; the extent to which components need further attention and action at the institutional level, such as the number of profile admits extended to out-years and analysis of their historical graduation and persistence rates; and other issues impacting student retention and graduation, such as the issue of student debt.
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July 5, 2012 Page 2
Upon consultation with Chair Colson, we believe that FAMU has thus far met the general intent of the Board’s June 2012 motion by addressing the concerns and by agreeing to provide the information requested. As such, the University is eligible to implement the 12 percent tuition differential increase that was approved. It is my recommendation that the University work closely with our office to ensure that the University’s September presentation sufficiently covers all of the areas in which the Board is interested, including but limited to the areas referenced in this communication. As such, we will contact you soon to schedule a meeting here at the Board Office. Thank you for our follow-up conversations on this item of Board business. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely,
Frank T. Brogan Chancellor
c: Dean Colson, Chair, Board of Governors