FSU and FAMU Presidents Change and Challenge
The Change Agent Elmira Mangum: Florida A&M University’s ‘Transformative’ President By Rosanne Dunkelberger
lorida A&M University’s 11th president hadn’t evenhungthecurtainsinheron-campusresidence when controversy came a-knockin’. On April 2, 2014,ElmiraMangum’sseconddayonthejob,the Florida Legislature, at the behest of one Sen. John Thrasher,wasconsideringwhethertobreakupthe FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. The effort was ultimately sidelined by the state Board of Governors after vehement objections from Florida A&M and a study showing that splitting the engineering college would cost $1 billion. MangumsaystherearenohardfeelingsbetweenherandThrasher— now president of Florida State University — about what she referred to as “the engineering thing.” “Surprises occur at colleges everywhere, but right now we have a great relationship with Florida State University around the engineering program,”Mangum says.“The joint college that was emphasized as a result of the takeover attempt … actually has resulted in a much better relationship for both of the schools around engineering.” Thetwopresidents,aswellasTallahasseeCommunityCollegePresident Jim Murdaugh, communicate with each other cordially and regularly. “We talk. He’s got my cell, I’ve got his cell,”she says. “John and I have breakfast on occasion. I’ve been to his house for dinner, and he’s coming to mine for dinner.”
Time for a Change
While the engineering college brouhaha developed quickly, Mangum knew before she arrived that her tenure as president wasn’t necessarily going to be smooth sailing. The nation’s premier historically black college and university (HBCU) had been weathering numerous storms: a student killed in a hazing scandal, accreditation woes and a 27-percent drop in enrollment over the previous five years. She would be FAMU’s sixth president (including three interim presidents) in 13 years. Although many of her predecessors were tasked with righting the FAMU ship, their presidencies tended to wreck on the rocky shoals of problemssuchasdysfunctionaloperations,anoften-contentiousBoard of Trustees and an entrenched staff that was resistant to change. ButachangeagentwasexactlywhatFAMU’spresidentialsearchcommitteewaslookingfor,andchangeiswhattheygotinMangum.She’sthe first female president of FAMU in its 128-year history and the first leader in decades to have no connection to the university — alumni, faculty memberoradministrator—beforebeingappointedtothetopposition. Inherfirstyearaspresident,Mangumhasassembledan11-personleadership team. None worked for FAMU when they were named, and only two had a previous connection to the Rattler Nation. Her 28-year-long professional career has been in higher education administration. According to FAMU’s official site, she was vice president 124 September–October 2015
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for planning and budget at Cornell University, charged with managing that university’s resources and annual budgeting process. Before that, she spent nine years in administrative positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as stints at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Wisconsin. She earned her bachelor’s degree in geography and education from North Carolina Central University, an HBCU. She earned two master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from SUNY Buffalo. When asked to describe her leadership style, she answers,“I would say transformative. It’s always been about change. I think it’s indicative of the work I’ve been doing throughout my career.” In her time at Cornell,“the idea was to change the way they were conducting the business,” she explains. “And I think here at Florida A&M, partofmybudgetingandplanningbackgroundisabouttransformingthe institution into one that will sustain and be sustainable through various economicdownturnsandchangesinenrollmentandcrises…tobuildon the foundation and to transform it into one that is responsive to changes in institutional needs and changes in societal needs for education.” Mangumhasananswerforthosewhowouldsuggestweliveinapostracial society, and the need for separate HBCUs is a relic of the past. “I think anybody that wants to say that is not paying attention to what’s going on in America — or the rest of the world, in fact,”she says. For starters, FAMU’s student body isn’t all African-American; about 15 percent of its students are other races.“We’re probably as equally diverse as Florida State, or the University of Florida; it’s just flipping the percentages.” The world, Mangum says, is looking for diversity in the workforce. “We need to have diverse experiences and we need to take into consideration diverse points of view in different cultures,” she says. “Our goal is to add more people to that diversity.We know when (graduates) leave our institution, they’re going to be in a diverse society … but they have to be trained somewhere.” After arriving, Mangum’s first task was recruiting a stable leadership team. FAMU had a valid strategic plan, she says, but constant changes at the top and a cavalcade of interim leaders kept the university from making progress. “Planning and budgeting has always been a significant part, in fact at its core, to any good university,” she says. “One of the things that I immediately realized at Florida A&M was that we needed more emphasis on planning for the longer term.” An early focus was“stabilizing the team and reorganizing the functions of the institution … and that meant relocating people in terms of physical location to create the synergy that’s needed to provide the support,” she says. Already, student advising services have been consolidated in a single location, important on a campus where 35 percent of students are the first generation of their family to attend college.