Florida A&M president resigns following botched donation

Larry Robinson, who served as president of Florida A&M College for seven years, resigned Friday.

“With super gratitude for the privilege of main our beloved Florida A&M College as Interim President in 2016 and President starting in 2017, and with a lot optimism for its future, I’m writing to tell you of my resolution to step down from my place,” Robinson stated in his resignation letter, based on The Tallahassee Democrat. “I’ll entrust the dedication of the exact date to the Board’s preferences whereas fulfilling any obligations of my current contract.”

Robinson’s resignation comes two months after he accepted a $237 million donation to Florida A&M from an obscure entrepreneur, Gregory Gerami, on the college’s spring graduation ceremony. Inside days of the announcement, nonetheless, Robinson put the present on pause after scrutiny from board members and others concerning the legitimacy of the deal.

Shawnta Friday-Stroud, the now-resigned vp for college development and govt director of the Florida A&M Basis, later admitted that the college didn’t do a correct third-party valuation of the present, which got here within the type of privately held inventory; it’s unclear what the precise worth of the donation was.

The botched donation, which is below investigation, wasn’t the college’s solely blunder throughout Robinson’s tenure. Final month, the vice chair of the Florida Board of Governors threatened to eradicate Florida A&M’s legislation, nursing, pharmacy and bodily remedy packages because of low licensure examination move charges, The Tallahassee Democrat reported.

In 2022, 26 soccer gamers have been declared ineligible to play within the opening sport of the season; they blamed insufficient educational advising, and known as for extra accountability from the administration.

Below Robinson’s management, FAMU additionally held the highest spot within the U.S. Information and World Report’s rating of HBCUs for 5 consecutive years; final yr, it was named one of many prime 100 nationwide public universities.

However such successes weren’t sufficient to beat the fallout from the donation snafu, Al Lawson Jr., a former congressman from the Tallahassee space with ties to Florida A&M, advised The Tallahassee Democrat Friday.

“I believe it was the backlash, actually, from that,” Lawson stated. “Typically you possibly can’t overcome some issues, and that could be one thing you possibly can’t overcome.”

Robinson will take a year-long sabbatical earlier than returning as a distinguished professor within the College of the Atmosphere.

Kristin Harper, chair of the Board of Trustees, stated in an e mail to the board Friday that she’s going to quickly name a particular assembly to find out the subsequent steps for appointing Robinson’s alternative.