It’s official: Marva Johnson has been confirmed as Florida A&M University’s 13th president after a contentious process that concluded with an outcome foreseen by many.
Continuing the trend of having politicians and individuals with strong political ties as university presidents, Johnson’s confirmation completes a new loop of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan for a massive conservative takeover and remaking of Florida’s higher education system.
As FAMU – the state’s only public HBCU (historically Black college or university) – now officially has a new leader that falls in line with the ‘anti-woke’ agenda, it also comes as another win for the governor.
“I’m committed to leading this university, to forging new paths for excellence and preeminence, and to protect and advance FAMU’s legacy,” Johnson – a lawyer and corporate lobbyist who currently serves as group vice president for Charter Communications – said during the Florida Board of Governors’ June 18 meeting. She was confirmed after a unanimous vote as the board met on Florida Atlantic University’s campus in Boca Raton.
“Under my leadership, I don’t expect FAMU to just survive,” she added. “I expected it to thrive.”
At the same time, many FAMU alumni, students and others who have stood in opposition to Johnson followed through with their attempts to thwart Johnson’s path to being the new president. While FAMU board vice chair Deveron Gibbons presented Johnson − a task that FAMU board chair Kristin Harper, who is not in favor of the presidential selection, passed along to Gibbons − opposers shouted “no” in the crowd.
Although the alumni and students − who stood up and turned their backs away from the front of the room as Johnson gave remarks − were unsuccessful at putting a stop to the confirmation, they attended the state university meeting en masse, organizing under one effort to express their concerns.
“Marva Johnson is not ready to lead the nation’s number one public HBCU,” FAMU alumna and former ABC News President Kim Godwin, who served on FAMU’s presidential search committee, said at the meeting.
“Miss Johnson did not earn this. She does not have the best resume. She did not have a good on-campus interview. She appeared unprepared and short-sighted and did not present well to our stakeholders. She had the opportunity, but failed to win the support of any stakeholder group. These are facts.”
FAMU Foundation board member Chekesha Kidd, who created a petition against Johnson’s candidacy during the search and has continually opposed her selection, was also one of about a dozen FAMU alumni and students who gave similar public comments at the June 18 meeting.
“This is not excellence – it is negligence,” Kidd told governing board members. “So, I have to ask, why this candidate and why now? Simply put, this was not a merit-based search.”
The controversial background of Johnson’s selection
The selection of Johnson to serve as FAMU’s new leader comes after former President Larry Robinson stepped down last year in the aftermath of a major donation debacle, which led to interim President Timothy Beard stepping in to serve in the role since August for a one-year term.
Many view Johnson’s ascension as the latest example of DeSantis reshaping the higher education landscape – this time at the nation’s No. 1 public HBCU. And as supporters of the governor praised the selection, which came after an 8-4 trustees vote, the political influence in the background was brought to light.
In an X post, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the FAMU board’s pick a “terrific selection;” Uthmeier previously was DeSantis’ chief of staff and managed his unsuccessful 2024 campaign for president. He went on to say “well done by team DeSantis and the SUS (State University System) for driving this home! Great result for Florida’s higher ed and next generation of leaders.”
Besides Uthmeier, DeSantis’s Deputy Chief of Staff Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas has been another key player in executing DeSantis’s plan to remake higher education on FAMU’s campus. He made calls to push for Johnson, which included reaching out to FAMU trustee Belvin Perry, Jr., who mentioned his communication with the governor’s office at a May 16 board meeting ahead of Johnson’s selection.
Kamoutsas now is in line to take over as the state’s commissioner of education with current Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. OK’d for the interim presidency of the University of West Florida.
In addition, there has been wide speculation during the search that Gibbons, who chaired the search committee, insisted on adding Johnson – a former Florida Board of Education chair who has been appointed to board positions in the past under both former Gov. Rick Scott and DeSantis – to what was initially a list of three final candidates that committee members interviewed and voted on during closed sessions in a downtown Tallahassee office space.
On top of claims about search committee members being pressured to add an extra candidate to an unranked list of finalists, circulating rumors have also been brought to the table about premature salary negotiations being made with Johnson ahead of her selection.
While she asked for an annual base pay of $750,000 in her application for president, $650,000 was approved in her steep five-year contract with her total compensation being nearly $840,000 in her first year.
Now, of the 12 current permanent and interim presidents in the university system, some still come from academic backgrounds, but the ground is shifting to political picks – including Republican former state Rep. Adam Hasner at Florida Atlantic University, former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez at Florida International University, former Florida House speaker Richard Corcoran at New College of Florida and Diaz as interim leader at the University of West Florida.
According to Johnson’s presidential contract, her term as FAMU’s new leader begins August 1.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Board of Governors accepts Marva Johnson as new FAMU president