What does the future of Black higher education look like in Desantis' Florida? */ Maga Marva picked as FAMU prez

[Rollie Forbes]

Florida A&M supporters rally against Marva Johnson

Florida A&M students, alumni and supporters are rallying against the presidential candidacy of Marva Johnson.

clutchpoints.com

05/10/25

The far right's attack on HBCUs is in full effect. Not only are they cutting state funding for HBCUs, but now they are attempting to poison pill key positions at our schools.
Pure evil.

 

[get these nets]

The far right's attack on HBCUs is in full effect. Not only are they cutting state funding for HBCUs, but now they are attempting to poison pill key positions at our schools.
Pure evil.

Yeah pretty egregious now. Trying to put in people with no experience in the field is flagrant.

 

[Rollie Forbes]

Yeah pretty egregious now. Trying to put in people with no experience in the field is flagrant.

Super flagrant.
We can see the play, but I wonder what the endgame is. I don't know if they can't legally close our schools, but I wonder if the plan is to destroy/defund our schools so much that enrollment falls off of a cliff.

 

[get these nets]

Super flagrant.
We can see the play, but I wonder what the endgame is. I don't know if they can't legally close our schools, but I wonder if the plan is to destroy/defund our schools so much that enrollment falls off of a cliff.

I cant put my finger on what their ultimate aim is, but what you pointed to sounds like what it is.
History repeats itself, and during the Rate this HBCU series, I read about the different motives over the years for how state govts treated the HBCUs during jim crow, and post-Brown v Board eras.

Smaller sized HBCUs with fewer concentrations/degree programs ultimately, though. And less students.


This FAMU story is crazy. States would usually put in a stooge as a candidate, but one with entire career as an educator/administator. So, their experience couldnt be questioned by alumni who bcked other candidates. Now, state isnt even trying to pretend.
She is a Trojan Horse.

Spoiler: no offense

 

[get these nets]

*excerpt of op-ed

The Not-So-Secret Plot to Destroy HBCUs

I want HBCUs to win, especially now when there is an assault on everything (and everyone) Black. But over the past few years I have noticed a pattern that troubles me.

www.diverseeducation.com

05/14/25

The presidential search process has become hyper-politicized, and we're now watching the fruits of this plot to destroy HBCUs. It's being done through the presidential search process.


Nowhere has this been more painfully evident than the search for the next president of Florida A&M University. I was not a candidate, so this isn't a sour grapes argument. I know two of the finalists, and I am confident that either of them would be a great choice. But I, like many, raised eyebrows at the candidate who reportedly was a late addition finalist.

On paper, she had no business being a finalist. Period. As the nation's political leaders loudly preach merit, this candidate would clearly be labeled by them as a DEI hire if she was a finalist at a predominantly White institution. But there has been no such challenge to someone with no higher education experience.

When you see people selected with little to no higher ed experience, no senior higher education experience, or no HBCU experience, you quickly realize there is a deliberate effort to undermine these institutions.

The activism by the alums at both Albany State and FAMU must be the norm going forward. What happened at FAMU to allow a completely unqualified candidate to sit as a finalist must never happen again. As Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." If we love HBCUs, we can't continue this betrayal.



The plot to destroy HBCUs is no longer a secret. We're watching it online.

 

[get these nets]

 

[get these nets]

Three more DeSantis allies to take the helm of public universities in Florida

The state board that oversees Florida’s public universities has confirmed three more allies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to become university presidents

abcnews.go.com

06/19/25

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The state board that oversees Florida’s public universities has confirmed three more allies of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to become university presidents.

It's a move supporters say will grant the schools the political capital to secure critical state funding and navigate a rapidly shifting legal landscape, and one that critics see as another sign that alignment with the governor's conservative education agenda has become a prerequisite for academic leadership in the state.

The elevation of two Republican former lawmakers and a lobbyist comes after the state Board of Governors rejected the nomination of a longtime academic to lead the University of Florida, amid conservative backlash against his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs that board members viewed as unacceptable liberal ideology.

With the appointments approved Wednesday, five of the state’s 12 public universities will be led by former Republican lawmakers or lobbyists, a move that will help bolster DeSantis' legacy in higher education that could long outlast his time in office.

Leading a Florida university generally comes with a multiyear contract for a salary of at least six-figures and a plush on-campus residence. The process for picking these leaders happens largely behind closed doors, creating what the state's Republican House speaker has called “a spoil system for a select few.”


DeSantis' former lieutenant governor, Jeanette Nuñez. was confirmed as the president of Florida International University in Miami. Meanwhile, telecommunications lobbyist Marva Johnson was tapped to lead Florida A&M University, the state's only public historically Black university. Johnson was previously a DeSantis appointee on the state board of education.

Manny Diaz, a former state lawmaker and state education commissioner under DeSantis, was picked to lead the University of West Florida in Pensacola on an interim basis, mirroring the appointment of Nuñez, who was first named interim president before getting the permanent job at FIU.

Johnson's appointment, in particular, has alarmed FAMU students and alumni, who begged the board not to confirm her on Wednesday, arguing that she failed to meet the job's minimum requirements and that her requested salary far exceeds her predecessor's. Johnson's appointment has stoked longstanding fears that the HBCU could be merged with Florida State University, the predominantly white institution across the railroad tracks.