All eyes are on Florida A&M University’s interim president after he made what some may consider a hasty decision to call for resignations… of his whole senior staff. With fall semester approaching, some wonder if he’s being strategic or impulsive.
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Interim President Timothy Beard might as well have said, “You don’t have to go home but y’all got to get the hell up out of here,” to his senior leadership team. The chief operating officer, provost, general counsel, athletics director, chief of staff, communications director and several other cabinet members were all asked to resign Tuesday after “careful consideration,” according to a letter written by Beard via HBCU Gameday.
Beard wrote that after meeting with the Board of Trustees and previous university president, Larry Robinson, he came to the conclusion that a change in the senior leadership team was necessary to “move forward more effectively.”
The mass-resignations come on the heels of a donation scandal where an investigative report revealed a fraudulent $237 million gift to the university by a seemingly random Texas farmer, per The Tallahassee Democrat. It’s unclear if there is a correlation between the Board’s call for accountability amidst the scandal and the resignations.
However, some of the former senior leadership staff appear to be taking the transition well.
Read more from The Tallahassee Democrat:
FAMU Director of Communications Keith Miles, who resigned per Beard’s directive, says he is “appreciative” of the opportunity he had of working with the university’s Office of Communications.
“We have a great team, and I’ve had the wonderful privilege of working with them. I’m happy that I had the opportunity to help move FAMU forward,” Miles told the Democrat Tuesday afternoon during a phone call.
On the other hand, some internet users have shared mixed reactions to Beard’s move.
“Good. FAMU is a hot mess academically and needs to be cleaned up,” wrote one X user.
“That is not a good sign of his leadership if true. Like who is going to lead the work while he replaces all those roles? That to me is a red flag and suggests incompetence. People make rash decisions like that when they don’t have a clear understanding of the work being done in the organization,” wrote another.
“This is insane. Right at the beginning of the semester? It’s going to do more harm than good and I hope they all sue,” said another.
Beard asserted the decision was not made lightly but in commitment to ensuring the “university is positioned for future success and growth.” In an interview with Tallahassee Democrat, he said it’s on him to decide the best way for the school to move forward.
“They may speak broadly in terms of our strengths and weaknesses as a university, but when it comes to the senior leadership team and individual employees, that’s on me as the president,” he said.
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