Suit against FAMU in the works

An Orlando lawyer is preparing a lawsuit on behalf of several students who were recently academically dismissed from the FAMU College of Law. After the students complained, FAMU offered appeals hearings two weeks ago, but they were not the "evidentiary" hearings laid out in the student handbook, said attorney David Maxwell (left), who attended the hearings with six of his student-clients. Two of those students were allowed to continue their studies, but the other four were not, despite having academic records that were as good or better, Maxwell said.

Among other points, Maxwell told The Gradebook the suit will allege the law school is not complying with American Bar Association accreditation standards. (The law school, of course, is still seeking full accreditation.) He said he's had inquiries from other dismissed students, and is considering a class-action suit. Potential defendants include FAMU, the ABA and the U.S. Department of Education, he said.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

Uh oh. Here it comes. Maxwell is not down with the struggle. He should hope his clients are, or the bull horns will follow.

FAMU is still suffering from the damage inflicted on the law school during the Jim Corbin and Castell Bryant era. The College of Law suffered tremendous neglect throughout those years.

The new blood that James Ammons has brought in is long overdue.

[David]

It was Humphries who arranged the sweet heart deal with Shirley Cunningham. For those who are not in the know, he arranged and teaching job at 100k a year for a million dollar donation. Shirley did not even show up for the job to add insult to injury.

Humphries has plenty of responsibility in this matter.

"It was Humphries who arranged the sweet heart deal with Shirley Cunningham. For those who are not in the know, he arranged and teaching job at 100k a year for a million dollar donation."

That is an outright lie. Humphries did not arrange that teaching deal. The documents prove it. Humphries left FAMU in 2001. Cunningham's contract was initiated was not developed until 2003 after a meeting Bill Jennings' office in Orlando.

The only people who believe Humphries arranged the deal are those at organizations like the Palm Beach Post, which doesn't do any real research. The Palm Beach Post still believes that Castell Bryant created an $8M dollar surplus. It hasn't run a retraction yet!

[famu law student]

What judge is going to want a bunch of mediocre former law students back in school to potentially practice? Besides, if they couldn't keep the requisite 2.0 GPA at FAMU Law (despite a semester on probation), they would've failed the bar exam anyway.

[David]

The former Dean is quoted as saying he was pressured by Humphries. As far as a retraction, the entire state reported on the surplus and then reported on the non surplus and the 39 million unaccounted for.

Why is the Athletic Director still around after 1.8 million in ticket receipts turns up missing?

More of the same at FAMU.

You need to get real!

[benson]

The law school is below mediocre and needs to be run by UCF. FAMU is wasting taxpayer money.

"As far as a retraction, the entire state reported on the surplus and then reported on the non surplus and the 39 million unaccounted for."

Every newspaper that printed those baseless claims is guilty of poor journalism. They did not check the facts then and they did not check the facts on the law chair scandal.

If the Palm Beach Post or any of the others had simply called the state auditors, then they would have known that there was no proof to back up the surplus claims.

"The former Dean is quoted as saying he was pressured by Humphries."

Humphries left in 2001. That is a fact.

Cunningham's contract was authorized in 2003. That is a fact.

Humphries had no power over the contracting processes, especially when he had been out of office after two years.

Cunningham's contract was authorized after a 2003 meeting in Bill Jennings' office in Orlando. Jennings, Cunningham, Percey Luney, Fred Gainous, and Jim Davis met to discuss the deal and make the details of the contract.

Humphries' hands are clean in this issue.

"Why is the Athletic Director still around after 1.8 million in ticket receipts turns up missing?"

The main problems was Castell's finance VP, Grace Ali. She was supposed to have that athletic ticket information on record long before those receipts were moved out the office. She's gone now -- along with your favorite president, Castell herself.

FAMU is the best university to run the law school. Let UCF focus on its own business.

[benson]

Less than 50 percent of its students pass the bar. FAMU has no business running a law school.

[david]

Keep up the 'tough love' to save FAMU from itself

A million-dollar donor endowed a chair at Florida A&M University's law school. Then he filled the teaching position, at a $100,000 salary plus $25,000 worth of benefits, with himself. That is egregious on its face.

That Kentucky lawyer Shirley Cunningham rarely appeared on campus is a slap at FAMU students and faculty, not to mention taxpayers who matched the gift with $750,000 from the state. Mr. Cunningham's chair was so cushy, The St. Petersburg Times reported, that it involved no teaching or research. Yet no work has been produced on the half-dozen "projects" he agreed to perform instead.

"Professor" Cunningham, whom interim President Castell Bryant correctly removed from FAMU's payroll, was a student at Tennessee State University when he met then-TSU President Frederick Humphries. Later, as FAMU president, says law school Dean Percy Luney Jr., Dr. Humphries dictated, over Dean Luney's objections, the terms of Mr. Cunningham's 2003 contract. Dean Luney says he followed similar orders under Dr. Humphries' successor, Fred Gainous. Dr. Humphries denies any quid pro quo. Dr. Gainous says the arrangement was in place when he arrived. That he didn't correct it was one reason the FAMU board of trustees fired him last year.

The latest of FAMU's financial problems that keep coming to light is another test of Dr. Bryant's ability and whether the state will continue to let the fiascoes fester at what has been among the premier historically African-American campuses. The bucks, and excuses, seem to have stopped with Dr. Bryant, who has placed Dean Luney on leave. But the revelations beg the question of whether similar or worse deals exist in other departments.

Early findings of a payroll audit, for example, flagged Mr. Cunningham. Dr. Bryant ordered it after she was hired in December and couldn't get even a basic financial report. After March's independent report, which showed that FAMU had spent at least $51 million more than budgeted yet paid staff $19 million less in salaries than it should have, Dr. Bryant ordered a spending freeze pending results of the payroll audit, on which she plans to report at the June 30 trustees meeting.

A series of scathing state audits dating to 2001 have shown that financial mismanagement issues aren't new. The audits have revealed inadequate controls and procedures, a wide range of suspect business practices and millions in spending that FAMU couldn't account for. In 2003, failure to report required data caused state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher to withhold the paychecks of Dr. Gainous and other administrators. His agency still is investigating several FAMU departments for fraud and waste of public money.

Dr. Bryant has pledged to find and address all of FAMU's problems. She acknowledged when she took the job that the future of the 117-year-old, 13,000-student, former Time magazine and Princeton Review College of the Year is on the line. But that had been clear for several years, and still the state held back. If Gov. Bush, state legislators and the Board of Governors have to take more drastic, hands-on steps to save FAMU, such action should not come until FAMU gets all the help that Dr. Bryant needs.

[benson]

"The main problems was Castell's finance VP, Grace Ali. She was supposed to have that athletic ticket information on record long before those receipts were moved out the office. She's gone now -- along with your favorite president, Castell herself."

Moved out of the office? The Athletic Dept. told the State of Florida that the janitors threw them out!

Circle the wagons all you want. Blame Castell all you want, but SACs and the ABA do not play light and don't pay attention to the blame game!

UCF should take over the Law School.

>>>Dr. Humphries dictated, over Dean Luney's objections, the terms of Mr. Cunningham's 2003 contract.<<<

This is another example of sloppy, factless journalism. Humphries left in 2001. He had no power to give Cunningham a contract in 2003.

>>>Circle the wagons all you want. Blame Castell all you want, but SACs and the ABA do not play light and don't pay attention to the blame game!<<<

There were no SACS accreditation problems at FAMU before Castell came; and SACS knows that. It put FAMU on probation because Castell's abysmal management. But today, SACS thinks that FAMU finally has the right leadership to fix Castell's mess.

From "FAMU president repors 'progress,'" Orlando Sentinel, September 14, 2007

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-bk-famu091407,0,5242905.story

Belle Wheelan, president of the Commission on Colleges for the Southern Association, said, "I have great confidence they're going to clean it all up."

FAMU's law school is in good hands now. It will soon receive the full accreditation it needs.

Nobody will probably see this but doesn't anyone think ruining Dean Luney's career over that mistake, is haunting the law school as well. What he did at NCCU Law School is unequivocated by most other Deans at black law schools. FAMU is getting exactly what they deserve...that man lost everything...even if he did make a mistake to get more money for student scholarships...he lost his tenure..when I have witnessed professors caught with drugs in their offices remain in their positions. Karma sucks FAMU Law...get all you deserve and no respect in the legal community. Forget FAMU....nobody should hire a FAMU lawyer....