FAMU fiscal woes "being effectively addressed"

FAMU is removing the biggest stain on its reputation. The Board of Governors task force on FAMU all but finalized its report this morning, voting unanimously to accept its recommendations and conclusions and making it clear that FAMU has gotten control of its financial and operational problems.

The report reinforces glowing comments from state auditors and regional accreditors in December, and offers more hope that FAMU will shed its probationary status when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools meets again in June. "The overwhelming majority of the deficiencies in FAMU's fiscal management, operations, governance internal controls and information technology are being effectively addressed," says a draft report, which will be tweaked over the weekend and distributed to key lawmakers Monday.

FAMU President James Ammons (shown above) offered brief comments at the end of the task force's conference call. "I think it's important that when the report is read, people understand the university is not where it was when the task force began," he said. To read more about the draft report, see yesterday's Gradebook post here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Comments

[Gilbert R. Ford]

Thank God, Dr. Ammons has laid out a direction and saved this Historically Great University, I am elated! However, we must not stop there. There is still more to do. We must savor the moment breifly, then proceed with dispatch as to not rest on our laurels. It took quite sometime for this mess to be created and it is gonna take even longer to reach a level of "sustained competence" that was lost a short time ago. FAMU's reputation for Nursing, Engineers, Music and Pharmacist are all diamonds that glows for this University USA, wide. All of the students and parents who chose to leave FAMU, I ask PLEASE come back! I was one of the first to call for a complete and thorough "institutional house cleaning" as it was/is necessary to rid FAMU of the crooks, cronies, Alumni and also rans. I know this will not make some other other taxpayers or instituion's supporters happy, as they openly denounced FAMU and called for its permanent closing. Lets just say this, everyone is entitled to thier opinion. The final Chapter to this almost tragic story will be written in June and I cannot wait!

Good financial statement audits were the norm at FAMU until 2005 through 2007. It's great to hear that the financial picture is getting back to its usual state.

FAMU is segregated why? It seems everyone has moved beyond Jim Crow but FAMU.

FAMU will never be a dynamic institution as long as it imposes segregation on itself.