'The hardest kinds of challenges'

American Bar Association officials were waving red flags about FAMU's law school more than a year before the scathing March 2008 report that finally generated headlines beyond the St. Petersburg Times, according to two earlier ABA reports just obtained by The Gradebook.

The reports, from January 2006 and December 2006, show that as far back as October 2006, ABA officials were worried about many of the same issues – including faculty infighting and a lack of academic support for students – that they highlighted in March. The reports also show that between fall 2005 and fall 2006, the ABA's overall tone changed from concern to alarm as problems festered and time began running out on the school's bid for full accreditation.

"Significantly, most of the challenges are not ones that are susceptible to cure from the infusion of more money or the passage of laws or the removal of regulatory hurdles," the December 2006 report says. "They are the hardest kinds of challenges since they deal largely with issues of human behaviors, of breaking down barriers of distrust and building up reservoirs of hope and collegiality."

“Time is not on the side of the Law School,” the same report concludes. “The goal of full accreditation certainly is possible but the trip to the finish line will not be an easy one.”

As we noted when the March 2008 report finally surfaced, much of this is old news – in part because The Gradebook and the St. Petersburg Times wrote about these issues last year; and in part because the ABA site team paid its last visit to the school in the fall, before new Dean LeRoy Pernell arrived in January and began making substantial changes.

As we noted when the March 2008 report finally surfaced, much of this is old news – in part because The Gradebook and the St. Petersburg Times wrote about these issues last year; and in part because the ABA site team paid its last visit to the school in the fall, before new Dean LeRoy Pernell arrived in January and began making substantial changes.

Then again, the reports and related documents offer a fuller picture of what ABA officials have been thinking during a critical time in the law school’s history – and how their thinking has changed over time.

To see the January 2006 report, click here. To see the May 2006 letter from the ABA Accreditation Committee, click here. To see the November 2006 response from FAMU, click here.

To see the December 2006 report, click here. To see January 2007 response from FAMU, click here. To see the February 2007 letter from the ABA Accreditation Committee, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter 

Comments

[Former Student]

As a former student, I ask the ABA not to give accreditation to FAMU. It's in need of a huge help, that not even it's Mesiah "Pernell" will be able to fix.

[Obama]

Former student failed out and thus he is bitter like all those people in PA clinging to guns and religion.

[sean davis]

Let's see, the lion's share of these reports were issued long before FAMU's new administrative team and the new Dean arrived. Further, do you think the St. Pete Times would have had their public records request answered?

[Shame Shame Shame]

It is obvious that the "Founding Dean" and "Founding Faculty" failed at securing FAMU's ABA accreditation. The guilty parties should be fired. The Board of Education granted tenure to Joan R.M. Bullock, Frederick D. Greene, William D. Henslee, Lundy R. Langston, and Omar Saleem under Rule 6C-5.940. Although Langston, Bullock, and Henslee had few publications and questionable academic backgrounds, the former dean described them as "distinguished faculty." Fred Greene (Columbia & Yale grad) saw the dysfunction and left after 1 year. Langston has been identified as the "Diva" of the law school b/c of her long personal history with the former dean Percy Luney (as his secretary) and the former Assoc. Dean Omar Saleem (as his "baby's mama"). As is typical of FAMU COL, Langston created havoc in faculty meetings and singlehandedly caused the departure of qualified faculty who could not imagine her as the Assoc. Dean of Academics although she hasn't published in 10 years, and the crap she published looks like something reminiscent of Victoria Dawson. Her Op-ed piece in the Orlando Sentinel was riddled with grammatical errors. As a condition of their employement the gullible members of the BofE were duped into believing that "These faculty appointments will be responsible for the initial planning and program development of the law school with teaching responsibilities." If UF got rid of Zook and FSU has put Bobby Bowden on notice, then FAMU could surely send these subpar academicians on their way.

[a student]

I don't agree with you, Shame Shame Shame. Bullock and Henslee are very good professors. Langston, on the other hand... lets just say she's not. A diva, yes; competent, no.

FAMU wouldn't get full accreditation from the ABA even if Barack Obama himself was the Dean of the law school. Obama 2008.