Tallahassee, FL (WCTV) — On Wednesday, Florida A&M University proceeded with the search for their 19th president.

This week, the FAMU Board of Trustees will be meeting with four finalists for the position of university president. The shortlisted candidates are as follows:

  • Donald Palm – Executive Vice President and COO at Florida A&M
  • Marva Johnson – Group Vice President of State Government Affairs at Charter Communications
  • Gerald Hector – Senior Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the University of Central Florida
  • Rondall Allen – Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Allen visited the campus on Monday, Hector visited on Tuesday, and Johnson visited on Wednesday. Palm is scheduled to visit on Thursday.

The board will select the HBCU’s next president after the on-campus meetings this week.



More Tallahassee news:

The search has faced resistance and doubt from certain local leaders and community members.

Nearly a month ago,

The Board discussed halting the search but decided with an 8-to-5 vote.

to keep it going.

Although no halt has been initiated for the search, Florida’s Board of Governors is currently examining the search procedure due to worries that some names not selected as finalists may have been disclosed prematurely.


Last week

, Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor called for the eight trustees to resign, believing that “politics has occurred” in the presidential search.

Moreover, attendees at the town hall event organized by Proctor expressed reservations regarding finalist Marva Johnson. Several participants claimed she lacked qualifications and labeled her as a politically appointed individual.

On Wednesday morning, a rally was held at the Will Packer Amphitheater on FAMU’s campus as an opportunity for the university community to “engage in a time of prayer, praise, and reflection focused on unity, progress, and hope,” according to a press release from Commissioner Proctor.


On Sunday, the NAACP Florida Conference

Also raised concerns about the search process in a missive directed at the Board of Governors. Florida NAACP President Adora Obi Nweze mentioned their worries that the search might have been compromised due to “political meddling.”


To stay updated with the most recent developments, watch WCTV.



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