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At FAMU, It's The Ties That Bind Progress

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2008

Florida A&M University President James Ammons may be new on campus, but he appears to be quickly embracing the same old cronyism that has so damaged this university in recent years.

This time, it's the brother of a FAMU trustee who is getting a three-year contract to head up the university's charter school.

Ronald Holmes, the brother of trustee the Rev. R.B. Holmes, got the job even though two other candidates scored better with the selection committee.

FAMU has ndermined its credibility and academic standing by continually hiring individuals who had better connections than qualifications.

Some of its hires even had criminal records. The school hired a man to work in financial affairs who had served time for taking a bribe as a state tax official. It hired an associate dean who had been convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl in Texas.

The once esteemed university gained a reputation for giving key jobs to the relatives, neighbors and friends of those in power. Its academic standing, accordingly, plummeted.

Bill Tucker, the former head of FAMU's faculty union, once told the St. Petersburg Times this about FAMU's hiring practices: "We got a lot of ships here ... kinships, bed-ships, relationships."

R .B. Holmes said he tried to dissuade his brother from applying for the job because it would look bad - but Ronald Holmes forged ahead. We guess brotherly bonds don't mean much when there's an $110,000-a-year job at stake.

It's fortunate the Florida Board of Governors and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools continue to exercise tight oversight. SACS has extended FAMU's probation for another six months, taking a needed, hard-nosed stance.

Ultimately, it was Ammons' choice to make the hire. The decision is distressing and disappointing.

He was hired to restore Florida A&M's good name, not engage in the same shenanigans that brought the university to the brink of ruin.

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