Good Riddens

[greenpie]

FAMU presidential search down to six

Originally published December 6, 2006

By Diane Hirth

DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER

Six candidates for the presidency of Florida A&M University are in the mix.

After a long, frank discussion this afternoon by the FAMU presidential search committee, the field - narrowed first from 36 formal applicants to 12 candidates by a private search firm - focused on the six semi-finalists.

Five have more traditional academic credentials and one would bring ambassadorial experience.

They are:

* James Ammons, North Carolina Central University president and former FAMU provost.

* Lawrence Davenport, Florida Atlantic University executive vice president for university advancement and FAU Foundation executive director.

* Howard Johnson, University of North Texas provost and vice president for academic affairs.

* Larry Palmer, The Inter-American Foundation president and CEO, and former U.S. ambassador to Honduras.

* Patricia Pierce Ramsey, Bowie State University provost and vice president for academic affairs.

* Thelma Thompson, University of Maryland Eastern Shore president

The search committee, headed by the Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr. and Laura Branker, both FAMU trustees, made the decision on possible presidents with input from board of trustees Chairwoman Challis Lowe.

The six candidates will be interviewed in person next week by the search committee, which then will shrink the prospective presidents list to three people.

For more on this story, please read tomorrow's Tallahassee Democrat

Edited December 7, 2006 by greenpie

[Go_UTA]

Needless to say, it will be better for your university when he moves on. He's damaged goods, and probably everybody knows it. Doubtless, he doesn't have the confidence of your new pesident.

Notice that she created and hired a "chief of staff" to be her eyes and ears with the faculty...normally that is part of a provost's function. I think that was her way of handling the provost situation that she inherited, since she probably can't trust him and probably very few others do, either. He's not part of the inner-circle with this new lady. Actually, creating a chief of staff position was a savvy move on her part, considering that removing Johnson would be a delicate matter. She probably won't remove him, so moving on to a new position is probably the best solution.

I believe in redemption, so I think Johnson could turn-over a new leaf and possibly be very effective in a fresh environment. And, I'm sure he is a nice fellow.

[MeanGreenBuzz]

I will be very happy when someone takes him off our hands.

[FirefightnRick]

Just curious, but is it just a coincidence that he's trying to move on now that there is a new sherrif in town?

Go Gretchen Go!

Rick

[greenpie]

Seriously, I don’t think any of us would be sad. I have no doubt that Gretchen would bring someone top-notch in for that position.

[Go_UTA]

He is a big salary package, too. Probably among the very biggest on campus.

When you pay that kind of money, you expect the person to be highly effective. You need him (or her) to very effective and have credibility to help the institution advance and run smoothly.

So, after he is gone, there will be precious resources that can be better allocated.

Oh, well, some of this is just part of the "game." These situations pass.

[meangreenfreak]

Just curious, but is it just a coincidence that he's trying to move on now that there is a new sherrif in town? 

Go Gretchen Go!

Rick

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I think the writing is on the wall for ol" HoJo.

[Harry]

He may get another gig but I don't think anyone will ever forget the damage this man did to the University and to Dr. Pohl.

[NT80]

He may get another gig but I don't think anyone will ever forget the damage this man did to the University and to Dr. Pohl.

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Why can't the university just terminate him?

[UNTStill]

I must have missed something somewhere along the way. I don't even recognize his name. What did Johnson do (or not do) to hurt UNT? And the earlier poster is entirely right -- if a "chief of staff" is hired to do what the provost should be doing, well, then . . .

[Got5onIt]

I must have missed something somewhere along the way.  I don't even recognize his name.  What did Johnson do (or not do) to hurt UNT?  And the earlier poster is entirely right -- if a "chief of staff" is hired to do what the provost should be doing, well, then . . .

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Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you. I don't recognize the name. I thought Lee Jackson was the Provost and head of academic affairs??

[Danish42]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you. I don't recognize the name. I thought Lee Jackson was the Provost and head of academic affairs??

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Please give us some history. There alot of us that are 300 miles away and don't know about how these individuals damage our university.

[Guest GrayEagleOne]

I don't know that I remember much of the details but basicly he stopped a number of professors from tenure because he said that they didn't meet the requirements.

Since Dr. Pohl recommended him, the faculty turned on both. I firmly believe that is the main reason for Dr. Pohl's leaving.

One thing in his favor that has been overlooked, however, is his efforts in establishing the honors college.

[NT80]

I don't know that I remember much of the details but basicly he stopped a number of professors from tenure because he said that they didn't meet the requirements. 

Since Dr. Pohl recommended him, the faculty turned on both.  I firmly believe that is the main reason for Dr. Pohl's leaving.

One thing in his favor that has been overlooked, however, is his efforts in establishing the honors college.

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Besides the huge tenure flap there was the case where he was accused of plagiarism....

"January 20, 2005

Plagiarism in the provost's office

UNT Provost Howard Johnson first got himself in hot water this year by changing the exam schedule for a football game. Now he's involved in something a bit more serious: two important university documents were apparently plagiarized from other schools: the academic plan, and the tenure guidelines.

An anonymous e-mail obtained by the Daily in December led reporters to the "Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Promotion and Tenure Checklist." The document was produced by the provost's office and outlines the steps for advancement at NT. Sections of the document were found to be copied directly from a book written by a former professor at Syracuse University.

This comes less than a month after Provost Howard Johnson issued a campus-wide e-mail explaining why he copied almost half of his proposed "UNT Academic Plan for Distinctiveness and Excellence" from official documents at five other universities.

The president of one of the schools accused the administration of theft and threatened to sue NT if the situation were not resolved. "I drew from a number of best practices and planning documents from across the country to give the academic community at UNT food for thought as it formulated its own vision for the future," Johnson said in the Dec. 21 e-mail. "I did not post attributions for these ideas because I did not want the source of the ideas to unduly influence the discussion."

I'd like to know if Johnson intends to accept this as an argument from students accused of plagiarizing now. This kind of behavior is disgraceful."

[football fan]

Just hope Harbaugh, Fisher and Dodge are'nt up for this position.

[Ibleedgreen]

Has it occurred to you guys that FAU is not going to hire him if they find negative things said about him on this website? Shut up!!

[NT80]

Has it occurred to you guys that FAU is not going to hire him if they find negative things said about him on this website? Shut up!!

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Don't you think they also know how to google someone's name?

BTW, it's FAMU (Fla. A$M), not FAU.

Edited December 8, 2006 by NT80

[Smitty]

Good Riddens?

I suspect you meant "riddance," as in:

"good riddance (to somebody or something) used to show that you are glad to be free of somebody or something" - Encarta World English Dictionary