Florida A&M University (FAMU), once the largest and among the most respected of the nation’s historically Black colleges, Thursday announced the departure of Dr. Elmira Mangum, its embattled president of two years, and the immediate appointment of scientist Larry Robinson as interim president.
This marks the third time, Robinson, a well-liked teacher and professional colleague of the FAMU community, will serve as chief executive of the 9,600-student institution, located a few blocks from the state capital in Tallahassee.
Most previously, Robinson, who opts not to use Dr. in his name, was selected in July 2012 to lead the university, after the tragic death by hazing of a FAMU drum major following a November 2011 football classic in Orlando.
In early 2014, as the university began aggressively looking for a permanent leader, it did not offer Robinson the job, having stipulated when the search began that he could not apply nor would he be officially considered for the post.
In Thursday’s announcement of Mangum’s departure, the university made it clear Robinson would not be prohibited from applying for the job while serving as interim president.
The departure of Mangum, recruited by FAMU from Cornell University where she was vice president of budget and planning and responsible for managing the institution’s $2 billion operating and capital budget, came at the end of a rift-riddled relationship between Mangum and the university’s trustees.
By early last spring, it had become clear the relationship was continuing to deteriorate, as the university board refused to extend her contract. Last month, she and the institution’s lawyers began negotiating an exit.
