June 18, 2025
FAMU alumni are taking authorized motion in response to Marva Johnson’s presidential choice.
Alums and stakeholders of Florida A&M College have filed a lawsuit to research Marva Johnson’s choice because the HBCU’s subsequent president.
Tallahassee legal professionals Mutaqee Akbar and Ennis Jacobs filed an emergency “Petition for Momentary Obligatory Injunctive Aid” on June 16 on behalf of ten FAMU alumni. the Tallahassee Democrat reported. The swimsuit, which comes forward of Johnson’s affirmation, targets the eight members of the college’s Board of Trustees who voted in favor of Johnson for president final month, in addition to the Florida Board of Governors’ chair Brian Lamb and Vice Chair Alan Levine.
“The controversy is whether or not due course of necessities, and particular authorized requirements associated to the operation and administration of a (State College System) establishment have been met within the course of to pick and appoint the thirteenth President of FAMU,” the lawsuit states.
College students and notable alumni, together with Will Packer, protested Johnson’s potential appointment as FAMU’s subsequent president earlier than she was finally chosen. Now, the lawsuit questions whether or not political affect performed a job within the choice and highlights considerations over Johnson’s {qualifications}, noting her lack of expertise for such a management place as a bunch vp at Constitution Communications.
The lawsuit was filed simply days earlier than the Florida Board of Governors’ June 18 assembly to vote on Johnson’s affirmation, amid ongoing opposition from alumni and others who oppose the MAGA-affiliated candidate main the celebrated HBCU.
“There was a misinterpretation of what we’re doing,” Jacobs stated. “This pleading is just not looking for an injunction in opposition to the Board of Governors assembly. It asks for the court docket to mandate some investigations into the method.”
The lawsuit cites the plaintiffs’ perception that the “choice to just accept Marva Johnson as a finalist for the place of president defied all logic, was primarily based on improper components, failed to contemplate important standards and departed from the adopted guidelines and procedures governing the presidential search course of.”
Among the many considerations raised within the lawsuit are the “undue secrecy requirements” and the Florida Legislature’s current choice to permit FAMU to make use of further college funds to cowl Johnson’s wage. This follows the FAMU Basis’s proposed 2025–26 funds falling brief, with her first-year pay set at roughly $839,400.
Jacobs hopes the outcomes of the case will “deliver full transparency to the method that ensued within the presidential choice course of, and whether or not or not it met the necessities concerned.”
RELATED CONTENT: FAMU Athletic Director Turns Herself In For Fraud, Larceny Expenses