- FAMU interim president Dr. Timothy Beard and Chair of the Board of Trustees Kristin Harper presented their plan to prevent future fraudulent gifts.
- The $237 million gift announced in May was found to be caused by secrecy and pressure from university leadership to "not mess this up".
- Watch now to hear FAMU leaders describe how the university moves forward.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's been over a month since we learned the details of how Florida A&M University got the point of announcing a major gift that turned out to be a scam.
Wednesday, I watched as FAMU leadership talked next steps with the Florida Board of Governors.
I'm Alberto Camargo, your College Town neighborhood reporter, at FAMU.
I'm taking you through what I learned.
"It is a sad chapter in the history of FAMU, and it reflects poorly."
Previously, I told you the external investigation into the fraudulent gift found that secrecy, pressure from leaders and a lack of doing the homework on Gregory Gerami led to the announcement in May.
"We hope no other institution in the country is subjected to the fraudulent action of someone like Gregory Gerami."
FAMU leaders laid out where the university goes from here.
Interim president Dr. Timothy Beard says he will lead procedure reviews, improvements to communication and staff re-training — all by December.
It's part of the effort to move on and make sure nothing like this ever happens on the hill again.
"We have made some administrative changes. I often say that situations like this can either make you bitter or better, and I believe that we are better going forward."
Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper says a new Vice President of University Advancement and Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation will be hired by February — the position that Dr. Shawnta Friday-Stroud resigned from over the summer.
Harper also says she will operate the board by being resilient.
"I never lose. I either win or learn — and that's the philosophy I've taken as we close this chapter in our history and move forward."
Something else that came from Wednesday's Board of Governors meeting — Dr. Beard has been confirmed as interim president of FAMU.
His term will last for 12 months or until FAMU finds its next permanent president.
At FAMU, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
