DeSantis ally appointed president of Florida’s only public HBCU

Marva Johnson, a telecommunications executive, will become the 13th president of Florida A&M University, despite opposition from thousands of students and alumni.

Marva Johnson, a telecommunications executive, will become the 13th president of Florida A&M University, despite opposition from thousands of students and alumni. The Florida Board of Governors voted Wednesday to confirm Johnson’s appointment by the FAMU board of trustees. FAMU is Florida’s only public historically Black college. Several students and alumni spoke out during the Board of Governors meeting, receiving applause from the audience after each speech. “To date, we do not feel heard,” Kimberly Godwin, a FAMU alumna and former president of ABC News, told the board. “Marva Johnson is not ready to lead the nation’s number one public HBCU. Ms. Johnson did not earn this. She does not have the best résumé. She did not have a good on-campus interview. She appeared unprepared and shortsighted and did not present well to our stakeholders.” “As students, as primary stakeholders in this university, we are very concerned about the future of our university,” said Devin Nobles Jr., a computer engineering student at FAMU. “If you guys confirm this candidate, it is to reaffirm to all of us — our students, our faculty, our staff, alumni, the 18,000 people who signed a petition online — that our voices do not matter.” Alumni groups, students and faculty members say they are largely concerned about Johnson’s work under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, who banned funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Florida colleges and blocked advanced placement African American studies curriculum in Florida high schools.