FAMU president assures alumni of school’s future

Received by Newsfinder from APJul 24, 2005 14:08 Eastern Time ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ Florida A&M University’s interim president promised greater financial oversight and requested more donations to prop up the troubled school at a weekend alumni gathering. In an address delivered Saturday, Castell Bryant said FAMU will not be just the “best black school,” but the “best institution in the country.” However, she also warned that further challenges lay ahead. More than 250 alumni from across the country gathered at the Renaissance Orlando Resort for an all-class convention that focused on health issues, but was often overshadowed by the school’s financial scandals. Bryant, a former FAMU trustee, became the interim president in January after Fred Gainous was fired amid several administrative and financial missteps. So far, she’s taken drastic steps to right the books, running an audit that found a $51 million budget overrun and $9.3 million in suspicious payroll expenses. Bryant has also fired 41 employees, slashed sports teams and scholarships by $1.7 million, and closed the university’s Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce. State officials are investigating its finances. Bryant called on alumni to give more money to help rebuild the Tallahassee school’s reputation, but deflected calls for her to stay in as interim president indefinitely. Bryant came out of retirement from Miami Dade College to take the interim post. “You don’t want me,” she said. “You want someone with more energy and vision.”