Florida Board of Governors approves FAMU President Robinson's one-year contract extension

The Florida Board of Governors has approved Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson’s one-year contract extension despite recent and ongoing challenges in both athletics and academics.

The unanimous vote during the board’s meeting in Florida State University’s Student Union Ballroom Wednesday came after FAMU’s Board of Trustees voted in favor of the extension in October.

“I think the outcomes for FAMU are trending the right way, so I have full confidence that you'll keep chasing the things that aren't perfect and you'll keep elevating the things that are,” Board of Governors Chair Brian Lamb told Robinson during the meeting.

Presidents in Florida’s State University System (SUS) are only eligible for one-year contract extensions, and the board’s move secures Robinson’s role as FAMU’s president through Dec. 31.

Robinson has been leading FAMU since his appointment in 2017, and his extension came along with an 18% bonus that was also approved by trustees in October, which adds on to his current $451,711 salary.

During the Wednesday meeting, FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper took the time to highlight the university’s met goals and broken records under Robinson’s leadership — from rising to the Top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and being the highest-ranked public HBCU (historically Black college and university) to achieving a record-breaking fundraising year and acquiring new apartment complexes for student housing.

“Our rise in the national rankings, increased funding and positive branding are all a testament of our focus on student success and a commitment to executing our strategic plan,”  Harper wrote in a letter of recommendation to the Board of Governors.

But at the same time, the praises come in the midst of scrutiny by alumni and supporters on the university’s athletics budget and head football coach search following a FAMU football victory in December, where the team was named the 2023 HBCU National Champions under former Head Football Coach Willie Simmons’ leadership.

Recently, a search committee for the vacant coaching position forwarded five potential candidates to Robinson and Vice President and Director of Athletics Tiffani-Dawn Sykes for interviews.

Related news: FAMU search committee recommends head football coach candidates to university leadership

FAMU Law's low bar exam passage rates cause concern

Ahead of the Board of Governors’ unanimous vote for Robinson’s extension Wednesday, board member Eric Silagy told Robinson he has done a great job.

But he also brought up a topic of concern — FAMU's College of Law bar exam passage rates. He asked Robinson to “please make this an area of focus."

"I've seen the latest numbers,” Silagy said. “They're worse than last year, and they're worse than they've ever been.”

FAMU's first-time passage rates on the Florida Bar Exam dropped from 59% in 2021 to 53% in 2022, according to an SUS report, making it the only law school in the SUS to fall short of the 65% benchmark for all exam takers in Florida.

“We have to figure out a way to get this reversed because it has been a 10-year trend in the wrong direction,” Silagy said.

In addition, the report shows that the total graduate degrees awarded in law among the SUS institutions have decreased by 14% in the last three years, with FAMU's number of graduates dropping from 153 in 2020 to 112 in 2023.

The overall drop in the state university system's graduate degrees awarded in law went from 781 in 2020 to 673 in 2023.

Despite the challenges and shortcomings, Robinson got a standing ovation following the governing board’s vote on his extension.

In a thank you email to FAMU trustees after the meeting, Robinson expressed how honored he is about his contract being extended for another year as a result of the trustees’ recommendation.

“The standing ovation received was a bit overwhelming,” Robinson said in the email. “I thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to continue to move the university forward. I must also thank our administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who have done so much to support our mission and move us closer to realizing our vision.”

In other news, the Board of Governors also passed a resolution recognizing FAMU’s football team for winning the 2023 Celebration Bowl and becoming national champions, along with a separate resolution acknowledging FSU’s football team during its undefeated season.

More from Board of Governors meeting: Sociology's 'woke ideology' no longer a general education course at Florida universities

Contact Tarah Jean at [email protected] or follow her on X: @tarahjean_.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU President Larry Robinson gets one-year extension approval