June 13, 2025
During a June 11 board meeting, committee trustees declined to vote on the proposed budget given the $388,562 line item for Johnson’s compensation.
The budget for Florida A&M University (FAMU) Foundation has yet to be approved since the terms for the new controversial president, Marva Johnson, have yet to be agreed on, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
The proposed budget covers $388,562 of Johnson’s pay, including a base pay of $650,000 in addition to annual retention bonuses and other benefits.
FAMU’s Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons, a strong supporter of Johnson despite the backlash, said the foundation has never paid for a portion of the salary and is confused as to why it would start now.
“It just seems to start to be exhausting that we are trying to literally work against each other as it relates to a lot of different issues,” Gibbons said. “There has never been a time in the history of the university in which we started paying for portions of salaries out of the foundation for presidents that the foundation did not make an adjustment to meet the needs of the contract that was approved by the board.”
During the board’s June 11 Direct Support Organizations and Athletics Committee meeting, committee trustees decided not to vote on the proposed budget given the $388,562 line item for Johnson’s compensation—which was approved in April 2025—and wasn’t updated after a recent contract approval.
The issue may take precedence, given certain ramifications. The FAMU board of directors is required to give a seven-day notice prior to a meeting in order to make necessary amendments. Because of that, the proposed 2025-2026 fiscal year budget may not be approved before Johnson’s June 18 confirmation with the Florida Board of Governors.
Gibbons is not the only one giving Johnson’s compensation the side-eye. Trustee board chair Kristin Harper feels the contract will add more controversy and put the university at odds with the HBCUs Foundation.
State law limits contributions to $200,000 annually for presidential salaries, according to the Miami Times. With Johnson’s request for a $750,000 base salary, Harper has “concerns about the burden, the financial burden, that this places on the university and the university’s inability to fund this sweetheart deal of sweetheart deals.”
Johnson was selected for the role of the Tallahassee-based HBCU over the objections of alumni and school leaders. The other candidates—the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rondall Allen, and the University of Central Florida’s Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, Gerald Hecto—had experience in higher education.
Johnson does not. The former group vice president of state government affairs for Charter Communications was named a finalist after being named a favorite by former Gov. Rick Scott and current Gov. Ron DeSantis and Gibbons, another appointee by the GOP leaders.
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