By Jim Turner
©2024 The News Service of Florida.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University trustees agreed Tuesday to bring in retired Pasco-Hernando State College President Tim Beard to serve as FAMU’s interim leader after the resignation of President Larry Robinson.
Board of Trustees Chairwoman Kristin Harper, who proposed Beard as interim president, said his hiring depends on contract negotiations and approval by the state university system’s Board of Governors.
“I’m convinced that he’s a person of integrity, a collaborator and what FAMU needs in this interim chapter,” Harper said during an online meeting of the trustees. “Most importantly, he is willing, able and available to serve.”
Robinson will leave the post Aug. 4, two days after a summer graduation ceremony. After nearly seven years as president of the state’s only historically Black public university, he announced July 12 that he would step down. He is expected to return to the faculty after taking a year-long sabbatical.
The resignation announcement came after FAMU’s controversial acceptance and then rejection of a $237 million donation. Robinson faced questions in May for ignoring “warning signs” about the legitimacy of the donation.
Trustees will discuss a national search for a new president during a retreat in August, Harper said.
Beard’s appointment would be for up to 12 months. As part of the negotiations, Harper said Beard would have to agree not to apply or be considered for the permanent role as president.
No salary for Beard was discussed. Beard earned $311,402 in his final year at Pasco-Hernando State College, where he served as president from 2015 to January 2024.
As a comparison, Florida Atlantic University Interim President Stacy Volnick, who has held that position since 2022, earns $525,000 a year.
Florida A&M Trustee Otis Cliatt warned against giving the interim president too many powers.
“I don’t want to have an interim that comes in and brings their staff, completely cleans house, and then we go through and we hire a permanent, who comes in and does the same thing,” Cliatt said. “That means that we will have a self-inflicted wound twice.”
Trustee Belvin Perry Jr. responded that he didn’t expect Beard to “come in with a hatchet,” but said the interim leader should be able to make changes to move the university forward.
“We just don’t stop and pause the business of the university,” Perry said. “We’ve got things that we are facing.”
Beard spent 14 years in faculty and administrative positions at Florida A&M. In 2001, Beard was chosen Florida A&M’s “Teacher of the Year.”
