FAMU’s president

narrowly avoids being fired by school’s board of trustees.

TALLAHASSEE — An increasingly bitter power struggle between Florida A&M University President Elmira Mangum and the university board culminated Thursday with a chaotic meeting where Mangum nearly got fired.

Responding to allegations about expensive repairs at her university-owned home and improper bonuses for a top employee, several trustees pushed to terminate Mangum’s $425,000 a year contract during an emergency meeting.

But Mangum, who at one point accused some trustees of being on a “witch hunt” to push out of her job, survived the testy three-and-a-half hour meeting where the school’s student body president complained that students and others should have been given a chance to publicly testify before a vote was taken. A contingent of students later marched to the state Capitol to protest Mangum’s treatment.

Trustees voted 7-5 against a motion to fire Mangum immediately with cause. Trustees then deadlocked 6-6 on whether to fire Mangum without cause. The latter would have required a large payout. Trustees finally agreed to have outside auditors review some of the financial allegations against her.

Later, while traveling to North Carolina to deliver a lecture, Mangum put out a statement vowing to remain on the job despite her tenuous relationship with university trustees. “My commitment to this university is stronger than ever,” Mangum said.

The meeting was sparked by allegations regarding nearly $400,000 worth of renovations at the president’s house and garage and a discovery by auditors that $15,000 was used to pay a bonus to FAMU’s new provost. The bonus violated state law but Mangum characterized it is an accounting error that had been corrected.

She also said that most of the renovations were approved before she took the job although the university auditor noted he could not find proof of any approval by trustees.