On June 18, Marva Johnson, J.D., was confirmed by the Florida Board of Governors as Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University’s (FAMU) 13th president. Chosen to lead one of the nation’s premier Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Johnson has become the center of a heated debate following concerns about her qualifications, leadership, and connections to the Republican Party.
Despite critics claiming she lacks educational experience, Johnson has a strong educational background alongside her corporate roles. She served eight years on the Florida State Board of Education, initially appointed by Governor Rick Scott in 2014 and continuing under Governor Ron DeSantis until 2021.
According to FAMU’s press release, Johnson championed policies to implement performance-based funding while serving as board chair from 2015 to 2019. She aimed to raise graduation rates and enhance accountability across state colleges by expanding access to affordable, high-quality education while closing achievement gaps. DeSantis also appointed her to the Florida Scholars Academy Board to oversee education for vulnerable youth.
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But despite Johnson’s unanimous approval by the Board, her selection has garnered tremendous pushback from the university’s students and alumni.
“If you guys confirm this candidate, it is to reaffirm to all of us … that our voices do not matter,” a computer engineering student at FAMU, told CNN.
At the heart of the opposition to her leadership is her affiliation with the Republican Party. Critics see her as part of a broader agenda to “take over” HBCUs, especially given her ties to Governor DeSantis. Of particular concern will be her role in the broader national effort by the Trump administration to eliminate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs. “Alumni groups, students and faculty members,” CNN reported, “are largely concerned about Johnson’s work under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, who banned funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Florida colleges and blocked advanced placement African American studies curriculum in Florida high schools.”
A FAMU alumnus, Will Packer, posted on Instagram that “HBCUs are under attack,” and said that Johnson is part of a political opposition that doesn’t believe in diversity.
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For years, many universities—including HBCUs—have prioritized DEI in their curricula, hiring, and campus culture. In practice, this has often resulted in suppressed free speech, race-based hiring decisions, and discrimination against certain students—namely, white and Asian students.
At FAMU, the campus leans strongly left ideologically. A 2022 Campus Reform analysis found only one right-leaning student group on campus compared to six left-of-center groups. Worse, according to Federal Election Commission data analyzed by Campus Reform, 77.85 percent of FAMU employee political donations during the 2020 cycle went to Democratic candidates, while just 22.15 percent went to Republicans.
Johnson’s appointment challenges this status quo. She believes higher education should prioritize rigorous academics, career preparation, and merit over identity politics and race-based practices.
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Johnson says she is committed to protecting FAMU’s mission and legacy—empowering its community through innovative teaching, research, and service while honoring its legacy of educating African Americans—but also wants to ensure students are ready to enter the workforce:
It is a profound honor to be selected as the 13th president of Florida A&M University—a historic institution with a rich legacy shaped by giants. As president, I recognize the legacy I carry and remain committed to protecting and extending that legacy and FAMU’s mission, while fighting to ensure that we are positioned for success in the evolving higher education landscape. I am ready to bring a bold, business-minded, results-driven approach to advancing student success, financial sustainability, and long-term institutional growth.
Despite the political uproar, Johnson hasn’t proposed dismantling FAMU’s heritage or opportunities for black students—in fact, she has said the opposite.
Since critics have only raised ideological objections, their concerns seem less about her qualifications and more about preserving a political orthodoxy. Her Republican affiliation—and status as a black woman outside progressive norms—has likely intensified scrutiny. Yet her leadership could bring much-needed ideological balance to campus.
If Johnson focuses on academic excellence and student success, there’s no reason she can’t lead FAMU effectively regardless of politics.
Image: “Tallahassee FL FAMU HD marker” by Ebyabe on Wikimedia Commons
This was the most dishonest telling of this situation I have ever read. Johnson has never earned a job in education. She has never managed a large organization. She has never worked in school, at any level. The entirety of her educational experience comes from appointed positions, that she was given because she is a republican lobbyist, not because she has displayed any skill or knowledge in the field. She also has no ties to the university or any HBCU for that matter. She has zero educational background in administration, leadership, pedagogies. She doesn’t meet the minimum qualifications for the listed position. They had to replace three board members to get her elected. One of those members is part of a lawsuit claiming that the hiring process wasn’t fair. But this article ignores all of that and tries to make this about her being a republican. It also doesn’t mention that the interim president is a republican, and no one protested him. This article discusses the amount of conservative political groups on campus at an HBCU, totally ignoring the fact that African Americans are overwhelmingly democrats. This article is clearly intended to make this a culture war issue, instead of focusing on what the alumni are actually saying.
First and foremost, African Americans don’t “own” this or any other university — no more than WASPs own Harvard or Yale. A man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for an end to segregation, you may have heard of him. And find a copy of his “I have a Dream” speech and read it…
There was another man by the name of Booker T. Washington — look into him as well.
FAMU is somewhat unique because it is both a Normal School (teacher’s college) AND aPhase 2 Land Grant where Congress told the Southern states that if they wanted a White land grant college (Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (i.e engineering), hence the A&M), they also had to have a Black one. (They didn’t want to.)
What Florida has been doing for 20 years now is first trying to improve K-12 and then trying to improve undergrad college so that both can be a bridge to good jobs for kids. And I don’t think I need to tell you that Black K-12 essentially sucks just about everywhere, and we REALLY need to improve it. And one way to do that is to impose higher college admission standards — over time — so that the high school kids will meet them.
That’s why she is probably the best pick for FACU right now.
And if people aren’t happy, they can go form their own college — how do you think that Amherst College got founded (Harvard professors left Harvard and founded their own college).
And I think the most scary thing about all of this is what Republicans such as Trump and DeSantis are saying to Black voters — “you’ve been voting for the Democrats for 60years, and what’s it gotten you?”
Republicans are offering better schools and good jobs to EVERYONE and Trump got something like 30% of the Black vote in 2024. And this is the same Evil Orange Man who extended the HBCUs a financial lifeline circa 2019 — without which, many of them wouldn’t be here now.
But it’s not your university — it belongs to the residents of Florida — ALL of them.
It is my university because I attend FAMU. But it is also black people’s university because we are the reason it exist. Florida A&M was created to provide higher education to African Americans. You are correct that it doesn’t belong to black people, but the heritage, history, and culture of the university does.
I am not sure why you bring up MLK as if FAMU was ever segregated. You are thinking of the school across the street, FSU. FAMU accepted all students from it’s founding day to present day.
Booker T. Washington founded an HBCU, why are you bringing him up? Do you think he would have wanted the governor of Alabama to appoint one of his unqualified friends to be the president of Tuskegee University?
But the part of your comment that I find most confusing, is why does wanting to raise standards for education makes Marva the best candidate? She has literally never done anything like that before. She has never taught in a school, worked in a front office of a school, never worked in administration in a school. She has no experience with any HBCU at all, never attended or worked in or with one. She has never managed a large organization of any kind. How would that make her perfect to run the number one public HBCU in the country six years running? The school is the third ranked HBCU overall. It has been run better than any public HBCU, it has some of the highest admission standards of all HBCUs only being beaten by small private HBCUs.
Black voters are aware of who we voted for the last 60 years. We also know why we did. Trump only got 15% of the black vote, with him performing the worst with black college educated voters. Trump didn’t save HBCUs, you can’t listen to what he says because that isn’t true.
Also, both parties want better schools for everyone. But if you look at the states with the worst schools, the majority are run be republicans.
But it is my university, and all are welcome. It is funded by the taxpayers of the state of Florida, but they aren’t the most important stakeholders. The students, alumni. and staff are, and when you ignore them, you are setting the school up to fail. Alumni groups are already diverting funds. Student groups are planning protest. Alumni are planning economic boycotts to hurt the city of Tallahassee. How does getting someone with no relevant experience worth all of that? How do you expect her to succeed if the school isn’t behind her?