Kelvin Lawson and Matthew Carter have been reappointed to the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees, the university announced today.
Gov. Scott Reappoints Two to Florida A&M University Board of Trustees
Governor Rick Scott announced the reappointments of Kelvin Lawson and Dr. Matthew Carter to the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees. Lawson, 54, of Jacksonville, is a vice president at Acosta Sales and Marketing. He previously served as the director of national accounts for Johnson and Johnson.
Lawson, chairman of the FAMU board, has been a controversial figure in recent years in incidents tied to the departure of former president Elmira Mangum. In 2015, Lawson, then serving as vice-chair, cast a vote for Mangum’s firing which was eventually defeated by board vote and spurred a nearly year-long public feud between the school’s first female president and trustees before her September 2016 removal.
Lawson oversaw an appeal to the Florida Board of Governors requesting an exemption from new state rules requiring public universities to conduct national searches for presidents, which was granted and cleared the way for the board to name three-time interim president Larry Robinson as the permanent university leader in November.
Carter generated public conversation last March, when he revealed his desire for FAMU to pursue establishing a medical school. From the Tallahassee Democrat:
“The addition of a four-year medical college to Florida A&M will “round out” the FAMU educational offerings; serve to diversify the FAMU research portfolio; support FAMU’s Human Biomedical Sciences Initiative, and allow FAMU to play a more prominent role in the health outcomes of our stakeholder,” Carter wrote in his presentation.
Upon confirmation from the Florida Senate, Lawson and Carter will serve for terms ending in 2021 and 2023, respectively.
