Jeff Adams for FAMU News
On April 22, during the Investiture ceremony for Florida A&M University President Marva B. Johnson, outgoing Student Government Association President Zayla Bryant glanced over her shoulder at Johnson from the lectern, heaping praise on the first-year leader.
"Thank you for opening doors I didn't know existed," Bryant said, emotion sweeping across Johnson's face. "Thank you for advocating for me in rooms where my name needed to be spoken. And thank you for being a true partner on this Hill — someone who understood that the weight of leadership is not carried with just a position, but it is carried in purpose."
After the speech, the women shared a long hug, continuing a conversation of well wishes away from the microphone. It was especially notable because Bryant had voted against Johnson's selection as president in 2025, reflecting the concerns many students expressed at the time.
"She's a very special leader," Johnson said of Bryant during a recent 30-minute interview reflecting on her first year as FAMU's 13th president. "For the student government leader to create a space for me to align was one of the best things I could have hoped for. It was touching.”
"The presidential transition was not as smooth as everyone would have hoped it would be," she added.
Johnson was selected after a contentious search in which a committee recommended other candidates with more traditional higher education leadership experience. Johnson, a Black woman and registered Republican, had served on the Florida Board of Education under Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Gov. Rick Scott. Trustees aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis ultimately elevated her over the committee's preferred finalists, intensifying concerns among some alumni about whether she was the right person to lead the institution.
The selection of "MAGA Marva," as critics dubbed her, fueled social media campaigns by alumni urging supporters to boycott university events, withhold donations and continue pressing for Johnson's removal.
“It was messy,” said Monica Williams Harris, an attorney and 1998 FAMU grad. “Everything was tainted. This was supposed to be a good moment for the university. You can’t have beauty in the midst of confusion.”
'A Hostile Takeover'
As with most presidential searches, a committee sifted through resumes, interviewed candidates, and developed a list of finalists to send to the trustee board. Johnson’s name was added after the committee had finalized its list, according to a complaint filed seeking an injunction over her selection.
The complaint alleged the process did not follow proper procedures, ignored the preferences of students and alumni, and violated nondisclosure agreements.
For many alumni, the issue was not simply who was selected. It was how the selection happened.
“When it’s fair, you don’t have to like the end result,” said Williams Harris, who also served on the FAMU Foundation board. “When it’s fair and perceived as fair, there’s less question, and you can focus objectively on the result.”
The questions around the process arrived at a particularly sensitive moment for the university. Florida’s conservative leaders had spent years reshaping higher education policy, targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and other programs they argued created unfair advantages. For some alumni, the arrival of a president with close ties to Republican leadership heightened fears of years-long rumors that FAMU, the nation’s third-largest historically Black university, would be folded into neighboring Florida State University.
“All of the information I was getting was this is a hostile takeover,” said Jasmar Bennett, a 2002 FAMU graduate.
FAMU’s presidential search and selection wasn’t the first time politics played a role. The University of Florida and Florida State University had already experienced their own contentious leadership transitions, reflecting a broader reality: Trustee boards and political leaders have increasingly shaped the direction of the state’s public universities.
Bennett said her son, William “Xavier” Likely, was going into his senior year of high school when Johnson was named president.
“There was so much fear,” said Bennett, the director of programs and community liaison for Academy Prep Center of Lakeland (Florida), who said she’d always hoped her son would follow in her footsteps and find his place on the Hill. “I started questioning, ‘Do I want my child to go to Florida A&M?’” For her, it was less about Johnson and more about whether FAMU would still be FAMU for her son.
The Quiet Campaign for Trust
Those concerns followed Johnson into her first year on campus.
Students had grown accustomed to a different kind of presence under Dr. Larry Robinson, who served nearly eight years as interim and permanent president before stepping down in 2024. Robinson was known for walking across campus, attending smaller events, and grabbing lunch with students on Fried Chicken Wednesdays in the cafeteria.
The first months of Johnson’s presidency became a test of whether she could build trust with a university community that had not chosen her. The challenge for Johnson was proving that her background outside traditional higher education could be an asset rather than a liability. Supporters pointed to the relationships she brought from her time in business and government, particularly in a state where higher education decisions have become increasingly political.
At the urging of several people — including some who did not support her selection — she began a listening tour.
“She came in with a lot of rumblings,” said Dr. Brandi Tatum-Fedrick, an alumna who serves as assistant vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the FAMU Foundation. “Regardless of how people showed up … she has listened. She has been responsive, [and] genuinely here to do what’s right for FAMU.”
For some alumni, the shift was not about forgetting the concerns surrounding Johnson’s selection. It was about separating those concerns from the work happening after she arrived.
Tatum-Fedrick acknowledged that even those supporting the university’s future from within had reservations.
“I would be lying if I said I came into it with both hands behind my back,” she said. “When we talk about this love for FAMU, it’s because we want to see this university move forward. In order to do that, she has to win so our students can win.”
Johnson didn’t try to lie to herself about how hard taking the FAMU job would be. And she said she could not shy away from the conversations with alumni and others who love the university.
“One of the things I said from the beginning is a lot of the alumni feedback that came back to me was directed with the spirit of their love for FAMU,” she said.
One-on-one and smaller group conversations allowed people to be more honest with her than they likely would have been in public forums. It also allowed for healing — both for them and her.
“It created better goodwill than any news story or town hall could do, and a safe space for me to get to know our alumni better and for them to better get to know me.”
Those relationships have coincided with gains in fundraising. Alumni giving increased during Johnson’s first year, with more than 5,500 alumni donors contributing nearly $4.5 million as of June 2026. The university’s annual alumni giving campaign, 1887 Strikes, surpassed its goal and included 1,400 first-time donors. Corporate partnerships continued to provide millions of dollars in support. The university also received a bigger legislative allotment than in recent years.
“I hope that people understand how significant that was,” she said. “It reflected the confidence the Legislature had in my leadership … and that policy does matter in higher education.”
Derrick McMahon, a 2010 alumnus, said he watched closely at the decisions Johnson made — and didn’t make — to better understand her intentions, noting that politics have always played a role in higher education in Florida.
“I think as time goes on,” he said, “we have to look at things in the appropriate social, political and historical context.”
“I think that there have been decisions made [by Johnson] that should give Rattler Nation a sense of relief. We still have many key leaders of the administration [who predated Johnson]. That allowed me to say ‘Hey, I didn’t like the process, but FAMU continues to be in good hands.’”
Lingering Doubt and Reluctant Trust
Not everyone believes Johnson’s first year represents the kind of transformation FAMU needs.
For one thing, some recent hires have felt like they were made more because the candidates were politically aligned with the president rather than because they are objectively qualified, which Williams Harris said doesn’t help Johnson’s case for goodwill.
“I’m not going to criticize you for wanting allies,” she said. “[But] I don’t know how people trust her. If your goal is to create a different culture, I can see why people can be unnerved and bothered by that.”
Javonte’ Anyabwele’, a School of Business and Industry graduate and vice president of global strategic sourcing for Carnival Corp., said Johnson has made progress, but he still has not seen the kind of vision he hoped would come with new leadership.
“I think she’s making a valiant effort for what she’s capable of,” Anyabwele’ said. “I don’t think she’s damaged anything yet.”
But, he said, avoiding damage was a low bar for a university seeking a new era.
“I want to see something of a plan to produce a marked improvement,” he said.
But for others, it’s enough to allay their concerns — for now.
Bennett’s son will begin classes at FAMU this fall, proof that she’s giving the 13th president and her administration a chance.
