Fallout continues from Florida A&M University‘s announcement of a dubious $237 million donation. As at least one executive has resigned over the secretive and unvetted gift, more questions arise about how FAMU put itself in an this position.
FAMU hit pause on an announced $237 million stock donation from Gregory Gerami and his Isaac Batterson Family 7th Trust, an entrepreneur and business with little publicly available information and a history of a failed nine-figure donation to another school. The repercussions continue to grow for Gerami’s FAMU donation, which was kept secret even from FAMU board members until the day it was announced at commencement. On Wednesday, Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who also served as executive director of the FAMU Foundation, resigned from her role as FAMU’s vice president for university advancement. Before the Gerami donation, Friday-Stroud had been a successful fundraiser for the school; under her leadership, the school had far exceeded its $15 million fundraising goal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, bringing in $26 million. Though Friday-Stroud has resigned from her fundraising position, she will stay at FAMU as dean of the School of Industry and Business. (READ MORE)
