Trustee conflicts at Florida's public universities are starting to bleed over into public view
Florida’s public universities are governed by 13-member boards of trustees that are supposed to help the schools develop an overall mission and set strategic goals.
In Tallahassee, there are two public universities: Florida A&M, and Florida State. On FSU’s board, all members are current. At FAMU, two of its members, including Board Chairman Kelvin Lawson, are serving beyond their terms.
Lawson has found himself at the center of several issues in the past few years. The school’s former Vice President of Advancement George Cotton filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2019 alleging Lawson and two other trustees tried to pressure him into hiring their friends at FAMU.
“It was very difficult for the p...
