Community leaders react to resignation of FAMU President Larry Robinson

While few appeared to be surprised by the resignation of Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson, several supporters and local officials say he embodied both leadership and vision that will be missed.

In the end, his long list of accomplishments since being named FAMU's 12th president in 2017 may not have been enough to combat multiple blows to the school's reputation following the historic donation debacle that sparked national headlines, embarrassment and an independent investigation.

Other major controversies under Robinson's watch — an ongoing housing crunch and backlash two years after dozens of student athletes were mistakenly deemed ineligible to play due to administrative errors and no fault of their own — have tainted his tenure.

Yet, several local community leaders said Robinson made transformational contributions to FAMU that propelled the university forward and they wished him well as he embarks on the next chapter.

Here's what they said:

The Rev. RB Holmes Jr., pastor at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church

Holmes, a staunch FAMU supporter, has long praised Robinson for the depth of his leadership and ability to advance the university in the face of adversity.

"We all should thank Dr. Robinson for his impressive tenure as president of FAMU. He has been a solid leader and an excellent advocate for the significance and sacredness of HBCU's in general and FAMU ... He has successfully led FAMU to be the No. 1 public HBCU in the country. We can celebrate his stellar leadership and service to this university. I wish him the absolute best as he continues to provide wisdom and guidance to the university."

This community will support the selection of FAMU's Board of Trustees as they make the careful decision in appointing an interim president. Moreover, when the time comes to select the next president of the university, I have confidence that the trustees will find the most capable and competent person to lead the university forward."

Sean Pittman, founder of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce

Pittman, founder and chairman of the Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce, said FAMU and the community owes Robinson a debt a gratitude.

"I hope at this time we take a moment to reflect on the fact that ... Dr. Robinson was a great leader at FAMU and led FAMU into breaking into the top 100 public universities across the United States. President Robinson has set up FAMU for incredible success, continued success, for decades to come.

"I'm not sure what led to this moment. I'm sure Dr. Robinson is the kind of leader that was brought to the table to talk about the future of FAMU. And I think any university with challenges, you begin to look at how do you resolve the challenges."

Marjorie R. Turnbull, former Florida House of Representatives member

Turnbull previously served on the FAMU Board of Trustees. There she got to know Robinson when he was provost under former FAMU President Elmira Mangum. Turnbull described Robinson as helpful and "there was just no question in my mind about his very deep commitment to Florida A&M University."

While she hasn't been keeping up with the blow-by-blow media coverage of FAMU as of late, Turnbull said several challenges facing FAMU preceded Robinson's tenure.

"I've never, quite honestly known, and I want to be cautious in what I say here, but I think sometimes there's an underlying sense of — I don't want to call it racism, but maybe that's part of it — that there's a somehow a sense that FAMU doesn't conduct its business like the other universities," Turnbull said.

"I never thought that was the case, because other universities have also had questions raised. But it always seemed to be that whenever something happened at FAMU, the Board of Governors got involved," she said. "I didn't see them doing that with the other universities. Now, maybe it was necessary. I don't know ... I would not automatically jump to the conclusion it had something to do with Dr Robinson."

Tallahassee City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox on Facebook:

Williams-Cox, a FAMU alumna and unwavering supporter, offered her thoughts on social media.

"Thank you, Dr. Larry Robinson for your stellar leadership with caring during a time of turmoil and turbulence. Thanks for many sacrifices that you, your family and the FAMU family have made to continue to keep the torch held high. Job well done."

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey

Dailey, who was on vacation at the time of the announcement, offered a brief statement.

“I want to thank President Robinson for his dedication to FAMU and for being a great friend to the city. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Larry over the years.”

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor

Proctor, a longtime political science associate professor at FAMU, said he wasn't sure what led to Robinson's decision because the "evaluation of his administration went underground, the Board of Governors took over the investigation, Board of Trustees wanted to know, the Democrat wanted to know. Inquiring minds wanted to know answers."

"I didn't know that when the curtain reopened, if President Robinson would be still be president (going) into the future," Proctor said.

He said, in the end, too many doubted Robinson's ability to continue to lead FAMU.

"I can perceive that at a certain point, a leader recognizes that he's lost velocity," Proctor said. "When you lose a certain amount of velocity and doubt has been intensely cast at your capacity to lead, then you've lost when that doubt arises to the degree that it faced President Robinson."

Proctor joined the chorus of those congratulating Robinson on the work he's accomplished during his presidency and said "he leaves a very positive legacy with respect to university performance areas that matter in student performance."

Vaughn Wilson, former longtime sports information director at FAMU

Wilson worked for years as the university's sports information director. He's had keen insight on university operations and been both a supporter and critic of Robinson over the years.

"I kind of saw it coming," he said, regarding Robinson's resignation. "There was a lot of what seemed to be discord between the university leadership and the Board of Trustees. It was a little antsy, especially since January, and so seeing him resign is not a surprise to me after all the tension that had been building."

Wilson described the university's handling of former head football coach Willie Simmons' successor as a "debacle," adding many wanted to see Robinson intervene sooner and make a selection from within the football program. He said FAMU Athletics Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes favored an outside selection that sparked tension among some alumni and supporters.

He said those issues and most recently the controversy over the failed donation are likely causes that led to Robinson's resignation.

"I've watched Board of Trustees meetings for probably a couple decades now, and I've never seen that much anger at a president for not communicating with them," Wilson said. "There were rifts that were building there."

But he concluded with great admiration for the outgoing Rattler-in-chief.

"Dr. Robinson is a great man ... He's an upstanding guy. He did a good job. I think what ended up happening, probably to bring on his resignation, was just a culmination of some unforced errors within the university administration."

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Community leaders react to resignation of FAMU President Larry Robinson