Florida State University President Richard McCullough says his team has given its best shot in working with Florida A&M University and Tallahassee State College to ensure they have a say in the ultimate transformation of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to FSU Health.
But there’s still work left to be done. While FAMU has secured a seat at the table for the future academic medical center governing board, TSC’s situation remains in limbo though a breakthrough may be at hand.
“We’ve been working with FAMU and TSC to continue to work on the governance structure and to put them on several standing and ad hoc committees,” McCullough said in a report to FSU’s Board of Trustees during an Oct. 31 meeting in the Turnbull Conference Center on campus. “That is not done for TSC yet.”
“There are more discussions to be had,” he added, “and I think Florida State University has done everything it can to push this forward. We really appreciate all the support that we’ve had from the city commission and others, but we’re still on it.”
FSU President Richard McCullough speaks on behalf of FSU as the City of Tallahassee, Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare meet to discuss the sale of the hospital Wednesday, October. 1, 2025.
As the higher education institutions continue talks with the hospital, the city is poised to hand off its $1-a-year-lease deal and its hospital property and assets to FSU. After months of tense negotiations and flareups of controversy, city commissioners met on Oct. 22 and voted for a third and final hearing and vote to take place as early as December with a final sale price set for the hospital.
“I think this is a strong opportunity,” FSU’s Vice President of Research Stacey Patterson said during an Oct. 30 finance and business committee meeting at the conference center. “Our goal has been, and remains, to be a good partner to improve health and healthcare in this region – not just in Tallahassee, but in all of northwest Florida.”
A day after the city’s meeting, a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) was finalized between FAMU and FSU on Oct. 23. It came after McCullough and FAMU President Marva Johnson, along with other university officials, met several times to guarantee that the historically Black university will have a seat on the hospital’s 17-member governing board. Under that agreement, FSU would ultimately have the final word on who the Rattler representative would be.
“It solidifies our commitment to working with them in the academic health center,” McCullough told FSU trustees, referring to the MOU with FAMU.
Related news: MOU: FAMU secures seat on TMH-FSU hospital board; FSU will pick Rattler representative
But while FAMU has gained its seat, TSC continues to advocate for its own college representative to have a spot on the hospital’s governing board. TSC President Jim Murdaugh and the college’s board members attended TMH’s Oct. 29 board meeting to make its case for inclusion in the budding academic medical center.
But the hospital board was unmoved from its concern that adding an “academic seat” would relinquish community control and could add a political dimension to the proposed board for a new hospital enterprise that supporters say will vastly advance healthcare in Tallahassee.
Offering a compromise, City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox – who strongly supports the inclusion of FAMU and TSC representatives on the academic health center’s governing board – suggested to TMH CEO Mark O’Bryant that a couple of seats be added to the board, bringing its headcount up to 19 members.
She proposes TSC and FAMU would have seats that would solely be determined by the presidents of the institution.
More: ‘Great idea’: Hospital board compromise may break latest impasse between TMH, FSU
Mayor Pro Tem Dianne Williams-Cox listens as the City of Tallahassee, Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare meet to discuss the sale of the hospital Wednesday, October. 1, 2025.
McCullough declined to comment on Williams-Cox’s proposal of adding additional seats to the future board until the university can review a written plan.
“Together, with President Murdaugh from Tallahassee State College, the three of us (FSU, FAMU and TSC) have been trying to work out with TMH how we might be able to make sure that we continue growing the collaborations that we already have at the hospital, enhance academic programs, and elevate research,” McCullough told trustees Friday.
As the vision for FSU Health expands, trustees voted to approve additions to the university’s 2025-26 fixed capital outlay budget, including a $10 million project to the spending plan to address capital needs of FSU Health facilities. Other additions included $45.5 million to construct a new innovation hub on campus called INSPIRE (Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research and Education) and $6 million to go toward utilities infrastructure.
During McCullough’s report to the FSU board, he also referred to his collaboration with Rev. R.B. Holmes, Jr., pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, and over 40 other community faith leaders who have voiced their concerns and support of the future academic health center.
While FSU is still working on the deal with both the city and TMH – which includes making decisions about the payment structure for the sale – McCullough told FSU’s board he believes they’re getting “pretty close” to the end of negotiations, which he expects to be complete by December.
“It’s exciting,” FSU Trustee Jim Henderson said during Thursday’s finance and business committee meeting. “This is something we need to get to that next level, and I think FSU and TMH together can do that.”
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU President updates Board of Trustees on TMH hospital sale