{"id":218813,"date":"2026-04-04T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/218813\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T16:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T16:42:17","slug":"famus-marva-johnson-talks-universitys-impact-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/218813\/","title":{"rendered":"FAMU’s Marva Johnson talks university’s impact, challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nine months in office,\u00a0Florida A&M University<\/a>\u00a0President\u00a0Marva Johnson<\/a>\u00a0faced the\u00a0Capital Tiger Bay\u00a0Club<\/a>\u00a0and took the opportunity\u00a0to tout FAMU\u2019s success while reiterating some of her\u00a0main\u00a0goals.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u00a0was tapped by the organization\u00a0\u2013 which is a nonpartisan group that brings together business, political and community leaders for discussions on public affairs and current issues \u2013\u00a0to take part in\u00a0the April 3 forum.<\/p>\n

There, she shared her insights before taking questions from members\u00a0who questioned her on the critical issues of the university and her recruitment efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u00a0is probably, in truth, the hardest job that I\u2019ve ever had, but it\u2019s also the most rewarding,\u201d Johnson told the club members during her remarks, referring to the president position.\u00a0She\u00a0began her role on Aug. 1 amid pushback from several alumni and others in the community.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M University President Marva Johnson answers questions from the press after speaking at a Capital Tiger Bay Club luncheon on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Talethia Edwards \u2212 a FAMU alumna and current candidate for City Commission Seat 3 who has championed southside communities for years as an activist \u2212 introduced Johnson at the event, and Johnson publicly thanked Edwards for her “constructive” and “useful” feedback when she began the presidential journey.<\/p>\n

Among those who\u00a0accompanied\u00a0Johnson during the Friday forum were Special Assistant to the President and Advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics\u00a0Angela Suggs<\/a>, Vice President of Government Relations\u00a0Michelle Robinson<\/a>, Chief of Staff\u00a0Carmen Cummings-Martin<\/a>, Chief of Police\u00a0Audrey Alexander,<\/a>\u00a0Vice President of Chief Marketing & Communications Officer\u00a0Alonda Thomas<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Executive Assistant Nicole Schloss.<\/p>\n

Besides\u00a0FAMU\u2019s main heralded\u00a0accomplishments\u00a0such as being ranked the\u00a0No. 1 public HBCU<\/a> in the nation for seven consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report,\u00a0Johnson says \u201cnot one of them tells the complete story” of FAMU.<\/p>\n

“I want to adjust a few views \u2212\u00a0maybe of\u00a0some of you in the audience… to give you a little bit more firepower,\u201d she added, \u201cso that when\u00a0you’re\u00a0out being an advocate for FAMU, you can help make sure that everybody\u00a0truly understands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u00a0are\u00a0three main topics Johnson covered during the forum:<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M University President Marva Johnson speaks during a Capitol Tiger Bay Club luncheon on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

FAMU graduates helping to close workforce gaps<\/p>\n

Johnson says FAMU is one of the most direct and cost-effective solutions to what she described as the state\u2019s \u201csignificant,\u00a0measurable\u00a0and growing workforce gaps in healthcare, engineering, computer science, public\u00a0administration\u00a0and law.\u201d<\/p>\n

She highlighted the passage rates of FAMU graduates across different fields, such as the 93% passage rate\u00a0of nursing graduates when it comes to the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and an 89.8% passage rate achieved by the university\u2019s\u00a0doctor\u00a0of pharmacy students\u00a0on their licensure exam.<\/p>\n

\u201cFAMU\u2019s graduates are not simply our achievement,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey are Florida\u2019s nurses, they are Florida\u2019s\u00a0pharmacists\u00a0and they are Florida\u2019s public health infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding\u00a0student recruitment to bring more scholars to FAMU, Capital Tiger Bay Club member\u00a0Barney\u00a0Bishop\u00a0\u2013 who once sat on\u00a0FAMU’s Board of Trustees<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 asked Johnson about\u00a0if\u00a0she’s\u00a0had the chance to\u00a0recruit first-time-in-college students\u00a0to attend the university, as\u00a0former presidents have done in the past.<\/p>\n

“I have had an opportunity to do it, and it is one of the most satisfying, rewarding and inspirational things you get to do as a university president,\u201d Johnson said. She also\u00a0noted\u00a0that the university usually gets an average of 20,000 applications annually, but this year, about 30,000\u00a0applications have rolled in.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M University President Marva Johnson, left, speaks with attendees during a Capitol Tiger Bay Club luncheon on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

FAMU as an economic driver<\/p>\n

While laying out several figures for the club members to give them a better understanding of FAMU\u2019s role in the economy, she\u00a0highlighted\u00a0that FAMU\u2019s total economic impact is\u00a0estimated to be\u00a0$631 million annually with 5,156 direct and indirect jobs supported by the university, according to\u00a0the\u00a0United Negro College Fund\u2019s<\/a>\u00a02024 HBCU economic\u00a0impact report.\u00a0She also said FAMU\u2019s research and developments expenditures exceed $70 million per year.<\/p>\n

In addition, Johnson noted the $10 million public investment from the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency in\u00a0FAMU\u2019s\u00a0Bragg Memorial Stadium<\/a>\u00a0years ago\u00a0that created an estimated 132 jobs and generated about $38 million in economic impact for Leon County, and how FAMU contributes to the over $30 million in annual economic impact for the state during the Florida Classic in Orlando and the Orange Blossom Classic in Miami Gardens.<\/p>\n

Scaling resources to move faster<\/p>\n

Following Johnson\u2019s remarks, a Capital Tiger Bay Club member said the president is a \u201cwonderful cheerleader\u201d for FAMU before asking her\u00a0what she would identify as critical issues and challenges that\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0dealing with at the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest challenge is how to scale our resources and how to push our team and optimize the resources to allow us to run faster,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cMy secondary challenge \u2013\u00a0in order to\u00a0meet that first one \u2013 is resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Florida has the lowest tuition rate for students among other states in the nation, Johnson said FAMU’s issue is that it’s not \u201cswimming with excess revenue.\u201d\u00a0One of her goals is to diversify the university\u2019s investment\u00a0opportunities\u00a0to generate more money rather than having to depend on state funding as the main source.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re raising the bar on that level of accountability,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network \u2013 Florida. She can be reached at\u00a0tjean@tallahassee.com<\/a>. Follow her on X:\u00a0@tarahjean_<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU president Marva Johnson talks university’s future<\/a><\/p>\n