Who’s really in charge at Florida Memorial University? Judge to decide next week
A judge could decide as early as Monday if Florida Memorial University’s recently announced president William McCormick was legitimately appointed, or if he was named illegally by a “rogue” faction in the board of trustees.
In a hearing early Friday morning, Judge Javier Enriquez ordered the opposing sides to submit proposals addressing the legal standards so he could make a decision early next week. His order comes a week after the university became embroiled in a controversy between two warring factions in the school’s board of trustees over the legality of the appointment of McCormick as president.
At the heart of the controversy is the question of who is the legitimate chair of FMU’s Board of Trustees — Brandon K. Dumas, who claims in an injunction that he was appointed to the position in May, or Walter Weatherington, who FMU’s website lists as the board chair. Per Dumas’ filing, Weatherington had been on the board for 11 years and had already termed out. Dumas’ injunction states that any decisions made in meetings with Weatherington claiming the chair seat are illegitimate.
Nykeah L. Cohen represents Dumas who was listed on the FMU website as the chairman of FMU’s Board of Trustees until last week. Cohen said the behavior of the “purported illegal faction” of the board could jeopardize the school’s standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which accredits institutions, and has already led to incorrect information being presented to the public.
“Misinformation has been placed out there to the public, to the student body, to the stakeholders,” Cohen said during the hearing. “There is the continued irreparable harm of the instability of the board.”
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On Aug. 21, Florida Memorial University announced McCormick as the president of the only HBCU in South Florida, after serving more than a year in an interim capacity. Less than 24 hours after the university’s Facebook post, Dumas shared a letter denouncing the appointment, calling the vote illegal and alleging that select members on the board had staged a “well thought-out coup.”
“Let us be absolutely clear: this presidency was obtained illegally. The meeting that facilitated this alleged vote, which none of us attended, was never properly noticed to the Board, the matter of selecting a permanent president was never mentioned to the full Board, and the action taken is in direct violation of our bylaws and the established processes for presidential selection,” read the letter, which had support from seven other board members and a former board chair.
Dumas has filed several injunctions asking the court to block a faction of FMU trustees from conducting “rogue” meetings, overturn prior unsanctioned actions, and protect the university from governance chaos and accreditation risks. Weatherington, Audrey White, and Bernard Jennings are named in the injunctions. FMU’s website lists Weatherington as the current board chair.
Peter Homer, who represents Weatherington, White and Jennings said Dumas was ousted from the board during a July 22 meeting and said Dumas has a history of filing lawsuits against former employers.
“He is a serial litigant against his employers. He’s been involved in litigation with other traditional, historic Black colleges and universities that he’s worked for, [a] similar type of M.O. that we’re seeing here: filing a lawsuit, going out and getting publicity,” Homer said during the hearing. “For a person who claims that he’s trying not to injure the university, it’s extremely anomalous for him to do that.”
Homer also said that Dumas was not authorized by the board to file an injunction and did not exhaust all options as required by the board before going to court, including following FMU’s internal complaint procedure.