TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Florida A&M University has just released data about the number of women and men employed at the university after being accused by Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor of being biased against black males.
Proctor's letter, which was released at the end of August, listed a number of high level positions employed by woman at the university which Proctor said were filled at the expense of black men.
"...it is incomprehensible to black men on FAMU's campus how the biggest pay checks, the most power and the most visibility of substance belongs to women. Black men, contrary to what those elected officials said... have been emasculated and are a vanishing professional species at FAMU and the BOT is silent!" said Proctor in the letter. You can read the full letter by clicking here.
And while Proctor's letter provided a hefty list of females employed at the school, the numbers FAMU released show that there may not be as big of a gender gap as suggested by Proctor.
Proctor's letter lists 20 areas at FAMU he says are dominated by women, including six dean positions. However, the report shows that of the fifteen deans at FAMU, eight are men and seven are women.
In addition, four of the 20 positions Proctor mentions are elected rather than hired by the university. Proctor also never mentions that eleven of the university's 15 positions with the term "Vice President" in the title are filled by men.
With the release of the data, FAMU sent a statement saying, "FAMU continues its long tradition, started in 1887, of being an institution where African-American males lead with distinction. However, as the attached information shows, FAMU has in recent years, made some important gains in achieving gender balance in leadership roles in two important areas: executive and managerial, especially the highest leadership positions on our campus, and faculty."
You can read FAMU's full statement on the numbers by clicking here. WTXL was not provided specific information on race.
Ray Bellamy, a FAMU Academic Advisor spoke out against Proctor's claims regarding women, saying having women in leadership roles might be a change for the university but it's one that should be welcomed.
"There's no need to reflect and worry about what we've done in the past. It's not going to help us in the future. Let's just align ourselves and hold hands and come together and do the right thing for what's in the best interest of the community and the university," said Bellamy.
WTXL reached out to Commissioner Bill Proctor several times to respond to the data from the university but he was not available for comment.
