"Transformative financial donations don't come along often in higher education. So when a donor promised a $237.75 million gift to Florida A&M University, school officials were understandably excited.
The donor was Gregory Gerami, a 30-year-old businessman from Texas who said he wanted to make sure the historically Black school's windfall would help students who needed the money most. Funds were also designated for FAMU's athletics department.
"This is more than $100 million more than we have currently in our endowment," FAMU President Larry Robinson said as he unveiled the donation at the school's spring commencement ceremony in Tallahassee, Fla. "This is just incredible."
But amazement at the large gift soon gave way to shock as questions arose about Gerami's donation. And as word of the surprise donation spread, FAMU leaders were confronted with news reports that linked Gerami to an earlier transformative gift to another school — a donation that never came to fruition."
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"Gerami announced the donation during a May 4 commencement ceremony, in an elaborate event where he delivered a fairly standard graduation speech — before giving Robinson a belt buckle and saying he should buckle up for what was coming.
As a gigantic nine-figure check was brought onto the stage, the PA system played a montage of songs, including The O'Jays' "For The Love of Money" and "Grateful" by Hezekiah Walker.
About the $237.75 million donation, Gerami told the crowd: "By the way, the money is in the bank."
[vice president for university advancement Shawnta] Friday-Stroud later said that Gerami's speech was his idea. And last week, Robinson, the university president, apologized for the event, saying it's something that should not have happened.
The university has removed the video of the commencement from its YouTube page, along with other mentions of the donation from its website and social media channels."
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"After the May 4 commencement, skeptics such as Jerell Blakeley, writing for the Education News Flash Substack on May 6, raised questions about Gerami, highlighting news reports connecting him to at least one earlier big college donation that fell apart.
FAMU then put the donation on pause, with Kristin Harper, chair of the board of trustees, stating in a public meeting on May 10 that "serious concerns have been raised regarding the validity of the gift, the adequacy of the due diligence processes and whether the foundation board and board of trustees have been provided ample oversight opportunity."
Last week, Robinson said engagement with Gerami had "ceased," and he began referring to the gift as a "proposed donation" that was stopped in its tracks.
As the school's foundation and board of trustees held public Zoom meetings to discuss the matter, more details about the donation emerged:
-While Gerami said the money was "in the bank," Friday-Stroud said the donation was made in the form of 15 million shares of stock in Batterson Farms, Gerami's privately held company.
-As for the gift amount of $237.75 million, Friday-Stroud told FAMU's foundation on May 9 that the sum reflected the stock being valued at $15.85 a share. But in that board meeting, it also emerged that FAMU did not have a third party analyze the valuation.
-When asked why FAMU hadn't independently verified the stock's value during discussions about the donation, Friday-Stroud said a decision was made to hold off on a third-party valuation of the stock until the university's annual financial audit, scheduled for early summer.
-Friday-Stroud said that she and Robinson were among the people who signed nondisclosure agreements requiring them to keep the donation secret from other leaders. She also cited donors' rights to privacy and confidentiality under state law.
-Robinson says he didn't tell the chair of either the school's foundation or board of trustees, who have legal and financial oversight for the institution, because he was worried that doing so might "jeopardize this transformational donation."
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/24/1251762083/famu-hbcu-mega-gift-gerami-what-happened-what-next