From: Rufus Montgomery To: Criser III, Marshall Subject: Fwd: Touching base Date: Wednesday, July 08, 2015 8:06:12 AM From: Barge-Miles, Linda F. Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2015 12:31 PM To: Mangum, Elmira Cc: McKnight, Avery D.; Solomon Badger; Hightower, Jacqueline D.; Miller, Jimmy; Ojetayo, Funmi Subject: Re: Touching base Do you want me to forward this email to Trustee Montgomery? Sent from my iPhone On Jan 11, 2015, at 12:16 PM, Mangum, Elmira <[email protected]> wrote: Trustee Montgomery, I accept these threats as real and I will remain focused on enhancing the quality of the educational experiences for the members of the FAMU community and its stakeholders. Sent from my Windows Phone From: Barge-Miles, Linda F. Sent: ‎1/‎11/‎2015 9:30 AM To: Mangum, Elmira; Hightower, Jacqueline D.; Miller, Jimmy Cc: McKnight, Avery D.; Rufus Montgomery Subject: Fwd: Touching base In the earlier email I forgot to copy Jackie and Jimmy. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: "Barge-Miles, Linda F." <[email protected]> Date: January 11, 2015 at 9:03:38 AM EST To: "Mangum, Elmira" <[email protected]> Cc: "McKnight, Avery D." <[email protected]>, Rufus Montgomery <[email protected]> Subject: Fwd: Touching base Good Morning Dr. Mangum, The email below is being forwarded to you at the request of Trustee Montgomery. Linda Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Rufus Montgomery <[email protected]> Date: January 11, 2015 at 8:12:54 AM EST To: "Linda F. Barge-Miles" <[email protected]> Cc: "McKnight, Avery D." <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Touching base Attorney Barge-Miles, Please forward this email. Thx! ----------------------------------- Dr. Mangum, Once again, you failed to properly acknowledge and address the issue of your recurring problem with proper spelling, punctuation, grammar and typos in communications with the Board. In a good faith effort to preserve the possibility of an effective working relationship with you, I've reserved comment and disclosure of your behavior on numerous occasions. As your annual evaluation approaches, it's time for the entire Board to know to become fully informed about your unprofessional and often disrespectful interaction with multiple Board members during your tenure. I'll admit to hanging up on you in the middle of a conversation after you rudely interrupted me three times. After your first interruption I asked you to afford me the same professional courtesy I afforded you by allowing me to complete my statements without interruption. After the second interruption, I politely asked you again to please refrain from interrupting me. I also added that the conversation would end if you did it again. After you interrupted a third time, I simply stated, "Mr. Chairman, I'm going to end this call. I won't be rudely interrupted repeatedly and I won't be talked to this way." Then I hung up. Chairman Badger and Attorney Barge-Miles were both on the line. Both can attest to the fact that I did not raise my voice on the call. Furthermore, your accusations of yelling on the phone are patently false. You failed to include that you raised your voice several times and yelled my first name "RUFUS, RUFUS, RUFUS" several times immediately after I made it clear that you did not have the authority to set Board policy. With your voice in a loud tone, you also made reference to another meeting you were “missing” in order to have a conversation with me. All of this resulted from your assertion that Board member travel to Tallahassee for the Governor's Inaugural Prayer Breakfast would not be covered as an official expense? You insisted that the only official invitations received were addressed to you and Chairman Badger. Even though the Board does not have a standing policy on Board member travel, you were outside your pay grade in your attempt to apply your interpretation of University policy to valid requests for reimbursement from Board members. I appreciate your interest in public dollars used to pay for Board expenses. I share a similar interest in how you perform as a steward of public dollars. As you know, the Board is ultimately responsible for how you manage spending in your office. I look forward to disclosure and discussion of your travel expenses, all expenses for the President's Residence on campus (including construction), vehicle expenses and any spending related to your duties as chief executive officer. An informed Board should know how much it costs to maintain the office of the chief executive officer. This information is a matter of public record. Your pattern of rude interruptions is not new. The previously referenced call was not the first time you have been disrespectful toward me on a call. During our Board meeting to approve the budget in August of last year, you interrupted me four times. At the time, I was holding the floor as a duly recognized member of the Board. Chairman Badger's words were "I'm going to turn this part of the meeting over to Chairman Montgomery for presentation and approval of the budget." While I held the floor, you repeatedly interrupted me four times when you had no right or standing to do so. In a reasonable effort to meet my responsibility as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, I made reference to the option of silencing your microphone if the interruptions continued. I also recall that Chairman Badger had to direct you to refrain from interrupting me as I proceeded. The restraint I showed by allowing up to four interruptions before taking action was met by public accusations from you of bullying and implied sexism. On what planet do university presidents (who want to keep their jobs) make disparaging and openly public remarks about their Board members to the local media? Followed by a shot at the governor? Was this an example of (your words in previous email) "integrity, kindness, and humility, valuable human attributes for engagement?" Before our last Board meeting I requested copies of contracts with your senior leadership team. You refused my requests several times through staff and ultimately relented after I brought the matter to the Board’s attention. Your failure to meet the request for public information was troubling. If you respond that way to a Board committee chairman, how do you handle requests from the general public? Check your words again. I refer to you as "Dr. Mangum or President Mangum." You often fail to employ the basic courtesy of properly addressing me as a member of the University's governing body. On several occasions you have spoken to me as if you are a superior speaking to a subordinate in the military. I’ve worn the uniform and I know from firsthand experience that your words and your tone were unacceptable. Another example of your lack of respect for Board members was evidenced by the email you sent to the Board noting your contact with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The Board’s Special Committee on Athletics made a reasonable request of you and you responded by contacting the organization responsible for determining our institution’s accreditation status? Was your intent to get the Board investigated by SACSCOC? How would you explain that to the Board if you were successful? Faculty and staff under the previous administration worked hard to remove FAMU from probationary status. It’s irresponsible to put FAMU at risk. Your accusation of verbally attacking your staff in public is false. Several members of your leadership team have followed your lead in their rude and unprofessional approach towards members of the Board, staff and external stakeholders. I don’t allow this unacceptable behavior and on occasion I have immediately addressed it. I also find it unfortunate how you interpret a direct response to a member of your staff who approached me outside of university business as an attack. The irony in this is how members of your team have shared with me their experiences in being on the receiving end of your rude and unprofessional behavior. Do you understand that your people report to you and you report to the Board? The behavior exhibited suggests that you and some handpicked members of your staff do not have an appropriate level of respect for ALL members of the Board. Let me be clear…Board members do not report to you. In my opinion, it's not the Board members' responsibility to get along with the university president. It's the university president's responsibility to get along with Board members. Your assistant contacted me prior to Fall Commencement last month to set up a time to meet with you. I availed myself after the ceremony and the next morning up until noon. This action was met with an email from your assistant indicating how the times would not work. As another matter of protocol, somehow you made it through the entire ceremony without so much as a “hello” to me in my capacity as vice chairman of the Board and my role in bringing greetings on behalf of the Board. After several months of little to no direct conversation from you, I called you on New Year's Day as a good faith effort to hit the "reset" button. During the conversation, I mentioned a suggested protocol of informing your governing body about events on campus featuring multiple elected officials who hold sway over funding for FAMU. An individual who was in my presence for the duration of the call can attest to the fact that I maintained a positive and professional tone on the call.