Wowzers! Big donation more than doubles FAMU endowment

[billanole]

and is likely the largest ever to an HBCU. $237 million
He is not Florida man, but steps up big with hemp money. Florida Ag & Mechanical, with Ag given as part of the reasoning…

What will the money be used for?​

About $100 million will go toward FAMU Athletics and will be used for initiatives including student-athlete endowment funds and a $24 million Galimore-Powell Athletic Fieldhouse project, which will expand the space to have club-level suites for corporate partnership meetings.


“This is really a monument when you think about the impact it will have on FAMU Athletics,” FAMU Vice President and Athletic Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes said Saturday.

The $237 million donation will also help FAMU in providing student scholarships while also recruiting top students and faculty.

In addition to the university’s leadership team, FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Kristin Harper was also present at the news conference, where she held back tears as she pondered on the difference the financial gift will make in the lives of thousands of students.

“This is transformative, and it’s almost unbelievable. I have to pinch myself just hearing about this and thinking about how it will help the students FAMU serves,” Harper said.

Graduation surprise: FAMU gets record $237M gift from Batterson Farms CEO Gregory Gerami

The donation is nearly double the size of the existing FAMU endowment and represents one of the largest single personal donations to a HBCU in history.

www.tallahassee.com

 

[billanole]

I thought this might have been of interest to Tally centric folks. Maybe that is not so.
Cool to see the Galimore name on one of the campus buildings. Willie Galimore was one of Jake Gaither’s “boys” who helped win Natties at FAMU and then went on to NFL success. Sadly, he died early in a car accident.
His son Ron was a year or so ahead of me at Nims Middle School as we were going thru integration. Dude came into our PE class to help coach us up. He went on to head up the US Gymnastic Olympic Comittee.
RIP in peace, Mr Galimore and thanks to Mr Geramani for this bequest.

 

[goldmom]

I thought this might have been of interest to Tally centric folks. Maybe that is not so.
Cool to see the Galimore name on one of the campus buildings. Willie Galimore was one of Jake Gaither’s “boys” who helped win Natties at FAMU and then went on to NFL success. Sadly, he died early in a car accident.
His son Ron was a year or so ahead of me at Nims Middle School as we were going thru integration. Dude came into our PE class to help coach us up. He went on to head up the US Gymnastic Olympic Comittee.
RIP in peace, Mr Galimore and thanks to Mr Geramani for this bequest.

The Galimore family members have also been achievers in gymnastics IIRC.
Well respected for decades in Tallahassee.
There’s a new group who’ve been setting a new direction for FAMU and it’s good to see things looking up. Congrats to them.

 

[GeddyLee09]

Florida HBCU launches investigation after record $238 million ‘gift’ from 30-year-old hemp mogul is deemed likely worthless: ‘I wanted it to be real’

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University celebrated the largest-ever gift to an HBCU from a certain Gregory Gerami. Then the plot thickened.

fortune.com

From jubilation to crisis: Florida A&M pauses $237 million gift

Florida A&M admits it doesn't know the value of 14 million shares of stock from a little-known entrepreneur. One expert puts the likelihood the donation is worth $237 million at "about zero."

www.insidehighered.com