The Hollywood producer renewed his criticism of Marva B. Johnson’s selection as president and called for a source of support that can endure changes in Florida’s political leadership.

By M•I•A MEDIA GROUP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Will Packer returned to Florida A&M University for homecoming with a warning about the influence of state politics on his alma mater and a plan to raise money for it. Speaking Oct. 23 at the campus amphitheater that bears his name, the Hollywood producer and FAMU graduate pointed to the selection of President Marva B. Johnson as a reason for concern. He told the crowd the university was “under attack right now because of the forces in politics.”

Packer’s remarks revived a dispute that divided the university’s Board of Trustees in May 2025. Eight trustees voted to select Johnson, then a Charter Communications executive and former chair of the Florida State Board of Education. Four voted for Donald Palm. Critics, including Packer, questioned Johnson’s ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis and whether her experience prepared her to lead Florida’s only public historically Black university. Trustees who backed Johnson cited her experience with accountability systems and the need for leadership on finances and fundraising.

Packer had made his objections public before the vote, joining students and alumni at a campus rally and urging trustees to consider the depth of the opposition. In an interview with Roland Martin during homecoming this year, he argued that people had been put in positions of authority who, in his view, did not have the university’s best interests at heart. His criticism raised a question for FAMU’s governing board that extends beyond any one president: How much weight should trustees give to students, faculty and alumni when choosing who leads the university?

Florida’s system gives state appointees a majority on FAMU’s 13-member board. The governor appoints six trustees and the state Board of Governors appoints five, all subject to Florida Senate confirmation. The faculty senate chair and student body president hold the other two seats. The statewide Board of Governors unanimously confirmed Johnson in June 2025, and she took office Aug. 1 of that year. At her April 2026 investiture, Johnson emphasized partnerships, research and student success, and Board of Trustees Chairman Deveron Gibbons expressed confidence in her leadership.

The leadership dispute sits alongside a fight over how Florida funds FAMU. In 2023, federal education and agriculture officials estimated that FAMU would have received nearly $2 billion more over three decades had it been funded at the same per-student level as the University of Florida, the state’s other land-grant university. The federal officials said the additional money could have supported facilities and student services and strengthened FAMU’s ability to compete for research grants. The state university system disputed the federal assessment. At the homecoming rally, Packer argued that years of Republican control had contributed to FAMU’s underfunding.

Packer used homecoming to announce his backing for the Rattler Freedom Fund, an independent fundraising effort intended to provide scholarships and grants for members of the FAMU community. The official launch is scheduled for Nov. 20, according to Power Broker Magazine. Packer told Martin that FAMU and other public historically Black colleges and universities need their own sources of support, regardless of who occupies the governor’s office. He has also said he hopes the fundraising model can eventually extend to other HBCUs.

For FAMU students, the fund offers a potential source of scholarship aid. For alumni, it offers a way to direct private support toward the campus while continuing to press state officials on funding and trustees on how they make decisions. Those debates will continue after the fund launches, with Johnson and the board responsible for showing how their decisions benefit the people who study and work at FAMU.

Reporting note: FAMU’s minutes confirm that eight trustees voted for Johnson. The available sources verify Packer’s broader criticism of university leadership, but I could not verify that he singled out all eight trustees in his homecoming remarks.