Gregory Gerami’s gift to Florida A&M University is being called into question by online publications, and neither party is too pleased about it.
Germani’s $237 million donation to Florida A&M has been under intense scrutiny since it was announced. The Education News Flash published a story claiming FAMU had been fooled by Gerami.
“This is a main example why I don’t have an internet presence, nor do I care to have one,” Gerami said of the online skepticism. “People take things out of context. They run and they damage and hurt people with information that’s incorrect and just not appropriate.”
Florida A&M University officials released a statement, but let Gerami do most of the talking due to a non-disclosure agreement.
“When we look at our legacy and our business – and as I exit out of my business, which should happen in the next couple of years – FAMU is the designated spot as I expand on charitable giving in research,” Gerami said. “I’ve gotten to know the folks at FAMU really well and I consider them like family.
The scrutiny isn’t just coming from outsiders – it’s also coming from “family.”
“A donation of this nature requires the highest degree of transparency and inquiry, and to this point that has not occurred,” Florida A&M University Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deveron Gibbons said in a Tuesday statement.
“As Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, I have a responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the university I cherish, but I have deep concerns that this process is moving too quickly to embrace a gift without proper scrutiny.”