Former Florida A&M University vice president and athletics director Angela Suggs will serve as special assistant to FAMU president Marva Johnson and as advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics, Johnson confirmed Friday.
“I am extremely excited that she’s willing to support me as special advisor to the president,” Johnson told the Tallahassee Democrat. The transition comes after Suggs was arrested in June on fraud and theft charges from her previous role as president and CEO of the Florida Sports Foundation.
“As you know, the culture at FAMU is different than any other university — not just any HBCU,” Johnson told the Democrat. “It is one that is deeply grounded in pride and deeply grounded in tradition, and when they say Rattlers brag different, it is absolutely true.
“To have someone who's just an extremely competent culture bearer and an extremely competent leader and manager at my side as a personal advisor to the president is going to help me run faster and get a lot of special projects completed in a way that will accelerate them,” she added, “given her understanding of the institution and her grounding in the leadership team already.”
As reported by the Tarah Jean of the Democrat, it's been over a month since Suggs' criminal case was resolved by her acceptance of a deal in which prosecutors will drop the charges in two years if Suggs meets a list of conditions, including completing a course for gambling addiction. Following her arrest, she continued to receive a paycheck while on administrative leave for the last four months with an annual salary of $250,000, Jean reported.
The Democrat has sought information from FAMU regarding the new compensation package for Suggs, but those requests had gone unanswered as of Friday evening.
John Davis was officially announced FAMU's new vice president and athletics director Friday, as well. Davis, who has served as secretary of the Florida Lottery since October 2020, will join FAMU on Jan. 5.
As special advisor to the president, Suggs will directly report to Johnson, who says her duties will go beyond athletics since “she will also support special projects for the president's office as they may be defined.”
According to a university release, Suggs will serve as a strategic advisor and primary liaison for Johnson regarding all aspects of the university’s NCAA Division I athletics program within the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
