‘Not another dime’: Will Packer vows he’s done donating directly to FAMU, announces alumni-led fund free of ‘Florida politics’

Packer says the appointment of university president Marva B. Johnson was his breaking point as he and other Rattler alumni launch an independent fund to support the HBCU.

For decades, Will Packer has emerged as one of the more vocal advocates and alums of Florida A&M, championing the school and the connective tissue among Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

But Packer is saying enough is enough when it comes to donating to FAMU, at least for the time being.

In a video shared on social media, Packer announced the formation of the Rattler Freedom Fund, an independent alumni fund not beholden to Florida state politics or to what they feel are “partisan” tactics.

“I’m not giving another dime to FAMU,” Packer said. “Not directly to the university. Not until something changes.”

Packer cited the appointment of current school president Marva B. Johnson and noted that eight politically appointed trustees, a group FAMU students and alumni nicknamed “The Hateful Eight,” ignored calls to prevent Johnson from assuming the role and appointed her anyway. The board then approved the largest compensation package in school history for Johnson, with one trustee threatening to “decertify the FAMU Foundation if it didn’t pay for Johnson’s compensation package.”

“That was my breaking point,” Packer said.

Johnson’s contentious appointment led her to receive the nickname “MAGA Marva” by critics, but behind the scenes, she attempted to carve out trust, beginning a listening tour in order to gain support.

“She came in with a lot of rumblings,” Dr. Brandi Tatum-Fedrick, executive director of the FAMU Foundation told The EDU Ledger in July. “Regardless of how people showed up … she has listened. She has been responsive, [and] genuinely here to do what’s right for FAMU.”

Despite FAMU being able to claim two Governor-elects in Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms and Florida’s Byron Donalds, Packer and others aren’t satisfied with how the school has dropped in national rankings and also saw a 35 percent drop in alumni donations back to the school compared to the period when Johnson’s predecessor, Dr. Larry Robinson, served as president of the university.

Packer didn’t single out one person for the issues at FAMU, but demanded accountability and hoped that the Rattler Freedom Fund would be the start and perhaps, something that leads to radical change at several HBCUs across the country.

“We need radical transparency, we need independent financial power, and we need it now,” he said. “If the recent election has taught us anything, it’s that when people come together and put their money, their voices and their action behind something they believe in? Change happens… protecting FAMU isn’t a one-time event; it’s a movement. I’m fighting for FAMU, not against it.”