W. Anthony Neal walked into Florida A&M University in February 2025 with credentials most advancement officers spend careers building. He left six months later on administrative leave, caught in a financial standoff that had nothing to do with his fundraising ability.
Neal submitted his resignation as FAMU Foundation executive director and vice president for university advancement on July 30, 2025. The university placed him on paid leave the next day. His official end date was set for September 30, though the terms allowed FAMU to cut him loose earlier if he found another job.
The reason for his departure remains officially unstated. What’s clear is the timing: Neal’s resignation came one week into Marva Johnson’s presidency, during an unresolved dispute over how to fund her compensation package.
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The Money Problem
Johnson’s contract created a financial burden the Foundation never wanted to shoulder. Her base salary of $650,000, combined with annual raises, retention bonuses, housing, and car allowances, put total compensation near $840,000 in year one. By year five, the package hits $981,000.
Florida law limits state funding for university president salaries to $200,000. Everything beyond that has to come from private sources. That left the Foundation responsible for roughly $450,000 annually.
Foundation board members had approved a budget covering approximately $388,000 for presidential compensation. Johnson’s actual package exceeded that by tens of thousands of dollars. Board member Monica Williams-Harris said publicly the Foundation needed “a different way to do this without allocating over half a million dollars” to presidential salary.
The Foundation postponed budget votes. Board meetings got canceled. Trustees discussed decertifying the Foundation entirely if it didn’t produce the money. Foundation board member Chekesha Kidd called that a “nuclear option” that would harm the university while still leaving Johnson’s salary unfunded.
Neal canceled a June budget meeting, citing “the legislative provision regarding the president-elect’s salary” in a statement to WCTV. The Foundation was waiting to see if the state would provide relief.
Five Months in a Revolving Door
Neal joined FAMU on February 3, 2025, bringing 25 years of higher education fundraising experience. His resume included leadership positions with United Way and United Negro College Fund. At LeMoyne-Owen College from 2018 to 2021, he led efforts that secured a $40 million endowed gift, the largest individual donation in that institution’s history. Across his career, he reportedly raised more than $525 million.
Before FAMU, Neal spent four years at Wiley University in Texas as senior vice president of advancement, where he directed the school’s 150th anniversary celebration. He also taught economics courses as an adjunct professor.
Interim President Timothy Beard hired Neal specifically to rebuild credibility in the advancement office. “With 25 years of proven success in higher education advancement and nonprofit leadership, his expertise will be instrumental in strengthening FAMU’s fundraising efforts,” Beard said in February.
Neal replaced Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who resigned in May 2024 after her role in a donation scandal that embarrassed the university nationally. Friday-Stroud had overseen acceptance of what was announced as a $237 million gift from Gregory Gerami, a Texas hemp farmer, during FAMU’s May 2024 graduation ceremony.
The donation fell apart within days. Gerami had no verifiable wealth to support his claims. The “gift” consisted of stock in his private company with no independent valuation. An investigation by law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney later concluded the donation was fraudulent. Friday-Stroud returned to her position as dean of the School of Business and Industry. FAMU President Larry Robinson resigned in the aftermath.
That same investigation recommended splitting the dual role Neal inherited. Investigators said the vice president for university advancement and Foundation executive director positions should be separate to create proper oversight. FAMU ignored that recommendation when hiring Neal.
A Legislative Fix and New Leadership
The Foundation got temporary relief in late June 2025 when Florida’s legislature included a provision in the state budget allowing FAMU’s Board of Trustees to tap university operating reserves for Johnson’s first-year compensation. The one-year fix took immediate pressure off the Foundation but didn’t solve the long-term funding question.
Johnson moved quickly to build her own administrative team. On August 1, the same day Neal went on leave, she announced Brandi Tatum-Fedrick as acting vice president for university advancement. Tatum-Fedrick had been serving as assistant vice president for annual and affinity giving and already oversaw alumni affairs.
In December 2025, Johnson made the appointment permanent. Tatum-Fedrick told the Board of Trustees that FAMU’s fundraising was running $1.1 million behind the previous year’s totals, driven primarily by declines in corporate and foundation giving that mirrored national trends.
The Foundation’s August budget revision shifted $400,000 previously earmarked for the Marching 100 band to executive compensation and the president’s office, though university officials said the band’s funding would be restored through other sources.
Vice President of Government Relations Jamal Sowell also resigned in late July, initially planning to leave August 8 before postponing his departure to September 1.
Institutional Costs
Three people have held the FAMU vice president for university advancement position in less than two years. Friday-Stroud resigned in disgrace. Neal was forced out during a budget crisis. Tatum-Fedrick now faces a fundraising deficit and donor base still reeling from the donation scandal.
The turnover carries real costs beyond empty offices. Major gift officers build relationships over years. Donors want stability and trust before writing six- or seven-figure checks. FAMU needs both, and neither comes from a revolving door in the advancement suite.
The university has bigger challenges ahead. Johnson’s presidency began under a cloud of opposition from students, faculty, and alumni. Her compensation continues to draw criticism. Fundraising lags national benchmarks. The Foundation struggles to balance donor expectations with administrative demands.
Neal’s resignation was a symptom, not the disease. Until FAMU resolves the underlying tensions between its governing boards, its financial realities, and its leadership decisions, the advancement office will keep losing experienced professionals who know how to ask people for money.
