Percy Luney, the Florida A&M University law school dean suspended for certifying pay for a million-dollar donor who did not work, recommended hiring that donor in 2003.
Correspondence obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat on Thursday reveals Luney's bid to Provost Larry Robinson in August 2003. He suggests Cunningham receive the instructor rank of associate, visiting status and be paid $100,000 for 12 months work.
"He would be a magnet for fund raising and recruitment of students and would certainly enhance the status of the College of Law," Luney writes.
Luney has said he was just carrying out the wishes of previous presidents who had created or continued a paid arrangement for Shirley Cunningham Jr. The Kentucky lawyer gave FAMU's law school $1 million and secured an endowed position for himself in the process. But a university payroll audit determined Luney was certifying pay for Cunningham even though he didn't teach and was noticeably absent from the college.
Cunningham's duties included advising the dean and fund raising from the legal community outside the state of Florida, Luney said. Tony Suarez, Luney's lawyer, said Thursday that his client was just carrying out the wishes of his supervisors.
"He was just smack in the middle of it," Suarez said. "He was told to hire the guy, and he did what it took to get it done."
That included the routine letter sent to the provost beginning Cunningham's employment with the university in 2003.
Robinson said Thursday he processed the paperwork. He also said he did not realize then the recommended visiting instructor was a million-dollar donor to the university. At the time, he thought the new hire was female.
Robinson sent Cunningham a letter of termination dated May 13. The letter says his dismissal was a result of findings related to the university's ongoing payroll audit. Luney says he stopped certifying Cunningham's pay in early April "as soon as (interim president Castell Bryant) expressed her disapproval of this arrangement." He was placed on administrative leave June 7.
Luney has said he wanted Cunningham's gift to be used for student scholarships, not an endowed chair. Luney said his suggestions were overruled by former President Frederick Humphries, who stepped down as FAMU's president in 2001 after more than 16 years in the post. Humphries has not returned several phone calls from the Democrat to his office at the Orlando law school in the last few weeks.
Luney also says Humphries' successor, President Fred Gainous, told him to work out an arrangement that was satisfactory to Cunningham and the university. Gainous departed late last year after being terminated by the board of trustees.
"Whatever arrangements that were made were made prior to my arrival at Florida A&M University," Gainous said last week.
Cunningham has denied any impression that he had bought himself a professorship.
Suarez said Luney has consulted with an employment lawyer. In addition to protesting the way university officials removed Luney, his attorneys are considering defamation actions, he said.
What Luney or the university will do next on the matter is unclear.
"At this point, he doesn't want to work for them," Suarez said of Luney.
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Thursday, June 30th 2005 at 10:55AM
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