Florida A&M, a dubious donor and $237M: The transformative HBCU gift that wasn’t what it seemed
It would have been the largest-ever private gift to a historically Black college or university: $237 million — far beyond Florida A&M University's endowment
NEW YORK — It would have been the largest-ever private gift to a historically Black college or university: $237 million — far beyond the recipient’s endowment. The money was promised by a 30-year-old who had recounted his rise from a childhood in foster care to becoming, as he put it, Texas’ “youngest African American industrial hemp producer.”
And so, the first weekend of May, Florida A&M University celebrated Gregory Gerami’s extraordinary contribution with all the necessary pomp. He spoke at commencement. Regalia-clad administrators posed with a jumbo check. Gerami even assured the audience that “the money is in the bank.”
It wasn't, and it may never be.
Following public backlash over its apparent failure to properly vet Gerami and the donation, FAMU said the gift is now on pause — dashing expectations of increased financial stability for the 137-year-old institution and its 9,000 students. Gerami maintains everything will ultimately work out, but other small universities he approached with proposals for major donations never got any money.
Gerami contacted Florida A&M’s development office about a donation last fall, according to Shawnta Friday-Stroud, then-vice president for university advancement. University officials, including President Larry Robinson and Athletic Director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, began meeting with him virtually shortly thereafter.
In January, Atlanta's Spelman College publicized a $100 million gift — then considered the single largest donation to any HBCU. FAMU officials say Gerami wanted to surpass that figure. They ultimately agreed it would
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