FAMU band director Julian White retires unexpectedly

Dr. JULIAN E. WHITE

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M University band director Julian White, who has been under intense criticism since the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion in Orlando last fall, retired unexpectedly Thursday amid more troubling revelations about the embattled Marching 100 band.

White's attorney, Chuck Hobbs, announced the decision late Thursday afternoon. White, 71, chairman of the university's music department and director of bands since 1998, had been fighting for months to keep his job.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott and the chancellor of the State University System said Thursday that FAMU's famous band, which is under indefinite suspension, is not ready to take the field again.  White's retirement comes days after FAMU revealed that at least two band members charged in Champion's death — and possibly a third — should not have been in the band, and that nearly 100 others may not have been eligible to join the band.

Percussionists Caleb Jackson and Brian Jones, both charged with felony hazing in Champion's beating Nov. 19, were allowed to travel with the band and be on a parked charter bus where the attack took place.

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