TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- During a morning teeming with pomp and ceremony and faith, Elmira Mangum was installed Friday as Florida A&M University's 11th president.
Mangum, the first female leader in FAMU's 127-year history, deliberately chose Founder's Day – the celebration of the university's creation in 1887 – for her inauguration and swearing-in ceremony with Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince.
The former vice president for budget and finance at Cornell University emphasized time and again during her address that it is a new season at FAMU. She also surprised the audience with an announcement of a new $5 million gift from FAMU graduate John Thompson, chairman of the board at Microsoft.
"Yes, after nearly 127 years we have the first permanent female leader, but that's not the new season. It's a new season for it's a time of change and transition," Mangum said. "It's the beginning of a recovery and a renewal and of all that is great about FAMU."
Mangum, with her three adult children on stage with her, credited her faith as a guiding force in her life.
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