What Makes FAMU Special and Why You Should Care

I’ve been a guest lecturer at more than 30 universities across the country, including Florida State, University of Florida, Wharton, Ole Miss, UNC, and others. It’s a privilege to be able to speak to students about career opportunities in real estate.

While I enjoy every minute of the time I spend as a guest lecturer, the best experience I’ve had has been at Florida A&M School of Business and Industry in Tallahassee. That’s why it was an honor to have Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D., FAMU’s Vice President of University Advancement, Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation, Inc., and Dean of FAMU’s School of Business and Industry as my guest on The Crossman Conversation .

Dr. Friday-Stroud shared some of the reasons FAMU and its students are so special and why it’s so important to support them.

U.S. News and World Report ranks FAMU as #7 of the Top 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, public or private. FAMU is the nation’s highest-ranked public HBCU. While FAMU may be historically Black, it’s not exclusively Black. Students of all races are welcome. More important is that FAMU celebrates true diversity—that is, of thought, opinions, and life goals.

“FAMU is committed to ensuring that students that come to us have the best opportunity to succeed and excel in whatever professional endeavor they choose,” Dr. Friday-Stroud said. “Over 60 percent of our students come from Pell eligible families, which means their household incomes are less than $50,000.”

Dr. Friday-Stroud and I talked at length about the difference FAMU supporters make in the lives of the students and the impact they will ultimately have on the world. Equipped with a FAMU education, those students are often able to earn more when they graduate than their total household income was when they enrolled. “Scholarship dollars go a long way toward helping our students be successful and cut down on the debt they have to take out to go to school,” Dr. Friday-Stroud said.

FAMU alumni include John W. Thompson, chairman and former president and CEO of Symantec Corporation and part owner of the Golden State Warriors; former U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings; former U.S. Congressman Alzo J. Reddick; professional golfer and tennis player Althea Gibson; Toni Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose; physicist and founder of African American Women in Physics, Inc., Jami Valentine Miller, and so many more notable leaders in business, law, education, athletics, entertainment, and the arts.

To hear our candid conversation about why supporting FAMU with your donations and with your company’s internship and recruiting programs is so rewarding, go to:

https://www.theshepherdradio.com/podcasts/the-crossman-conversation/episode/s1e13-dr-shawnta-friday-stroud-vp-for-university-advancement-at-famu-talks-about-the-secret-sauce-at-her-school/

For the story of how a FAMU alumnus dealt with the experience of appearing in a viral video, go to:

How One Fan Survived Going Viral with Kendrick Lamar | by John Crossman | Aug, 2022 | Medium

To find out more about why I support HBCUs, go to:

The Story Behind My Obsession with HBCUs | by John Crossman | Aug, 2022 | Medium

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John Crossman is the founder of Crossman Career Builders , the host of The Crossman Conversation , and the author of Career Killers Career Builders . Check out Crossman Career Builders on YouTube . Connect with John on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .