TALLAHASEE, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Florida A&M University's board of trustees approved Elmira Mangum as the school's first woman president in a vote Thursday, the school announced.
Mangum, currently a vice president for budget and planning at Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., will become the 11th head administrator of Florida's only public, historically black college.
"She gets it," said trustee Torey Alson before the vote to confirm Mangum. "She is competent. She is strong. Change is tough but I absolutely stand with Dr. Magnum."
The roll call vote to approve Mangum was 10-2, with supporters of interim President Larry Robinson voting against her, the Tampa Bay Times said.
The new president's selection is of particular importance for FAMU. The school has been in a state of turmoil since the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion in 2011, an incident that prompted multiple investigations. Enrollment has fallen, several administrators resigned or were forced out and the university faced intense criticism over academic and management problems, the Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday.
The Tallahassee campus has about 12,000 students. The university also has a law school in Orlando.
