One of the largest donations to a historically Black college or university is now on hold after coming under scrutiny from some alumni and HBCU advocates because of the donor’s guarded background.
Investor Gregory Gerami is behind the historic nine-figure donation to Florida A&M University. His $237.75 million gift reportedly is one of the largest awards ever bestowed to an HBCU by a single donor, according to a FAMU release from May 4.
Yet, the gift has fostered apprehension among some alumni and university trustees unfamiliar with Gerami’s name and enterprise. That, coupled with his connection to a failed million-dollar donation to a different college, has aroused more suspicions, so much so a University official held a press conference on Sunday to address the skepticism.
In response to the growing uproar, a meeting was held on Thursday during a FAMU Foundation Board Meeting, according to WCTV. The meeting was broadcast via Zoom. FAMU’s President Larry Robinson confirmed that officials will “put a pause” on the donation “pending additional information that’s come to my attention.”
Adding, “It’s in our best interest to put that on hold.”
Gerami, 30, heads the Batterson Farms Corp, a hydroponic farming and hemp plastic company that produces bioplastics and fresh, organic products. He founded the company in 2021.
While he hasn’t shared his net worth, he has stated that much of his wealth is inherited from his adopted family. Before the deal with CCU failed, school administrators reported that his net worth was about $600 million in 2020, with cash assets totaling nearly $260 million, according to The Sun News.
Unlike many millionaire entrepreneurs, Gerami doesn’t carry a huge online presence, so his business dealings are shrouded in mystery. But he said the skepticism and scrutiny he’s faced since news of his donation to FAMU went public accounts for why he doesn’t share much on the internet.
“This is a main example why I don’t have an internet presence, nor do I care to have one,” Gerami told the Tallahassee Democrat. “People take things out of context. They run, and they damage and hurt people with information that’s incorrect and just not appropriate.”
The need to protect his family also fuels his decision to stay behind the scenes. “I have a family, I have younger kids and I come from a large family,” Gerami told the local outlet. “I was born one of eight kids and I have nine siblings even in my adopted family. Being a parent and being a family person, I have to protect my family, and their safety is the most important thing.”
The FAMU gift was put up by the Isaac Batterson Family 7th Trust, which donated 14 million shares of stock worth at least $239 million and will contribute an additional $61 million over 10 years, according to an established schedule.
Those stocks were sent a month ago, according to a statement FAMU issued on Sunday.
“Mr. Gerami’s $237,750,000 stock transfer was received in the same manner in which we have accepted all other stocks donated to the University through the FAMU Foundation Inc.,” FAMU wrote. “As with any non-cash gift received, such as cryptocurrency, real estate and stocks, it will be converted to cash and recorded appropriately.”
While the nation’s Ivy League colleges like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton receive sizable donations reaching billions each year, gifts to historically Black colleges and universities pale in comparison.
In 2019, foundations donated $5.5 billion to Ivy League schools, whereas 99 HBCUs were collectively gifted around $45 million. Typically, schools like Spelman, Morehouse, Hampton, and Howard acquire the better part of donations made to HBCUs each year.
According to a report by ABC 27, the donation is earmarked to provide scholarships and programmatic enhancements for the school’s Center for Disability Access and Resources, the FAMU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences and the School of Nursing.
It also includes a general fund to support student success initiatives and special needs of the university at the president’s discretion, according to the local outlet.
As for why Gerami chose FAMU, he stated that the school’s direction and research capacity in hemp production aligns with his company’s goals.
While university statements suggest the deal’s validity, questions remain about its transparency, amplified by the outcome of his last pledge to another university.
According to The Sun News, in 2020, Gerami was the anonymous donor behind a $95 million gift to Coastal Carolina University that fell apart within four months of its announcement. Like FAMU, Gerami has no connection to CCU, but he was reportedly dating someone with the university at the time of the donation.
The CCU award was announced in July 2020. In the months after, Gerami and the school couldn’t come to terms with each other after university officials expressed some uncertainty about whether Gerami had the means to fund the donation.
Gerami also claimed a CCU official made racist and disrespectful statements toward him before his relationship with the school fizzled out completely. During the negotiations with CCU, Gerami also looked into donating to other HBCUs, including FAMU.
FAMU’s board vice chairman and alum, Deveron Gibbons, told the Tallahassee Democrat that he wasn’t aware of the donation to the Florida HBCU until the school publicly announced it at its commencement ceremony, which Gerami spoke at.
“As Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, I have a responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the university I cherish, but I have deep concerns that this process is moving too quickly to embrace a gift without proper scrutiny,” Gibbons said in a statement to the Democrat.
Gibbons called for an emergency board meeting that will be held on May 15.
“We are fully aware of the skepticism that sometimes comes with such a large gift,” FAMU said in its Sunday statement. “As expected, some individuals in the public are and will continue researching Mr. Gerami. Please know that FAMU has done its due diligence when it comes to this matter. Additionally, Mr. Gerami has and continues to do his own due diligence on things that have been and are happening at FAMU.”
Another HBCU alum wrote a viral piece with a provocative headline questioning the validity of the donation. Jerell Blakeley, an alum of Howard University published a column in Education News Flash’s HBCU Digest on May 6 titled “For the Love of Money, has FAMU been fooled?”
Blakeley couldn’t come to terms with Gerami’s low profile that seems to run counter to more well known donors.
“This isn’t like Mackenzie Scott and the millions she’s given to a number of HBCUs. People know who she is, where her wealth comes from and how HBCUs came to be a point of focus for her giving. Robert Smith is the wealthiest Black man in America and with a single gift, Gerami as a virtual unknown with a company he founded three years ago outpaces Smith’s giving?”
Blakeley called for the entire university leadership to resign “if this turns out to be a scam.”
Gerami however remains confused about the entire ordeal.
“The stocks have been held by the university for over a month now, so I don’t know where the confusion or the skepticism would be since it’s already in a financial account with the university,” Gerami told the Tallahassee Democrat.
Some members of the board spoke direct and candidly with President Robinson president and questioned his involvement in the process.
In a 5-minute clip posted on X by Phil Lewis, one board member declared they received no prior notice of the donation that was publicly announced until Sunday afternoon. She expressed two concerns of the “overall process and financial controls” that allows “staff to do 9-figure level transactions on behalf of the foundation board without the foundation board knowing about it.”
While Gerami noted that the school already has the stocks in their account, the board member noted that the agreement “is not even fully executed.” Adding that “the donor line is empty, it’s not signed.”
A lot happened during this meeting but I thought this exchange was the most striking: pic.twitter.com/oBn5NMI22J
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 9, 2024
