Chancellor James H. Ammons in a 2003 photo (Photo:Echo File Photo)

Come March there is a possibility that Chancellor James H. Ammons will no longer be sitting in his Hoey Administration building office chair but in an office chair at Florida A&M University in Tallahasee, FL.

Ammons, who hails from Winter Haven, FL is on the short list with two other candidates to lead the Florida HBCU.

“This is a tough decision for me,” said Ammons in a conversation with the Campus Echo in Dec. 2006.

He said he was honored that his colleagues have considered him to lead his alma mater.

Ammons, who graduated from FAMU in 1974, was also provost there before coming to NCCU in 2001. According to the News & Observer, a search firm contacted Ammons about the job weeks before a finalist list was released in November.

Ammons quickly told Erskine Bowles, the UNC system president, about the opportunity.

Joni Worthington, a system spokeswoman, told the News & Observer that "The president made clear to Chancellor Ammons that we would very much like him to stay at North Carolina Central but understands that this is a personal decision."

As chancellor, Ammons has increased enrollment numbers, SAT averages and recruiting national acheiving students.

However, in 2003 Ammons faced problems with toxic mold in campus residence halls, which ended up displacing nearly 900 students in area hotels and apartments.

Florida A&M officials will not decide on who will become their next president until March.

Joining Ammons on the short list are Howard Johnson, provost at University of North Texas and Thelma Thompson, president of University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Officials representing Ammons were contacted for additional comment but did not return phone calls.