Nelms withdraws candidacy

Charlie Nelms, IU's vice-president for student involvement and diversity, was the frontrunner for Florida A&M University's presidency, but withdrew from consideration for the position early Friday. \nNelms, according to The Tallahassee Democrat, was the only candidate who appeared to have met the expectations of the association and the search committee. He withdrew from consideration Friday, prompting the board of trustees to choose Tallahassee native Fred J. Gainous as the university's ninth president.\n"He didn't want to be considered anymore," said Mike Wilkerson, communications coordinator for the office of diversity. "He basically felt that what there is to do at IU is more important than what there is to do down there."\nNelms notified the university's board of trustees Friday morning, shortly before making their final decision; a decision that was over a year in the making.\nNelms was one of the final five candidates for the position, having to participate in a series of interviews with Florida A&M students and faculty, with one final interview in front of the board of trustees Friday.\n"He was always a leading candidate," Wilkerson said. Wilkerson said although each final candidate had a doctoral degree, Nelms had been a chancellor at two different universities and was the only candidate with Chief Executive Officer experience.\n"I think it was clear, that if he would've stayed in it, there would have been discussions that would've involved him," Wilkerson said.\nNelms has been key in being an effective advocate for IU's diversity, including IU's 20/20 report, a review of IU's programs and services that are designed to recruit and retain IU's underrepresented student groups.\n"His values and ideas about what need to be done are so clear and he states them so well," Wilkerson said. "You always know where he is, and it's always a compelling vision."\nJames Tinney, vice president for public affairs, agrees with Wilkerson.\n"We think he's doing a great job for us," Tinney said. "We would not want to see him go."\nIU President Myles Brand is extremely pleased that Nelms will be staying at IU.\n"He has done an outstanding job for the university, and there is still more that he can accomplish here," Brand said. "I greatly value Charlie's contributions to IU; his combination of experience, energy and insight would be difficult to replace."\nNelms was unavailable for comment at press time.