USF Under Attack from Politician

[jvwvu]

From my understanding all schools are getting funding cut but USF's 58% is ridiculous. What is appropriate in your minds.

~30% for USF?

Across the board ~25% initially?

[SilverBull]

Senator Joyner is a Rattler. She got her bachelor's and law degree from FAMU. What is kinda interesting with her is that she graduated in 1968 with FAMU's last class from the original FAMU law school. The Florida legislature shut down in the 1960s FAMU's law school and took its appropriated money to open a new law school at FSU. Gee, that sounds sorta familiar! FAMU got a new journalism school or something in return for the law school it lost. Joyner is okay in my book!

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s18

Yeah, this stuff happens via politics and it cuts both way. FSU programs were also transferred to FAMU. Now FAMU has a college of law again but it is in Orlando.

[charsibb]

GREAT Op-Ed piece in today's Tribune by Pam Iorio! (Carriage returns added)

http://www2.tbo.com/...-iss-ar-359645/

Alexander's abuse indicative of bigger issue

By TBO.COM | Staff

Published: February 17, 2012

Abraham Lincoln once observed, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

I suspect I know how our 16th president would have reacted to the actions of state Sen. JD Alexander and his obsessive desire to create a 12th university in Lakeland and punish the University of South Florida for its sensible, professional leadership, which flies in the face of his political demands.

When the state Board of Governors did not immediately acquiesce to his pressure to create the state's 12th independent university, Alexander sought legislative approval to do it anyway. He then sought to punish USF by cutting its budget by 58 percent, a figure dramatically greater than proposed cuts to any other university.

Every student at USF should thank Alexander for providing a valuable life lesson on how not to lead. We often learn much more in life from negative experiences than positive ones. What they have before them is a tremendous example of ham-fisted power and arrogance that best illustrates what has gone wrong with our political system.

Real leadership is collaborative, respectful and positive. People aren't punished for disagreeing; listening and compromise are strengths. True leaders know how to use power carefully, and the more power they have, the more careful they are in its use.

If Alexander were an anomaly, we might overlook his excess and pettiness. But incredibly, his plan to slash the budget of USF enjoys support in the Senate. The "go along to get along" mentality is epidemic in our Legislature and speaks to the dearth of leadership. Leaders don't allow themselves to get cowed, and they stand up to the bully in the room, regardless of title.

There are other public policy implications in this debate. It stands to reason that USF should not bear any special budget burden. If there are to be cuts to the university system, they need to be fair and equitable. Surely wiser heads will prevail on this matter. If voices are heard and the cuts to USF are changed to be on par with those of other universities, let's not declare victory. Part of the game is to get people riled up over an issue that is so far out of the mainstream that most people fail to focus on broader policy implications. Other issues of public policy should be argued with equal vehemence as the proposed USF cuts.

Why do we continue to make severe reductions to our state university system when we should be investing in higher education? At the same time these decreases are being proposed, the Legislature passed exemptions to the corporate tax rate in the state, further diminishing state revenues by $108 million. As mayor, never once did I hear a corporate executive complain that the state's corporate tax rate was too high and a barrier to growth. But on hundreds of occasions I heard the complaint that companies had trouble recruiting and retaining a highly educated workforce. Corporate executives greatly value an educated and well-trained workforce. They want a robust university system.

Why, but to appease the interests of one politician, is the state agreeing to make USF Polytechnic a separate university while at the same time reducing the budgets of the university system as a whole? If we can't afford to properly fund our 11 universities, why would we add a 12th?

Why do Floridians put up with such a sorry state of affairs? Don't we deserve better? A state senator shouldn't punish a university and all of the students it serves because he didn't get his way on an issue. How are we going to grow our economy and develop our workforce if we keep reducing our commitment to higher education?

It's time for the vast middle ground — all of those who believe in sensible, honest, straightforward government — to get active. Time for voices of reason and moderation to be heard. Time to say enough of extreme ideology and abuse of power.

Those who misuse power inevitably overreach. This is such a case. The larger issue at stake is the low quality of leadership that leaves the vast majority of Floridians unrepresented. It is time for the flaming moderates to speak out. I urge everyone who cares about the University of South Florida, our higher education system and good government to make your voice heard.

Our state will only get better when the quality of our leadership gets better.

Pam Iorio, who served eight years as mayor of Tampa, is a leadership speaker and adviser.

Exactly what I've been thinking...

[Cow Pie]

USF needs to add a law school... or at best some Alumni need to get off their duffs and start running for local office.Get elected as the dog catcher and work your way up from there... its not too hard to do, look at all of the idiots that are in office right now.

Once I complete my Masters I'm going to run for local office until I can get in someway.

Also is it true that Senator Joyner is a USF Alum?

I asked Dr. Genshaft about that when I was back in school just under a decade ago. She felt that there was no need for another law school in the state. Stetson is local and there are several other options. There were other programs that she felt were underrepresented, but that law was an overrepresented field. I agree with that assessment. At the time, she said she'd rather focus the time and energy on expanding our medical programs and prestige. I think that's worked out.

Can't really disagree with that and I doubt that a law school at USF would ever get much traction given the politics of it. However, there is no doubt that having a law school has translated to greater legislative support for UF and FSU. FSU is really clearest example, given the relative political progress it made since its law school was founded in 1966. Arguably, football and the law school were the two key ingredients to building what FSU is today.

As for chiding folks for not running for public office, it is a shame but I really can't blame anyone for steering clear of that cesspool.

Judy is right that medical should be our short-term focus, but long term wise we need a law school if we are gonna remain viable in this state. Florida is a deep-south state and as such it has the "good-ole-boy" system of politics that both sides of the political spectrum rule with an iron fist. For example look at how many NPA's or 3rd Party members of the Florida Government are in power... pretty sure its zero. This is not by accident, its by design.

Thus if USF is gonna have a seat at the barganing table then it will need to have itself represented in Florida's Government by USF grads.

About Stetson... we need to watch out for them... only thing keeping them from really exploding on the scene as a mid-major University has been a football program, which they now have, or will have again come 2013. We should be focusing our efforts on running them out of business vs. giving them a niche market to grow within.

Trust me, the future of USF does not look good if our fate is going to be decided by a bunch of UF, FSU, Miami, FAMU and now Stetson grads.

Once this Poly crap is done and over with the University needs to scrap any and all plans for any future "California" style branch campuses and instead needs to focus its $$ and time behind expanding the campus westward to accomodate new buildings/programs, more housing, more concesion/auxilary style business ventures (i.e. retail place for bars and other commerical enterprises), and whatever else.

USF has run out of space on campus and given the depressed state of the economy, the time to expand is now.

[Southshore26]

No matter how many times you say it and how many ways you say it, the campus is not going to expand west past Bruce B Downs blvd.

[tomgreen558]

No matter how many times you say it and how many ways you say it, the campus is not going to expand west past Bruce B Downs blvd.

But the footprint is growing to the south with the new Moffit Facility. - #neversaynever

[BullFan98]

USF needs to add a law school... or at best some Alumni need to get off their duffs and start running for local office.Get elected as the dog catcher and work your way up from there... its not too hard to do, look at all of the idiots that are in office right now.

Once I complete my Masters I'm going to run for local office until I can get in someway.

Also is it true that Senator Joyner is a USF Alum?

I asked Dr. Genshaft about that when I was back in school just under a decade ago. She felt that there was no need for another law school in the state. Stetson is local and there are several other options. There were other programs that she felt were underrepresented, but that law was an overrepresented field. I agree with that assessment. At the time, she said she'd rather focus the time and energy on expanding our medical programs and prestige. I think that's worked out.

As an attorney in the State of Florida, I agree completely. Our medical school has grown by leaps and bounds since I graduated from USF in '98.

[gibbsak]

we need a law school. maybe we can get smazza to lecture.

[CPR]

USF needs to add a law school... or at best some Alumni need to get off their duffs and start running for local office.Get elected as the dog catcher and work your way up from there... its not too hard to do, look at all of the idiots that are in office right now.

Once I complete my Masters I'm going to run for local office until I can get in someway.

Also is it true that Senator Joyner is a USF Alum?

I asked Dr. Genshaft about that when I was back in school just under a decade ago. She felt that there was no need for another law school in the state. Stetson is local and there are several other options. There were other programs that she felt were underrepresented, but that law was an overrepresented field. I agree with that assessment. At the time, she said she'd rather focus the time and energy on expanding our medical programs and prestige. I think that's worked out.

Can't really disagree with that and I doubt that a law school at USF would ever get much traction given the politics of it. However, there is no doubt that having a law school has translated to greater legislative support for UF and FSU. FSU is really clearest example, given the relative political progress it made since its law school was founded in 1966. Arguably, football and the law school were the two key ingredients to building what FSU is today.

As for chiding folks for not running for public office, it is a shame but I really can't blame anyone for steering clear of that cesspool.

Judy is right that medical should be our short-term focus, but long term wise we need a law school if we are gonna remain viable in this state. Florida is a deep-south state and as such it has the "good-ole-boy" system of politics that both sides of the political spectrum rule with an iron fist. For example look at how many NPA's or 3rd Party members of the Florida Government are in power... pretty sure its zero. This is not by accident, its by design.

Thus if USF is gonna have a seat at the barganing table then it will need to have itself represented in Florida's Government by USF grads.

About Stetson... we need to watch out for them... only thing keeping them from really exploding on the scene as a mid-major University has been a football program, which they now have, or will have again come 2013. We should be focusing our efforts on running them out of business vs. giving them a niche market to grow within.

Trust me, the future of USF does not look good if our fate is going to be decided by a bunch of UF, FSU, Miami, FAMU and now Stetson grads.

Once this Poly crap is done and over with the University needs to scrap any and all plans for any future "California" style branch campuses and instead needs to focus its $$ and time behind expanding the campus westward to accomodate new buildings/programs, more housing, more concesion/auxilary style business ventures (i.e. retail place for bars and other commerical enterprises), and whatever else.

USF has run out of space on campus and given the depressed state of the economy, the time to expand is now.

I agree, but it won't happen. I remember taking 2 classes at one point that were located in the movie theater of the University Mall. What a waste of space that place is.

[TheBullies]

http://htpolitics.com/2012/02/16/alexander-flexes-political-muscle-in-usf-showdown/

In an opinion piece for the Tampa Bay Times, former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio on Thursday criticized Alexander for his “obsessive desire†to create the new university and accused him of punishing USF through excessive budget cuts because school leaders have not acceded to “his political demands.â€

She called it “a tremendous example of ham-fisted power and arrogance that best illustrates what has gone wrong with our political system.â€