According to this story in this morning St. Petersburg Times:
Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday criticized the way Florida State University has handled a controversial proposal to create the nation's first public chiropractic school, and called for deep spending cuts in the program.
Bush urged his appointees on the 16-member Board of Governors, which oversees Florida universities and must approve the chiropractic school, to "vote their consciences" in a critical meeting next week.
"They shouldn't be swayed by political pressure," Bush said. "This has gotten way out of hand. They ought to vote what they believe to be the right way to go for the state university system."
Bush's comments appeared to provide maneuvering room for members of the Board of Governors, most of whom are appointed by Bush, to vote against the school Jan. 27.
The governor also said he was disappointed in the way FSU has handled the project.
"I had hoped that FSU would have gone through the normal process for a graduate program of this magnitude," Bush said.
He said the proposal should have been thoroughly vetted by the FSU administration and voted on by the university's trustees. But that didn't happen.
Instead, the faculty was cut out of the process and the trustees punted the issue to the Board of Governors, voting last week to ask the board if the university can continue studying the proposal.
If the Board of Governors approves the school, Bush recommended spending $1.9-million on it next year, far less than the $9-million the Legislature passed last year. Bush said budget aides reached the lower figure after talking with FSU administrators.
The Board of Governors should do what is right and kill this program. Not one faculty member on FSU's campus has indicated that they affirmatively want it.
Another story on the topic appears in the Palm Beach Post.
In the aftermath of the chiropractic program, perhaps Governor Bush will consider appointing an academic or two to the FSU Board of Trustees when the opportunity arises. FSU graduates are in leadership positions at academic institutions around the U.S., including the current Chancellor of Washington University-St. Louis. Other graduates are leading scholars in their fields across the world. To bring credibility and vision to FSU's Trustees, it will be important to bring in trustees who are not lobbyists and politicians, and who understand a little something about what research universities do and how they operate. We can not continue to squander signficant opportunities to advance the university as state and local politics steer FSU adrift from its core mission of academic excellence.
If these illegals are marching why are they allowed to drive with drivers license and no car insurance? Most came by car.
Posted by: dixie kelly | May 01, 2006 at 12:08 PM
Posted by: Lvinseges | November 18, 2007 at 04:09 AM