Dear Legislator:

I am writing on behalf of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates (ACFS), an organization representing all 11,500 faculty of the ten universities of the State University System in Florida. The ACFS, which is composed of the officers of the faculty senates at each of the ten SUS universities, is a completely separate organization from the faculty union and was created to share information and provide faculty counsel on academic and programmatic issues statewide. The members of the ACFS have been following with interest the meetings of the Educational Reorganization Transition Task Force with specific concern for their impact on the universities. Based on our review, we concluded that there are issues of grave concern to the faculty in the entire State University System to which we wish to draw to your attention.

We strongly believe that there are some aspects of universities in all large and successful state university systems which distinguish them from, and which demand a different governance structure from, the K-12 and community college educational delivery systems. We believe these unique aspects of universities deserve special consideration in the current restructuring process in order to preserve educational quality at the highest levels. For example, while schools within the K-12 and community college systems are charged with serving distinct geographical locations, the SUS universities are charged with serving the needs of the citizens of the entire state of Florida, regardless of their location. While students in the K-12 system are required to attend school, higher education is chosen by students who must compete for admission. While the K-12 system is designed by law to be relatively uniform on a statewide basis, the universities are mostly different by design in order to prevent the duplication of costly programs and to distribute programs of excellence across the state. While the K-12 system often supports a variety of community activities through the after-school use of their facilities, the universities are expected to contribute directly to the needs of the state through the public service performed by their faculty, who volunteer their valuable professional expertise toward meeting a wide variety of local and statewide needs. Perhaps most importantly, while the K-12 system is designed to disseminate the knowledge we currently have, universities are specifically charged with discovering through research new knowledge which does not yet exist and all university faculty are expected to pursue research on the cutting edges of their disciplines. New knowledge is critical for fostering a vital and growing economy which can provide high-paying jobs to Florida citizens, attract new businesses to the state, and provide technical and competitive advantages to Florida companies dealing in national and global markets.

We respectfully remind you that nationally prestigious academic programs are only developed and maintained when universities can attract and keep the best and the brightest faculty. However, the best and brightest faculty are nationally mobile. Such faculty do not stay at universities where the climate does not foster and support their best teaching and research, or where core academic values are eroded. Among the academic values important to the best faculty are: (1) academic freedom, which insures that faculty can do the research and teach the knowledge of their disciplines free of the constraints of political pressure by virtue of the protections of tenure; (2) stable fiscal and organizational support for good teaching, research and service; and (3) academically-experienced university leadership and administration, which protects all of the above.

In the light of these observations and values, the faculty leaders of the ten SUS universities view with concern the apparent intent to implement a new system of education in Florida which appears to omit any kind of formal coordinating organization for the university system as a whole and distinct from the K-12 and community college delivery systems. After consideration of the options currently under consideration and the functions which have been performed by the Board of Regents, the ACFS has urged the Governor and members of the Task Force to establish some form of intermediary regulatory coordinating body between the State Board of Education and the university boards of regents mandated under law.

In trying to conceptualize a new model for education in the State of Florida, we believe that some functions may best be handled specifically for the universities collectively at a level between the new seven member State Board of Education and the local university boards. These include, but are not limited to: new program planning; new program authorization and coordination of the roles of the various universities; program review and evaluation; administration of the SUS construction fund and capital improvement fee fund, and approval of the issuance of bonds and revenue certificates; management of program access and enrollments; maintenance of a statewide personnel program for all SUS employees; and, negotiation and administration of the collective bargaining agreement and grievance appeals process. We believe that coordinated regulation of these activities for the universities, separately from the K-12 and community colleges, by an intermediary university governing body would maximize efficiency, realize economies of scale, preserve the level of quality which is required in order to have an excellent university system.prevent the erosion of our current fine mission-differentiated university system into multiple competing mediocre schools.

We would be pleased to further discuss our concerns with you, or to discuss any specific questions you might have about the views of faculty concerning the current planning for a new system of education. As faculty, we are deeply concerned about being able to continue to serve the needs of our students and the State of Florida to the best of our abilities.

On behalf of all those whose names appear below,

Sincerely,

Christine E. Rasche, Ph.D. Department of Criminal Justice, Anthropology & Sociology Past President, Faculty Association University of North Florida Chair, Advisory Council of Faculty Senates

Valliere Richard Auzenne School of Motion Picture & Recording Arts Vice Chair, Senate Steering Committee Florida State University

Richard W. Briggs Department of Radiology Chair Elect, Faculty Senate University of Florida

Ada. P. Burnette Department of Educational Leadership President, Faculty Senate Florida A&M University

Kathleen Cohen UNF Library President, Faculty Association University of North Florida

Ida Cook, Past Chair Department of Sociology/Anthropology Faculty Senate University of Central Florida

Peg Gray-Vickrey School of Nursing President, Faculty Senate Florida Gulf Coast University

Frederick Hoffman Department of Mathematical Sciences Chair, Faculty Council Florida Atlantic University

Mark D. Jackson Department of Chemistry & BioChemistry Past Chair, Faculty Council Florida Atlantic University

Karen Laughlin Department of English President, Faculty Senate Florida State University

A. Joseph Layon Anesthesiology, Surgery & Medicine Chair, Faculty Senate University of Florida

Jim Miklovich Department of History President, Faculty Senate University of West Florida

Michael Mullens Industrial Engineering & Mgmt. Systems Chair, Faculty Senate University of Central Florida

Martha Pelaez Department of Educational Psychology Vice Chair, Faculty Senate Florida International University

Howard Rock Department of History Chair, Faculty Senate Florida International University

George Sparks Department of Music Chair, Faculty Senate Florida Atlantic University

Nancy Tyson Department of English President, Faculty Senate University of South Florida

Jossy Uvah Mathematics & Statistics Past President, Faculty Senate University of West Florida

Dreamal I. Worthen Department of Agricultural Sciences Vice President, Faculty Senate Florida A&M University

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