Tampabay: 2 USF leaders dispute policy

ST. PETERSBURG -- University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft says she will continue to pursue separate accreditation for the St. Petersburg campus despite being "strongly discouraged" by the accrediting agency.

Genshaft's renewed commitment to accreditation comes after the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday that she was considering a different option in which the St. Petersburg campus would be given more autonomy without separate accreditation.

She distributed a memo to St. Petersburg faculty and staff members Friday in which she renewed her commitment to increased autonomy for the campus. "The University of South Florida continues to move aggressively to achieve SACS accreditation for USF St. Petersburg," Genshaft wrote.

The president, through her spokesman, adamantly disputes any change in Genshaft's approach to accreditation, contending that no other option was being considered.

But Bill Heller, the longtime leader of the St. Petersburg campus, said that dropping accreditation was being considered until Friday.

"There was a change," said Heller, who is being forced out by Genshaft. "What happened on Friday was we were back to separate accreditation. . . . She put it back on the table."

Genshaft made her initial comments during a meeting with St. Petersburg faculty members Thursday. She elaborated further in a telephone interview with the Times later Thursday.

Friday morning, Genshaft called another meeting with the same group to say the Times misrepresented her views and that she was committed to accreditation.

Genshaft has refused to discuss the issue further, despite repeated attempts by the Times since Friday. She was in North Carolina on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

Genshaft has stressed that she wants the St. Petersburg campus to make its own decisions on promotions and curriculum and that the campus has been trying to figure out how to do that.

But she said she learned in May from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that separate accreditation was unnecessary to grant autonomy. USF could instead seek accreditation for schools within the university, such as education and business, through other groups.

Genshaft surprised faculty members and students when she mentioned that second option during a meeting Thursday in St. Petersburg that had been called to calm concerns about Heller's ouster.

"Initially, I thought we were required to go through SACS accreditation," she told the Times after the meeting. "But you really don't need to. It's the behavior, the freedom you want. They don't care what it's called. . . . I didn't know we had these options."

In her Friday memo, Genshaft said the association "strongly discouraged" accreditation.

That is not what she had said after she met with the association in May. Instead, she had said she was optimistic about USF's chances.

Heller accompanied Genshaft and was surprised by her comment. "They did not discourage us but told us it was easier one way than another," he said.

Heller said the accreditation process has been on hold because USF was weighing whether to proceed with separate accreditation, accreditation for just some programs or both options at the same time. "What we are looking for is direction," he said.

USF spokesman Michael Reich disputes that, saying that the school is continuing to prepare a report due to SACS in August.

Local lawmakers wanted complete independence for the St. Petersburg campus, but compromised with a law requiring USF to seek separate accreditation and to try again if the effort failed.

USF St. Petersburg faculty opposed independence but support more autonomy for the campus.

The university has spent more than a year on accreditation and plans to spend more than $600,000 on the effort in the coming year.

State Sen. Don Sullivan, R-St. Petersburg, said he called Genshaft on Friday and requested a report from her outlining the progress on accreditation.

"After 15 months, I need to be reassured in writing and for the record that she is progressing," said Sullivan.

Accreditation signifies that an institution has met certain standards in its academic programs, faculty credentials, campus facilities and other areas. For students, accreditation could be essential. Federal financial aid goes only to accredited institutions, and other colleges accept credits only from those that are accredited. USF St. Petersburg is accredited through its affiliation with the main campus.

In April, the accrediting association wrote a letter questioning whether the St. Petersburg campus would be financially independent and whether the head of the campus would still answer to the president of the main campus in Tampa.

State Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, said accreditation would assure the campus has the autonomy he thinks it needs regardless of who USF's president is.

"I have absolutely no doubt that president Genshaft is doing exactly what she said she was going to do," said Sebesta, one of the authors of the bill establishing the campus' independence. "I have no reason to doubt that."

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