PHCC president wins lavish praise, contract extension

The board gives him a near-perfect evaluation, calling him one of Florida's "standout'' community college presidents.

By KENT FISCHER

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 23, 2000

BROOKSVILLE -- The board of directors of Pasco-Hernando Community College had a message for President Robert Judson at its Tuesday night meeting: Keep up the good work.

The board gave Judson a near-perfect job review and a one-year contract extension, calling him one of Florida's "standout" community college presidents.

"I've noticed the respect he gets around the state from other college presidents," said board chairman John Yant. "We, as a board, judging from the evaluations, feel the same way."

Board members evaluated Judson in nine areas, including his leadership, the college's academic record and his financial oversight of PHCC. Board members rated Judson's overall performance a 43 out of a possible 45 points.

The board also voted to extend Judson's contract by another year, to 2003. Judson makes $126,598 a year.

"I certainly am appreciative of the very favorable evaluation," Judson said. "It gives me guidance on what (the board) is thinking about me and the job we're doing here at the college."

In fact, the only criticism the board had for Judson was that he carries out some of his duties too well. It's Judson's job to record the minutes of the board's meetings, and one board member complained that Judson's minutes are too detailed and laborious to read.

Judson said he likes detailed minutes because they help him remember the "spirit" of board discussions and votes.

The board also voted to pay a Coral Gables consulting firm at least $65,000 to help it sort out where it should build its new Spring Hill campus. The firm, Harper Partners, met with board members last weekend and will evaluate nine possible sites.

The firm will try to narrow the list down to three or four sites within a month. The company will then do a complete investigation of those sites and evaluate them on a variety of board-determined criteria. The criteria include, price, location and community support for the site, to name a few.

The firm will make a final recommendation to the board by mid-summer and develop a master plan for the new site by the middle of September. The board could pay the firm a total of $83,000 if it chooses to expand the scope of the firm's work to include developing promotional materials or models of the new campus.

For two years, the board has wrestled with where to put the new campus. Initially, the board wanted to build the campus on County Line Road, but county officials have pushed a site in the county's Airport Industrial Park south of Brooksville.

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