Heavy hitters line up for trustee posts

Amid a promise of diversity, many applicants for the school-governing boards are politically connected or have made big donations to the schools.

By BARRY KLEIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2001

Many of the people who have applied for seats on Florida's new university boards of trustees share two important qualifications: political influence and deep pockets.

The president of Tampa Electric wants to sit on the University of South Florida's board of trustees. So do the mayor of Temple Terrace, the chairman of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and two businessmen who have donated enough money to have their names on USF buildings.

The lists are even weightier at the University of Florida and Florida State University, the state's oldest and most prestigious schools.

The applicants there include former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, retired state Supreme Court justice Alan Sundberg, five current or former members of the state Board of Regents and at least two dozen millionaires.

Then there is the University of West Florida, an 8,000-student institution in the woods of Pensacola.

So far, it has attracted four applicants: an accountant, an adjunct professor, an investment manager and a community college administrator.

That's for 12 positions.

"We aren't concerned," says Keith Goldschmidt, a UWF spokesman. "The president has been encouraging people to apply, and we expect many will. We still have time."

Not much time. Gov. Jeb Bush says he will fill the 139 open seats on the boards by June 30, an act that will complete the Republican-led overhaul of Florida's university system.

The selections won't happen all at once. Aides say Bush will first pick the seven members of the new state Board of Education, which will oversee all aspects of Florida's education system, including the university boards.

That should happen by the end of May.

He will then announce choices for the Florida A&M University board, which will immediately begin looking for a president to replace Frederick Humphries, who is stepping down at the end of August after 16 years running the historically black school.

The urgency of that search may explain why FAMU has attracted more applicants than any other school. The list ranges from former state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Hatchett to Whitfield Jenkins, a former trainer of state prison guards.

The search also has attracted a lot of unsolicited advice, including a letter to Bush from the Rev. Joseph T. Wright, a prominent figure in Tallahassee's black community.

"We are asking you not to appoint trustees who don't have a cultural or historical investment in FAMU," Wright wrote. "In addition, we are asking you not to stack the trustees with political favorites or other ethnic groups who cannot identify, nor care to identify, with the rejection and suffering of black people."

Double-edged sword

Aides say Bush recognizes that the appointment process is a double-edged sword. Although it provides him an unprecedented chance to reshape higher education -- and reward political benefactors -- it also offers ample opportunity for charges of favoritism.

Bush has promised to make the 13-member boards diverse. But diversity is not limited to race, says Liz Hirst, a Bush spokeswoman.

"It includes gender and personal and professional experiences," she says.

It also is supposed to include political affiliation, though judging by the applications submitted so far, that won't be easy to achieve.

The form asks each candidate to list a political affiliation. Most of those who did marked Republican.

Some weren't subtle about it.

"I have been a registered Republican for the past 47 years, voting in all local, state and national elections," wrote Anthony Cardinale of Indialantic, who applied for a seat on the state Board of Education.

A few candidates were positively fawning.

"Your appointments to the state Board of Education are critical . . . but more important is that in the end you decide to run for re-election," wrote Ed Moore, president of the James Madison Institute, a conservative think tank in Tallahassee.

Most of the university presidents are staying out of the selection process, at least publicly. The reason is simple: Bush's selections will be their bosses, responsible for their evaluation, raises and, if necessary, termination.

Few are willing to risk betting on the wrong horse.

"The governor is the appointing authority, and we respect that," says Jack Wheat, a spokesman for USF President Judy Genshaft. "We are confident he will make good picks."

Faculty leaders aren't so sure. They tried to get a seat on each board, but state lawmakers decided instead to reserve a spot for a student member.

So now they are hoping the governor honors a pledge he made several weeks ago to appoint experienced academics.

That may require some work. Only a small percentage of the applications so far list classroom experience as a qualification.

Lots of zeros

More common is a note attesting to the candidate's longstanding support for his or her alma mater or local school.

Sometimes it is couched in the form of service. Marshal Criser, a candidate for UF's board, notes that he is a graduate, a former regent, a former UF president and now president emeritus.

"My persistent goal has been positive relationships with elected officials, the (Board of Regents), faculty, alumni, students and sister institutions in order to further the academic and financial pursuits of the university," he wrote.

Sometimes it is couched in the form of financial support, especially when it can be described with several zeros.

This is from the application submitted by Al Warrington IV, one of UF's biggest "Bull Gators":

". . . Made multimillion-dollar contribution to U of F College of Business. For the gift and years of service to the U of F and its College of Business, the College was recently renamed the Warrington College of Business . . .

"Recently concluded seven-figure gift to the School of Accounting to fund new building being constructed to house the school. Will in 2001 make major gift to help fund the new ladies' and men's basketball practice center at UF."

It would be a huge surprise if people as generous as Warrington -- or major USF donors such as Gus Stavros and Mandell "Hinks" Shimberg, both of whom have buildings named after them on the Tampa campus -- don't get named to the boards.

As is true in most places, money talks in higher education.

But that's because it is such a strong indicator of commitment, says Wheat, USF's spokesman.

Both Stavros and Shimberg, for example, have chaired capital campaigns at USF, which require hundreds of hours of work.

"We would hope that people who are strong supporters of this university, who are committed to this university's vision, are the people who end up on our board," Wheat says.

State applicants

At least 20 people have applied for seats on the University of South Florida's board of trustees, with more coming in. Here is the list so far:

Jan Smith -- president, commercial real estate company

Fran Barford -- mayor of Temple Terrace

John Ruzic -- owner, Best Western All Suites Hotel

Frank Morsani -- self-employed investor; chairman, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center

W. Richard Johnston -- president, Florida International Museum; chairman of St. Petersburg Junior College board of trustees

Joe Taggart -- real estate developer

Gordon Campbell -- chairman, Mercantile Bank; past chairman, St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership

Pamela Jo Davis -- president, PRIDE Enterprises

Pamela Stinnette Vergera -- professor, Hillsborough Community College

Wilhelmina Curtis -- paralegal

J. Patrick Michaels -- chairman, Communications Equity Associates

Gus Stavros -- chairman, Pelam Investments; major USF donor

Frederick Hamblin -- Realtor

Rose Anne Garci Bowers -- retired assistant superintendent, Hillsborough school district

John Ramil -- president of TECO

Connie Kone -- former member of St. Petersburg City Council

Carol Kemp -- Realtor

Barbara Rulison -- administrative services manager, Pasco County clerk of the court

Mandell "Hinks" Shimberg -- developer; chairman, USF's fundraising campaign

Jeff Huenink -- former state legislator; chief operating officer, Telos Communication.

Here are some of the better-known applicants to other Florida schools:

University of Florida

Steven Uhlfelder -- attorney; member, state Board of Regents

Marshal Criser -- former UF president; now, president emeritus

Bill McCollum -- former U.S. congressman

Carlos Alvarez -- lawyer; former All-American football player

Charles Edwards -- former chairman, state Board of Regents

Al Warrington IV -- major donor to Warrington College of Business

Al Lastinger -- retired president, Barnett Banks

Manuel Fernandez -- chairman, Gartner Group

Florida State University

Alan Sundberg -- former state Supreme Court justice

Reid Hughes -- chairman, Florida Nature Conservancy

Ed Moore -- president, James Madison Institute

Florida A&M University

Joseph Hatchett -- former state Supreme Court justice

James Simmons -- president, Pinellas County Urban League

Richard Danford -- president, Jacksonville Urban League

Cecil Keene -- former member, state Board of Regents

Bernard Kinsey -- consultant; former president, FAMU Alumni Association

J. Allison DeFoor -- governor's former environmental adviser

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