2 leaders back Tampa bid for law school

A former governor and prominent lawyer step in as the city faces other strong proposals and past tension with alumni.

By BARRY KLEIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

TAMPA -- The push to persuade Florida A&M University to open its new law school in Tampa got a major boost Thursday when a former governor and one of the state's most influential lawyers agreed to lead the effort.

There is little doubt their muscle will be needed.

Orlando officials already have submitted a proposal to FAMU, and school administrators recently toured several proposed sites in Polk County, which also is putting in a bid.

Neither of those communities will have to overcome the hard feelings of FAMU alumni who believe they were shabbily treated in Tampa when the city hosted the Florida Classic, the annual football game between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman College.

And there is yet another complication: The Stetson University College of Law, a well-regarded private institution in St. Petersburg, is hoping to open a campus in downtown Tampa next year aimed at FAMU's primary market -- minority students.

"We are going to have to work very aggressively to get FAMU here," acknowledged Bill McBride, chairman of the greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and managing partner of Holland & Knight, the state's largest law firm.

McBride and former Gov. Bob Martinez agreed Thursday to head a chamber task force that will help select possible locations for the law school. More importantly, the group soon will begin the task of raising between $12-million and $15-million -- the minimum needed to entice FAMU, which expects to spend twice that much to build its school.

Officials at FAMU, one of the nation's leading historically black universities, say the competition is still open. It will be at least two weeks before they set up a process to evaluate the bids.

Some requirements are known: The legislation establishing the school said it has to be located along the I-4 corridor.

FAMU has said it wants to put the school near a predominantly black community and in an area designated for redevelopment.

One site being considered is the former Tampa Police Department.

But McBride said several locations will be offered.

FAMU expects to open the school in fall 2003. Right now, officials say, Orlando has the edge.

"They were out front first, and out front at the right time," said Reggie Mitchell, an assistant to FAMU President Frederick Humphries.

When Gov. Jeb Bush asked questions about the school's viability, Orlando was there with answers, Mitchell said.

"Tampa and Polk County didn't come in until after the decision was made," he said.

That kind of thinking irritates state Rep. Rudy Bradley, R-St. Petersburg, and state Sen. Jim Hargrett, D-Tampa. Both were sponsors of the legislation that led to the new law school.

They worry that Tampa has forfeited the inside track earned by their efforts by not moving quickly.

"Orlando is doing things rather than just talking," Hargrett said.

"Any more languishing will only invite suspicion that we aren't genuine about wanting this school."

But that isn't the only obstacle Tampa must overcome.

There is the legacy of the Florida Classic football game, a Tampa tradition for almost two decades before it moved in 1997 to Orlando.

In 1990, fans were upset over what they perceived as unfair reservation and payment requirements at some hotels. That led to a boycott of several hotels by FAMU alumni.

In 1994, fans were angered when Tampa Bay Center, the mall across the street from Houlihan's Stadium, closed early, preventing fans from visiting the mall after the game.

Local leaders dismiss those problems as "old news."

"I fail to see the relationship between a football game and a law school," Bradley said.

FAMU officials say they won't disregard the feelings of alumni, who have fought for more than three decades to have their law school restored.

"But this decision will be made based on objective criteria," said Bishop Holifield, FAMU's general counsel.

The state Board of Regents has final approval.

Another wrinkle that has received little attention is Stetson's interest in opening a law campus in downtown Tampa.

W. Gary Vause, the school's dean, said Stetson applied 15 months ago to the American Bar Association for permission to open a program aimed at part-time students, especially minorities.

"We hope to have approval in time to open in August 2001," Vause said, which is two years earlier than FAMU's expected opening.

"There would be some overlap. That seems unavoidable."

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