State: College presidents: If regents must go, don't delay

MIAMI -- Florida's university presidents still have a lot of misgivings about the plan to eliminate the state Board of Regents, but if it has to happen, at least do it quickly, several of the presidents said Thursday.

"If we wait until 2003 to get this settled, it will be chaos," said Florida State University President Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte.

"We really don't want this to drag on," said University of Central Florida President John Hitt.

The presidents are likely to get their wish. The Education Governance Reorganization Task Force is expected to recommend a structure next month to replace the 14-member board, which has run the university system since 1965.

Regents Chairman Tom Petway said he thinks the board will be out of business by the end of the next legislative session. That would be two years earlier than the date set by state lawmakers, but Petway thinks it's the right way to go.

"It's good that we've had our day, but all good things come to an end," he said.

There is no doubt the uncertainty surrounding the regents' fate is having an impact.

Dozens of regents staffers have quit in recent months, and officials say it is almost impossible to find qualified people willing to replace them.

The board staff is authorized for 166 positions but currently has 54 vacancies, said university system spokesman Keith Goldschmidt. That's almost three times the usual vacancy rate, he said.

"We're losing one or two employees a week," said university system Chancellor Adam Herbert. "No matter what happens, a staff will be needed to deal with higher education issues. If good people don't think there is a role for them to play, they won't stay around."

University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft said the impact isn't limited to the central bureaucracy.

Since arriving on campus in July, she has been trying to fend off attempts by state Sen. Don Sullivan, R-Seminole, to spin off USF's branches in St. Petersburg and Sarasota and make them into independent universities.

The regents would be better able to mount a vigorous defense, Genshaft said, if they weren't staring at their imminent demise.

If lawmakers do ax the regents in 2001, some of the board's duties would undoubtedly be delegated to the individual boards of trustees that will be created at each of the 10 state universities. The transition task force, for example, may recommend the boards be given the power to hire and fire presidents.

In an anonymous survey released Thursday, most of the presidents said they would prefer the boards have such powers.

It's unclear what entity would assume the regents' other duties until 2003, when a seven-member "superboard' will take jurisdiction over all levels of education in Florida, from kindergarten through postgraduate studies.

The Legislature could create a transition board to oversee higher education in the interim.

In other action Thursday:

Genshaft gave the regents a detailed presentation of her plans for keeping the university's regional campuses under USF's umbrella. The proposal includes offering the St. Petersburg branch increased autonomy and providing a new site for the Sarasota-Manatee campus.

Those plans were heartily endorsed by Petway, who questioned whether Sullivan would be able to find the millions of dollars needed to build new universities.

The board re-elected Petway as chairman and selected James Corbin, the board's only African-American member, to serve as vice chairman.

Both men are appointees of Gov. Jeb Bush, who backs the board's elimination. Petway has faced criticism from some board members over his desire to work with the transition task force rather than fight it.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk