State schools in flux at top

As Florida's largest universities seek new leadership, some educators say other departures are likely.

By BARRY KLEIN and STEPHEN HEGARTY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 29, 1999

TALLAHASSEE -- The stability that has long characterized the leadership of Florida's public universities has ended, and with quite a bang.

In recent months, Chancellor Adam Herbert and the state Board of Regents have named new presidents at two of the state's smallest schools: the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.

In recent weeks, the presidents of the state's two largest schools -- the University of Florida and the University of South Florida -- announced they were stepping down.

Herbert and the regents say they aren't worried about the challenge of filling two of Florida's most important jobs at the same time. It's a buyer's market in academia, they say, and these are plum positions.

They prefer to characterize the unusual situation as an opportunity to bring in new blood and let Herbert put a personal stamp on the system's leadership, which he inherited from Charlie Reed, his predecessor as chancellor.

"Every chancellor has put their stamp on the system one way or the other," said Regent Phil Lewis, a former president of the Florida Senate.

"The best way to judge a chancellor is by the people he hires," said Regent Steven Uhlfelder, a Tallahassee attorney. He thinks the turnover is likely to continue.

Each of the presidents of Florida's six other public universities has served more than five years, the national average for length of tenure among college leaders.

At least two presidents -- Frederick Humphries at Florida A&M University and Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte at Florida State University -- are facing internal problems.

Humphries, in his 14th year at historically black FAMU, is awaiting the outcome of investigations into the school's troubled financial aid program.

D'Alemberte, in his sixth year, is trying to weather a sexual harassment controversy at FSU's law school.

Neither has given any indication that he is thinking of stepping down.

But, then, neither did UF President John Lombardi or USF President Betty Castor.

"I'm not prepared to make any announcements over the next year (about other presidents leaving)," Herbert said at a news conference last week.

But things change, he said.

"At varying points in time in the life of an organization, you need people with different sets of skills," Herbert said. "It's important for a president to ask this question: Am I still the right person for this institution at this point in time?"

A rational transition

By definition, the departure of a president disrupts administrative continuity. That can split a campus into different camps and hamper fundraising efforts

Both USF and UF will be run by interim presidents for at least several months. The choice for USF could be announced as early as this week. Herbert says he hopes to name UF's temporary replacement within a month.

UF's interim, officials say, will come from outside the state.

"We need an outsider to provide a rational transition," said regents chairman Dennis Ross, a Pinellas County businessman. Given the passions surrounding Lombardi's abrupt resignation, he said, "we need someone with no real ties" to the university.

USF officials have said they don't expect Castor's departure, expected in mid-September, to hurt the school's fundraising campaign. The university has secured at least $180-million in donations and pledges toward a $220-million goal.

There is concern about the impact at UF.

Lombardi is leaving almost a full year before the end of a $750-million capital campaign. Paul Robell, the vice president for development and alumni affairs at UF, said the UF president has personally courted almost all of the donors who have agreed to give $1-million or more.

Some alumni say they fear the campaign will falter without his involvement.

Lombardi doesn't think so.

When he became president almost 10 years ago, he said, UF also was in the midst of a campaign.

"I don't raise money. I don't write checks," Lombardi said. "Our alumni and friends raise money."

"In some ways, the personality of the president can bring in jars of money," said regent Lewis. "But ultimately, people are giving to the institution."

Some have questioned whether Lombardi's continued presence on campus -- where he remains enormously popular -- will complicate the search for his successor. He will work as a history professor and director of the Center for Florida Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Herbert isn't expecting any problems.

"I have every confidence that John Lombardi will conduct himself in a fashion that is reflective of the standards that all the previous presidents have met," he said, noting that Lombardi has expressed a strong interest in being named a president emeritus upon his retirement.

That requires a recommendation from both Herbert and his successor.

"My guess is he will be very thoughtful and careful about what he says," Herbert said.

Rigorous credentials

Two search committees at USF are in the process of selecting their minimum standards. Herbert has made it clear he wants an established academic, someone who can lead an institution hoping to achieve national prominence in research

The credentials for UF's next leader will be at least as rigorous, given the school's position as the state's pre-eminent research university.

That would seem to eliminate non-academic candidates such as U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a UF alumnus whose candidacy has been widely rumored in recent days, and emphatically denied.

While an outsider is preferred for UF's interim, several regents said that might or might not be the case for the next president.

"You don't want to limit yourself," said C.B Daniel, a Gainesville regent. "We'll do a national search, and that includes the state of Florida. We've got some outstanding people here in the state of Florida."

Lombardi, whose 91/2-year tenure was marked by enormous success and repeated controversies, had this to say about his successor: "I doubt that anyone would want to replicate me."

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