Florida Board of Governors | |
Established: | 2003 |
Type: | Governing board |
Chancellor: | Ray Rodrigues |
City: | Tallahassee |
State: | Florida |
Country: | U.S. |
Enrollment: | 349,921 (2022) |
Campus: | 12 member institutions of the State University System |
The Florida Board of Governors is a 17-member governing board that serves as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida.
After its predecessor, the Florida Board of Regents, was abolished by an act of the Florida Legislature that was signed into law by Governor Jeb Bush in July 2001, United States senator Bob Graham, who objected to the abolition of the statewide higher education body (Board of Regents), responded by leading a ballot initiative to restore it. The Board of Governors was established in 2003 after the successful passage of the constitutional amendment heralded by Graham in 2002. The Florida Board of Education, also appointed by the governor, oversees kindergarten through higher education, but focused mostly on K-20 education and community colleges. The Board of Governors, as part of the Florida Constitution, cannot be abolished without another constitutional amendment.
During the 2022-2023 academic year, the State University System enrolled 349,921 total students and is the second largest State University System in the United States.[1]
The Florida Board of Governors has seventeen members, including fourteen voting members appointed by the governor, as well as, the Florida commissioner of education, the chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates, and the Chair of the Florida Student Association. The board appoints a chancellor, who serves as the system's chief executive.
Governors[2] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Profession | Education | Term Start | Term End |
Appointed by Governor | ||||
Ashley Bell Barnett | former teacher, donor[3] | BA (Florida Southern), MPA (USF) | ||
Tim Cerio | attorney | BA, JD (UF) | ||
Aubrey Edge | President & CEO, First Coast Energy | |||
Patricia Frost | retired school principal | BA (Colby), MA (Columbia) | ||
Edward Haddock | lawyer & businessman | BA (Ohio Wesleyan), JD (UVA) | ||
Ken Jones | lawyer & businessman | BA (FSU), JD (UF) | ||
Darlene L. Jordan | former attorney | BA (Fordham), JD (Suffolk) | ||
Brian Lamb, Chair | business executive | BA, MBA (USF) | ||
Alan M. Levine | President & CEO, Mountain States Health Alliance | BSc, MBA, MSc (UF) | ||
Charles H. Lydecker | insurance executive | BA (American) | ||
Craig Mateer | businessman | BA (FSU) | ||
politician, businessman | ||||
Eric Silagy, Vice-Chair | BA (UT Austin), JD (Georgetown) | |||
Remaining Members | ||||
Commissioner of Education | BA (St Thomas), MEd (Nova Southeastern) | |||
Amanda J. Phalin | Chair, Advisory Council of Faculty Senates | PhD | ||
Jack Hitchcock | Chair, Florida Student Association | BA (in progress, FSU) | ||
Universities | |||
---|---|---|---|
University | Location | Established | |
Florida A&M University | Tallahassee, Florida | 1887 | |
Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, Florida | 1961 | |
Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, Florida | 1991 | |
Florida International University | 1965 | ||
Florida Polytechnic University | Lakeland, Florida | 2012 | |
Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida | 1851 | |
New College of Florida | Sarasota, Florida | 1960 | |
University of Central Florida | Orlando, Florida | 1963 | |
University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida | 1853 | |
University of North Florida | Jacksonville, Florida | 1969 | |
University of South Florida | Tampa, Florida | 1956 | |
University of West Florida | Pensacola, Florida | 1963 |
In January 2016, the State University System launched a statewide communications and marketing campaign to build and bolster the state's entrepreneurial climate - Think Florida: A Higher Degree for Business. The campaign's focus is a strong connection between the system's universities and Florida's businesses, with an emphasis on collaboration in the areas of talent, research and partnerships.[4] [5]
The Board of Governors unveiled a performance-based funding model in 2014 to incentivize universities to improve on key metrics, from graduation rates to post-graduation success.
The model has four guiding principles:
Key components of the model:
In 2010, the Florida Legislature created the Preeminent State Research University program and set 12 benchmarks to define these schools, which are awarded more state funding for research. 11 of the 12 benchmarks must be met for a school to be classified as Preeminent by the Board of Governors. The benchmarks are:[7]
Currently, three universities are classified as Preeminent: the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida. All three have exceeded each of the 12 benchmarks.
Name | Profession | Education | Term Start | Projected Term End |
---|---|---|---|---|
H. Wayne Huizenga Jr. | businessman | |||
Sydney Kitson, Chair | real estate developer | |||
COO, Total Military Management | [8] | |||
attorney | BA (St Leo), JD (Regent) | |||
Steven M. Scott | physician and entrepreneur | MD (Indiana) | ||