Higher Education Conflict

The Florida public university board of governors just voted to move forward to regionalize the respective state university geographic scope of operation and relevance. Each university will be given a multiple country territory in which the respective school has exclusive rights in developing and implementing education programs, research programs and other work with business and public organizations. For a university to initiate new programs or respond to requests from public or private groups or businesses to perform a role in another university's protected territory requires the approval of the university holding the geographic franchise.

The University of Florida, generally respected as the University of the State of Florida is allocated 17 counties of North Central Florida ...around its home base of Gainesville.

This attempt in restricting large state universities to limited parts of the state is without precedent, short-sighted and an all-around dumb idea. It will go far to lower the prestige and credibility of all Florida universities when compared to private universities and the public universities of other states.

The prestigious University of Florida, shown in an image from the University Admissions Guide is a feather in the cap of the entire state of Florida. Why diminish its current role?

The move to reign-in the reach and influence of universities will have the effect of reducing all of the state's public institutions of higher learning to the least common denominator. With reduced individual university status, students and faculty will not see the need to attend a more prominent university. At a time when schools, even state schools, should be competing on the basis of merit across the state, across the country and around the world, this board action reduces the schools to protected, in-state territories.

The marginal, or less qualified of the universities undoubtedly, applaud this move. It lowers their need to compete, to strive for excellence. It does so by holding back the top performer. Most certainly, the move sends the wrong message to the public, to educators and to students. It is a move that the legislature should immediately take steps to correct.

Academics aside, I doubt that the University's vaunted athletic boosters, the Bull Gators, will want the mighty University of Florida Gators to become the University of North Central Florida Gators ...the UNCF Gators. Somehow the name fails to intimidate The Ohio State University Buckeyes, the University of Michigan Wolverines, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson (Isn't that the color of blood?) Tide, the University of Oklahoma Sooners, and cause any of these fine, state-wide universities to back down on the gridiron, on the court, the diamond or other field of athletic play, when facing the mighty UNCF Gators.

Academically and athletically, the move is humiliating for a proud university, counter-productive, dumb and totally unnecessary.