Florida State University is facing more fall out stemming from their failed partnership with a bankrupt animation studio that left Florida taxpayers 20 million dollars in the hole. Emotions are running high between the Chancellor of the Florida Board of Governors and the program’s students over a proposal to move the program to Tallahassee.
The 24 students in FSU’s West Palm Beach film program sent an open letter to the Board chastising them for not taking their opinions into consideration about the program’s future. That prompted a response from Board Chancellor Frank Brogan, saying the program was “an economic disaster”. Kim Wilmath, with the Florida Board of Governors, says the Chancellor’s intent was to let the students know the Board is working for them.
“We made this decision, in the best interest of them, with them in mind, number one. The Chancellor wanted to make sure that they knew that he was on their side and he wanted them to understand how we came to that decision,” Wilmath said.
The committee plans to recommend Florida State move the animation programs out of West Palm Beach to the Tallahassee main campus. FSU had argued against moving the program. The Board will take a final vote on the issue at its next meeting February 21.