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Applications now being accepted for new Polytechnic-U trustees

The state University System of Florida is looking for 13 people to head the state’s newest public university. The Florida Board of Governor’s announced Tuesday that it is now accepting applications for members to be appointed to the board that will govern Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland.

Here’s part of what the Board of Governor’s is saying about its search process:

Gov. Rick Scott on April 20 signed legislation that immediately created Florida Polytechnic University as a new institution in the State University System of Florida. The legislation includes certain benchmarks to be achieved by Dec. 31, 2016. These benchmarks in the signed legislation initially were created by the Board of Governors in November 2011 after months of discussion, several meetings, and without a specific deadline

  •   achieve accreditation from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
  •  initiate the development of the new programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics;
  • seek discipline-specific accreditation for programs;
  • attain a minimum FTE (student headcount or full-time equivalent enrollment) of 1,244, with a minimum 50 percent of that FTE in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and 20 percent in programs related to those fields; 
  •  complete facilities and infrastructure, including the Science and Technology Building, Phase I of the Wellness Center, and a residence hall or halls containing no fewer than 190 beds; and
  • have the ability to provide, either directly or where feasible through a shared services model, administration of financial aid, admissions, student support, information technology, and finance and accounting with an internal audit function.

“These charter members have a rare opportunity and unique responsibility to work with the Board of Governors in creating a state university designed to approach higher education from a new perspective and the ‘polytechnic’ model successful in other states,” said Chair Mori Hosseini of Daytona Beach, who is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, and Chair of the Trustee Nominating and Development Committee, which oversees the trustee selection process. “We therefore issue a challenge to our country’s finest leaders who can best support and help realize that vital goal.”  
“There are very complex and very real challenges for these charter members as they set a vision and the strategy to ‘break the mold,’ meet the benchmarks and open the doors,” remarked Board of Governors Chair Dean Colson of Miami. “Yet there is also a remarkable opportunity for unprecedented achievements – the national recognition for this institution may well spawn new ideas for the delivery of public higher education.”

State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan – while not directly involved in selecting appointees – said this marks a milestone in the System’s history: “Imagine an institution dedicated to delivering curricula in a technology-rich environment with robust on-line and on-campus offerings, led by innovative faculty. These students, if the conceptual plans are achieved, will be capable of out-competing students from other states and other countries.”

Each institution in the State University System has a 13-member Board of Trustees responsible for cost-effective policy, and for implementing and maintaining high-quality education programs consistent with the university’s mission. The Boards of Trustees also are responsible to meet state policy, budgeting and education standards.

The Governor appoints six members to each Board of Trustees, and the Board of Governors appoints five members. The leader of the Faculty Senate serves, as well as the Student Body President of the university.

Individuals interested in this public service must have the application at the Board of Governors’ office in Tallahassee by May 31 at 5 p.m. All information is posted at www.flbog.edu/aboutsus/ubt.php.