The board that will oversee the state’s newest public university is beginning to take shape.
The Florida Board of Governors has announced that it has filled four of the five positions it gets to appoint to Florida Polytechnic University’s board of trustees. The first group includes Polk County Attorney Don Wilson and Richard Hallion -- a retired Air Force aerospace analyst who has also worked with NASA. Also on the board is former University of New England President Sandra Featherman, and former Board of Governors member Frank Martin.
The search is still on for one more person to fill the Board of Governors’ last slot. Governor Rick Scott has yet to name his choices to fill another 6 positions. The last two places on the board will go to the student body president and a representative of the school’s faculty.
The new board will be charged with finding a president to lead the school and oversee its start-up phase.
See the officials release below:
BOARD OF GOVERNORS ANNOUNCES
APPOINTMENTS FOR FLORIDA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY’S
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Four of five vacancies filled today with national, local leaders
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The Chair of the Florida Board of Governors’ Trustee Nominating and Development Committee, Mori Hosseini of Daytona Beach, today put forward to the full Board four of five appointments for charter members for Florida Polytechnic University’s Board of Trustees and all were approved. The fifth appointment will be made at a future date.
After interviewing 10 finalists on Wednesday in Orlando, Chair Hosseini, immediate past Chair Ava Parker, and Board of Governors Chair Dean Colson brought forward the following four nominees, which Hosseini said represented a clear consensus:
- Sandra Featherman, Ph.D., of Highland Beach for a three-year term beginning July 16, 2012. A retired university president of University of New England, Featherman has a career of more than 30 years in higher education. She has been a public member of regional and medical accrediting bodies. She has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She also is a former faculty member at Temple University and former Vice Chancellor at University of Minnesota-Duluth. She is also a former Faculty Senate president at Temple University.
- Richard “Dick” Hallion, Ph.D., of Shalimar for a two-year term beginning July 16, 2012. Hallion is a retired aerospace analyst and executive with the U.S. Air Force and also worked at the U.S. Army War College as an adjunct faculty member. He has been serving as a part-time senior adviser and consultant to the Commonwealth Research Institute since 2007. He has significant STEM experience (science, technology, engineering and math) with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was a Visiting Fellow (2007-08) with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum. He has a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and has studied technology education as a policy issue. He serves on the advisory boards or in an editorial consulting capacity for several research-related publications.
- Frank Martin, P.E., of Clermont for a three-year term beginning July 16, 2012. As a former longtime member of the Florida Board of Governors (February 2006-March 2012), he served many years as a committee chair and was the driving force behind the Board’s 2025 Strategic Plan and the transformed format for the Annual Accountability Report, released in January. Martin is senior vice president for Atkins North America for which he has worked on many national and global projects and is considered a transportation expert. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Fisk University.
- Don Wilson, Esq., of Bartow for a two-year term beginning July 16, 2012. Wilson is an attorney from Polk County with Boswell & Dunlap who has represented Polk State College for more than 30 years. He has considerable knowledge of the regional community and its higher education needs. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida and his bachelor’s degree from Stetson University. He served 10 years on a Judicial Nominating Commission and has served more than 30 years as a board member for the Bartow Chamber of Commerce. He has been a partner and attorney in his law firm since 1980. He was a board member of two banks and in those capacities, established policies, selected top management, and provided oversight of operations. He is a fifth-generation Polk County resident.
For more info on university Boards of Trustees and the staggered-term charter appointments that were made, see http://www.flbog.edu/aboutsus/ubt.php.
“As I’ve said before, appointing a new Board of Trustees with well-qualified, diverse and effective charter members – who also can devote the time necessary – is a rare and remarkable opportunity,” Hosseini said. “Our appointees today represent a very diverse group of national and local leaders, and they have a wide range of skills and professional experiences. Each one has committed to us that they have the time this endeavor will require to build a strong polytechnic university.”
Hosseini said it was his decision to recommend making four appointments and take up the fifth appointment after Gov. Rick Scott makes his, in order to “assess the diversity, skills and professional experiences and see whether we have any missing perspectives on the Board.”
The selection process for governance leadership of the State University System’s 12th university began formally at the Board in May and continued into June when more than 50 applicants responded during the open-notice period.
By state law, the Florida Board of Governors appoints five members to the charter Board of Trustees for Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland. There are 13 members total on each university’s governing board. The Governor appoints six. The remaining two seats, by statute, are for the Faculty Senate president and Student Government president or designee.
Meantime, the Board of Governors’ Select Committee on Florida Polytechnic University – which Hosseini leads as Chair, in addition to his role as the Board of Governors’ Vice Chair – has been working with the University of South Florida during the past many months to ensure that the Board of Governors has addressed various transition issues and other aspects until a university Board of Trustees is in place.
Senate Bill 1994 in the 2012 Session immediately created Florida Polytechnic University and was “effective upon signature.” Gov. Rick Scott signed the legislation on April 20.
The only issue directly associated with the new fiscal year on July 1 is that several budget-related items either change over or start on July 1 – while many administrative and governance matters do not have the same precise deadline while the university is established, designed and constructed.
