UF is officially a preeminent university.
The Florida Legislature, whose session ended May 3, passed legislation that not only recognizes UF as a preeminent school in the State University System but also designates funding for certain projects.
Gov. Rick Scott signed the preeminence bill into law on April 22. It provides $75 million — $15 million a year for five years — to help UF in its quest to become a top 10 public university, according to a legislative session summary on the Gators for Higher Education website. UF will match that amount through private fundraising.
The preeminence law essentially beefs up UF’s faculty and its resources, UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said Monday.
“The vision is to use it to augment our faculty with some world-class additions,” she said.
Preeminence doesn’t automatically equal top 10 status, though.
“There’s no one single thing that the university can do to help ascend in the ranks,” Sikes said. “It’s going to take a board-sustained effort to do quite a few things...this is a couple of big pieces toward that goal.”
Reduced class sizes and better research and technology transfer capabilities are two of the university’s initiatives, according to an email sent by C. David Brown II, the chairman of the UF Board of Trustees.
“UF students will get higher quality faculty going forward and hopefully some smaller classes,” Sikes said.
The Florida Legislature also allocated $15 million toward the creation of a new chemistry building on UF’s campus. The existing building is outdated and ill-equipped to meet the demands of students, Sikes said.
The preeminence designation also means UF can create programs to deliver online bachelor’s degrees, according to Brown’s email.
However, news coming out of the legislative session wasn’t all good. The legislature did not approve a request to bond money underwritten by student capital improvement fees that would have gone toward phase two of the Reitz Union makeover and Newell Hall renovation.
“It is my understanding that Newell Hall is off,” Sikes said.
Other decisions made by the legislature include a pay raise for university employees and $500,000 to the McKnight Brain Institute to fund the Brain Tumor Registry.
In addition, the legislature authorized a 3 percent increase in tuition. But Scott has yet to approve the budget. His deadline is May 24.
“We’re still waiting and watching,” Sikes said.
Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org.
