Apparently, state Sen. Mike Haridopolos is such a riveting lecturer that UF couldn't let a silly thing like an appearance of conflict of interest get in the way of offering him a position - even if he is poised to become the Senate president in 2010.
It seems that consulting the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty might have let this tremendous opportunity pass the entire college by - and who has time for that when a former Florida Apartment Association Legislator of the Year needs to find work?
Sure, Haridopolos will have to report to his "part-time job" representing Floridians in Tallahassee come spring and has no plans to move to Gainesville, but that won't really affect his ability to teach and be available to the students he has been given the opportunity to instruct.
After all, he'll be offering them real-world advice about how to make it in politics and working on securing them government internships.
Well, we gave it a try, but there's just no way to make this sound good.
The recent decision by the college's Interim Dean Joe Glover to appoint Haridopolos to a position that places him on the university payroll is not only misguided, but it is also putting UF's reputation at risk - again.
When a proposal to grant former Gov. Jeb Bush an honorary UF degree was rejected last year, some within the Faculty Senate expressed reservations because the nomination had come so soon after Bush had left public office.
So who's to say that faculty within the political science department wouldn't have some similar concerns?
It seems that they'll never have the chance to voice those, though, and that couldn't have been a coincidence.
It's no secret that Haridopolos is likely to acquire tremendous influence on the university's budget in the upcoming years within the state Senate and may ultimately hold control over what UF does and doesn't get from the Legislature. Florida Trend Magazine even featured him as someone "who could shape Florida politics."
Naturally, any indication that Haridopolos would be a lobbyist for UF interests has been contested, but it would be hard to determine how anyone could keep the two interests separate once the paychecks start rolling in.
But beyond all these obviously suspicious appearances, this new-found nepotism also sets a dangerous precedent for other university appointments.
By not consulting the department where the senator will be working, the interim dean created unnecessary strife in a college where a pressing budget crisis and faculty discontent have already generated a negative academic climate.
And the fact that Hardiopolos came with a $75,000 price tag doesn't help anything either.
The nature of the hiring also casts doubt - justified or not - upon Haridopolos' academic qualifications.
The third-ranking legislator in the Senate acquired the one-time, non-tenure track position with a resume consisting of community college experience and no doctoral degree (though he's working on it).
Granted, Haridopolos was promoted to chairman of the Liberal Arts Department at Brevard Community College. Still, that hardly warrants an unchallenged appointment at the state's flagship university.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing to come out of all of this will be that the strongest real-world lesson students will learn from Haridopolos is that more often than not, it's not what you know, but who you know.
