Today, the Florida Board of Governors, the State University System's highest governing body, will try to stop the flow of what has been dubbed "the brain drain" in the state university system.
In today's general meeting, hosted by the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Chancellor Mark Rosenberg will recommend the board request $65.4 million from the Legislature in an effort to retain faculty members who are leaving the Sunshine State for better offers in states with stable economies.
In a meeting of the board's budget committee Wednesday, University of South Florida Provost Ralph Wilcox said the growing attrition of faculty will result in irretrievable losses to Florida.
Wilcox said the "stark reality" is that the state is losing faculty at three times the rate it did last year, and enrollment in large classes has increased by 50 percent. He said the loss of quality could lead to a similar student drain.
"I'm beginning to believe Bright Futures incentives are insufficient to keep them in state," he said.
In addition to funds going toward faculty retention, the board is also expected to request $30.3 million from the Legislature to cover the increased cost of utilities.
