Bernie Machen is running the University of Florida into the ground.
Why undertake such radical budget cuts and restructuring instead of using federal stimulus funds to cover the shortfall? Rather, he intends to use the stimulus money to pay for his changes. It is not wise to take such drastic action until absolutely necessary. Like the stimulus funds, this recession will hopefully be temporary.
But there again, Machen is not the only problem. If UF is struggling, why does the Board of Trustees continue to pay the exorbitant salary, and why did the trustees award him hefty performance bonuses last year, even in tough economic times then? Because Machen is doing exactly what the Board of Trustees hired him to do: Restructure UF to a corporate model more concerned about UF's bottom line than the quality of education it provides for its students.
But we can take this one step further: The trustees would not be worrying about UF's bottom line if the Legislature better funded higher education. Florida ranks last in the U.S. in per capita spending on higher education. Funding higher education will be the quickest way out of this recession.
Everyone, please write your legislators and governor and tell them to save higher education in Florida.
