For the first time in six years, UF programs won’t be cut as a result of the state’s budget.
On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the $74.1 billion Families First budget, which restores $300 million cut from universities last year. Scott also vetoed $368 million in projects — including a 3 percent undergraduate tuition increase.
“We have money to invest in new initiatives,” UF President Bernie Machen said in a Q-and-A session with local media Monday. “We really have a pretty much balanced budget, so we’re not looking for cuts, we’re looking for reinvestments.”
The budget appropriates roughly $616 million to UF. That breaks down into about $329 million for education and general projects, $107 million for the Health Science Center, $141 million for IFAS and about $39 million in construction and maintenance funds.
“I think the Legislature and the governor are in a situation where our state’s economy has rebounded,” he said. “They could have invested in a whole bunch of things, but the majority of the new funding that is coming into our state is going to education — higher education and K-12 education.”
Machen specifically mentioned the preeminence proposal, which will provide $15 million a year to be matched by UF for increasing faculty resources.
“All of that, I think, if we do it strategically, will help us move forward in the national rankings,” Machen said.
He added students can expect faculty members who feel rewarded after years of no raises. Graduate teaching assistants will see increased compensation as well, the details of which Machen said will be negotiated with Graduate Assistants United.
About $15 million will go toward the construction of a new chemistry building. That amount is not enough to complete the project, Machen said, but “it’s a good step forward.”
Despite his words of warning that the state is still fragile and recovering, Machen was positive about the budget.
“This is Florida,” he said. “If any state has a great future, it’s us.”
Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org.
