A memo addressed to administrators of UF’s Levin College of Law asking them to cut the graduate taxation program is forcing students and faculty to speak out.
Faculty members in the program met with about 50 students Friday to discuss a memo sent out Sept. 9 by UF law professor Robert J. Rhee, who credited the program entirely at fault for declining student enrollment.
The 24-page document was addressed to The University of Florida Law Center Association Inc., the Florida Alumni Tax Advisory Committee, UF Law Dean Laura Ann Rosenbury, Associate Dean Amy Mashburn and UF Provost Joe Glover.
“The tax program loses money for UF Law, and its fiscal model is unsound,” the memo stated. “Before analyzing the financials, we must examine the size of the tax faculty because the salaries of tenure-track faculty constitutes the single largest expense item in a P&L (profit/loss) calculation.”
But Lyrissa Lidsky, the associate dean for graduate and non-J.D. programs, said the memo from Rhee was completely wrong. The program is No. 3 in the country for a reason, she argued.
“I’m just unbelievably sorry we’re here under these circumstances,” Lidsky said. “To have a memo out from a member of my faculty that’s unfair and distorting and painful to students is just devastating, especially when it’s such an incredible group of students.”
During the meeting, officials expressed their disgust with the memo and recognized it didn’t truly reflect the students and faculty in the program.
“Wherever you go in life, there’s going to be some bad apples and bomb-throwers, and unfortunately, we have one,” said UF law professor Steven Willis.
Some students spoke about having Rhee removed from UF, but Lidsky, who is also a first-amendment lawyer, said it may be difficult due to his free speech rights.
“But, you know, you don’t always agree with what they say and even more so, how they say it,” she added.
Jamie Koepsel, a UF taxation graduate student, said the revenue figures Rhee used to describe how the tax program “is broken” aren’t accurate.
“He had come to these numbers on his own, and they don’t fairly represent what the tax program actually contributes to the university from an accounting standpoint,” the 28-year-old said.
Koepsel said the meeting helped begin the conversation about Rhee’s letter, but how administration reacts to the memo is more important.
“What’s really going to make the biggest difference is the response as it plays out in the future over the next few weeks,” he said, “and especially the responses of how the dean, Dean Rosenbury, responds to the entire situation.”
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From left: Paul O’Quinn, Adam Smith, Lyrissa Lidsky, Martin McMahon and Steven Willis have an open discussion with members of UF’s tax program regarding a controversial memo sent by UF law professor Robert J. Rhee.
