When Samantha Sexton was a UF political science freshman in 2007, it was UF’s goal to rank among the top 10 public universities, she said. Thirteen years later, she’s helping the university get there.
“At a certain point, it gets to be more and more difficult to climb the ranks,” said Sexton, UF’s director of government relations. “It’s like a diet. Once you get to the top, or the last few pounds, it’s really hard to make incremental changes.”
To reach this goal, Sexton is lobbying the Florida Department of Education for this year’s most ambitious request: $50 million.
The Florida legislative session began on Jan. 14, kicking off 60 days of lobbying at the state capital. If awarded, the money will help recruit world-class faculty and reduce classroom sizes to 16:1, Sexton said. This is the university’s No. 1 legislative priority.
UF lobbyists are also hoping to earn funding for other projects, Sexton said. These projects are known as “moonshots,” initiatives that address socioeconomic issues like climate change.
“We are trying to solve the world’s most pressing challenges,” she said.
For instance, Sexton is lobbying the state’s education department for $1.1 million to fund UF’s iCoast. iCoast monitors water quality, tracks marine life interaction and detects tidal changes and algal blooms, she said.
The goal of the project is to create a map of the Florida coastline with real-time data that can impact industries like real estate and tourism. If won, the money will go toward hiring more staff and purchasing equipment like a $167,500 research vessel, according to the budget request.
UF’s College of Medicine in Jacksonville is requesting $300,000 from the Florida Department of Health to fund child abuse pediatrics fellowships, according to the budget request.
Douglas Bell, a lobbyist from the Metz, Husband & Daughton law firm, is representing the pediatricians for this project. He said he would be disappointed if the funds were denied.
“There’s always a lot of pressure,” he said. “We want to be successful for our clients. This one in particular — it’s important for children’s health.”
So far, responses from legislators and committee staff have been promising, he said. Still, Sexton said denied funding is always a possibility.
“Every year, we have priorities that are not funded, or underfunded,” Sexton said.
In those cases, UF seeks private funding and research grants, she said. If a project is a high priority, they’ll continue to lobby legislators for it the following year.
The total funding UF earns from the state has steadily increased over the years, according to a summary of state appropriations by the State University System of Florida. Since the 2009-2010 fiscal year, state appropriations have increased by 42 percent.
“We’re very thankful for the executive branch,” Sexton said.
Contact Hannah Phillips at hphillips@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @haphillips96.
