UF faculty to Jeb Bush: No honorary degree

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Fri Mar-23-07 02:34 PM
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UF faculty to Jeb Bush: No honorary degree

UF faculty to Bush: No honorary degree

By JACK STRIPLING
Sun staff writer

March 23, 2007

The self-styled "education governor" won't likely be getting a sheepskin from the University of Florida anytime soon.
In a move that UF President Bernie Machen called a "horrible mistake," UF's Faculty Senate voted Thursday against granting former Gov. Jeb Bush an honorary degree.
After some faculty expressed concern about Bush's record in higher education, the Senate voted 38-28 to deny him the degree.

Kathleen Price, associate dean of library and technology in UF's Levin College of Law, was among those who spoke in opposition to awarding the degree.
"I really don't feel this is a person who has been a supporter of UF," Price told The Sun after the vote.
Price criticized Bush for allowing the approval of three new medical schools during his tenure, a move that she says has "diluted those resources and hurt the University of Florida in each instance." She also said Bush's politically motivated decisions about university governance were harmful to the state.

Machen, who worked closely with Bush on a number of UF initiatives, said the governor was a great asset to UF and condemned the faculty vote.

"I think it's a horrible mistake on the part of members who voted against it," Machen said.

.....

The faculty vote on Bush's degree comes at a sensitive time politically for Machen, who is working to persuade a Republican-controlled Legislature to approve a controversial program for increasing the cost of attending UF. The university's "academic enhancement program" would charge students an additional $1,000 a year, creating a funding base to hire new faculty.

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Bush was recommended by five people, including Manny Fernandez and Carlos Alfonso, both of whom are UF trustees who were appointed by Bush. Carolyn Roberts, chair of the state Board of Governors and another Bush appointee, also nominated him for the degree. Other supporters included Marshall Criser, former UF president; Gary Gerson, founder of a Miami-based accounting firm; and David Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council.
Machen did not formally nominate Bush, but says he actively encouraged the committee to put Bush's name forward. Machen said he had hoped Bush would speak at a future UF commencement.

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Alfonso, who is a longtime personal friend of Bush's, said he found it incredibly "shortsighted" for the faculty to oppose approval of the degree. Alfonso placed much of the blame for the failed vote on Danaya Wright, chair of the Faculty Senate and an ex-officio member of UF's board of trustees. In an uncommon attack on a fellow board member, Alfonso suggested Wright's own political views had been instrumental in the outcome of the vote.

"I work every day to do what's best for UF, and I put my personal feelings aside, and I have no regard for someone who doesn't," Alfonso said.