[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5689-S5690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FLORIDA BOARD OF REGENTS

 Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to commend 
the Florida Voters League for its efforts to save Florida's Board of 
Regents. Today, the Board of Regents meet for the last time as the 
chief governing body of our State university system. The individuals 
who have served our system through the years have been distinguished 
public servants. I want to recognize them and thank them for their 
tireless effort throughout the years to ensure our students receive a 
quality education.
  Florida's system has faced many challenges over the years, but none 
have been as potentially destructive as abolishing the board. At a time 
when Florida faces increasing strains on colleges and universities, it 
is imperative that we maintain a system that ensures our higher 
educational institutions receive adequate resources and funding beyond 
politics. The Board of Regents was created for that very purpose. It 
has served our State well by ensuring no State university becomes too 
powerful at the expense of the others.
  This new system ensures that politicians will govern education, 
instead of experts and independent voices. In the past, the word of the 
Board of Regents was respected by legislators and was further supported 
by the Governor. It was meant to be a nonpartisan governing board. The 
will of the Universities now, however, will be determined by local 
political boards and the will of the Legislature. We recently have seen 
programs granted to universities by legislators, despite the strong 
opposition of the Board of Regents largely because legislators wanted 
to bring home ``the bacon'' to their alma mater. It was best described 
by Dean Weisenfeld of Florida Atlantic University's College of Science 
when he stated, we need to let ``universities be universities.'' 
Instead, the fate of our universities might now depend on the strength 
of their legislative delegations.
  As my distinguished colleague, Senator Bob Graham, has argued, 
elimination of the Board returns our State

[[Page S5690]]

to an antiquated system under which our institutions are pitted against 
each other for State and Federal dollars. The Board of Regents, on the 
other hand, has fostered a system of cooperation between our colleges 
and universities, reduced duplication of programs, and ensured fairness 
in funding. We must continue that sprit of cooperation if we are to 
meet the needs of our institutions and achieve our ultimate goals: 
creating world-class programs, attracting quality faculty and students 
and ensuring our schools can compete with the nation's best for 
research dollars. In that spirit, I support Senator Graham's efforts to 
preserve the Board via constitutional referendum.
  I applaud the Florida Voter League and other organizations that have 
chosen to speak out on this important issue. Insuring our State's next 
generation of leaders receive a quality college education is an issue 
we can't afford to ignore.

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