TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
USF Lakeland Campus Driven By Political, Development Ambitions
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Published: April 27, 2008
One of the smartest things Gov. Charlie Crist did last year was veto funding for a regional campus of the University of South Florida in Lakeland.
This year Crist says he's "sold" on building the campus, though nothing's changed about the proposal, which will cost taxpayers $15 million this year and another $20 million over the next two years.
If anything, economic conditions are far less favorable - and the project even more questionable - than last year.
The idea of creating a university dedicated to programs in applied technology is alluring, but the pursuit of a regional campus that ultimately will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars should be based on sound numbers and weighed against the cost to USF's aging campus in Tampa.
Taxpayers are being hoodwinked if they think the USF Lakeland plan is all about helping students in Florida's Heartland. As much as anything, this campus is about helping a large landholder build a new community.
This campus also has the potential to become - and likely will become - Florida's 12th university. And that's OK. Florida needs another university, maybe two, to keep up with demand. Already, the state has some of the largest universities in the nation and there comes a point beyond which it makes no sense for huge universities to grow.
There's just one thing. A new university in Lakeland shouldn't be built at USF's expense.
Numbers Don't Add Up
The driving force behind the campus is an out-of-state developer and state lawmakers with personal and political ambitions.
The Williams Co. of Tulsa, Okla., agreed to donate 530 acres for USF Lakeland, with the understanding that the campus would serve 16,000 students.
But USF Lakeland says it expects just 1,522 students by 2014-15, and there's nothing explaining how USF intends to reach the goal they've promised the donor. President Judy Genshaft now says she doesn't believe the enrollment projection is an enforceable provision, though the Williams Co. might beg to differ.
To reach the promised number, a consultant says USF Lakeland would have to offer freshman and sophomore classes - putting it in direct competition with Polk Community College, which is poised to become one of a handful of community colleges offering four-year degrees.
As a result, taxpayers will pay for needless duplication or needless competition between the two.
Either way, we can't afford it.
The Williams Co. sees the USF Lakeland campus as the centerpiece of a planned 2,500-acre development that will feature upscale homes, shopping centers and a golf course. A research park also is envisioned.
Problem is, USF has said the Lakeland campus will not focus on research, but on extending the university's reach to people who can't make the drive to Tampa. So why build a research park?
Genshaft is confident the Legislature will appropriate the first $15 million this year to begin construction. But USF also will have to come back and ask for at least $10 million for each of the next two years to get the campus under way - money that will not be spent for upgrades at the Tampa campus' less-than-new facilities.
The university has until June 30 to secure the funding or the Williams contract will be breeched. However, it's hard to believe the company will walk away if the deadline is not met, given the money it stands to make on the development. Even if it does walk, the campus could presumably find another site, since other landowners have made similar offers.
12th University Makes Sense
Genshaft is the campus' most visible cheerleader and battled a divided state Board of Governors to win its approval. She says she believes in regionalism and economic development. Indeed, she talks more about regional economic development than about USF's Tampa campus, where professors face overcrowded classes and students sometimes have to sit on the floor.
Genshaft says she's a "regionalist" who believes in making higher education more accessible to students in the 10-county Tampa Bay area. And she's trying hard to convince others that the Lakeland campus will help USF qualify for admission into the prestigious American Association of Universities.
But as hard as she tries, the regional-campus strategy in Lakeland doesn't add up. Especially since the admissions standard for the campus will be lower than in Tampa, which means a USF Lakeland degree will hold less standing.
At best, Genshaft is creating a passel of problems for USF and stumbling blocks for the worthy goal of AAU membership.
The manner in which USF Lakeland is being built isn't good public policy.
It is, however, good for The Williams Co. and the ambitions of a handful of Polk legislators.
When balancing funding choices in this difficult year, Gov. Crist should call a time-out on USF's ambitions for a campus in Polk.
Instead, the governor should ask the state board to come back within a year with a plan that makes sense for the state, including the possibility of a 12th university.
Too much is at stake in our overcrowded system to make a rushed decision now.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( warplayers ) on April 29, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
If you want the consultants to do another survey they will find that over 7 million people live within 75 miles of this new campus and the 12th University would be appropriately located in Polk county. Save us taxpayers money, save the landfill from your blabbering. I am truely sorry that newspaper sales are down and you have to create useless content to fill the pages.
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