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Head Of Florida University System To Step Down

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2008

  Mark Rosenberg

The leader of Florida's public university system announced today that he is stepping down, saying the time is right for new leadership and for him to return to the college campus he has missed for three years.

Mark Rosenberg will leave his post as chancellor of the state university system in February and join the faculty at Florida International University, where he served as provost.

"I had made a two-year commitment and stayed a third year," Rosenberg said of his tenure as chancellor, which began in late 2005. "This was not a long-term proposition. I love the university campus, and I like working directly with students."

The chairwoman of the university system's Board of Governors, Sheila McDevitt, said the board soon will create a search team to find Rosenberg's successor.

The timing is critical. Rosenberg's plan to leave comes at the start of the state's next legislative session, a time that likely will be difficult for the university system, McDevitt said.

After the spring legislative session, the university system suffered millions in budget cuts and its Board of Governors escaped a political threat from powerful lawmakers to disband it.

These days, each of Florida's 11 public universities continues to grapple with the effect of lost millions – from enlarged class sizes to cuts in student services.

Even if the board finds his replacement before March, McDevitt said, Rosenberg likely will serve as a consultant.

The next chancellor must possess not only strong academic credentials but also the political savvy to navigate Tallahassee.

"There are probably not tons and tons of people like that," McDevitt said.

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