Goodman out but still draws salary as USF Poly leader

A man who stirred protest among students and trustees alike by pushing a quick split for the USF Polytechnic campus has been removed from his job as chancellor.

University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft demoted Marshall Goodman on Tuesday, appointing as interim chancellor David Touchton — a certified public accountant who led a Polk County group seeking to delay the independence move.

"I have lost confidence in your ability to lead," Genshaft wrote in a letter to Goodman.

But Goodman still will make $254,000 for the next year, while he's on what the school calls "professional development leave."

When he comes back in a year as a tenured professor, he will make $150,000.

"How do you get that gig?" asked Rick Dantzler, a former state senator who at first thought that an independent campus in Lakeland was a good idea, then later changed his mind.

"That seems pretty generous to me," said Dantzler, now a Winter Haven lawyer. "I wish someone would fire me and give me that deal."

Goodman said he wanted independence, in part, to help focus in one place all of Florida's efforts to boost the number and quality of graduates in science, technology, engineering and math, known collectively as STEM.

These fields are seen by Gov. Rick Scott and others as key to economic development.

Some of those opposing independence say the state can't afford a new university now. Others want to see a more deliberative process for locating Florida's 12th public university. Some students worry that a split from USF would diminish the value of their degrees.

Critics of independence welcomed Goodman's departure.

"I think it's an excellent decision made by Judy Genshaft," said Frank O'Reilly, a former mayor of Lakeland who now serves on the Polk County School Board. "She has a backbone to stand up and say, 'I am running this university; you are not.' "

"He made the Lakeland campus a sideshow with his attempts to become independent from USF," said state Sen. Mike Fasano, who had sparred with Goodman over audit issues. "That cast a cloud over not only the Lakeland campus, but all of USF."

Added Dantzler: "His advocacy for independence was against the interests of his employer, and an employee just can't do that. Marshall was a talented guy, but he had become such a lightning rod that it was going to be hard to unscramble the eggs."

"I was hopeful this would happen," said John Temple, a member of the Florida Board of Governors, which guides higher education policy for the state universities. "I know what a bad plan is."

A majority of faculty and students, as well as the trustees of the University of South Florida and USF Poly, have opposed the breakaway plan.

Nevertheless, Goodman succeeded in getting the ball rolling.

The Board of Governors agreed in November to put Polytechnic on a path toward independence, but with a series of thresholds likely to take years.

"We have begun that path, and we need the team to get it done," Genshaft said in a news release announcing Touchton's appointment. "I believe David is the right person to lead a clear path to meet those thresholds."

Touchton, a 1965 USF accounting graduate, will serve until a national search finds a leader demonstrating experience with the polytechnic model and strong credentials in the STEM fields, USF said.

One powerful backer of independence is state Sen. JD Alexander, a Lake Wales Republican who won funding for Polytechnic construction despite tight economic times. He has urged that another Florida university take charge of the independence effort.

Alexander has complained that USF hasn't made its Lakeland campus enough of a priority. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Neither could Goodman.

Some critics said they saw the handwriting on the wall for Goodman, but they were surprised at the salary deal he received.

A university spokeswoman said it was required under the contract Goodman negotiated with USF when he arrived to head the campus in May 2006 after stints at the University of Cincinnati, Georgetown University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"It does bother me greatly," said O'Reilly. "… The taxpayers of Florida pay that, and they're not getting anything for their money. I think they ought to cut ties right now. … You're not going to have a loyal employee."