Poly given 9-step path to freedom

The state universities Board of Governors set out a pathway for USF Polytechnic to become an independent university, but with benchmarks that likely will take years to meet.

Meantime, it continues as a campus of the University of South Florida.

Both USF President Judy Genshaft and State Sen. JD Alexander, on opposite sides of a 14-week debate over the proposed split, said they were happy with the decision during the board's meeting Wednesday at Florida Atlantic University.

Polytechnic Chancellor Marshall Goodman, however, wasn't commenting.

He had emerged as the main spokesman for independence, but at one point during Wednesday's meeting, board member John Temple said he believed Goodman was incompetent and asked Genshaft whether she had the authority to fire him.

She didn't answer.

Asked after the meeting whether she planned to make a governance change at Polytechnic, Genshaft said there had been "bumps in the road" in the relationship between the University of South Florida and its Polytechnic campus in Lakeland.

"We have to get the system working again," she said.

On a 13-to-3 vote, the Board of Governors approved the independence path with nine conditions, the first of which is that Polytechnic achieve accreditation as a USF campus from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Polytechnic was in the middle of that process, which can take up to five years, when the independence effort began in July, prompting SACS to put the application on hold.

The other criteria are based on elements of a business plan that Polytechnic produced for the board two weeks ago. Among them:

• Enrolling 1,244 full-time students or the equivalent, with at least half in STEM programs — science, technology, engineering and math — and 20 percent in STEM-related programs.

• Construction of a planned science and technology building, phase one of a wellness center, and residence halls to hold 190 students.

• Putting in place a full set of support services, including financial aid and information technology, though Poly could share these services with another university.

To meet student concerns about a transition, the board added that all students enrolled at USF Polytechnic will be able to graduate with USF diplomas if they meet the requirements.

Also, the board will monitor Poly's progress and have the responsibility of giving its final approval once the campus thinks it has met the goals.

Both Genshaft and Alexander agreed it could take years.

Genshaft was the first to address the board concerning Polytechnic's independence. She vowed, with her voice quavering at the end, to do everything possible to help the campus achieve its goals.

It was established as a polytechnic in 2008 with a focus on training students for high-wage, high-technology jobs.

"I have every confidence that we can bring to Polk County the STEM and applied technology programs that it so richly deserves, and I believe we can do it through the University of South Florida," Genshaft said.

But Alexander, a Lake Wales Republican, told the board he supported Poly's independence because USF had neglected the campus at a time the state is desperate for science and technology graduates.

State Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican and the new Senate president, came to the meeting to second Alexander's call.

While Florida officials are deliberating what to do, American businesspeople are spending hundreds of millions to build science and technology universities in India, he said.

The board members all said the state needed to produce more science graduates, but they disagreed on how to do that.

Making Polytechnic independent might not be the answer, but neither is the status quo, said board member Tico Perez.

"Somehow or another we have to go forward," Perez said. "We can't go back. I think the puzzle is broken."

Temple, who voted against Poly independence, questioned whether Goodman would be the right person to lead a new university.

His said his primary concern is rising cost projections for the main building on the new campus. But he also is disturbed by reports that Goodman wasn't cooperating with USF in its efforts to analyze his plans.

"This thing is messed up," Temple said. "I'm looking to USF to clean this up."