Post by FIUFanatic on Oct 15, 2005 5:45:13 GMT -5
Another article on today's Herald. It mentions the possibility of the vote being delayed from its original Nov. 17 date to a later one.....Here's the link and article:
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/12907965.htm
www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/12907965.htm
EDUCATION
An FIU medical school stays in waiting room
Two state universities want medical schools, but an important vote scheduled for November may be delayed.
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@herald.com
Proposed public medical schools in Miami and Orlando -- expensive crown jewels for two universities -- may not be moving forward as smoothly as boosters had hoped.
An influential decision-maker said this week that med school bids for Florida International University and the University of Central Florida are being rushed amid heavy lobbying -- including intervention from a former House speaker working for UCF.
''If we let this happen, what's the next issue that will come down the pike that we treat in the same casual way?'' said J. Stanley Marshall, a member of the state's 17-member Board of Governors, which oversees public universities.
Marshall, a former Florida State University president, wants the board to back off a planned vote on Nov 17. He wrote in an Oct. 10 memo that board members -- all political appointees of Gov. Jeb Bush -- don't have the knowledge or time to sift through hundreds of pages of proposals without the help of a statewide chancellor, a job that is now vacant. Without that expert perspective, board members are forced to rely on one-sided arguments from med school advocates, he said.
The board's chairwoman, Carolyn K. Roberts, said Friday she doesn't know whether the board will move forward next month, but a delay in the vote is possible. In the meantime, a second board member has written a memo suggesting delaying the vote.
Both FIU and UCF have made new medical schools their top priorities. Winning state approval will bring their schools prestige, their regions economic development and their large minority populations easier access to medical training.
But the schools will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year, at the least. Both schools project a state contribution of about $20 million a year once the schools are running, and millions more to supplement private money for buildings and other start-up costs.
Only one new medical school in the country -- at Florida State University -- has opened since 1983.
In the past, the medical establishment has blocked the new schools, saying they would create a doctor surplus. Now several medical organizations predict a shortage.
But medical schools are among the most political of animals. FSU won approval for its school in 2000 only because of the political muscle of then-Speaker John Thrasher, an alumnus who made it his top priority. The FSU College of Medicine welcomed its first students in May 2001.
UCF's foundation has hired Thrasher as a lobbyist in August, paying him $7,500 a month.
FIU Provost Mark Rosenberg said his school has not hired an outside lobbyist. He and President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique have been meeting with Board of Governors members individually, he said.
Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, chairman of the Board of Governors' medical school committee, calls the level of lobbying ``incredible.''
''I've never been talked to so hard in my life,'' he said.
FIU and UCF leaders have been confidently counting votes in the Board of Governors with an eye toward next month's meeting.
New medical schools are essentially a two-part process. If the board says yes, universities still need the Legislature to agree to pay the bulk of the costs, despite major private contributions.
''I'd like to think that there are nine or 10 [yes votes] at this point, but I don't know yet,'' said Rosenberg.
UCF President John Hitt said ''a lot could swing one way or another'' in the next month.
Hitt said he was moving forward with a November presentation because that's what the board asked him to do.
Rosenberg said board members have had ample opportunity to discuss the med school proposals and ask questions at meetings.
An FIU medical school stays in waiting room
Two state universities want medical schools, but an important vote scheduled for November may be delayed.
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@herald.com
Proposed public medical schools in Miami and Orlando -- expensive crown jewels for two universities -- may not be moving forward as smoothly as boosters had hoped.
An influential decision-maker said this week that med school bids for Florida International University and the University of Central Florida are being rushed amid heavy lobbying -- including intervention from a former House speaker working for UCF.
''If we let this happen, what's the next issue that will come down the pike that we treat in the same casual way?'' said J. Stanley Marshall, a member of the state's 17-member Board of Governors, which oversees public universities.
Marshall, a former Florida State University president, wants the board to back off a planned vote on Nov 17. He wrote in an Oct. 10 memo that board members -- all political appointees of Gov. Jeb Bush -- don't have the knowledge or time to sift through hundreds of pages of proposals without the help of a statewide chancellor, a job that is now vacant. Without that expert perspective, board members are forced to rely on one-sided arguments from med school advocates, he said.
The board's chairwoman, Carolyn K. Roberts, said Friday she doesn't know whether the board will move forward next month, but a delay in the vote is possible. In the meantime, a second board member has written a memo suggesting delaying the vote.
Both FIU and UCF have made new medical schools their top priorities. Winning state approval will bring their schools prestige, their regions economic development and their large minority populations easier access to medical training.
But the schools will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year, at the least. Both schools project a state contribution of about $20 million a year once the schools are running, and millions more to supplement private money for buildings and other start-up costs.
Only one new medical school in the country -- at Florida State University -- has opened since 1983.
In the past, the medical establishment has blocked the new schools, saying they would create a doctor surplus. Now several medical organizations predict a shortage.
But medical schools are among the most political of animals. FSU won approval for its school in 2000 only because of the political muscle of then-Speaker John Thrasher, an alumnus who made it his top priority. The FSU College of Medicine welcomed its first students in May 2001.
UCF's foundation has hired Thrasher as a lobbyist in August, paying him $7,500 a month.
FIU Provost Mark Rosenberg said his school has not hired an outside lobbyist. He and President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique have been meeting with Board of Governors members individually, he said.
Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, chairman of the Board of Governors' medical school committee, calls the level of lobbying ``incredible.''
''I've never been talked to so hard in my life,'' he said.
FIU and UCF leaders have been confidently counting votes in the Board of Governors with an eye toward next month's meeting.
New medical schools are essentially a two-part process. If the board says yes, universities still need the Legislature to agree to pay the bulk of the costs, despite major private contributions.
''I'd like to think that there are nine or 10 [yes votes] at this point, but I don't know yet,'' said Rosenberg.
UCF President John Hitt said ''a lot could swing one way or another'' in the next month.
Hitt said he was moving forward with a November presentation because that's what the board asked him to do.
Rosenberg said board members have had ample opportunity to discuss the med school proposals and ask questions at meetings.
