Mark Rosenberg, the chancellor of Florida's Board of Governors, announced Monday he will resign in February to resume his teaching career.
Rosenberg, who became chancellor of the State University System's highest governing body in 2005, said he plans to join the faculty of Florida International University. He previously served at FIU as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for more than seven years.
He said in a telephone interview Monday that leaving in February will give him time to continue work on the board's budget issues and Forward by Design, an outline of performance goals for each university and the State University System.
Bill Edmonds, the board's spokesman, said in a phone interview that the search for a new chancellor would likely be discussed at Thursday's board meeting, which will be at the University of South Florida.
Rosenberg said he originally agreed to two years of service but stayed for another year mainly to build relationships with Dean Colson, the governor's special adviser on higher education who was appointed last year, and new members on the universities' boards of trustees.
Rosenberg said he also stayed because he wanted to ensure the board's smooth transition of leadership from Carolyn Roberts to Sheila McDevitt, the new chairwoman.
Although this year has been financially turbulent for the state's 11 public universities, which the board oversees, Rosenberg said much of the "heavy lifting" that will help the universities rebound from budget cuts has been done, which includes building relationships with the Florida Legislature and Governor's Office.
UF President Bernie Machen said in a statement that he wished Rosenberg the best for his future.
"He has served through an especially challenging time, as higher education in Florida has suffered a series of serious budget cutbacks," Machen wrote.
Another major part in his decision to return to FIU - and also Miami - was to be a better husband and father, Rosenberg said.
His son and daughter attend FIU, but Rosenberg laughed at the prospect of having one of his children in his political science classes.
"Even if that were possible, they would avoid me," he said. "I'm real proud of the fact that they're in the State University System."
He said he would be more than willing to share his experiences with public policy with fellow FIU professors, but he does not want to impose his activism onto faculty, who are focused on their students and research.
"I'm an educator at heart," Rosenberg said. "Some will want to hear the story and others won't."
