The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges determined Thursday UF has operated with integrity as they take steps to protect academic freedom.
During the final listening sessions amid the search for UF's next president, attendees voiced concerns about lack of transparency and trust with university leaders.
The university will host four listening sessions in the next two days as a part of the search for the next president. Faculty and students can provide input on qualities they want the presidential search committee and board of trustees to keep in mind Monday and Tuesday.
A tenured UF English professor is suing several faculty members, including President Kent Fuchs, under the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. He claims he was not granted his rights to free speech and due process.
The search for UF’s next president has begun, and graduate students remain frustrated they are not represented on the Presidential Search committee.
Eight professors spoke out in November about their rights being barred by the university, raising questions about the institution’s independence from the state government. Since then, students and faculty have been working to spark change around the campus. The United Faculty of Florida, UF Young Democratic Socialists of America, UF College Democrats and the United Campus Workers organized the coalition and the outdoor event.
Senate Bill 520 and its companion bill, House Bill 703, will keep the identities of presidential candidates out of public records for most of the process. Students and faculty will be able to research and meet with finalists 21 days before a new campus leader is chosen.
UF students lack a proper education in African American history. “I just think that the under-education of our student population is doing us much more harm than it does good,” Stevenson said. Stevenson uses a teaching methodology called critical pedagogy, or teaching through inquiry. He frequently asks students questions about historical people and analyses only to find they have never heard of them.
UF expects to start looking for a new president in March, UF spokesperson Hessy Fernandez wrote in an email. The search has been kept under wraps so far, and SB 520/HB 703 would keep it that way. Meanwhile, Florida’s senators and representatives have filed Senate Bill 520 and House Bill 703, which would delay the release of any information identifying a university’s presidential applicant, including meeting recordings that would disclose such information if obtained through a public records request.
UF President Kent Fuchs announced Wednesday morning that he will be resigning from his position to transition into a professor role. UF released the announcement for Fuchs’ resignation in a campus-wide email and video message. Fuchs, 67, intends to continue his presidential duties for the rest of the year and step down in 2023 once a new president is sworn in. He plans to return to his home department of electrical and computer engineering.
Although the report followed recommendations made by a task force created to reimagine UF’s conflict of interest policies, the proposed changes would still allow the university to bar professors from testifying in the future.
The task force’s final report recommendations stated UF could still deny testimony if it thought professors were engaging in too many outside activities that restrict them from duties at UF.
On its fifth meeting, the task force members unanimously voted in favor of passing the final report to Fuchs Monday afternoon.
UCW-UF is a wall-to-wall union covering university workers from staff members to adjunct faculty. At the conference, which was also live streamed on social media, union representatives called for a collective voice to fight for better wages and benefits.
President Fuchs’ Task Force on Outside Activities had its first two meetings last week following heavy scrutiny on UF’s decision to limit eight professors from testifying in lawsuits against the state.
Citing the UF’s lack of a plan to provide affordable graduate housing, the Alachua County Commission delayed its vote on Campus Development Agreement until December.
UF alumni express disappointment with the university's decision to bar professors from testifying against the state through tweets that declared a halt in donations. Over 440 individuals signed a petition last week.
The task force was appointed by President Kent Fuchs and Provost Joe Glover to investigate UF’s written policies on disclosure of outside activities and conflict of interest. The university’s policies came under scrutiny after they were used to bar professors from testifying against the state of Florida.
Marsha McGriff, UF’s new chief diversity officer, will build upon current and previous work, lead diversity, equity and inclusion strategic planning, build a culture of accountability and transparency on progress made, and engage with community leaders and student diversity groups.
If voted in favor, the COVID-19 no-confidence resolution would formalize the faculty and staff’s disappointment in both the state and university leadership’s COVID policies. The vote does not fire anyone in the administration.
Solutions by The State News
