Yesterday, Gov. Charlie Crist outlined his 2010-11 budget priorities for Florida’s colleges and universities. He wants the state to pump millions more into public higher education without any mandating any across-the-board tuition increases.Crist proposed $7.1 billion for higher education, including a $100-million increase to state universities to build research and education capacity in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM).
“Education is the engine that drives the economy for Florida. This $7.1-billion investment in our institutions of higher learning will help us continue the strong push toward building an economy based on knowledge and innovation,” Crist said. “All Floridians will reap the benefits of these investments resulting in opportunities for job training, job preparedness, and ultimately job creation.”
Crist’s higher education budget priorities include $3.6 billion for the state university system. He recommended $5 million for state university research commercialization matching grants. While the governor proposed no tuition increase for resident undergraduates at Florida’s state universities, state universities have the continued authority to increase the tuition differential fee by up to 15 percent.
The STEMM funding would be a welcome addition to FAMU’s budget. As part of the State University System’s 1999-2003 Strategic Plan, Florida’s Board of Regents approved a Center of Excellence in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (or COESMET) at FAMU. The program’s purpose: increase black Ph.D. recipients in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Specifically, the center was to add ten Ph.D. programs in two phases from 2001 to 2010. Phase I consisted of: Physics, 2001; Computer Science, 2002; Chemistry, 2003; Biology, 2004; and Computer Engineering, 2005. Phase II included Ph.Ds in Mathematics, Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Engineering and Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering between 2006 and 2010. Due to inadequate funding, FAMU has only been able to launch one of the COESMET Ph.D. programs (Physics).
Additionally, the STEMM money could help FAMU kick its plans for a College of Dental Medicine into high gear.
The governor did not specify how he would secure the funds necessary to boost Florida higher education budget in the midst of the current recession. However, in August 2009 Crist signed a gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe that could generate an estimated $300M next in 2010-2011 if it is ratified by the legislature.
FAMU gave $0 to physics in order to start the Ph.D. program. The physics Ph.D. program was funded totally by external support. FAMU did support the physics Ph.D. with reduced teaching loads compared with the rest of the College of Arts and Sciences. However, FAMU is now removing this support and is not replacing retiring faculty--five faculty lines have been lost in the last three years. The prospects for the continuation of the Physics Ph.D. are bleak without at least a minimal level of administrative support.
ReplyDeletewell hopefully the Governors proposed budget will allow for that funding as well as the support of a college of Dentistry.
ReplyDeleteIf we cannot get our previous PhD programs going what chance is there that we can get a school of dentistry going. Dentistry is just another hare brained idea by our latest set of Administrators that will not work and which will flush more of our money down the drain and away from existing programs.
ReplyDeleteThe physics program was not totally funded by external support. Faculty hires were made with recurring E&G dollars.
ReplyDeleteAnd how dare FAMU's administration be ambitious enough to propose a dental school!
1/29/2010 12:52 PM must miss Castell and her community college vision for FAMU.
The FAMU administration needs to concentrate on improving the academic quality of its existing academic programs rather than puffing up Ammon's resume'.
ReplyDeleteTo 1:14pm; To propose is just talk - and we are good at that. Actually doing something, is another story. Ambitious - yes! Ability - no! Where is the Chemistry PhD that Humpries proposed follow Physics?
ReplyDeleteThe BOR approved all the Ph.D. programs but the Florida Legislature failed to fund them. Humphries had no control over the legislature. All any president can do is propose programs and then ask for funding each year.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the lack of support from the legislature, FAMU should be commended for being resourceful enough to get the Ph.D. in physics started, at all.
If you want to help launch the chemistry Ph.D. program, start writing letters to the people who actually control Florida's budget.
12:52 Go sit. Dental health iss directly related to iverall health, which is what we should be looking at anyway. Wholistic health. Including mental and spiritual, we all need that.
ReplyDeleteSeems from what 1:59pm is saying that 1:51pm is correct afterall.
ReplyDeleteHuh? If FAMU doesn't go out and request funding for the Ph.D. programs it wants to start, it won't get any. FAMU doesn't benefit from a lack of ambition.
ReplyDeleteAs strange as this sounds, FAMU did receive startup money for the Physics Ph.D. program. Physics just did not receive it. It was redirected internally and Physics did not see a penny.
ReplyDeleteFAMU used money from its general legislative appropriation to hire new physics faculty members and start-up the physics Ph.D. program.
ReplyDeleteThe legislature never made a special appropriation for the physics program. FAMU just made physic faculty hires a priority with the money it was already getting.
2:45PM--you are incorrect. The legislature most certainly did give FAMU money to start the Physics Ph.D. FAMU used it for something else.
ReplyDeleteThat simply isn't true. There is no record of any special appropriation for FAMU's physics Ph.D. program because none was ever made. FAMU launched the program from its regular, recurring appropriations.
ReplyDelete4:03PM--I will accept that you are in a position to know and that you have checked this information that you report. Then, let me pose the following questions: (1) why do you think FAMU has valid and/or complete records from this time; (2) would you not expect that the funding would come through the COESMET?--did the COESMET receive $0?; (3) do you really think the then SUS Board of Regents had no interest in the Ph.D. programs that they authorized and would not have a vital interest in the proper startup of Ph.D. programs that they approved? They would have to have the nonchalance about new SUS Ph.D. programs as say, new lemonade stands. I do not think so. I still say you are incorrect.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the past legislative appropriation bills clearly show that FAMU did not receive any special line item for its physics Ph.D. program.
ReplyDeleteSecond and third, funding did not come through for COESMET because the BOR and legislature did not consider it a priority.
The regents approved the Ph.D. programs after Humphries gave them a PR ass beating for their "Three Tier" proposal. The BOR never had any intention of making a serious push to lobby for full funding of the doctorates. They did not want FAMU to have a bunch of STEM Ph.D. program's to compete with FSU's across the street.
Dear 5:38PM--The funding appeared after Humphries stepped down. The interim FAMU president that immediately followed Humphries is the source of the information that funding came to FAMU for the Physics Ph.D. startup. The funding was diverted at the level of the Dean of the CAS. Now, the interim president may have been misinformed, but I doubt it. I also seriously doubt that he would have deliberately mislead. By the time this situation was reported to me, the president had changed again and everyone denied the funding ever existed, as you are now doing.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the interim president who followed Humphries said or didn't say.
ReplyDeleteThe legislative records show that there was NEVER a special line item for the Ph.D. in Physics program. Humphries got FAMU ready to launch the program by hiring as many physics faculty members as he could with the limited legislative funds FAMU was receiving during his tenure.
FAMU was able to start the Physics Ph.D. program in 2001 (http://www.physics.famu.edu/)because it finally had enough faculty members to teach all the required graduate courses.
If the funding had "appeared" after Humphries stepped down in 2001, then FAMU would not have had enough faculty in place to start the program before he left.
9:05 PM--You are saying that you do not care what the then president said. Well, I do. Will you please provide an avenue that I can follow to see these legislative records that you reference? If you do so, I will look at them. Otherwise, I am finished with this exchange.
ReplyDeleteThe legislative records are available at http://laws.flrules.org/ or www.leg.state.fl.us. You won't find any special line item for a Physics Ph.D. program listed in FAMU's appropriations.
ReplyDeleteAll I've said is that I do not know what the former interim president said about the Physics Ph.D. program.
I do know that the Physics Ph.D. program was launched in 2001. That fact is also confirmed by the program's own faculty on their department website.
A university cannot launch a new degree without enough faculty to members to teach the required courses. The faculty are THE MOST IMPORTANT part of any Ph.D. program. FAMU was able to start the Physics Ph.D. in 2001 because Humphries had already hired enough faculty members. FAMU did not receive any special legislative appropriation to hire those professors.
The argument that FAMU started the Ph.D. in Physics program in 2002 because funding magically appeared is simply wrong. The program was already up and runnning in 2001 before Humphries left.
Get em 9:41, because these people act like things have been fair from the jump. Like the Dixiecrat reports are accurate, etc. Some of us have been on this underground railroad long befor RN came along. Sure the movement was more authentic.
ReplyDeleteAll this anonymity lets people say hateful things while bashing A&M. They wouldn't say most of it to anyone's face. Comin on here to help seems to be the last thing on their spirit, but they know how lightly they'd better tread. Rattlers Rise!
ReplyDeleteSo, if FAMU has done such a great job of supporting its Physics Ph.D., why is there no Chemistry or CIS Ph.D.? The faculty must be chopping at the bit to get one started. Lets get going. No support money is needed--smoke and mirrors is the FAMU way.
ReplyDeleteYou must not have noticed the multi-million dollar budget cuts from the legislature or the ongoing recession.
ReplyDeletePick up a newspaper.
Multi-million dollar budget cuts from the legislature .......
ReplyDeleteobviously just the time for FAMU to start a Dental School.
This article shows that Crist is trying to increase the overall SUS budget and provide more STEMM money.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is the right time to seek full funding for all our COESMET PhDs.