Despite Florida’s severe dentist shortage and paltry number of black dental students, the Board of Governors has dragged its feet in scheduling a vote on FAMU’s proposed College of Dental Medicine. State lawmakers might soon take up FAMU’s request for $1.5M in dental school planning funds without the BOG’s formal recommendation.Sen. Alfred “Al” Lawson told The FAMUan he’s working to get the planning money into the Florida Senate’s budget.
“[The Board of Governors members] don’t feel like FAMU needs a dental school at this time,” Lawson said. He added that the BOG seems to think that “this is not the best time because the economy is really tough, and universities are already having problems with funding.”
Florida’s ongoing budget problems didn’t stop the BOG from approving an expensive new doctor of pharmacy program at the University of South Florida designed with explicit intent of competing against FAMU’s own College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The legislature still holds all the cards when it comes to establishing new health professional programs in the Sunshine State.
Even though the BOG can approve new programs, it has no authority over the state boards which grant health professional licenses. Those boards are all part of the Florida Department of Health, which operates under the laws passed by the legislature. The state’s health boards will only grant licenses to students from legislatively-certified programs.
Although the BOG has not recommended a dental school, FAMU can still ask the legislature for certification to train dental students who will be eligible to receive licenses from the Florida Board of Dentistry.
During the days of the Board of Regents, FAMU had to go above the board’s head and get legislative approval for Institute of Public Health and the restoration of the College of Law. The BOR objected to both proposed programs.
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