Opinion: Florida Legislature, House Speaker, Squeezing Public Universities

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Florida’s public universities have not, as of yet, attained the prestige that states like Michigan, Virginia and North Carolina can claim for their flagship universities.  This is understandable when you take into consideration that Florida is a young state whose population growth and wealth didn’t take off until the 1970’s.  Even now, many of its wealthiest residents grew up, were educated and made their money elsewhere.  Consequently, small population and nominal private endowments have historically limited Florida’s universities.

This began to change in 1985 when the University of Florida attained membership in the American Association of Universities (AAU).  The AAU has rigorous membership standards and its members are widely viewed as the most elite of American universities. In fact, Florida State University has targeted membership in AAU as one of its highest goals as it seeks to grow its stature and reputation. Given their growth, greater research dollars and more accomplished student bodies, the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida are also logical candidates to attain “flagship” status and then one day seek AAU membership.