The Boards
Section IX.7 of the Florida State Constitution mandates that the Board of Governors shall operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible for the management of the whole university system … subject to the powers of the legislature to appropriate for the expenditure of funds. Each university shall have its own Board of Trustees, which shall have the powers and duties determined by the Board of Governors.
The governor nominates fourteen of the seventeen members of the Board of Governor, to be confirmed by the Legislature, the remaining three members being the Commissioner of Education, the chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates, and the president of the Florida Student Association. The governor nominates six members of each university’s board of trustees and the Board of Governors nominates five, all eleven appointments requiring confirmation by the Legislature; in addition, the faculty senate president and student government president serve on the board.
The USF Board of Trustees appoints the USF President, who in turn appoints the provost, and so on down the hierarchy. Within legal constraints – which Jonathan Swift once compared to cobwebs – the Administration serves at the pleasure of the Board.
Clause 1.3B of the UFF USF Collective Bargaining Agreement guarantees the UFF a place on the agenda for each Board of Trustees meeting. Here are some past statements to the Board, in reverse chronological order.
- The 7 December 2022 meeting. Here are the comments of the UFF.
- The 6 September 2022 meeting. Here are the minutes and here are the comments of the UFF.
- The 15 June 2022 meeting. Here are the minutes and here are the comments of the UFF.
Meetings of the Board of Governors and the USF Board of Trustees are announced in advance and open to the public.