Tia Mitchell | Staff Reporter, January 19, 2013, Tampa Bay Times
The accrediting organization for colleges and universities is looking into Gov. Rick Scott’s involvement in the University of Florida’s presidential search.
Shortly after the Jan. 8 announcement that Scott had helped persuade UF president Bernie Machen to postpone retirement, a representative from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools told the Times/Herald it saw no cause for concern because UF Board of Trustees Chairman David Brown was involved in the decision.
Since then, Scott’s office confirmed that the governor met with a potential candidate before asking Machen to stay. UF faculty members have expressed concern that Scott was overstepping his authority and interfering in a decision that should be beyond his control.
SACS now tells the Times/Herald it is looking into the matter.
“We are aware of what’s going on and we’re reviewing it,” spokeswoman Pamela Cravey said.
If SACS decides Scott exerted too much influence over Machen and UF trustees, this could be the second time Scott crosses the organization.
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The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily the positions of UFF-UF.
