<p>You might call him the lone ranger.
As the University of Florida enters its 100th year of classes Wednesday, UF President Bernie Machen says it is time for the state's flagship institution to push out on its own.</p>
<p>Behind the scenes, Machen has been lobbying lawmakers and state leaders to more or less set UF free, giving it authority to increase in-state, undergraduate tuition higher than any of the state's other 10 public universities.</p>
<p>All of Florida's universities are typically held to the same across-the-board in-state tuition increases by the Legislature, but Machen argues it's time for that to change. Indeed, if Machen has his way, the throng of students who arrive on campus this week will be the last to get such a sweetheart deal: first-rate education at relatively bargain basement prices.</p>
<p>"You look at our tuition and fees relative to other universities, we're way back," Machen said.</p>
<p>The entire state of Florida ranks on the low end when it comes to tuition, and all university presidents will push for tuition increases this year. But Machen says there's a need to put UF on the same playing field with the nation's elite public universities, and that an "add on" of tuition reserved just for UF is necessary.</p>
<p>Students enrolled at UF this year will pay $3,206 in tuition and fees for a full 30-hour course load.</p>
<p>The plan to let UF hike tuition a higher rate has resonated with some lawmakers, according to the system's chancellor, but it's sure to be met with resistance from other Florida schools, all of which have historically argued for equal increases. Machen said other schools may well try to get the same flexibility UF is seeking.</p>
<p>"If others wanted to do it, that would be fine," he said. "But who knows whether the others are going to try it."</p>
<p>Tuition increases have been Machen's mantra since he arrived at UF in early 2004, and this year is no different.</p>
<p>At the same time, he's consistently pushed for an increase in faculty salaries.</p>
<p>To that end, Machen says he's pushing for something he concedes is improbable: a 10 percent statewide faculty salary increase, costing some $25 million for UF alone, in addition to any across-the-board salary hikes given to state workers by the Legislature.</p>
<p>"We're below the median in almost every discipline," Machen said. "We would like to have our salaries up there more competitive with our peers."</p>
<p>Faculty at UF made an average of $77,627 in 2005, which is 13 percent more than faculty salaries at Florida State University, which is UF's closest in-state competitor in terms of compensation.</p>
<p>Machen says that all Florida faculty need the 10 percent boost, but he has continually argued that UF faculty salaries ought to be competitive with other schools in the elite Association of American Universities. UF is the only Florida school that has membership in the association, which boasts the likes of the University of California at Berkeley - a university that consistently ranks No. 1 among public universities in U.S. News & World Report.</p>
<p>In U.S. News & World Report rankings released last week, UF ranked 13th among public universities. But lack of resources for faculty have proven an albatross for the university, and that will continue to keep UF from ascending in the ranks if more money doesn't come from the Legislature or tuition, Machen says.</p>
<p>UF has fared comparatively well when it comes to making its case for money to build new facilities, taking home more state dollars than any other university for such projects this year.</p>
<p>As classes get under way this fall, students and faculty will see the fruits of those efforts with several major construction projects under way.</p>
<p>UF recently opened its largest library, Library West, after a $30.4 million renovation. The university also completed the $125 million UF Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville this summer, and the high-tech cancer facility treated its first patient last week.</p>
<p>For the first time in Machen's presidency, what UF won't likely have this year are changes in administration. UF hired a new general counsel this month, which was the last open slot in Machen's Cabinet.</p>
<p>The counsel, Jamie Lewis Keith from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a "huge recruit" for UF, Machen said.</p>
<p>With that position filled, Machen says his central administration is set.</p>
<p>"We're in stable city," he said.
Jack Stripling can be reached at 374-5064 </p>