<p>Here is the Advocate for FSU website update on this bill:</p>
<p>Advocate</a> for Florida State: News</p>
<p>FSU needs this bill to become law.</p>
<p>Not to be flip, but at this point I think Gov. Scott will flip a coin to make his decision on this bill. Scott bungled the USF Poly independence bill last week so badly that I think FSU stands a better chance having Preeminent Universities Bill approved with a coin toss than if Scott tries to use his own reasoning.</p>
<p>Only two more years of that buffoon.</p>
<p>The name fits the man perfectly. If he vetoes this bill, the chances of me voting for him drop from 0.3 percent to absolutely zero.</p>
<p>You can’t cut funding while rejecting any opportunity to make up that funding. If you want lower tuition rates, then it needs to be subsidized. No such thing as a free lunch; someone’s gotta pay for it, or what you get isn’t going to be very good.</p>
<p>Just got this from President Barron:</p>
<p>Dear friends:</p>
<p>I know that many of you have been watching the legislature and the Governor’s office closely because of the budget cuts for Higher Education and because of our efforts to pass the Preeminence bill that would allow UF and FSU to move forward to ensure that our students always graduate from a highly ranked university. Unfortunately, today the Governor vetoed the Preeminence bill legislation (HB 7129, State Universities of Academic Research Excellence and National Preeminence). No doubt some of the media reports that this bill would have allowed “unbounded” tuition had taken its toll, despite the fact that both our Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors would have had to approve any increase, despite the fact that the bill would have required an unprecedented level of accountability, and despite the fact that Florida’s tuition for its research universities is the very lowest in the nation. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that this will slow our plans given that the legislature continues to take away resources. Obviously, I am disappointed. I believe that Florida’s two world class universities would have been able to make a significantly higher impact on economic development, job creation, and innovative research - all of which would lead to greater opportunities for our students. </p>
<p>Despite this disappointment, we will continue to be steadfast in our commitment to excellence. The bill would have allowed us to do more and do it better, but we will continue to move forward.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your support, and as always, I am more than happy to hear your comments.</p>
<p>Eric</p>
<p>Time to overturn the veto.</p>
<p>Not with elections in just a few months. Legislators aren’t going to try to overturn governor’s veto and get backlash from voters for raising tuition after veto. The bill missed its best shot; it failed. Legislators right now want to distance themselves from university issues after most legislators voted for the new 12th university that is festering worse every minute as a disaster laced with scandal and poor decision making by legislators and the governor. Timing couldn’t be worse to try to overturn this veto.</p>
<p>Some disturbing language from Rick Scott:</p>
<p>“To that end, Scott called on the BOG to create a statewide university plan “with a clear and distinct mission plan for each university tied to degree production and geographic location.” He also called for each school to have “a plan for excellence in a reasonable time frame.””</p>
<p>Really? We’re back to the geographical boundaries again? Wasn’t this already rejected less than a year ago? Do we really want FSU and UF to be constrained to north Florida?</p>