USF trustees meet tomorrow. Will they talk Poly?

Posted Oct 5, 2011 by Lindsay Peterson

Updated Oct 5, 2011 at 12:58 PM

USF’s Board of Trustees meets tomorrow, starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Marshall Student Center ballroom.

It’s a light agenda, but it includes updates from regional campus chancellors, including Marshall Goodman, of USF Polytechnic.

Last month, Goodman came to the statewide Board of Governor’s meeting and gave a spirited pitch for USF Polytechnic to be separated from greater USF and launched as an independent university.

So if he comes to the meeting it will be interesting to hear what he has to say, particularly since the Polk County leaders supporting independence have criticized USF for holding Poly back.

USF President Judy Genshaft has largely kept quiet on the question, saying primarily that she wants what’s best for the students. But one USF trustee, Gene Engle, has openly opposed the state Legislature letting Poly break away.

“It needs some history, maturity, even with the name,” he told the Lakeland Ledger.  “There are just a lot of things that time can bring together.”

“Would that be in five years, 10 years, or never?....I can’t answer those questions.”

Stay tuned.