Jeb Bush Denied University of Florida Honorary Degree; He Really Deserves a Statue from Taxpayers and Parents
In discussing this controversy, it’s important for the sake of perspective to remember what Henry Kissinger said:
“University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.”
While the University of Florida Faculty Senate’s decision to deny former Governor Jeb Bush an honorary degree is, in the big picture, an unimportant kerfuffle, it is nonetheless a cheap and gratuitous insult by a group of malcontented profs who clearly don’t appreciate what an objectively outstanding governor the President’s younger brother was (previous posts on Jeb Bush’s tenure are here, here, and here).
The linked Associated Press story about the honorary degree denial, and others I’ve seen, fail to mention how low Florida university tuitions are compared to much of the rest of the country. A quick look at that unreported part of the story indicates that what Jeb Bush may really deserve is a statue in his honor from Florida’s taxpayers and parents.
Just one example: Biz Weak rated the top undergraduate business schools a few weeks ago (link appears to be free). Here are the rankings of the Ohio and Florida public universities listed, followed by their respective annual tuition bills:
#35 - Miami (Oxford, OH); $9,911
#41 - Ohio State; $9,426
#43 - Florida; $2,968
#62 - Ohio University; $8,845
#77 - Florida State; $3,300
#79 - University of Cincinnati; $9,399
#80 - Florida International; $2,496
#90 - Central Florida; $3,492
#93 - South Florida; $3,340Listed Ohio school average: $9,395
Listed Florida school average: $3,119
Difference: $6,276The Ohio school average is over triple the Florida school average.
The Florida schools above take up five of the seven least expensive slots on Business Week’s list.
Florida’s parents and/or students are, on average, paying or borrowing just over $25,000 less than Ohio’s parents and/or students to get in-state students through four years of college. Floridians also live in a state with no income tax and the 12th lowest/39th highest state tax burden in the country. Yet “somehow,” according to the Biz Weak rankings, Florida’s B-Schools are essentially as good as Ohio’s. How does that happen?
…..
(brief pause to allow Ohioans to recover from becoming ill at what they’ve just read)
…..
Floridians contemplating the performance of Jeb Bush during his eight years as the Sunshine State’s chief executive should be asking themselves, “So where’s that bronze smelter?”
And I’m wondering how long it will be until the well-documented exodus of Ohioans to Florida becomes a stampede.
Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.
_____________________________________
UPDATE: Not everyone associated with the University of Florida is snubbing Jeb Bush –
Former Gov. Jeb Bush was snubbed for an honorary degree at the University of Florida - but he can still call himself an honorary alumnus.
The university’s Alumni Association’s Board of Directors passed a resolution Saturday to make Bush an honorary alumnus.
….. (Leonard Spearman, president of the University of Florida Alumni Association) said the association selected Bush because he supported research at the University of Florida, and because of his efforts to provide funding for more faculty and create a statewide scholarship program. He said the association’s selection had nothing to do with the faculty’s vote.
“What we did was in our own rights, not in our reaction to the Senate,” he said.
Jeb Bush Denied University of Florida Honorary Degree; He Deserves ……
…
Trackback by University Update — March 25, 2007 @ 10:07 am
It’s good to finally see the right just come out and admit Republican rule has failed us in Ohio. Good on ya Tom!
Comment by Eric — March 25, 2007 @ 11:41 am
#2, don’t hang this baby on “the right†(oh, I think you meant the *light*), unless you’re also will say (repeat after me) “Jeb Bush was a great governor.â€
Hang Ohio’s problems on the RINO/not real Republican/not real conservative Taft Admin and the legislators who went along with 8%-10% annual tuition increases and never demanded any cost controls.
Florida’s real conservative governor (except on illegal immigration) managed to hold the line on a relative basis for his 8 years.
Florida shows that what Strickland should be going for is a two-year freeze (not one) and a Wal-Mart-like price rollback at Ohio universities.
Comment by TBlumer — March 25, 2007 @ 11:59 am
I don’t know much about Florida, but we’re all pretty familiar with the utter failure that has been the legacy of Republican rule for nearly two decades here in Ohio. I know you didn’t mean to make that point, but you did. The RINO argument is a convenient, slippery one. Let’s give Ted at least a fifth of the time the culture of corruption crowd had eh? Seem fair?
Nice new Rudy ad. Glad to see you also support RINOs/not real Republican/not real conservatives to some degree, if not fully and substantially so…
Comment by Eric — March 25, 2007 @ 1:15 pm
#4, you should learn about Florida. It’s where our neighbors are fleeing.
No one around here has said that Ted isn’t going to get a fair chance, but he does deserve knocks when he does dumb things like pull the plug on attempts to make education better.
Taking someone’s ad doesn’t mean you support them. You know better than that.
Comment by TBlumer — March 25, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
Just say professor/stupid in the same sentence. Covers 99% of the professors in this country.
Comment by Scrapiron — March 26, 2007 @ 12:03 am
I received a Ph.D. from U. of FL in engineering in 1970. Can anyone provide me with a contact for any organization aligned against this liberal movement at U. of F. I would gladly burn my degree if it would contribute to a statement against these socialists.
amiel@mailmt.com
Comment by Amelio — March 26, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
#7, I would think the alumni association referred to in the update would be a good place to start. Here is the URL:
http://www.ufalumni.ufl.edu/
Comment by TBlumer — March 26, 2007 @ 9:44 pm