The reorganization of Florida's university system could do a lot of damage to the public credibility of those institutions. A task force planning the changes is considering whether the hiring of university presidents should be conducted in secret. Under that proposal, a university's board of trustees could interview candidates, but only the name of the one recommended for the job would be made public.
Supporters argue that it's done that way in private institutions.
But private institutions don't generally run on the money of the taxpayers of Florida. Public universities do. And now that the legislature is eliminating the Board of Regents, there must be safeguards to ensure that the business of public universities is free of politics and conducted in the open. Channel 10 calls on the education task force not to shut the door on the selection of college and university presidents. The Channel 10 Editorials are an important forum used to exchange ideas and challenge viewpoints.