Monday, April 21, 2014

Plan to split FSU-FAMU engineering school stirs political waters

Sen. John Thrasher is chairman of Gov. Scott's re-election campaign and is widely considered a front-runner for president of FSU.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- An effort by Florida State University and its well-connected allies to get its own engineering school could be turning into an election-year liability for Gov. Rick Scott.

Not only would the plan cost millions of dollars, it also would mean splitting up FSU's joint school with nearby Florida A&M University, an idea that is stirring outrage among supporters of the state's historically black university and others worried about the fallout.

"Governor — you need to put an end to this idea," Duval County Republican Party Chairman Rick Hartley wrote in an email to Scott outlining his opposition to the engineering school split.

"We are trying to communicate your strong message of job growth to the black community, but this is seen as a direct slap in their face," Hartley wrote.

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