U. of Fla. Denies Degree To Jeb Bush
School Faculty Votes Against Awarding Honorary Degree To Former Fla. Governor
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Jeb Bush at a May 2006 news conference. The faculty senate of the University of Florida rejected a request to award the former Florida governor an honorary degree, after expressing concern about Bush's record in higher education. (AP)
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The Senate voted 38-28 Thursday against giving the honorary degree to Bush, who left office in January.
"Jeb Bush has been a great friend of the University of Florida," Machen said Friday, adding that the Senate's action is "unheard of."
Some faculty expressed concern about Bush's record in higher education.
"I really don't feel this is a person who has been a supporter of UF," Kathleen Price, associate dean of library and technology at the school's Levin College of Law, told The Gainesville Sun after the vote.
Bush's approval of three new medical schools during his tenure has diluted resources, Price told the newspaper.
Bush has also been criticized for his "One Florida" proposal, an initiative that ended race-based admissions programs at state universities.
Machen maintains, however, that Bush has benefited the university, such as by providing the funding to attract nationally recognized faculty.
Machen also pointed to Bush's First Generation Scholarship program, modeled after a University of Florida effort to help high school students at risk of not making it to college.
University officials said they could not recall any precedent for the Senate rejecting the nominees put forth by the Faculty Senate's Honorary Degrees, Distinguished Alumnus Awards and Memorials Committee. The committee determines whether nominees deserve consideration according to standards that include "eminent distinction in scholarship or high distinction in public service."
"The committee endorsed him," Machen said. "It is unheard of that a faculty committee would look at candidates, make recommendations and then (those candidates) be overturned by the Senate."
An e-mail sent to Bush by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.
©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 57 CommentsHe should already have the prestige not to question the decision of the committee.
Sorry I can't give him an award for fighting illness and fighting racism. But that's politically correct America.
Such action was to be expected. What next? How about an honorary degree to Fidel Castro?
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hmmm? isn't that the kind of thinking that usually precedes the commission of a hate crime?
Cher: Dropped out of school in 9th grade. Career: Singing and acting
Martin Sheen : Flunked exam to enter University of Dayton. Career:
Acting
Jessica Lange Dropped out college mid-freshman year. Career: Acting
Alec Baldwin Dropped out of George Washington U.
...
These people received honorary college degrees. So did kermit the frog and Robert Mugabe.
Bush doesn't need an "honorary degree". He earned his on his own.
Posted by inventagod
How so? Because of College politics? Hardly.
Good move!
Those degrees should be for people who would promote the Common Good, not for those who rather promote narrow and narrow-minded special interests.
He should already have the prestige not to question the decision of the committee.
Posted by wizest
Hey wizest,
I didn't read anywhere that he questioned the decision.
His drug addicted child (like her drug addicted uncle and cousins) repeatedly gets away with drug-related crimes just because of her genetic connections.
"Moreover, the Jeb is a VERY BAD PARENT!"
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Wow!
Since you broke the subject I guess it's now ok to compare Jeb's daughter to Democrat Presidential candidate George McGovern's daughter Terry. Did George get any honarary degrees? I can't imagine any business school giving him an honorary degree. Besides his miserable failure as a parent he also had a miserable failure as a business owner.
http://www.sonic.net/~barny/terry.html
Posted by rohink at 11:34 AM : Mar 24, 2007"
That is true; but we don't reward (and so encourage) the 'failures' with honorary degrees?"
Who in their right mind honor 'failures' with degrees?
Posted by rohink at 11:38 AM : Mar 24, 2007"
No, it makes them good parents! Sheesh!
No wonder the children grow up not taking responsibility:
THE PARENTS RUN AWAY FROM RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S ACTIONS, actions performed as children!
does anyone know an honest Democrat? to watch Democrats try to create a moral high ground is like watching them trying to build a 20 story building on quicksand :)
Who in their right mind honor 'failures' with degrees?
Posted by Agnim
He earned his own college degree and got it in two years instead of 4 with a high grade average. Let's just give the "honorary degrees" to the hollywood actors, some of which didn't even finish high school.
Posted by rohink at 11:38 AM : Mar 24, 2007"
No, it makes them good parents! Sheesh!
No wonder the children grow up not taking responsibility:
THE PARENTS RUN AWAY FROM RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S ACTIONS, actions performed as children!
Posted by Agnim at
Agnim, are you a parent?
Posted by Agnim
Evidently colleges do.
because neither has tolerance for those who see
realities differently, and their remarks being so
insulting are worthless blather.
APPLE2PIE: you must be near drowning if still
thrashing around looking to back up what you say
about FL corporation tax revenues. It just ain't
so !!! Corporations here are so coddled they don't have to hire lobbyists because they have so
many seated in the legislative chambers. After
being term-limited they get on private payrolls in such capacity because they're no longer paid by the state to do the same thing.
Like most politicians, Jeb was superb in only one
thing -- forgetting all his campaign promises.
What he was REALLY GOOD at was chewing up and
spitting out the state's work force, with brain-
dead privatizing. How can a For-Profit business
save governments' dollars while set up for big
profits after recouping bribes paid (under other expense titles) ???
Whooever thinks he was good for this state either
doesn't live here or doesn't learn the news.
UF did good this time !!! But the slap to his
face will be forgotten too soon/
Kudos to the University of Florida Faculty Senate!
Meanwhile back in Texas, Southern Methodist University is getting the campus ready for the great GEORGE W BUSH Presidential library.
But first they will have to order all the gravestones that will line the driveway to the library, to honor all the dead Americans GW killed when he was in office.
Posted by jerr11
How many copies of "my pet goat" is it expected to hold?
If you want to witness a REAL graduation stop by Austin at graduation time. It's probably America's biggest and best graduation ceremonies.
Next year they'll probably give an honarary degree to Fidel Castro.
does anyone know an honest Democrat? to watch Democrats try to create a moral high ground is like watching them trying to build a 20 story building on quicksand :)
Posted by Jebby_One at 02:40 PM : Mar 24, 2007:
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I don%u2019t believe the democrats can really build a moral high ground with the present campaign system so corrupt.
They really don%u2019t need to anyway. The republican party has sunk so deep over the past 12 years that the democrats just appear to have the moral high ground.
Isn't it possible that they just did not want to honor this treasonous dipshit?
www.ericblumrich/gta.html
http://informedconsent.typepad.com/informed_consent/files/CCF03132007_00001.pdf
whenever florida SCHOOL CHILREN wanted to make a point about his PRIVATIZED education filter - the FCAT *only for public school children* -
He FAILED the sample question.
I never saw the purpose in "honorary" degrees to people who deserve no "honor". Unless of course it is the POLITICS of educators who are looking for that next big "administrative" raise.
In fairness to Jeb Bush, he may well be a loyal and patriotic dipshit, not a treasonous one.
He could give a Sh~t about anyone but himself. His children are a disgrace and he is an elitistist who lives off good peoples hard work and retirement $$$. He's an enron profiteer.
When a company announces a $600 million loss in three months, its CEO quits and its stock price drops like a brick %u2014 most investors would sell their shares: Not the Florida Retirement System.
Mismanagement Made the Enron Loss Inevitable, the State Board of Administration (SBA) repeatedly engaged in poor investment practices under the watch of its Board of Trustees, chaired by Gov. Jeb Bush. Despite warnings from inside and outside the SBA, the trustees failed to correct these problems, leading to a stunning loss on Enron stock nearly three times greater than that of any other state retirement fund
Maybe it was because Enron gave $154,425 %u2014 80 percent to Republicans %u2014 to Florida legislators in 1996 and 1998, including $6,500 for Jeb%u2019s campaign.
Maybe it was because Jeb hired Alliance Capital Management %u2014 a firm with an Enron director on its board %u2014 to oversee its Enron stock.
Maybe it was because Jeb appointed a political crony Coleman Stipanovich %u2014 brother of Republican fixer Mac Stipanovich %u2014 to oversee Alliance Capital Management.
Maybe it was because former president Richard Kinder hosted a fundraiser for Jeb in Houston on Jan. 17 %u2014 just a month after the dirty deed was done.
Now Floridians remove the catalic converters.
don
Jeb Bush should be honored by this.
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