Chiropractic School No More For FSU By GARY HABER and ALLISON NORTH JONES The Tampa Tribune Published: Jan 28, 2005 GAINESVILLE - Shooting down Florida State University's proposed chiropractic school, the state's higher education oversight board said Thursday that the $60 million program did not fit FSU's mission and was not a university system priority. The 10-3 vote sets up a face- off between the Board of Governors and legislators, who voted last session to fund the program at $9 million annually. ``We don't know what their authority is or isn't,'' said state Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island. Jones, a chiropractor, said the nation's first state-run chiropractic school is not a dead issue. ``We have to see what our options are. Maybe there are none,'' Jones said. ``Maybe the first opportunity for a public chiropractic school will have to happen somewhere else in the state.'' FSU officials said this was the end of their plans for a chiropractic program. ``It's over,'' FSU Provost Larry Abele said. ``They exercised their constitutional authority, and there will be no further discussion of a chiropractic degree.'' Considering the months of debate, FSU President T.K. Wetherell said the vote was no surprise and called the process ``frustrating.'' Aside from the long-simmering feud between chiropractors and doctors over whether chiropractic is real medicine, the proposal turned into a political feud pitting politicians against academics. The decision voided a project that was 10 years in the making, said state Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville. ``Students in the state have been short-sheeted by the action of the Board of Governors who had the opportunity to do something worthwhile,'' said King, a former Senate president. $8 Million Already Spent Board members showed little enthusiasm for the proposal, especially after FSU trustees voted Jan. 14 to forward plans to the Board of Governors without an endorsement. ``FSU didn't give us a reason to vote for it,'' said Steve Uhlfelder, a board member. ``Hopefully this will end it, and we can move on to the bigger issues of higher education.'' In rejecting FSU's proposal, Board of Governors members showed a willingness to exercise control over new graduate and professional degree programs, an issue in dispute since Florida voters amended the constitution in 2002 to create the board. ``It was a good day because the board showed it is moving forward in implementing the constitutional amendment,'' Board of Governors chairwoman Carolyn Roberts said. The issue now is what happens to the $9 million lawmakers gave FSU. Wetherell said the money is already committed. About $8 million has been spent for a classroom building on FSU's Tallahassee campus, said Larry Abele, FSU's provost. House and Senate leaders said they were monitoring Thursday's decision, as well as a pending court case over who governs the state's universities. A lawsuit brought by Floridians for Constitutional Integrity against the Board of Governors and the state Department of Education alleges the Board of Governors failed to exercise the authority voters gave it in 2002. Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said the courts could settle ``what purview they have over this issue to begin with.'' `It Still Stinks' Reaction to the vote varied depending one's opinion about the proposed chiropractic school. Raymond Bellamy, a Tallahassee orthopedic surgeon and FSU medical school faculty member who led the charge against the school, said board members did the right thing. ``They knew it was a lousy program,'' Bellamy said. ``They put a lot of deodorant on it, but it still stinks.'' On the other hand, the state chiropractic association said it will continue a decade-long effort to get approval for a state- run school in Florida. ``We're not going to go away,'' said Jack Hebert, government affairs director for the Florida Chiropractic Association. ``The profession is very proud and we'll continue.'' Carolyn Gendrau, a chiropractor from Seffner, said the vote reflected a continuing prejudice by medical doctors against chiropractic medicine. ``It's a lot of egos and greed involved,'' Gendrau said. Many FSU faculty resented the measure as something thrust on them by the Legislature. ``It's very clear that there was a political agenda,'' said Albert Stiegman, an FSU chemistry professor. Stiegman said he and other members of the faculty, particularly members of the physiological and biological science departments, were ``infuriated'' by the prospect of a chiropractic school on campus. Standards, Medical Schools In other action, the Board of Governors finalized proposed standards for measuring Florida's public universities. It voted to send to state lawmakers for their approval a package of seven measures, including graduation rates, passage rates on professional licensing exams and implementing academic learning compacts that would tell students the skills they would be expected to master by the time they graduate. The board also heard from the presidents of Florida International University and the University of Central Florida about their proposals for new medical schools. Reporter Brad Smith contributed to this report. Reporter Gary Haber can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or Reporter Brad Smith contributed to this report. Reporter Gary Haber can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or ghaber@tampa trib.com. trib.com.Reporter Allison North Jones can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or anjones@tampa trib.com. trib.com.