Colson to Lead State University System of Florida in 2012 |
“I am honored to be chosen to lead the Board of Governors and look forward to carrying out its mission with my fellow board members through these challenging times,” said Colson. “We have more than 320,000 students in the State University System and it is important that we continue our commitment and constitutional responsibility to ensure the System has the resources it needs to serve and prepare them for the economy of tomorrow.”
Colson previously served as vice chair of the Board of Governors and as chair of its Legislative Committee. He is a past chair of the University of Miami Board of Trustees and chaired the school’s billion dollar capital campaign. Colson later served as a special advisor on higher education to Governor Charlie Crist.
Colson has more than 30 years of leadership experience in various civic and community roles. He is a past chair of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission and a former member of Florida’s Commission on Ethics. He is a past president of the Orange Bowl Committee and was chair of the 1995 Super Bowl XXIX Host Committee.
Colson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, after earning a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University. He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Peter T. Fay, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and in 1980 served as a law clerk to Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States.
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About Colson Hicks Eidson
The Law Firm of Colson Hicks Eidson is a trial firm with more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305.476.7400 or visit www.colson.com.
About the State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is governed by a 17-member Board of Governors, a constitutional body and led by appointed public servants. The System is comprised of 11 institutions with a total enrollment of more than 320,000 students, making it the fourth-largest public university system in the nation in terms of enrollment (some states have more than one university system). The Florida Constitution (Article IX, Section 7) was amended by the state's voters in 2002 to establish a statewide system of governance for all Florida public universities. As a result, the Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to oversee the State University System of Florida. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the System. The Board’s 17 members include 14 appointed by the Governor, with three serving by virtue of their designations (a faculty member, a Florida Student Association student representative, and the Florida Commissioner of Education). The Board of Governors appoints a Chancellor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the State University System. For more, including the Board’s Annual Report that reflects accountability measurements and benchmarks occurring at each institution, see www.flbog.edu