Board of Trustees Orientation
Governance
Board of Trustees Responsibility & Authority
Pursuant to Article IX, section 7(c), Florida Constitution, the Board of Governors shall establish the powers and duties of the board of trustees as set forth herein and as may be established in Board of Governors’ regulations.
The Board of Trustees’ Statement of Responsibilities serves to articulate Board expectations for all trustees. In the event of a conflict between any Board of Trustee’s Statement of Responsibilities and the bylaws, the terms of the bylaws shall take precedence.
Board of Trustees Bylaws
To more effectively discharge its responsibilities and duties, in connection with its governance of the University, the Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees has adopted the following bylaws.
Regulatory Environment
Higher education in Florida is highly regulated involving many distinct layers of various types and levels of oversight. The following provides a high-level overview of Florida’s regulatory environment for higher education. It only includes state-level entities and requirements.
Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine law provides a right of access to governmental proceedings at both the state and local levels. It applies to any gathering of two or more members of the same board to discuss some matter which will foreseeably come before that board for action.
Florida has been a leader among the states in establishing ethics standards for public officials and recognizing the right of citizens to protect the public trust against abuse
Board Committees
The duty of each committee shall be to consider and to make recommendations to the Board upon matters under its jurisdiction or referred to it. The following guidelines will assist committee members in carrying out their duties and responsibilities:
Academic Enterprise, Research, and Student Success Committee
Finance & Facilities Committee
Governance, Audit, & Compliance Committee
Strategic Initiatives and External Relations Committee
Ethics
Section 8 of Article II of the Constitution of the State of Florida states: “A public office is a public trust.” The Board of Trustees is the governing board for the Florida Polytechnic University. Members of the Board of Trustees serve the public trust and have a clear obligation to fulfill their responsibilities in a manner consistent with this fact. (click above link to continue reading)
Conflicts of interest may occur when public officials are in a position to make decisions that affect their personal financial interests. This is why public officers and employees, as well as candidates who run for public office, are required to publicly disclose their financial interests. The disclosure process serves to remind officials of their obligation to put the public interest above personal considerations. It also helps citizens to monitor the considerations of those who spend their tax dollars and participate in public policy decisions or administration.
Each Trustee must submit a Financial Disclosure form annually. Trustees will be notified when these are due.
