Bernie Machen
Encyclopedia
James Bernard "Bernie" Machen (born March 26, 1944) is an American university professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 and administrator. Machen is a native of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, and earned multiple academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

s before becoming a university administrator and president. Machen previously was the president of the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

, and he is currently the eleventh president of the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...

.

Early life and education

Machen was born in Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...

 in 1944, and grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...

 with his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in 1966, and was a member of Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

 Fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

 (Alpha Psi Chapter). He also graduated from Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...

 with his doctor of dental surgery
Doctor of Dental Surgery
There are a number of first professional degrees in dentistry offered by schools in various countries around the world. These include the following:* Doctor of Dental Surgery * Doctor of Dental Medicine * Bachelor of Dentistry...

 degree in 1968, from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 with a master of science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

 degree in pediatric dentistry
Pediatric Dentistry
Pediatric dentistry Pediatric dentistry Pediatric dentistry (formerly pedodontics (American English) or paedodontics (Commonwealth English) is the branch of dentistry dealing with childrenfrom birth through adolescence...

 in 1972 and a doctor of philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 degree in educational psychology
Educational psychology
Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing...

 in 1974.

Before Utah and Florida, Machen was employed in various capacities as professor and administrator by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Additionally, he served in various ways with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...

, the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

, and the American Association of Dental Schools. While serving as the president of the University of Utah, Machen served on the board of trustees of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

. He is a retired U.S. Army major.

University of Florida president

During Florida's 2004 search that resulted in the hiring of new head football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...

, it was speculated that Machen's relationship with Meyer might play a role in the selection. Machen was the president at Utah when Meyer was hired as head coach there.

During Machen's term, in 2006, the University of Florida came to agreement with Graduate Assistants United (GAU) to begin providing fully subsidized health care to graduate assistant
Graduate assistant
A graduate assistant is a position who serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The individual typically assists professors or with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants, coaches with an athletic team, or university department...

s. GAU is a labor union that represents graduate workers, teaching or research assistants, at UF. GAU negotiated with the administration to include the new program, in their collective bargaining agreement - the culmination of a long GAU campaign. The University of Florida's Graduate Student Council (GSC), an advocacy/student government group, had also worked to bring the issue to the administration's attention and with GAU had representatives on an advisory committee that reviewed bids from insurance companies.

On January 2009 Machen announced his initiative to increase diversity in the University of Florida's faculty. His leadership was instrumental in creating a Council on Diversity that will be in charge of collecting and analyzing data from different colleges and departments, as well as proposing policies to increase diversity around the university.

In February 2009, Machen and the Board of Trustees stipulated that they are going to have the University of Florida go through a major transition. The Board of Trustees supported the reduction of the number of undergraduates and shifting resources to graduate education and research in the future.

In Fall 2010, Machen and Provost Joseph Glover
Joseph Glover
Dr. Joseph Glover is an American professor and currently serves as the Provost for the University of Florida.Joe Glover attended Cornell University for his Bachelors degree, and he received his Masters and Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego...

 were at the head of an effort to institute block tuition at the University of Florida. In replacement of having students pay by credit hour, students would be charged a flat-rate fee analogous to 15 credits for full-time undergraduate students regardless of whether they take 12, 15 or 18 credits. The measure to submit proposals for this switch was approved by the Florida Board of Governors
Florida Board of Governors
The Florida Board of Governors was created in 2002 by the passage of a constitutional amendment, which went into effect in 2003. By an unprecedented vote, a 17-member board was established to serve as the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all...

 in November and could result in an 8 percent increase to state tuition, and an average 7 percent increase imposed by UF, which brings the total increase to 15 percent. Glover said he will present different block tuition models to UF President Bernie Machen, who will direct the drafting of a precise proposal. Machen said the administration has been informally explaining the block tuition concept to the Board of Trustees who, in December, would need to approve the proposal depending on the case made. The switch is estimated at bringing in $4 million of extra recurring revenue annually for the University. UF is the only university in the state that has expressed a desire to pursue block tuition.

Salary

Machen receives a base salary of $432,808 and $285,000 in annual performance bonuses, with his total annual compensation equalling $751,000, the fourth largest salary in the country for a public university president in 2007. He has been criticized for reducing funding to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences by both faculty and other administrators. However, in December 2008, Machen announced that he would give his yearly bonus of $285,000 back to the University of Florida with the stipulation that the money had to be used to help fund the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program
Florida Opportunity Scholars Program
Florida Opportunity Scholar Program is a need-based scholarship at the University of Florida. The objective of the scholarship is to retain these particular students and have them graduate at rates equal to or greater than the standard undergraduate population on campus.- History :This program is...

. When Machen was hired by the University of Florida in 2003, his contract stated he would be eligible, after five years, to receive either a one-year sabbatical (paid leave) or receive the $450,000 bonus in addition to his annual salary. In January 2009, Machen chose to take $400,000 in four annual installments, but after receiving the first $100,000 installment in 2009, it was realized that the four-year payment plan would require Machen to pay federal income taxes on all four installments at the time of the first installment payment. In March 2010, the Board of Trustees voted to pay the remaining three installments in a single lump sum so that Machen might avoid further negative tax consequences. With the addition of the $300,000 lump-sum payment to his base salary and annual performance bonus, Machen's total compensation will be approximately $1,050,000 in 2010. Machen's current contract ends in 2012.

Controversy

Machen has most recently stirred a mild controversy by making a veiled innuendo regarding the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

's academics as they relate to student-athletes and implying that Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 basketball star Greg Oden
Greg Oden
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....

's academic schedule is a joke.

U.S. News rankings controversy

On June 17, 2009, it was reported that Bernie Machen had rated the University of Florida above schools such as Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 on the annual U.S. News & World Report college rankings survey. Machen rated the University of Florida as "distinguished," while rating all other Florida state universities at least two tiers below the University of Florida. These actions were questioned by several Florida media outlets, including the St. Petersburg Times.

Politics

President Machen stands against the boycotting of Israeli universities. He condemned the proposed boycott in a letter that ran as a full-page advertisement in the August 8, 2007 edition of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

. He helped write the letter in opposition to a recent vote by Britain's leading faculty union, which decided to debate the possibility of boycotting Israeli academic institutions. If passed by Britain's University and College Union, the boycott would cut off relations with Israeli schools to serve as a rebuke of Israel's Palestinian policies.

In January 2008, Machen publicly endorsed U.S. Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 for President of the United States. However, Machen cautioned that it should not be interpreted as an endorsement from the entire UF community. Bernie Machen also described how he has been a long-time supporter of Senator McCain.

In August 2009, Machen publicly endorsed George LeMieux
George LeMieux
George Stephen LeMieux is a former United States Senator from Florida. He was Chairman of the Florida-based law firm of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. and served as Chief of Staff to Governor Charlie Crist, was former Deputy Florida Attorney General, and is credited with spearheading Crist's...

 to fill retiring U.S. Senator Mel Martinez
Mel Martinez
Melquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...

's United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 seat. Machen cited LeMieux's strong support for higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 and endorsed Governor Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...

's selection to fill the open senate seat. He stipulated that he was not supporting LeMieux for political reasons.

Machen and his wife, Chris, left for a week–long trip to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 on Thursday, November 13, 2008. The University of Florida's first couple was part of a delegation that included six U.S. university presidents. While in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, the presidents visited universities in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

 and elsewhere and met with their presidents and faculty. At Sharif University, the presidents were part of a forum with Iranian students.

Machen and his wife Chris wrote a letter to the editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...

 published in the Gainesville Sun expressing their opposition to a city charter amendment on the March 2009 Gainesville city election ballot that would prohibit transgender individuals from using gender specific public facilities for their chosen gender identity as opposed to their physical identity.

On September 22, 2010, Machen was one of six presidents of major U.S. research universities who met with Vice President Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

 in a roundtable meeting at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 to discuss the use of funds appropriated by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for scientific research. As of 2009, the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 has received about $120 million in so-called "stimulus" funds from the act. Machen touted the six-year study by the University of Florida's Institute on Aging on whether a physical activity regiment can prevent or delay physical disability in the elderly. The study is being funded by approximately $29.5 million in stimulus funds. Machen said the money is worth spending, considering the potential impact the results can have on lowering health care costs. Machen was joined by the presidents of Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

, the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 and the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

.

On November 29, 2010, Machen was named to an Economic Development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

 Transition Team of Governor-elect Rick Scott. Machen's expertise in higher education and its impact on the economy is what interested Scott.

Personal

Machen and his wife, Chris, have three children and four grandchildren. Lee, born in 1972, is married to Julie and lives in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, with grandson Noah born in 2003 and granddaughter Neve born in 2005. Michael, born in 1975, is married to Monika and lives in Chicago, Illinois, with granddaughters Maya and Molly born in 2005 and 2009, respectively. Daughter Maggie, born in 1980, lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

.

See also

  • Florida Gators
    Florida Gators
    The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...

  • History of the University of Florida
    History of the University of Florida
    The history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...

  • List of Presidents of the University of Florida
  • List of Presidents of the University of Utah
  • List of Sigma Chi members
  • List of University of Iowa people
  • List of Vanderbilt University people

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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