The University of Florida is reversing its ban on professors providing paid expert testimony in cases challenging the state, university President Kent Fuchs announced Friday.
In a statement issued by email to the campus community, Fuchs said he was establishing a task force to investigate the school's practice of banning professors from testifying as paid experts in litigation against the state as a conflict of interest because they are employees of the state.
He also asked the university's Conflict of Interest Office to reverse its recent decisions turning down requests of professors to testify in cases where the state is a party in the lawsuit.
''Without prejudice regarding the task force recommendations, I have also asked UF's Conflicts of Interest Office to reverse the decisions on recent requests by UF employees to serve as expert witnesses in litigation in which the state of Florida is a party and to approve the requests regardless of personal compensation, assuming the activity is on their own time without using university resources.
''I look forward to reporting back on the task force recommendations and my decision on how UF will apply the Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment policy in future requests for approval of similar outside activity,'' he said in the statement.
According to the Miami Herald, backlash against the school came after at least five professors were barred from testifying as experts in cases against the state.
The Herald also reported Nov. 1 that the body responsible for the school's accreditation would investigate its ban to see if ''academic freedom'' and ''undue political influence'' was involved in the university's not allowing its professors to testify.
Belle Wheelan, president and CEO of the Southeastern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges, told the Herald that the university's actions may be considered violations of those two tenets.
''Those are the two that we are going to be looking into. If we find something else, we can always look into them as well,'' she told the Herald.
Fuchs said he is establishing a task force to investigate the practice further and wants a report from the seven-member panel by the end of the month.
''As shared on Monday, I am forming a task force that will review UF's practice regarding requests for approval of outside activities involving potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment,'' Fuchs said in his statement.
''In particular, the task force will make a recommendation to me on how UF should respond when employees request approval to serve as expert witnesses in litigation in which their employer, the state of Florida, is a party. I'm asking the task force to provide me with a preliminary recommendation by Monday, Nov. 29.''
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