by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Civil litigator Ava Parker has a busy year ahead. Aside from her practice and her work with the D.W. Perkins Bar Association, Parker was recently appointed to the committee of 17 comprising the newly-established Florida Board of Governors. The board will meet for the first time Tuesday.
Created by the passing of Amendment 11, the Board of Governors’ mission will be to maximize the benefits of Florida’s state university system.
“Basically, Amendment 11 made it clear that one entity overseeing Florida education from kindergarten to the university level wasn’t enough,” said Parker. “Now, we’re going to be able to develop more educational options and opportunities in-state than we’ve ever had before. Florida’s resources are great and we need to learn to maximize them and learn to use them to complement each other. We want Floridians to stay in Florida when seeking higher education. We’d like to have students from other states come here as well.”
Parker said her excitement about working with an entirely new entity that will allow all higher institutions of learning in Florida to come together is matched only by her enthusiasm for improving education here.
“I’m a product of the state university system,” said Parker. “I got my undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida, but I’ve also worked extensively with private institutions.”
Parker served as general counsel for Edward Waters College from 1995-97. Additionally, she served on the inaugural board of trustees for the University of Central Florida — a school Parker described as “Florida’s best kept secret” — for a year and half.
“My work at UCF is going to be invaluable to me now,” said Parker. “This board is going to be working closely with trustees from all the schools to make sure that no one gets left behind.”
Parker said that because the board has yet to meet, its specific goals and tactics haven’t been realized entirely.
“We are going to be establishing our boundaries over the course of this year,” she said. “It’s important not to waste money and mental resources. We don’t need a duplication of services.”
Parker believes she is lucky to be a part of the board from the very beginning because she will be able to construct the map that will be used in the future.
“That’s a real advantage,” she said. “We’ve got the building blocks to develop a well rounded and stronger statewide university system. We’re bringing a lot of great minds to the pot.”