Only a few years out of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, Ilan Kaufer (JD 08) is making a name for himself in South Florida.

Kaufer is a principal regulatory affairs analyst for Florida Power and Light (FPL) and serves as the primary liaison between FPL’s regulatory affairs and customer service business units. He is responsible for Florida Public Service Commission activities, testimony development, discovery coordination, logistical support at hearings, and the analysis of state utility commission and legislative proceedings concerning customer service issues, among other tasks.

In addition to his public work at FPL, Kaufer was also recently elected to the Jupiter Town Council and will be serving a three-year term in April.

As one of five town council members, Kaufer will be tasked with setting policy, approving the town’s budget (of approximately $80 million), setting the tax rate, and approving local ordinances.

“My wife and I chose to live in Jupiter for many reasons, including the beautiful beaches and natural areas, top public schools, and the sense of community Jupiter provides. I want to ensure that Jupiter remains a model for other communities, and a town where government works efficiently and cost-effectively to provide exceptional public services,” Kaufer said.

Kaufer is particularly passionate about environmental and energy-related issues, which is apparent through his academic focus. He holds bachelor’s degrees in politics and environmental sciences from the University of Virginia, as well as a master of forest resources and conservation from UF.

“I have always had an interest in environmental policy. I grew up in a coastal community in North Carolina and believe that a community can successfully grow economically while preserving its natural resources,” he said.

Although not a Florida native, Kaufer was attracted to Florida because of UF’s reputation.

“As the most established university in Florida, I knew that UF would provide me with the educational and leadership opportunities I needed to accomplish my professional goals,” he said.

Kaufer enrolled in a joint JD and master degree program at UF in 2005. His experiences for the next three years at UF Law and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences convinced him to stay in the state.

“I loved Florida so much that I never left,” Kaufer said.

At UF Law, Kaufer was involved with various student groups. He was president of the Jewish Law Student Association, an associate justice on the UF Student Supreme Court, cabinet secretary of finance and fees for student government, a member of the executive board of the Law College Council, and a law school student ambassador. Kaufer also currently serves on the Florida Bar’s Committee for Student Education and Admissions to the Bar, which evaluates whether law schools are adequately preparing their students for the practice of law.

Kaufer credits a number of professors in helping him throughout his time at UF Law, including Alyson Flournoy, Michael Seigel, Fletcher Baldwin, and Associate Dean Rachel Inman. He noted that Professor Mary Jane Angelo had a particular impact on his current career path.

“Professor Angelo was a member of my master degree committee and greatly influenced the direction of my law career. Her passion for environmental law and her efforts in assisting me with my dual degree program were invaluable,” he said.

When Kaufer was not busy with extracurricular activities and completing his dual degree requirements, he was a law clerk with Roberts, Reynolds, Bedard, and Tuzzio, and, in his last semester, an intern with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The decision to intern with a government agency is what Kaufer believes led him to his position at FPL. For students who would like to work in environmental or energy law, Kaufer suggests that straying from a typical job can also lead to a rewarding career.

“Do not be afraid to break away from the traditional law firm path when it comes to clerkships and internships. Taking an internship with FDEP that paid $10 an hour for a 40 hour week is probably the best decision I have made for my career, as it provided me with the experience and contacts which enabled me to get a job with FPL,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of diligent work and professionalism at every step of one’s career. “The best advice I can give current law students is to never burn a bridge. You never know what doors will open in the future, and what people will be able to assist you in walking through those doors if they remember you as a hard-working, professional individual.”

UF will receive nearly $757,200 from the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development to create the Colombian Caribbean Human Rights Center, which will build capacity in human rights among two Colombian Caribbean law schools through rigorous interdisciplinary research, education and community service with emphasis on serving vulnerable populations.

The center will assist regional law schools in training future legal practitioners with knowledge on national and international human rights standards, the skills to support human rights reform in Colombia, and in enhancing outreach initiatives to better serve minorities, displaced persons and other vulnerable populations.

“The faculty at the colleges of law and education, and at the Center for Latin American Studies, possess great depth in international law, human rights and experiential learning,” UF Law Dean Robert Jerry said, “and are very well suited to achieve the goals of this ambitious program.”

Directors of the project are Jon Mills, dean emeritus and director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility at the Levin College of Law; Pilar Mendoza, a native Colombian and assistant professor in higher education administration in the College of Education; Philip Williams, director of the Center for Latin American Studies; and Timothy McLendon, Center for Governmental Responsibility staff attorney.

The UF team will work with the Universidad del Magdalena in Santa Marta, Colombia, and the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia. Both universities offer courses and activities to enhance human rights awareness and education in the region.

“Respect for the rights of individuals, especially vulnerable populations, is vital to the development of the democracy and economy of a nation,” Mills said. “We are honored to have this opportunity to work with two distinguished Colombian universities on such an important priority for the U.S. government. The Levin College of Law is acknowledged for its faculty expertise in human rights.”

The three universities will work toward establishment of the human rights center through enhanced human rights curricula; workshops and training programs in Colombia; educational opportunities at UF for Colombian faculty members and LL.M. students; and collaborative research and scholarship between Florida and Colombian faculty.

The project will include law faculty with expertise in human rights, clinical legal education and comparative law; and education faculty from the Collaborative Assessment and Program Evaluation Services . The award will be managed by the Center for Latin American Studies.

“Given the fundamental importance of enhancing the protection of the human rights for Colombian citizens after years of internal conflict, the Center for Latin American Studies is thrilled to be working alongside the Center for Governmental Responsibility and the College of Education in a project of such national and international significance,” Williams said.

During the first two years of the project, the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s annual Conference on Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas will focus on human rights in Colombia, beginning with a workshop in Gainesville in spring 2013, and a major conference to be held in Colombia in spring, 2014.

Two recent factors have increased U.S. interest in human rights in Colombia – the end of overt civil war and weakening of guerilla movements and the development of free trade agreements.

Colombia also is an important trading partner with the State of Florida, as evidenced by an upcoming trade mission to Colombia, led by Gov. Rick Scott and Enterprise Florida. In announcing the trade mission, the Governor’s Office said Florida trade with Colombia totaled $9 billion last year, noting that Colombia is one of the top five destinations for Florida products, representing nearly $3 billion a year in exports.

“The higher education sector is rapidly developing in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mendoza said. “The University of Florida is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these developments and engage in these types of collaborations.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.  For more information, visit www.usaid.gov.

HED mobilizes the expertise and resources of the higher education community to address global development challenges. Higher Education for Development (HED) works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is founded by the nation’s six major higher education associations to support the involvement of higher education in development issues worldwide. For more, visit www.hedprogram.org.

C. David Brown, II (JD 78) is heading the search for the 12th President of the University of Florida. (Photo by Marcela Suter)

By Richard Goldstein

C. David Brown, II (JD 78) is looking for a new CEO. It’s a task he’s getting used to. As a member of the CVS/Caremark board, Brown helped select a new CEO last year. Now he’s in the market to find the 12^th President of the University of Florida.

Brown, chairman of the UF Board of Trustees and chairman of the statewide law firm Broad and Cassel, calls the UF presidency the second most important job in Florida.

“It’s a very demanding job,” Brown said in an interview from his law offices overlooking Orlando’s downtown. “They’re running one of the nation’s premiere public universities with some of the top students in the country, a prestigious faculty and a research component that is one of the largest in the country. In addition, they oversee a major health care system, one of the largest in the state of Florida, hugely involved in research and quality of care issues. And not to mention a world-class athletic program they have to manage.”

Brown noted that leading a great academic institution is only half the job. UF is a 150-year-old land-grant university with the state’s largest land-grant agriculture and natural resources program (IFAS).

“In their spare time, the president must maintain relationships with the Legislature and carefully monitor the political environment of the state in order to maintain funding levels, which is a very complicated task,” Brown said. “Not to mention they have to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations and keep our 340,000 alumni informed and satisfied as to the progress of their beloved alma mater.

“Now I think that’s a pretty complex job.”

Bernie Machen, who has held the post since 2004, announced in June that he will leave at the end of 2013. The lead time gives Brown, the 23-person search committee that he chairs and the Board of Trustees “a long runway” to find a replacement. Brown hopes to have a new president in place by the summer.

Dianna Morgan, a search committee member and past chairwoman of the UF Board of Trustees, told a group of UF administrators Thursday that a new president could be in place by the end of the calendar year. She expects soon to announce plans for public interviews and forums for five to seven presidential candidates.

The new president must shape a fast-changing higher education environment, says Brown, but he has a traditional idea in mind about where he should take the university: boost its academic rigor.

Admission to the University of Florida “shouldn’t be the peak,” Brown said. “I don’t think in all cases it’s like that but I think in some cases (it is). I just find it amazing how good these students are, and I want to make sure we’re pushing them to achieve what they can achieve.”

A long-time scholar of and active participant in higher education governance agrees that Florida should keep academic improvement in the forefront as it finds a new leader. James V. Koch is president emeritus of Old Dominion University and co-author of a book about the characteristics of successful university presidents.

“The University of Florida needs a president whose vision includes moving UF into the elite ranks of public universities, i.e., Michigan, Virginia, UC-Berkeley,” Koch wrote in an email. “UF should not be satisfied with anything less as its ambition. However, this must be more than simply a goal for the next president. He or she must enunciate credible plans for moving the institution to that position over a 10-to-20-year period.”

Koch and co-author James L. Fisher conclude that university presidents are most likely to succeed when they have held the job of a university president before.

“The evidence … is unmistakable.  It tells us that the best predictor of successful presidential performance is that individual’s previous successful experience as a president,” Koch said.

The presidential search committee headed by Brown has laid down desired traits for a new president. No candidate will have all the characteristics, but academic governance figures prominently.

Brown earned an accounting degree from UF before studying law, in which he specializes in real estate transactions. Brown noted UF Law Professor Fletcher Baldwin, now emeritus and who continues to teach, as an especially effective and influential instructor.

Brown rose to the chairmanship of the 170-lawyer, 8-office law firm of Broad and Cassel, where he has worked since shortly after leaving UF Law. Brown credits no dramatic court or business success with his ascension, but steady work building a stronger organization.

Brown’s family has lived in Florida since the 1860s. As a Florida native, he watched his state grow in population and economic power. In the 1950s, while Brown was in grade school, Florida was a post-war backwater with a population of nearly 3 million. Today, it is a Sun Belt megastate of more than 19 million people.

As the state became more powerful, Brown lent his talents to aid in its growth on more than one occasion.

Brown’s transaction expertise came in handy as he worked with then-Governor Jeb Bush to lure Scripps Research Institute, a bio-medical powerhouse, to Palm Beach County in 2003. He structured the complex public/private transaction that Bush pushed through the Legislature to seal the deal. Bush had previously appointed Brown to the Florida Transportation Commission from 1999 to 2004, and served as its chairman from 2000 to 2003.

Brown was first appointed a member of the UF Board of Trustees from February 2004 to 2008, and was later reappointed in June 2011. He has served as chairman since April 2012. The married father of two grown children doesn’t want to say how much time he’s spending on the most recent public service for his state and alma mater, though he allowed that finding a UF president is eating up much more time than expected.

“If you don’t have a good CEO you’re really hamstrung,” Brown observed. “I’ve had the benefit of having a great CEO to work with. I want to make sure we find a successor who can build on President Machen’s accomplishments.”

For his part, Machen figures Brown is the ideal person to recruit his successor.

“David Brown is a smart guy whose thoughtful, measured leadership style has been great for the University of Florida,” Machen said. “He understands and appreciates the university in all its complexity, and he is well-known and well-liked in Florida’s business, education and political circles. We couldn’t ask for a better person to head up the UF Board of Trustees and the university’s search for its next president.”

For more information about the search for a new UF president go to http://presidentialsearch.ufl.edu/.