Second State College of Florida board member submits resignation

MANATEE ­ -- A month after eight members of the State College of Florida Board of Trustees voted unanimously to stop offering tenure to new faculty, one of those trustees has resigned.

Robert Long Jr., appointed to the board in March 2015, tendered his resignation in a letter.

SCF President Carol Probstfeld made the announcement at the board's meeting Tuesday night.

Long, 76, is the owner of two Cape Coral­-based engineering and tooling companies and a former president of Wellcraft, a pleasure boat manufacturer that closed its Manatee County factory in 2008.

One of Long's companies, Marine Concepts, builds boat hull molds in a former Wellcraft production facility in the Whitfield area.

Probstfeld said Long plans to stay involved with the college, particularly its engineering program.

She said she appreciated his work on the board and continuing commitment to the college.

"I just want to take this opportunity publicly to thank him for his service, thank him for his work in support of our institution," she said Tuesday night.

Long did not attend Tuesday's meeting. Contacted at home, he said his resignation was not related to several months of contentious wrangling during which the trustees voted to cease offering continuing contracts, commonly known as tenure, to future faculty.

He said he decided to leave the board to attend to "other responsibilities" and due to health reasons.

His three-­year term was scheduled to expire in May 2018.

He was not present at the January meeting at which the SCF trustees officially scrapped the continuing contract system.

Long is the second members to resign from the board of trustees since it took up the issue of continuing contracts. The other was Charlene Neal, an executive with the Neal Communities family of companies and wife of former state Sen. Pat Neal.

Gov. Rick Scott has made Long's Marine Concepts facility a destination during his trips around the state.

In May 2014, the factory was a campaign stop for the governor when he was running for re-election.

In January, Scott returned to the industrial warehouse on 15th Street East as part of his "Million Miles for a Million Jobs" tour.

All members of the board of trustees were appointed by Scott.

Only five of the nine­ SCF board members were present Tuesday.

Carlos Beruff, Long, Eric Robinson and Robert Wyatt were absent.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941­-745­-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Second State College of Florida board member submits resignation ."