House Speaker Dean Cannon | Credit: deancannon.com

House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, shares one of Gov. Rick Scott’s chief goals -- reforming the state university system.

During his own opening comments as the 2012 Florida legislative session got under way Tuesday morning, Cannon said, “We must find new higher education pathways to ensure Floridians are given the tools to compete effectively in the global economy.

“This session, we must focus on implementing and coordinating a modern higher education system.”

Cannon has asked the House Education Committee to meet with each state university president and to “approach conversations with open ears.”

The committee is scheduled to discuss proposals to overhaul the state’s higher education system on Friday.

The committee has been tasked with drafting legislation or making recommendations to undertake the changes.

Scott has targeted higher education reform for the 2012 session, including making changes to professor tenure and focusing on courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- the STEM core desired for a high-tech future.

Scott, drawing on data from the Agency for Workforce Innovation, has estimated that Florida will need at least 120,000 workers in the science and math fields through 2018.