Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 25, 2012 by flhespectator

Startling Stat of the Day: 2.1 Million Adults in FL Went to College but didn’t Finish…

Read more in the thoughtful Florida C.A.N. policy research brief found here.

Friday Video Extra

State University System

Applicants Still Needed for Florida Polytechnic University’s Board
The Ledger
It’s no lines, no waiting for those interested in serving on the board of the new Florida Polytechnic University, but applications need to be submitted by the end of the month. Gov. Rick Scott’s office and the State University System of Florida are accepting applications for the board of the Lakeland school, but they have not received many yet…

Details make Florida Polytech look even worse
Tampabay.com
Now terrible public policy is morphing into absurd reality as education officials wrestle with the details of winding down the University of South Florida’s Lakeland campus and creating the new Florida Polytechnic from scratch…

UCF committee votes to increase tuition 15%
Bizjournals.com
The University of Central Florida’s finance committee has approved a 15 percent tuition increase May 24 to offset state operational support.

UCF board set to approve 15 percent tuition hike
Central Florida News 13
The University of Central Florida will raise tuition. UCF’s Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase of 15 percent Thursday, which is something they have done every year since 2009. The hike means an extra $19.24 for every credit hour an undergraduate student takes. Grad students will have to fork out an extra $11.08 per credit hour.

USF on budget, PECO: “Trying to avoid catastrophe”
Tampabay.com
They didn’t exactly sugarcoat it: Continual state budget cuts and a draining of funding for new campus construction has left the University of South Florida trying to “minimize” disaster. That was the message from University of South Florida chief operating officer John Long at a Board of Trustees finance workgroup meeting Thursday morning.

Doctors at USF take hit in wallet
Tbo.com
The University of South Florida is cutting salaries for dozens of its highest-paid faculty members as part of a financial restructuring of its medical school. USF Health will cut $5 million in salaries and …

State College System

Class at Broward College Reportedly Interrupted by Child Porn (Updated)
Broward-Palm Beach New Times (blog)
A developing story from Gossip Extra: Apparently, a police leadership class at Broward College’s central campus was dismissed early today after “what appeared to be child porn popped up on the instructor’s computer as he taught.”

CF cutting cosmetology, welding, drafting and practical nursing
Ocala
The College of Central Florida will soon phase out three programs that are now, or soon will be, offered at the Community Technical & Adult Education center, known as CTAE. CF’s reorganization of its Academic Affairs division means the cosmetology and barbering, drafting and design technology, and practical nursing programs will end this year at the Marion, Citrus and Levy campuses.

Edison State College president search: Reporter Dave Breitenstein visits …
The News-Press
Follow higher education reporter Dave Breitenstein on Twitter at @D_Breitenstein as he visits the hometowns of Edison State College’s presidential finalists. He will be posting updates and photos as he tours their campuses and talks to those most familiar with their work. Also, look for updates and finalist profiles soon on news-press.com. Today, he is visiting finalist Jeffery Allbritten, president of Macon State College in Georgia.

GCSC to Begin Upward Bound Program
wmbb
While students every day make the decision to attend Gulf Coast State College, many young people may not even consider college an option.

Audit findings lead to stricter attendance policy
The Oracle
Hillsborough Community College had almost $2,000 in questioned costs cited in the audit, which came from 25 withdrawn students whose information was incorrectly reported during a staff turnover…

Independent College System

What’s Up at Ave Maria: Law school making history in its temporary home
Naples Daily News
An honored spot in our field of dreams belongs to Ave Maria Law School, founded by Tom Monaghan, who also founded Ave Maria University. The law school is envisioned as sitting one day right on the main boulevard, even preceding the university as you approach the town center. For now, though, Ave Maria Law School, which moved from its original home in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2009, is staying in its “temporary” home at Vineyards in Naples.

JU awarded $1.9 million federal grant
Florida Times-Union (blog)
Jacksonville University has won a $1.9 million federal Trio Upward Bound grant to continue continue its program assisting disadvantaged youth for another five years.

The Final Frontier
Inside Higher Ed
Dozens of liberal arts colleges that tend to draw from a more regional market — such as Linfield College in Oregon and Rollins College in Florida — visited the high school this year.

College Student Arrested In Drug Bust at Stetson University House
Brevard Times
A bag full of hundreds of oxycodone pills was found along with marijuana and other drug paraphernalia Wednesday in a rental house at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, resulting in three young men arrested and sent to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Stetson student, 2 other men charged in drug raid
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Three men, including a Stetson University student, were arrested after drug agents found hundreds of oxycodone pills and marijuana in the university-owned house where they live, a Volusia County sheriff’s …

3 at Stetson U rental charged after guns, pills and pot found
Orlando Sentinel
Three men face a slew of charges after investigators with a search warrant found drugs, cash and guns in a rental house at Stetson University in DeLand, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday…

Drug bust in West Volusia nets oxycodone, marijuana
WFTV Orlando
Police found hundreds of oxycodone pills along with marijuana at a home near Stetson University. The West Volusia Narcotics Task Force said it also found cash and guns in the rental home. Police said three students were arrested.

Poll: Floridians disagree with Tampa’s bid to ban guns at RNC
Tampabay.com
Rick Scott for an executive order allowing the city to ban carrying firearms in the city’s convention “Event Zone,” which will cover downtown, Ybor City, the northern part of Harbour Island and the area around the University of Tampa.

For-Profit and Career Colleges

2012 Commencement Addresses on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN takes a look at notable commencement speeches at this year’s graduation ceremonies from across the country… Alan West (R-FL) speaks at Northwood University’s Florida Campus in West Palm Beach…

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

Letter: Any wonder?
Naples Daily News
I find it astounding that Ave Maria University, among others, is blaming the Patient Protection Act for the increase in medical insurance premiums for its students. Not once, have I heard any outcry against the insurance companies which are beholden to … Patrick Moran, Naples

Cal State chancellor announces retirement
San Jose Mercury News
[Chancellor Charles B.] Reed, who started his career as a school teacher, came to CSU from the State University System of Florida, which he had led for the previous 13 years.

Lloyd ‘Tank’ Johnson, Florida Classic co-founder, dies
Florida Courier
The Bethune-Cookman University family lost one of its most loyal sons when former B-CU athletic director Lloyd “Tank” Johnson died May 20 at age 77. Johnson headed the school’s athletic department for 19 years (1972-1991), …

Hilton is Chipola’s top prof
Chipley Bugle
Chipola College natural science professor Dr. David Hilton (left) has been named the Faculty/Administrator/Other Professional of the Year at Chipola.

California’s Coronado named nation’s best beach
Washington Examiner
1 beach in the United States in the 2012 survey by “Dr. Beach” professor Stephen P. Leatherman of Florida International University. It is the first time “Dr. Beach” has given the top slot to California in the more than two decades…

What’s the best beach in America?
USA TODAY
If you believe the hotly anticipated annual rankings compiled by Florida International University professor and coastal expert Stephen P. Leatherman – aka “Dr. Beach” – it’s San Diego’s Coronado Beach…

Public’s misperceptions another hurricane hazard
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
Florida State University professor Jay Baker, who has spent almost four decades questioning people about their storm experiences, said one constant over that span is that too many people believe they are safer than they are…

New speaker can recreate dolphin sounds
UPI.com
“We know very little about how dolphins classify their own sounds — we need more perceptual studies to find out, and this equipment may help us do that,” said Heidi Harley, a comparative cognitive psychologist at New College of Florida in Sarasota, …

State jobless rate now at 8.7 percent
Florida Courier
University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith, however, say the good news is tempered by the fact that Florida’s civilian labor force shrunk between March and April by 28000, a shrinking job pool that pushes unemployment lower without putting …

COLUMN-Facebook Lessons: What not to do when planning an IPO
Reuters
“The underwriters misjudged the amount of buy and hold demand relative to the amount of speculative demand,” said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida, who plans to hold on to the 400 shares he bought in …

Quietly Finding Haiti’s Audacious Beauty
New York Times (blog)
At the urging of Kim Grinfeder, a colleague at the University of Miami, where Ms. Steber has taught, she collaborated with students in a Web design class to produce her Haiti archive.

Maryland driver guilty in crash that killed bicyclist
Washington Post
Christy Littleford, 43, of Upper Marlboro faces up to 10 years in prison for the September 2010 crash that killed Natasha Pettigrew, 30, a third-year law student at the University of Miami who had taken a break from school to run for office.

Children of Andrew still recall 1992 hurricane
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
“Disaster really exposes all our childhood beliefs,” said Jon Shaw, a psychiatrist at the University of Miami who studied children in the aftermath of the storm…

Miami Beach developer pays into Nevin Shapiro Ponzi settlement
MiamiHerald.com
The University of Miami athletics booster has since gone public with wild and potentially damning stories of improper gifts to Miami players, resulting in a still-ongoing NCAA probe. [Nevin] Shapiro has also been an active participant in the bankruptcy proceeding, and his cooperation likely led to [Eric] Sheppard being targeted by the trustee. Shapiro and Sheppard, both 43, met as grade-schoolers growing up in Miami Beach, and became fast friends. As adults, they played on the same rec basketball team, vacationed together, split Heat floor tickets, and even shared office space, the suit says.

Four honored as top business leaders on the First Coast as part of UNF presenation
Florida Times-Union
The 15th Annual Prime F. Osborn, III, Distinguished Business Leader Awards were presented by the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business. Those receiving the honors include John Baker, II, Audrey Moran, Reinhold Lamb and Mark Vitner.

Trajectory Makes Digital Comics Out Of Classics
mediabistro.com
Dr. Katie Monnin, a literacy professor at University of North Florida, commented in the release: “From the perspective of an educator I foresee limitless potential in bringing Classics Illustrated into the classroom…

Releases and Web Stories

DDMG Announces Shareholder Call to Discuss $100 Million Grant and Provide Modeling Guidance related to Likely Financial Impacts
MarketWatch (press release)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., May 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) – Digital Domain Media Group, Inc. DDMG +1.93% , a leading digital production company focused on visual effects, original content animation and major studio co-productions, will host an investor conference call with John Textor, chairman and CEO, on Wednesday, May 30, at 10:45 a.m. EDT to discuss the impact of the $100 Million grant the company is receiving from the government of Abu Dhabi as part of the collaboration announced last week.

Spring Tea honors supporters of Flagler College
ReadMedia (press release)
AUGUSTINE, FL (05/24/2012)(readMedia)– Nearly 80 women gathered at Markland House on the Flagler College campus on May 8 dressed in their best spring attire to take part in Mrs. Abare’s Spring Tea, an annual event hosted by Susan Abare to celebrate …

Fitch Affirms Florida Atlantic University’s Parking Revenue Bonds at ‘A+ …
MarketWatch (press release)
… 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘A+’ rating on approximately $10.9 million of capital improvement revenue bonds (parking revenue bonds) issued by the Florida Board of Education on behalf of Florida Atlantic University (FAU, …

Fitch Affirms Florida Atlantic University’s Housing System Revs at ‘A+’
MarketWatch (press release)
The bonds are secured by a net revenue pledge of FAU‘s housing system (the system). STABLE CREDIT CHARACTERISTICS: The ‘A+’ rating reflects the system’s history of positive operating performance, fueled by enrollment growth and strong demand for …

No Secret: FAU Awarded For Cryptology Studies
BocaNewsNow.com
Florida Atlantic University has turned that concept into an award-winning program that is, quite simply, cool. And the NSA and Department of Homeland Security agree. Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Cryptology and Information Security (CCIS) …

Wiencek Reappointed College of Engineering Dean
University of South Florida
(May 24, 2012) — A familiar hand will spearhead aggressive new initiatives in the University of South Florida’s College of Engineering with the reappointment of John Wiencek to another five-year term as dean.

Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 24, 2012 by flhespectator

SPECIAL SECTION: Statewide Florida Poly Coverage

State panel begins work on new Fla. university
7Online WSVN-TV
A select committee of the Board of Governors received those updates during a meeting in Daytona Beach, where it began expediting the conversion of the University of South Florida’s Lakeland branch into the new school…

Construction of Campus for New University in Florida Is $14 …
Chronicle of Higher Education
The first phase of a plan to convert a branch of the University of South Florida into a campus for a new university is expected to cost $14-million more than its $99-million budget, the Associated Press reports. A Florida Board of Governors committee met on Wednesday to begin work on an expedited plan to create a campus for Florida’s 12th public university, which will be called Florida Polytechnic University. Only 10 people have applied for 11 positions on the new university’s Board of Trustees. The full Board of Governors is expected to take up the committee’s recommendations next week.

Committee: Creation of new state university will take time
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Education officials meeting Wednesday at Daytona State College tackled details involved with transferring assets and property from the University of South Florida Lakeland to the new, 12th state university. Florida Polytechnic University was created when a state Senate bill establishing it was approved last month. It will inherit USF Lakeland’s funds and property July 1…

Many Questions Face Panel Forming Florida Polytechnic
The Ledger
After months of controversy and conflicting opinions, the time has come to form Florida Polytechnic University and begin the dissolution of the University of South Florida’s Lakeland campus. As stakeholders made opening …

Panel, USF Officials Discuss Florida Polytechnic
The Ledger
Education officials meeting here Wednesday tackled the dicey details involved with transferring assets and property from the University of South Florida Lakeland to a new, 12th state university…

State panel begins work on new Fla. university
Miami Herald
Construction of a new campus for Florida’s 12th public university is over budget, and few people have shown interest in serving as trustees for Florida Polytechnic University, state university officials said Wednesday. A select committee of the Board of Governors received those updates during a meeting in Daytona Beach, where it began expediting the conversion of the University of South Florida’s Lakeland branch into the new school…

Florida Polytechnic panel meets amid uncertainty
The News-Press
A committee formed to oversee the transitioning of the University of South Florida’s Lakeland campus into a 12th public university met today for the first time since Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill overhauling that process — and warned that the measure might have made the move more complicated.

Board hears litany of hurdles Florida’s newest university faces
Tampa Bay Times
Florida’s newest university is already millions over budget for the construction of its new campus, has no faculty to attract students, few people volunteering to govern it and no money for technology labs. Bringing to life the law that created Florida Polytechnic — billed by state leaders as the solution to a need for more graduates in science, technology, engineering and math — seems to be shaping up to be a bigger challenge than anyone anticipated.

Board sees overwhelming task ahead setting up new university
Tbo.com
A state Board of Governors’ committee got a good look Wednesday at what it will take to replace the USF Polytechnic campus in Lakeland with a new university to be built from scratch. The word “overwhelmed” came up a lot…

State University System

Band mates say FAMU victim volunteered to be hazed
The Associated Press
They also offer some insight into why Champion, whose parents and friends say he was a vocal opponent of hazing, finally relented and got aboard “Bus C,” the band’s notorious venue for hazing after its performances during FAMU football games.

Another FAMU drum major describes being beaten
FOX 29
A Florida A&M drum major says he went through the same hazing ritual as a band mate who died of injuries after the ordeal. In a law enforcement interview released Wednesday, Keon Hollis says …

Prosecutors release evidence in FAMU hazing death of drum major Robert Champion
Orlando Sentinel
The beatings began well before the Nov. 19 hazing death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion, according to more than 2,300 pages of documents and 30 audio files released Wednesday by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office…

FAMU program to funnel funds not a secret to 2 Senators
Florida Times-Union
A “pass through” program used to help send millions of dollars to nonprofits with close ties to two state senators has at least been on the radar of two of the Senate’s most powerful members: Senate President Mike Haridopolos and budget chief JD Alexander. The program is Florida A&M‘s Targeted Student Assistance Program, which has received $5 million in each of the past two state budgets. The money was obtained by state Sens. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, and Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, during last-minute budget negotiations. The program exists only on paper and 95 percent of the money ended up with nonprofits tied to Wise and Siplin…

Pop-up books become newest FAU library collection
Sun-Sentinel
But Florida Atlantic University’s Wimberly Library has become a showroom for these colorful, movable, three-dimensional creations. The university’s Arthur Jaffe Center for Book Arts has received a collection of about 450 pop-up titles…

Beacon Council announces rain from Spain: 465 jobs
South Florida Business Journal
The Business Journal reported in March that OHL has struck up a partnership with Florida International University’s College of Engineering and Computing to create the OHL School of Construction. OHL is active in 30 nations, with sales of $6.3 billion, …

FSU international student dies in China after fall
Tbo.com
By AP A 19-year-old Florida State University senior participating in an international program in China died last week after a fall from a residence hall. Florida State officials identified the victim as William Cullen Klein, of Melbourne Beach.

Small start-up firms lead recovery
East Orlando Sun
Last year, the University of Central Florida’s Business Incubation Program graduated more than 20 companies that are now succeeding with further assistance from the UCF programs, such as GrowFL. And they are creating jobs.

UCF trustees considering 15-percent tuition increase today
Orlando Sentinel
Trustees at the University of Central Florida today will consider raising tuition 15 percent — an increase that campus administrators say UCF needs to hire enough faculty to keep up with growing enrollment and …

UCF students, parents face tough choice: Higher tuition or fewer classes
WFTV Orlando
The cost of getting a bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida could go up by about $2,000 if school leaders approve a proposed 15 percent tuition increase. UCF’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote Thursday on the hike, which, if approved, would raise the four-year cost of earning a bachelor’s degree from about $12,000 to more than $14,000.

Push continues to get UF to tap into reserves to avoid cutbacks
Gainesville Sun
One speaker at a rally Wednesday compared the University of Florida‘s reserves to money stuffed in a mattress that can be removed to deal with a budget shortfall. UF officials say that view is misleading and does not take into account commitments for that money and the likelihood state funding won’t be restored…

UNF set to host East prelims of NCAA track championships
Florida Times-Union
The most prestigious track and field event ever contested in Jacksonville begins Thursday when the NCAA Division I Track and Field Outdoor Championship East preliminary takes place at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida.

University of South Florida student diagnosed with tuberculosis; second case …
The Republic
A University of South Florida student has been diagnosed with tuberculosis and it’s the second case this year at the school. The Hillsborough County Health Department said Tuesday that the student is being treated and recovering in isolation…

State College System

CF set to reorganize academic focus
Citrus Daily
The College of Central Florida has enjoyed significant enrollment increases during the past four years, and at the same time has experienced budget challenges as a result of reductions in state allocations.

President’s evaluation on tap for Daytona State board
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Close to a year after she started as the college’s first female president, Daytona State College board members will evaluate President Carol Eaton prior to Thursday’s regular board meeting…

Indian River State College Establishes Advanced Materials Laboratory in …
AZoNano.com
The Indian River State College (IRSC) has inaugurated its advance materials laboratory in the premises of its recently established Brown Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship…

Chinese delegation picks Miami Dade College brains
Miami Today
Miami Dade College is being visited by a Chinese delegation of 26 vocational school principals who are hoping to learn the US model for vocational career training…

Flood Watch in Miami-Dade Wednesday
NBC 6 Miami
Flooding was reported in areas throughout Miami-Dade, even causing Miami-Dade College to cancel classes on its West Campus. Morning classes were again suspended Wednesday.

Some Miami-Dade Students Are Unprepared For College
NBC 6 Miami
Most new students at Miami-Dade college are academically unprepared for college, school officials tell NBC 6…

NWF State negotiating with Barnes & Nobles for bookstore
The Northwest Florida Daily News
Northwest Florida State College is negotiating with Barnes & Noble’s college division to open a store on campus…

Independent College and University System

The Shoes of Lynn’s 2012 Commencement
Huffington Post (blog)
We say All Styles Are Welcome at Lynn University, and we encourage students to express themselves through their own personal style. As coordinator of the Fashion Management program, I am always encouraging students to explore their sense of style as

Stetson’s 82-year-old Stover Theatre likely to be razed
Daytona Beach News-Journal
A bit of history on Stetson University‘s DeLand campus may soon meet the wrecking ball. The Stover Theatre, which was built in 1930 and is part of the campus’ National Register of Historic Places, is scheduled to be razed in mid-July provided the university gets the go-ahead from the city’s Historic Preservation Board and City Commission, said Cindi Brownfield, a university spokeswoman…

Warner Signs First Football Players
The Ledger
Warner University football coach Jeff Schaum was on the opposite end of signing players for the school’s 2013 inaugural season …

For-Profit and Career Colleges

Romney’s Higher Ed Platform
Inside Higher Ed
Earlier this year, Romney praised Full Sail University, a for-profit institution, for its efficiency. The platform continues that tone, saying the administration’s aggressive regulation of the for-profit sector has distorted incentives for colleges to …

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

CFCC’s McKeithan gets a visit from Florida education reporter
StarNewsOnline.com (blog)
Cape Fear Community College’s retiring President Eric McKeithan is in the running for the top job at Edison State College in southwest Florida. The newspaper that covers Edison State, the News-Press, sent Dave Breitenstein, their higher education …

Business database searches liven up your background checks
Reynolds Center
That’s what led student journalist Karla Bowsher to check the backgrounds of Florida Atlantic University‘s trustees who were considering budget cuts and tuition hikes. Karla begins her University Press story, Who’s in charge here? Court documents show that half the members of FAU’s Board of Trustees have had financial troubles…

Between Facebook and JPMorgan, Wall St. woes mount
Fox News
One of the investors suing, Dennis Palkon, a professor at Florida Atlantic University, said that IPOs are tricky, but “this one had a lot of glamour, had a lot of interest. It has a lot of users. I thought it’d be a pretty good investment.

Congress stands by Israel
Sun-Sentinel
The United States is a close ally of Israel,” said Robert Rabil, associate professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. “At the end of the day, Israel has grassroots support in the United States.”

FGCU President Appoints New Board Members
Island Sun and River Weekly
President Wilson G. Bradshaw has appointed three new members of the board of advisors to Florida Gulf Coast University’s Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education. The new appointees are: Vikki Spruill, current president and CEO of the Ocean Conservancy and newly appointed president and CEO of the Council on Foundations; FGCU provost and vice president for academic affairs, and professor of marine sciences, Dr. Ronald Toll; and Akpezi Ogbuigwe, the head of environmental education and training for the United Nations Environment Programme…

Benihana to Be Sold for $296 Million
HispanicBusiness.com
“I think they got a good premium” said former Benihana board member Joe West, who served as hospitality dean at Florida International University. West still owns about 11000 shares of Benihana stock…

Miami’s downtown authority funds UM business incubator
Miami Today
“An accelerator is very attractive to new IT endeavors,” said board member and Miami Dade College Provost Rolando Montoya, “and incubators cost millions to create.

New presidents provosts Gordon Lawrence Tech Palm Beach Atlantic …
Inside Higher Ed
William MB Fleming Jr., interim president and vice president for development at Palm Beach Atlantic University, in Florida, has been named to the job on a …

Speaker urges action to help curb slave trade
Daytona Beach News-Journal
University of Central Florida Professor John Bersia offered a stark picture of the world scene, speaking on a range of subjects from Iran and the Middle East, to China and the growing problem of the modern slave trade…

Swing states’ economic rebounds brighten Obama’s prospects
The Seattle Times
The national housing bust also has cut the flow of retirees to Florida, a traditional source of growth for the state, noted Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida…

The Beginning of the End to Florida’s Drought is Near
WUFT
“We have a long way to go, but we’re headed in the right direction,” says University of Florida Meteorologist Jeff Huffman. It would take a long-lasting, large-scale weather event, such as a tropical storm or hurricane, to bring a complete end to our …

Lincolnville: Florida professor releases Rawlings book
St. Augustine Record
University of Florida professor Kevin M. McCarthy, whose 1995 book, “Black Florida,” highlights over 450 years of contributions by African Americans to the rich culture of Florida, has added another tome to his growing scholarly output…

CMS Sticks With Medicare Coverage Of PSA Test
Kaiser Health News
Leading urologists in Florida say they’re disappointed with a government panel’s advice against routine prostate-cancer screening. “That’s the wrong message,” objects Dr. Johannes Vieweg, chair of the urology department at University of Florida.

Fla. student to plead guilty to Obama threat
The Seattle Times
A plea hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon for 20-year-old Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr. His attorney says he intends to plead guilty to one count of threatening to kill or harm the president… Serrapio faces a maximum five-year prison sentence. He attends Miami-Dade College and is also a rock musician.

Republican freshman Adams notches win amid primary fight with Rep. Mica
The Hill
“Most people would say, at a minimum, it’s an even-odds race right now, and maybe a slight edge to [Adams],” said Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida in Tampa…

Report: Number of children living with grandparents, other relatives, on increase
Naples Daily News
Another key finding is that many grandparents or other relatives who are raising someone else’s child have taken on the responsibility without government assistance, even though they could be entitled to it, said Susan Weitzel, executive director of the Florida Kids Count program at the University of South Florida in Tampa…

Seminar to unearth shipwreck secrets
KeysNet
“Every time we go out to the Brick Wreck, there is a little bit less of the shipwreck left,” said Della Scott-Ireton, a regional director for the archaeology network based at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

Releases and Web Stores

Summer break could mean learning loss for some kids
PR NewsChannel (press release)
Experts at Florida International University warn that summer can offer potential setbacks to some children’s academic and social development unless parents take steps to keep their kids active—both mentally and physically…

Volunteer for Lynn University’s 2012 presidential debate
Lynn University
When Lynn University announced it would host the final presidential debate on Oct. 22, 2012, one of the first questions asked by those who want to experience the event first hand– after ‘how can I get a ticket’ – was ‘how can I become a volunteer.

UF joins $200M effort to build faster Internet networks
Gainesville Sun
An alliance of research universities that includes the University of Florida now has $200 million available for up to six projects bringing ultra high-speed Internet service to their communities. A start-up company, Gigabit Squared, announced Wednesday that the money would be available for projects building broadband networks with speeds 100 to 1,000 times faster than available now in the United States. The projects will provide the service at competitive prices in neighborhoods ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 people, said Gigabit Squared President Mark Ansboury…

UF team to help assemble first tree of life for Earth’s 2 million species
University of Florida
University of Florida researchers have received an $800000 National Science Foundation grant to help build the first evolutionary tree of life for all species on Earth.

NSF supports University of Miami climate and ‘cloud computing’ research
Phys.Org (press release)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it has awarded the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science a grant for the application of the latest cloud computing technologies to climate and natural hazards …

Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 23, 2012 by flhespectator

State University System

Law could severely limit potential damages in FAMU hazing lawsuit
Boston Herald
With every troubling new revelation about Florida A&M University‘s Marching 100, the pending civil case against FAMU seems to grow stronger for the parents of Robert Champion, the drum major who died from being hazed on a charter bus in Orlando. But the prospects of Robert and Pamela Champion collecting a large financial settlement or jury award is another matter. That’s because the university enjoys the legal protection of sovereign immunity, which could severely limit the amount of money the Champions ultimately collect if they win a lawsuit…

Prosecutor to release evidence in FAMU hazing case
MiamiHerald.com
Prosecutors are expected to release evidence they have against the 13 people charged in last year’s hazing death of Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion. A state attorney’s office spokeswoman says hundreds of pages of documents and audio files will be released on Wednesday.

Never, Ever Screw Up a Sports Team’s Logo
Wall Street Journal
Last month, a Florida TV station botched the Florida Panthers’ logo (it showed the logo of the Golden Panthers of Florida International University instead).

Clone of burned ‘Senator’ tree to be planted at Big Tree Park
Orlando Sentinel
Several clones of the Senator were produced about 15 years ago when foresters took cuttings from the 3500-year-old Senator and planted some of them at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Florida Poly details discussed
Tampabay.com
Florida Polytechnic is on its way to becoming the state’s 12th university, with higher education leaders meeting today in Daytona Beach to talk about the process. It’s not the first meeting of the Board of Governors task force charged with overseeing the transition of the University of South Florida’s Lakeland branch campus into independence, but it is the first time the group is meeting since Gov. Rick Scott gave the new university his rubber stamp last month.

USF reports case of tuberculosis
Tbo.com
A student on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida has contracted tuberculosis, according to university officials. This is the second time in 2012 that the university has reported a case of tuberculosis to the Hillsborough …

State College System

Edison decides pay scale for next president
Fox 4
Edison State College’s next president will make less than half of what fired president Dr. Ken Walker took home. Before Edison’s next president can sign on the dotted line, the college had to decide how much that person should be paid especially …

Trustees: Edison State students will not see tuition increase in fall
Naples Daily News
Edison State College students won’t see an increase in their fall tuition despite an anticipated drop in enrollment. Trustees agreed Tuesday to wait and see how many students enroll this fall before trying to recoup what …

Salary range set for new Edison State College president
The News-Press
Unlike his predecessor, Edison State College’s next president will receive a base salary comparable to leaders at other similarly sized community colleges.

News Press Database of salaries for the 28 Florida state and community college presidents

Edison State College president search: Reporter Dave Breitenstein takes an in-depth look at finalists
The News-Press
Follow higher education reporter Dave Breitenstein on Twitter at @D_Breitenstein as he visits the hometowns of Edison State College’s presidential finalists. He will be posting updates and photos as he tours their campuses and talks to those most familiar with their work…

Flagler College wins preservation award
Historic City News
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation has announced to local Historic City News reporters in St Augustine that Flagler College has won an Outstanding Achievement in Adaptive Use award for its renovation of the Florida East Coast Railroad …

Panel at FSCJ explains Stand Your Ground law
Florida Times-Union
In an attempt to explain the law’s specifics with the general public, the Daniel Webster Perkins Bar Association held a Stand Your Ground forum Tuesday at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Six panelists, which included a university professor, two defense attorneys and a legislator, laid out the nuances of the law to a crowd of about 250 residents and students…

PSC: Pretty spectacular campus
Navarre Press
Pensacola State College held the official grand opening of its sweeping, 110-acre South Santa Rosa Center on May 22 in Gulf Breeze with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The $9 million campus is designed to be multi-functional and includes enrollment …

‘There’s just no way around it’
Santa Rosa Press Gazette
Road crews are currently widening Highway 90 and improving drainage in the median near Pensacola State College and K-Mart in Milton. The obstacle course has become an issue for several motorists…

Polk State to Host Seminar for Veterans Who Want to Pursue Education
The Ledger
As part of a plan to be as veteran-friendly as possible, Polk State College will host a seminar Friday for veterans who want to pursue a college education…

Independent College and University System

Ave Maria drops health insurance coverage for students
Wink News
Ave Maria University is dropping health coverage for students. They say, President Obama’s new health plan makes it too expensive for the students. Of the 800 students at Ave Maria University campus, only about a hundred have health …

PBAU students gets taste of America
Palm Beach Post
Wolfgang Reiger wanted his students to get a view of how business is taught and functions in the United States. Reiger, managing director of the Institut für Management in Salzburg, Austria, was joined this week by 17 of the school’s MBA students on a visit to Palm Beach Atlantic University…

UM medical school shakes up leadership
MiamiHerald.com
Five top executives have lost their leadership roles as part of ongoing restructuring at the University of Miami medical school.

Report: Miami Has Informally Contacted the Big 12
Miami New Times (blog)
The University of Miami has informally contacted the Big 12 conference to gauge the interest in the possibility of ditching the ACC and joining the Texas-centric conference, according to one report at least…

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

88-Year-Old Will Receive Diploma at June Graduation in Coconut Creek
Broward Net Online
At “88-years-young,” Howard Hurwitz is an inspiration to his fellow students at Atlantic Technical Center in Coconut Creek, because he is dedicated to reinventing himself. Hurwitz will don a cap and gown on June 4 to receive an Applied Technology diploma and then plans to embark on a new career as a Medical Coder Biller. The Atlantic Technical Center graduation ceremony will be held at the Broward College Omni at 7 p.m…

Tomato Time
Daytona Beach News-Journal
They are also used to make tomato paste,” explained Chef Costa Magoulas, dean of Daytona State College’s hospitality and culinary management school, last week…

Laundering tax dollars
The News Herald
The Florida Times-Union reported Saturday that over the last three years two state senators — Democrat Gary Siplin of Orlando and Republican Stephen Wise of Jacksonville — have used Florida A&M University as a “pass through” to send millions of taxpayer dollars to nonprofit groups to which the lawmakers have close ties…

Anthony Westbury: This graduate overcame many challenges to earn her GED
TCPalm
Kelly Rodgers, 48, was one of 160 or so students who received their GED certificates at Indian River State College on May 15. She has had to overcome a frightening number of challenges to earn that diploma…

Two parents continue their daughter’s legacy with “Christine’s Hope for Kids”
The Central Jersey Sun
Christine [Gianacaci], who was a 22, traveled to Haiti in January 2010 with several of her classmates from Lynn University in Florida on her second mission trip with Food for the Poor, and was killed in the catastrophic earthquake that occurred on Jan…

Republicans can’t find challenger to Democratic congressman
Sun-Sentinel
Robert Watson, a political scientist at Lynn University in Boca Raton, said the political makeup of the district and Deutch’s style would make it difficult to unseat him. “Ted Deutch has been successful, effective, and he’s very popular,” Watson said.

John Hitt of UCF Tops Florida’s University President’s Pay List
Sunshine State News (blog)
University of Central Florida President John Hitt was atop the list at $741500, which made him the 9th highest paid public school president in the nation, in the journals analysis of 190 institutions and universities…

Police zapped man, 79, with Taser
Omaha World-Herald
“It seems from much of that language that they’re pretty conservative in their use of (the) devices,” said Gene Paoline, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida who has studied police use of force…

Obama Prospects Improve as Swing State Economies Improve
Bloomberg
“That lost wealth in home equity is a pretty heavy burden,” said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida in Orlando…

Romney, Scott see economic recovery differently
The News Herald
“In some ways they’re both correct or looking at it from a different perspective,” said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith.

Facebook’s Flop: Why Stock’s Early Slump May Not Matter
CNBC.com
On average, they trade up by 20 percent on day 1, according to Jay Ritter of the University of Florida, a leading expert on IPO performance…

Morgan Stanley defends handling of Facebook IPO
San Francisco Chronicle
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which became law last month, further relaxed restrictions on analysts who work for investment banks underwriting an IPO, said Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida…

George LeMieux’s aggressive campaign for 2009 Senate seat a window into his …
Tampabay.com
University of North Florida President John Delaney was told he could start looking for a place to live in DC The job was his. But then LeMieux allies created an anonymous website attacking Delaney. It noted that in 2008, Delaney had publicly opposed a property-tax initiative promoted by Crist. The Senate offer was promptly yanked…

Teen endured ‘pure hell’
Tbo.com
“I have to be honest; I think it’s ludicrous,” said [Ray] Kaplan, a sociologist and retired professor at the University of South Florida who spent part of his career teaching tolerance to thousands of students in schools around Tampa Bay…

Reform school was house of horrors for former resident
Northwest News and Tribune
Now a University of South Florida anthropology team studying a cemetery on the campus found irregularities in the ground. The evidence points to possible unmarked graves that extend far beyond the cemetery boundaries. The team, led by forensic anthropologist and USF professor Erin Kimmerle, has made four trips to the Marianna campus.

Obama could lose Florida in November, says prominent political analyst
Examiner.com
Susan Macmanus, a University of South Florida political science professor and well-respected Florida political analyst, said most pundits are making electoral prognostications for Florida in 2012 using 2008 demographic realities. Those realities, said Macmanus, especially for the 65 and over electorate, have changed dramatically in the past four years…

Florida plastic surgeon sues his internet critics
ABC Action News
We asked Jay Wolfson of the University of South Florida’s Health department, who is a doctor and a lawyer, if these internet posters should be nervous. ”Consumers of goods and services, whether it’s plumbing services or breast augmentation, have an absolute freedom of speech right to express their opinions as to the character and quality of services and products they’ve received without fear of legal reprisal,” said Wolfson…

Releases and Web Stories

BRIEF-Moody’s assigns Aa2 rating to the State University System of of Florida’s 2012A Revenue Refunding Bonds
Reuters
May 23 (Reuters) – Moody’s assigns Aa2 rating to the State University System of Florida’s $32.7 Million Series 2012A Revenue Refunding Bonds, Outlook is Stable…

Flagler College wins four Florida College Press Association awards
ReadMedia (press release)
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (05/22/2012)(readMedia)– The Gargoyle, Flagler College‘s online student newspaper, has won four awards in the 2012 Florida College Press Association “Best Under the Sun” contest…

University of Florida joins effort to turn around state’s lowest-ranked high …
University of Florida
The University of Florida Lastinger Center recently joined a multi-organization, multiyear effort that includes Duval County Public Schools, the Jaguar Foundation and Teach for America to turn around the state’s lowest-ranked high school, …

University Of Miami Launches New Real Estate MBA Program
MarketWatch (press release)
CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The University of Miami School of Business Administration has established a new accelerated MBA program with a concentration in real estate. Bringing together the School of Business’s …

Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 22, 2012 by flhespectator

Hyperlink: What Public-College Presidents Make, The Chronicle of Higher Education

State University System

Florida universities rank high in presidential pay
Sun-Sentinel
Florida’s universities trail the nation when it comes to state funding and academic rankings, but they do score high in one area: pay for their top leaders. The median pay for presidents of the eight research universities in Florida was $510,000 during 2010-11 school year, compared to $421,000 nationally, according to an analysis released Monday by the “Chronicle of Higher Education,” an academic news journal…

Ammons: FAMU needs major changes
Tallahassee.com
FAMU President James Ammons stopped by the Democrat newsrooms and spoke to our editorial board about his leadership role at FAMU, the suspension of the Marching 100, and how the university plans to address eligibility issue for future band members.

Harbor Branch launches intensive focus on the Indian River Lagoon
TCPalm
Most people know Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University for its intrepid submarines that delve into the dark recesses of the ocean in search of hidden secrets or unusual sea life that might …

Education Officials Meeting in Daytona To Discuss New School Florida Polytechnic
The Ledger
With the changeover deadline looming, education officials will meet in Daytona Beach on Wednesday to address the intricacies of moving ownership of funding and buildings from the University of South Florida to Florida Polytechnic University. There’s a lot to plan…

Florida State student dies while studying abroad in China, school official says
CNN
(CNN) — A Florida State University student has died while studying abroad in China, a school spokeswoman said Monday. Local law enforcement authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of William Cullen Klein, said Jeanette DeDiemar, the Tallahassee school’s director of university communications.

New Medical Device Helps Premature Babies One Lullaby at a Time
WCTV
Florida State University announced today the availability of a new medical device that uses musical lullabies to help premature babies overcome one of their greatest growth hurdles. The innovative device, known as the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL), …

No foul play suspected in death of UF student, 19
Gainesville Sun
An investigation is under way into the death of 19-year-old University of Florida student who died Monday from an apparent medical-related condition, authorities said. Stephen C. Speck, of Oviedo, was pronounced dead at around 9:30 a.m., according to the University Police Department…

UF trustees approve higher student fees for Reitz Union expansion
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida students might be paying higher fees than expected to fund the Reitz Union expansion and renovation. UF’s Board of Trustees voted Monday to raise the Capital Improvement Trust Fund fee by $2 per credit hour starting in the fall. The Florida Board of Governors will consider final approval next month…

New USFSP Program Assists Veterans To Get MBAs
83degreesmedia
The University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) College of Business is making it easier for veterans to pursue a masters degree in business administration…

State College System

TCC likely to hold the line on tuition
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
On Monday, Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdaugh said Scott was right and the college will work on figuring out how to improve and measure its performance before seeking more money from students.

Valencia’s bold step holds the line on costs for families
Orlando Sentinel
At a time when parents and students across Florida are worried about the cost of college, Valencia College has taken a bold step: The college has decided not to increase tuition next year…

Independent College and University System

Ave Maria University Will Drop Student Health Insurance
The Ave Herald
Ave Maria University will no longer offer health insurance to students nor require them to carry it, university President Jim Towey said in a statement Monday in which he cited both moral objections as well as federal coverage mandates that would raise …

Ave Maria University ditches student health insurance plans
The News-Press
Money and morality are the twin reasons Ave Maria University will no longer offer group health insurance plans to students as of Aug. 15. University President Jim Towey said Monday that students and parents can thank the federal Patient Protection and …

Competition to perform organ transplants is heating up in Florida
McClatchy Washington Bureau
The University of Miami, whose doctors perform the Jackson transplants, have filed a letter of intent with regulators to do adult heart, lung, kidney and liver transplants at the University of Miami Hospital, across the street from Jackson Memorial…

UM team advances to national student advertising competition
MiamiHerald.com
The American Advertising Federation has announced that the University of Miami School of Communication’s student advertising team – the Miami Collective – won the National Student Advertising District Competition…

Ride and park: Car share coming to Miami this summer
MiamiHerald.com
The University of Miami has Zipcars, and its Hertz On Demand competitor serves Florida International University…

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

Owens: 2 schools of thought on tuition
Orlando Sentinel
Florida lawmakers took a $300 million bite out of funding for the state’s public universities for the budget year that begins July 1, continuing a pattern of cuts that began four years ago. Lawmakers held funding flat for the state’s public colleges, but over the past decade they’ve dialed back state support, shifting more of the costs to students…

Kassab: UCF fast growth also has consequences
Orlando Sentinel
Jeb Bush recently praised UCF for its “meteoric rise.” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the region has “no better partner” than the University of Central Florida. UCF is often lauded for how large it’s grown — and how fast. Of course, the former governor and the mayor don’t wake up next to the campus every morning…

Walsh: UCF models efficiency but belt-tightening has limits
Orlando Sentinel
I’ve been involved with Florida higher education since I was student-body president at Florida Technological University in the 1970s. The institution was smartly renamed the University of Central Florida, and I have since tried to serve UCF in many capacities, including as a charter member and chair of the Board of Trustees…

Letters from Readers
Florida Times-Union
As an English professor/composition instructor at the University of North Florida, I teach many students who have never retained writing instruction. Some come in my door thinking “noun” and “verb” are synonyms for “word.” If they don’t have the parts …

Feds OK Workforce grant extension
Florida Today
The retraining funds might help longtime Brevard residents remain in the region, rather than moving away immediately to find work, said John Hilston, associate professor of economics at Brevard Community College in Palm Bay…

College Summit helps students overcome obstacles
MiamiHerald.com
“We know students listen more to other students than they ever will to adults,” said Raquel Figueroa, the program manager in South Florida. In 2011-12, 3,500 South Florida seniors participated in College Summit. Next year, the program will expand to work with high school freshmen and juniors as well, growing its reach to more than 14,000 students in Broward and Miami-Dade…

Embry-Riddle grad wins national award
Daytona Beach News-Journal
A recent graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach is making her mark in the field of space physics by winning a national award and heading to the U.S. Department of Energy to work for the summer. Emily Hyatt, 22, of Middleburg, who received a bachelor in engineering physics, won first prize in what is called magnetospheric physics from a student research contest sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Community Coordinate Modeling Center…

Synthetic marijuana: Experts say fake pot poses serious dangers, can cause …
WPTV
The appeal of synthetic marijuana is that it is legal, said, Dr. Morton Levitt, chairman of the Integrated Medical Science Department at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton…

Seagrasses Store as Much Carbon as Forests
LiveScience.com
“Seagrasses only take up a small percentage of global coastal area, but this assessment shows that they are a dynamic ecosystem for carbon transformation,” study researcher James Fourqurean, of Florida International University, said in a statement…

UTA Libraries gets new dean
Fort Worth Star Telegram
A senior Florida State University library administrator will serve as the new dean of libraries at the University of Texas at Arlington. Rebecca Bichel, an associate dean for public service at FSU since 2005, will start on July 16…

Just a drill but threat of major storm is real
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Jill Trepanier, who just earned her doctorate in geography from Florida State University and has studied hurricane patterns in Florida, rated the chances of a direct strike, particularly from a major hurricane, during the convention as “very low.

If FAMU loses hazing suit, law may limit damage award
Orlando Sentinel
“It usually requires some kind of political support and it can take a very long time,” said Peter Lake, a law professor and director of the Center for Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law.

Teen ‘Tebows’ during graduation, denied diploma — temporarily
Naples Daily News
As Chuck Shriner crossed the stage on Saturday during Bishop Verot’s graduation ceremony, he suddenly paused, dropped to one knee, and Tebow-ed his principal…The Fort Myers teen, who will be attending University of Central Florida in the fall to study mechanical engineering, was told he wouldn’t be receiving his diploma because of his antics…

Controversial Clerk of Court returns to work
WFTV Orlando
“And then voters, when they see other kinds of things that don’t look on the up-and-up, like fudging resumes, then in the voters’ minds these things start adding up and they think, ‘Is this the person I want in elected office?’” said Aubrey Jewett of the University of Central Florida.

Scott’s upbeat view of Florida’s economy contrasts with fellow Republican …
The Republic
Scott is one of several Republican governors who have been upbeat about their states’ economies, and that’s making it harder for Romney to make his case. University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said in some ways both Scott and Romney are correct.

Does level of education matter with superintendent candidates?
Ocala
Linda Eldridge, a clinical professor at the University of Florida’s Department of Educational Administration and Policy, was formerly a teacher and superintendent of schools in South Carolina. Eldridge said a business leader could run a school district …

Where are Facebook’s friends? Stock down after IPO
BusinessWeek
It’s a customary gesture from underwriters to support the company they helped bring to market, explains Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida. It’s a way to save face and show that the company and the bankers gauged an …

The Facebook Effect: How Many Jobs Do IPOs Really Create?
Forbes
Jay R. Ritter is the Cordell Professor of Finance at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration and has been researching the IPO market for more than thirty years. Facebook’s historic IPO has stirred up speculation about …

Civil Rights, Economy and Elections
Huffington Post
“Latinos are three times more likely to lack health insurance than any group,” says in the article Olveen Carrasquillo, chief of the internal medicine division at the University of Miami Health System.

Vigorous Exercise Might Keep Psoriasis at Bay
U.S. News & World Report
Another expert, Dr. Robert Kirsner, chief of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, added that “exercise allows patients who may be at risk for psoriasis because of family history the ability to do something to hopefully …

Stand-up desks can add years to your life
MiamiHerald.com
“Sitting at a desk for long periods of time isn’t good for you,” says Dr. Robert Schwartz, chair of family medicine & community health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine…

Mayor Alvin Brown’s position on human rights ordinance could be politically tricky
Florida Times-Union
Tim Simpson, managing editor of the journal Political Theology and an instructor at the University of North Florida. “Both in African-American and Hispanic congregations, it’s common to find pastors and congregations standing foursquare against gay rights.”

Botox to bloodflow: New help for MS patients
ABC30.com
“She started showing improvement on the table,” Bulent Arslan, MD, an associate professor of radiology at the University of South Florida, told Action News…

Murder-suicide of couple reported at Wheat Ridge nursing home
Denver Post
Donna Cohen, who is an expert on older adults who commit murder-suicides, said perpetrators usually fit a profile: They are depressed and overwhelmed by caregiving for an ill spouse. Also, the deaths typically involve long-married couples who are extremely close with no history of domestic violence, Cohen said. Cohen, a professor in the Department of Child & Family Studies at the University of South Florida, has researched assisted suicide and homicide in the elderly…

Seeking equal opportunities in surgery
Tbo.com
In 2009, Tampa surgeon Dr. Sharona Ross launched the Women in Surgery initiative at the University of South Florida.

Releases and Web Stories

TEXT-Fitch rates University System of Florida revs ‘AA’; outlook …
Reuters
NEW YORK, May 21 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AA’ rating to approximately $32.7 million of university system improvement revenue refunding bonds, series 2012A, issued by the State of Florida, Board of Governors (BoG) on behalf of the State University System of Florida (SUS)…

The International Space University Opens its 25th Anniversary Space Studies …
MarketWatch (press release)
MELBOURNE, Fla., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The International Space University will open its 25th Space Studies Program (ISU/SSP12) at Florida Institute of Technology and Kennedy Space Center June 4-Aug. 3.

New Musical Pacifier Helps Premature Babies Get Healthy
Science Daily (press release)
ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — Florida State University has announced the availability of a new medical device that uses musical lullabies to help premature babies overcome one of their greatest growth hurdles.

TCC President Proposes No Tuition Increase
WCTV
Today, Tallahassee Community College President Jim Murdaugh announced to the College’s District Board of Trustees that, in keeping with Governor Rick Scott’s recommendations regarding college tuition, he is not recommending a tuition increase for the 2012-13 academic year. This recommendation was made at today’s monthly Board of Trustees meeting despite the Florida Legislature’s authorization of up to a five percent increase in tuition for colleges statewide.

New research dashes notions of benign brain plaque
University of Florida
University of Florida researchers have discovered that people with no signs of dementia during their lives, even though their brains contained the debris typical of Alzheimer’s disease, probably would have experienced health problems had they lived …

Here’s what caught my eye over the weekend…

Posted on May 21, 2012 by flhespectator

State University System

Panel seeks solution to soaring tuition
Sun-Sentinel
A Blue Ribbon Task Force plans this month to begin looking at ways state universities can offer – and pay for — top notch education. Its recommendations can’t come too soon for cash-stripped families. Tuition is expected to rise 15 percent for the fourth year in a row at Florida’s public universities…

Fictional progam created at FAMU to funnel money for two state senators’ wishes
Florida Times-Union
Over the past three years, Florida A&M has been used as what the university has called a “pass through” to send millions in taxpayer dollars to nonprofit groups with close ties to two term-limited state senators. The money was secured by Jacksonville Republican Stephen Wise and Orlando Democrat Gary Siplin during final budget negotiations and did not go through the normal appropriations process…

FAMU president says band will return
Tallahassee.com
Florida A&M University‘s president said Friday that the hazing death of a marching band member is tragic, but promised its alumni association in Carolina that the celebrated band would return. James Ammons said this week that he would keep the Marching 100 off the field in the 2012-13 academic year while the university institutes strong anti-hazing measures. Ammons spoke to Florida A&M‘s National Alumni Association at a gathering in Charlotte…

FAU off-campus student housing could spur new district, activity
Sun-Sentinel
The former Monier Lifetile factory, at 135 NW 20th St., is slated to become University Park, a four-story, 599-bed housing complex for Florida Atlantic University students. City leaders are hoping a deserted tile factory will be the hub that brings new, bustling life into one of the city’s industrial corridors. In spite of objections from city staff members and Florida Atlantic University officials, the former Monier Lifetile factory, 135 NW 20th St., is slated to become University Park, a four-story, 599-bed student-housing complex before the end of 2015.

FAU remains committed to the Treasure Coast
TCPalm
When Florida Atlantic University (FAU) announced plans to move its programs from the Treasure Coast campus it shares with Indian River State College (IRSC) in St. Lucie West, the open lines of communication between …

Gator Band is London-bound
Gainesville Sun
The University of Florida Gator Marching Band has a rigorous practice schedule during football season, marching and playing for up to seven hours a week. But one practice last year ended differently, when Jay Watkins, associate director of bands at UF and Gator Band Director, announced that after months of auditioning, the Gator Band had been invited to perform at the Summer Olympics in London on July 23-31…

Touring South Florida’s Renovated Sun Dome
Big East Coast Bias (blog)
Last year the school opened the Muma Center, a modern basketball practice facility directly connected to the Sun Dome. Now renovations on the Sun Dome are complete and fans were able to tour it for the first time. Here are a few photo from my tour and a few comments…

Funeral on Tuesday for driver who crashed into bay
Tbo.com
A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday for Michael Agana, the 19-year-old who died after his car crashed through the Bayshore Boulevard balustrade into Hillsborough Bay…He was an engineering major at the University of South Florida and a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

State College System

Grads put feet on the street in job search
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona State College, for example, also reports a survey of 2009/2010 graduates showing 80 percent of those polled have their first full-time job within three months.

Edison candidate’s ties to college questioned
Fox 4
New questions about one of the four finalists looking to be the next president of Edison State College. Some faculty and students worry one of the candidate’s ties to the college will just bring more of the same drama…

Fired Edison VP writes critical letter to SACS
Fox 4
Another former vice president at Edison State College is filing a formal complaint about how the school is run. Dr. Steve Atkins sent a detailed 50-page letter to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or SACS, …

Edison State College presidential search committee picks 5 finalists
The News-Press
The search committee has chosen five individuals to advance as finalists for Edison State College president: Jeffery Allbritten, Eugene Giovannini, Peggy Kennedy, Eric McKeithan and Joseph Sarnovsky. The finalists will arrive on campus shortly after Memorial Day for tours, then interview with the full Board of Trustees on June 1. Dates have yet to be finalized.

Student stranded by hit and run driver
Wink News
An Edison State College student had a run of bad luck when she blew a tire while driving on Interstate 75. She parked her car just north of Alico Road. And before she got back with a new tire, her car was smashed by a hit and run driver.

Invest in the community’s goals
MiamiHerald.com
At Miami Dade College, new courses in areas like hospitality have been developed in response to the report to provide the kind of graduates needed in the local workforce.

Independent College and University System

Ave Maria University considers cutting student health plans
Naples Daily News
After suing the federal government over the contraceptive mandate included in new health care regulations, Ave Maria University is now considering dropping health insurance coverage for students. The school may not be alone in its concerns. A student health insurance provision outlined as part of the Affordable Care Act requires benefit caps be at least $100,000 next year and five times that the following year — meaning increased premiums could be reality for students on other campuses as well…

More private colleges offering tuition discounts
MiamiHerald.com
At Barry University in Miami Shores, where nine in 10 students receive financial aid, school officials have frozen tuition for the first time in two decades. “We’re keeping tuition for the undergraduate students exactly the same as last year …

More than 500 graduate from Eckerd College
Tampabay.com
In her speech to students graduating Sunday from Eckerd College, oceanographer and aquanaut Sylvia Earle sounded a wish of exploration…

Car crashes into Flagler College fence
St. Augustine Record
A man was cited for careless driving and arrested on a DUI charge after crashing into a fence outside of Flagler College, according to court records and a St. Augustine Police Department report. Thursday around 10 pm David Michael Murray, 51, …

Southwest Florida business briefs: May 20, 2012
Naples Daily News
Hodges University (www.hodges.edu) received four awards, including two gold awards, in Higher Education Marketing Report’s annual Educational Advertising …

Stetson University focuses on business for solo lawyers
Tampa Bay Business Journal
More lawyers are opting to set up solo or small practices as big firm layoffs and hiring freezes create a dismal job outlook…

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

State universities: ‘Rapidly declining’
Sun-Sentinel
Senior Editorial Writer Douglas C. Lyons recently sat down with former Florida Gov. Bob Graham for this Q &A. Q. What’s your take on the state of the state university system? Rapidly declining. The university system today is operating at less than $4,000 per student on inflation adjusted dollars from what it had 20 years ago. The university system has dramatically increased the cost of higher education to students. At the same time there has been a decline in the total resources – state, federal and student to support a quality higher education experience…

Earth to Legislature: Stop ignoring student-debt threat
Orlando Sentinel
Lawmakers even passed a bill to remove the 15 percent tuition cap for the University of Florida and Florida State University, and eventually for other state universities. Gov. Rick Scott, to his credit, vetoed the bill. Scott and higher-education …

Our Opinion: Football’s future
Tallahassee.com
You thought college football was about traditional rivalries, X’s and O’s and game-winning field goals? Oh, you silly fan. College football is all about money, which is why rumors that Florida State University might switch athletic conferences has been front-page news this week in Tallahassee…

FAMU accountability gap
Bradenton Herald
Florida A&M University‘s trustees missed their cue this week. Meeting Monday with President James Ammons, trustees had the opportunity — the obligation — to hold him accountable for the scandal engulfing the university and its signature program, the Marching 100 band, since November’s beating death of drum major Robert Champion…

Step up, FAMU trustees
Palm Beach Post (blog)
FAMU President James Ammons just suspended the Marching 100 for at least another year. None of these actions, though, addresses the fact that FAMU administrators ignored band hazing or were ignorant when they should have been aware. FAMU suffers from a …

Dobson: Alumni consider FAMU’s challenges
Tallahassee.com
By this morning, the Florida A&M University National Alumni Association will have concluded its annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. Tommy Mitchell, association president, said the gathering is a time for FAMU alumni to get updates on the university and its programs and to hear from President James H. Ammons. It’s also collection time, as alumni chapters around the country make their contributions that go toward scholarships…

Letter: Loss of the Florida Atlantic University extension a sign of problems with education in Port St. Lucie
TCPalm
The loss of the Florida Atlantic University extension in St. Lucie West is truly an embarrassment for Port St. Lucie. It signifies that either there are not students in this city who are choosing to go to college, or worse, that there are not enough students who qualify to get into college: another confirmation of the poor reputation of our city…Jill Dienemann, Port St. Lucie

Gerald Ensley: There’s a special beauty at FSU
Tallahassee.com
How many times have you heard it? It’s not the buildings but the people that make a place special. And in the case of Florida State University, it’s the beautiful people. A survey last week ranked FSU as the No. 4 most beautiful campus in America, which surprised some of us — until we saw the calculations…

Tom Monaghan talks about giving away fortune, new hamburger joint and getting …
Detroit Free Press
He devoted himself to Catholic education, most prominently by founding Ave Maria University, now based near Naples, Fla., where he spends much of his time these days raising money for the school…

Loss of nest egg leads businessman to energizing new venture
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Changes in retirement plans and the increase in medical costs are making it more and more difficult for people to retire when they wanted or expected, said Ned Harper, director of the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College.

SWFL mother and son graduate high school together
Wink News
Catherine [Rice] is already pursuing her college education at Edison State College. She hopes to become a social worker upon graduation. Her son, Chris [Rice], also plans to enroll at Edison State College soon…

Writing ability declines but still crucial for success
Sun-Sentinel
“Let’s say 25 percent of students who leave a college are struggling at basic level with grammar and organization,” said Jeffrey Galin, director of Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Excellence in Writing…

Brevard’s jobless rate tumbles to a three-year low
Florida Today
Mike Slotkin, an economics professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, said Brevard’s declining unemployment rate and job growth should be the start of a positive economic trend.

Florida Tech professor lands $257000 grant to study coral
Florida Today
Robert van Woesik, a biologist at Florida Institute of Technology, has won a $257000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the potential contagiousness of coral diseases…

Former Miami-Dade Manager Burgess teaching at FIU
MiamiHerald.com
George Burgess, the former Miami-Dade county manager, has a new job title: professor. Burgess was hired in February as a visiting instructor at Florida International University. That’s in addition to his day job as chief operations officer of Fort Lauderdale-based law firm Becker & Poliakoff, a position he landed some three months after he resigned from the county — a day after the recall of former Mayor Carlos Alvarez…

Mowing down seagrass meadows will cut loose carbon
New Scientist
If the seagrass dies, all of that could be released into the environment, says marine ecologist and study author James Fourqurean from Florida International University in Miami, US…

Many black voters unhappy with Obama over same-sex marriage
Sun-Sentinel
“When you divide the country into Anglos, Hispanic and black, the most hostile to gay marriage by far are black people,” said Kevin Hill, a Florida International University political scientist who pored over two decades’ worth of polling data in recent days. He said that reflects religious influence, not race. “It doesn’t have anything to do with being black. It has to do with being an evangelical Christian. Black people are overwhelmingly evangelical Christians,” said Hill…

Rick Knabb, Ph.D., selected to lead NOAA’s National Hurricane Center
WIFR
NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., today announced Rick Knabb, Ph.D., as the next director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami. Knabb will start his duties on June 4…The National Hurricane Center is co-located with the National Weather Service Miami-South Florida forecast office on the campus of Florida International University…

California may finally land ‘best beach’
OCRegister
Dr. Beach is actually Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University…

Sarasota tourism officials aim for more mileage from Dr. Beach’s No. 1 ranking
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Each year, just before Memorial Day, a new No. 1 is announced by “Dr. Beach,” Stephen Leatherman, a coastal science professor at Florida International University in Miami. This year, local tourism officials have to wonder about the lingering effect of Siesta Beach’s international fame…

New Generation Coined ‘Just-In-Time’ Users
The Ledger
Chris Fenner, chairman of Florida Southern College’s Communications department, said the new generation of technology users expects to be able to access …

JU president’s life: A testament to the power of education
Florida Times-Union
Kerry Romesburg, now president of Jacksonville University, grew up in South Phoenix, on the wrong side of the riverbed. It was poor, working-class, riddled with gangs and violence, with a high school ringed by razor wire…

Around the region for May 19, 2012
Gainesville Sun
Rick Scott announced Friday that he was reappointing two Gainesville residents to the Santa Fe College District Board of Trustees. Scott announced that he was reappointing Robert C. Hudson and George “Tom” Mallini to the board. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Researcher loses top prize, gains investors’ attention
Orlando Sentinel
Count biotech researcher and entrepreneur Qun Huo among the winningest losers of the recent high-technology business competition known as the Cade Museum Prize. The University of Central Florida chemist and founder of Nano Discovery Inc. was chosen as the second runner-up earlier this month in the Gainesville-based contest, named after researcher Robert Cade, who led the University of Florida research team that created Gatorade…

Small-business director: Lack of capital still hindering start-ups
Orlando Sentinel
CFB: What’s the goal of National Small Business Week? To give tributes to small businesses. A lot of people say small businesses are a kind of economic engine of our community and, especially in this economy, more than two-thirds of net jobs are coming from small businesses. So definitely National Small Business Week is to give recognition to small businesses… Eunice Choi, director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida.

Manatee County’s unemployment rate for April is down but so is workforce
Bradenton Herald
Sean Snaith, economist and director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, said it is hard to quantify the exact cause for fewer job seekers…

Flagler, Volusia jobless rates hit 3 1/2 -year low
Daytona Beach News-Journal
University of Central Florida Economist Sean Snaith said that given the labor force decreases, the good news of falling unemployment doesn’t seem so good. “You want to see unemployment fall, but you don’t want to see it fall because people give up hope …

Florida unemployment falls to 8.7 percent, but …
Tampabay.com
“The state of the labor market is not as good… as the press release (on unemployment) might suggest,” University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said…

Tampa area added 12600 jobs in April
Tbo.com
“Some of the percentage decline is exaggerated because the shrinking of the labor force in total,” said Sean Snaith, an economics professor at the University of Central Florida. “Payrolls were basically flat, or contracting…

Weekly Roundup: A Numbers Game for Jobs, Schools
WCTV
“Having the unemployment rate fall because people have given up looking for a job is not an improvement,” University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said…

Researchers find fossil of a turtle that was size of a Smart car
Los Angeles Times
The specimen was found in 2005 in the mine in Colombia’s Cerrejon formation by Edwin Cadena, now a graduate student at North Carolina State University. He and his colleagues from the University of Florida and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute reported in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology that the turtle’s skull measures 24 centimeters (9.5 inches) long, about the size of a regulation football…

Because of declining flows, Silver Springs no longer king
Ocala
If our environmental stewards take action to reduce groundwater pumping, they have an opportunity to reverse an environmental disaster. Robert L. Knight, Ph.D., is the director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute at the University of Florida…

First Coast housing purchases increasing, jobless figure dropping, says UNF …
Florida Times-Union (blog)
University of North Florida economist Paul Mason said a compilation of economic indicators and the consumer price index shows the economic environment is showing positive trends. Mason said Friday that housing purchases and prices are up, …

Pain doctor’s troubles prompt new policy at USF
Tampabay.com
In 2008, Dr. Gerard Dileo got in trouble with the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners. Investigators said he was prescribing pain pills without fully examining his patients. In some cases, he used scripts created before patients even turned up in the office. Yet, he still kept working as an obstetrician/gynecologist and assistant professor at the University of South Florida…

Are Outsiders Good for ‘Laboratories of Democracy’?
Education Week News (blog)
For Sherman Dorn, a professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, the answer is clear. States have increasingly ceded their roles as laboratories of democracy, and have turned over policymaking and ideological energy to the U.S. government or other advocates…

Grim FCAT scores are blamed on state
Tbo.com
“I think the lesson here is that accountability systems always depend on administrators of the system managing to avoid politically unacceptable levels of failure,” said Sherman Dorn, a University of South Florida professor.

FRIDAY’S CUP: When memes attack
Gulf Coast Business Review
When Richard Gitlin, an accomplished entrepreneur and professor in the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida, invented DSL he probably didn’t anticipate the changes it would bring…

Campaigns, issue groups spend millions on Orlando TV
Orlando Sentinel
The same is happening in Tampa – the other end of the politically famous ” I-4 corridor,” said University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus. “They’re burning through money like somebody who just won the lottery,” she said…

Out of state congressional donations on the rise
WUFT
Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Chip Skambis spoke with University of South Florida Political Science Professor Susan MacManus about how these sorts of donations will impact this coming up election season…

Sand sculptures rise from Pensacola Beach at Fiesta of Five Flags event
Pensacola Business Journal
James Fox teaches a summer beach sports class at the University of West Florida. He added sand sculpting to the curriculum. “I just like art,” he said. “We just like to get out and do something different.”…

Releases and Web Stories

University of Miami Names New Members to Its Board of Trustees
MarketWatch (press release)
CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The University of Miami has announced that alumnus Joseph J. “Joe” Echevarria Jr. has joined its Board of Trustees. Echevarria, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte LLP, is an alumnus of …

USF Library, Other Areas, Slated for Improvements
University of South Florida
(May 18, 2012) — The University of South Florida map is changing again, with major upgrades of the USF Library and surrounding spaces heading a list of projects to improve the academic experience for students, capitalize on recent infrastructure …

Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 18, 2012 by flhespectator

State University System

Two FAMU band members expected to admit hazing female clarinet player
Orlando Sentinel
Aaron Golson, 19, and Sean Hobson, 23, will avoid jail sentences for hazing Bria Shante Hunter, 18, who wanted to join the “Red Dawg Order,” a group of FAMU band members exclusively from Georgia. They instead will be ordered to perform community …

2 Accused of Hazing FAMU Band Member Expected to Plead to Lesser Charges
The Ledger
A prosecutor says two defendants accused of hazing a Florida A&M University band member are expected to plead guilty to lesser charges. Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Walters says they’ll be appearing in court today with a third …

Prosecutor: Plea Deals Set in FAMU Hazing Case
WCTV
The men are facing felonies for beating Bria Hunter, who ended up in the hospital and wound up leaving FAMU. The men are accused of punching and pummeling Bria Hunter last October and are scheduled to enter pleas this afternoon.

FAMU Band Members Speak Out After Suspension
WTXL ABC 27
Florida A & M University’s band members have been reluctant to speak to the media , especially after 11 members have been charged with felony hazing, and two with misdemeanors.

2 FAMU hazing suspects to plead guilty to lesser charges
WXIA-TV
A prosecutor says two defendants accused of hazing a Florida A&M University band member are expected to plead guilty to lesser charges…

Consumer Confidence Down in Florida Despite Fall in Gas Prices
The Ledger
This month’s Florida Consumer Confidence Index produced by University of Florida won’t be out until Tuesday, but April figures show a downward trend for three consecutive months in the Sunshine State.

Shands begins next phase of Shands Hospital for Children at UF
WUFT
The University of Florida and Shands is beginning the next phase in the evolution of the Shands Hospital for Children…

Patent Protector or Pest?
Inside Higher Ed
The question was simple enough: Has the University of South Florida ever had a business relationship with Intellectual Ventures, a leading collector of patents and a partner of many colleges?

State College System

Edison finalist wanted to retire twice
Fox 4
A finalist for Edison State College’s presidential search wanted to retire twice in the last five years. “I’m not the type to pull up a rocking chair on the front porch,” said Eric McKiethan, “and just sit there and rock the …

Miami-Dade College student to plead guilty to Obama threat
The Grio
Court records show a Miami college student intends to plead guilty to making threatening posts against President Barack Obama on Facebook. A change of plea hearing is set Wednesday for 20-year-old Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr. He had previously pleaded not guilty…

TCC program opens up world to students
Tallahassee.com
Francisco “Frank” Vasconcelos came here from Miami two years ago for one specific reason: the highly regarded, student-run Model United Nations program at Tallahassee Community College.

Independent College and University System

Franciscan University drops student health insurance plan
Catholic Sentinel
Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla., is reportedly also considering dropping its student health insurance plans, according to Fox News. Ave Maria and Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, NC, have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the …

BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY GRADUATION 2012
Daytona Times
Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed embraces a Bethune-Cookman University graduate. The spring commencement was held Saturday at the Ocean Center. It was Reed’s final graduation; her retirement was official on May 13. Top: Graduates enjoy embraces from faculty, …

SIFE students deliver more than meals
St. Augustine Record
The Council on Aging has been working with Flagler College’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), a team of students who help businesses save the environment and save money. Flagler College SIFE’s mission was to improve COA’s Meals on Wheels program.

Hundreds gather to remember former Miami Hurricanes AD Paul Dee
MiamiHerald.com
Flags were at half-staff at the University of Miami on Thursday in memory of beloved former athletic director Paul Dee, and a standing room-only crowd packed St. Augustine Catholic Church adjacent to campus for his funeral.

UM Miller School of Medicine wins AIDS research award
MiamiHerald.com
University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine has received a $7 million grant to help enhance treatment and help find a cure for HIV/AIDS. While deaths linked to the virus have plummeted nationally, South Florida still leads the nation …

RNC ‘Event Zone’ Rules Get OK From Tampa City Council
Patch.com
Most weapons — but not concealed firearms carried with a permit — will be banned in the area surrounding the Republican National Convention, including part of Harbour Island and the University of Tampa.

For Profit and Career Colleges

Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings Tied to FastTrain, For-Profit College Raided by FBI
Huffington Post
The FBI raided campuses of Florida-based FastTrain College on Wednesday. The for-profit school has multiple ties to Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL), who has been a fervent backer of for-profit education companies…Hastings has received this cycle at least $35,000 in donations from for-profit college companies and officials, including Apollo (owner of University of Phoenix), DeVry, Keiser, Bridgepoint, Education Management Corp., Full Sail University, Corinthian, and the trade association APSCU. (FastTrain is an APSCU member.)

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

Editorial: Marching to infamy
Tbo.com
Florida A&M University ignored reports of abuse within its renowned marching band and protected a culture of indulgence. For the Marching 100, which actually has more than 400 members, the rules did not apply…

Graduates tackle challenges of a changing job market
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona State College, Bethune-Cookman University, Stetson University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University have all held their commencements…

Letter: Polytechnic Plays Vital Role in Lego League World Invitational
The Ledger
I am writing to correct the inadvertent omission of the key role that University of South Florida Polytechnic and its talented faculty staff and students played in bringing the nearly 600 team members, as well as an equal number of coaches and family …JOEL RODNEY, Ph.D. – Lakeland

Florida voters like Hillary and Jeb, but not Rick Scott
Broward Politics (blog)
“They’re not running for anything,” said Kevin Hill of Weston, a political scientist at Florida International University…

Evidence mixed for Zimmerman’s self-defense claim
Boston.com
Joelle Moreno, a Florida International University law school professor, said the evidence now released makes it difficult to predict if that defense will work…

3 Ways Teachers Can Use Summer to Build Skills
U.S. News & World Report
Online programs can give teachers more choices and greater flexibility, says Tracey Tedder, dean of the Florida Southern College Division of Education, …

A rocket launch at Cape Canaveral could ignite Florida’s commercial space industry
Tampabay.com
“His success is unmatched in the space marketplace,” said Dale Ketcham, director of the Spaceport Research and Technology Institute at the University of Central Florida…

Could FCAT writing scores be accurate? Parent says kids get As despite many errors
WFTV Orlando
Elizabeth Wardle directs the University of Central Florida’s first-year writing program. “Students are coming in having spent most of their time learning to write for a test,” Wardle said…

Releases and Web Stories

Flagler College to Host Social Theory Conference
ReadMedia (press release)
AUGUSTINE, FL (05/17/2012)(readMedia)– The International Social Theory Consortium (ISTC) will hold its annual social theory conference at Flagler College May 17-19. The theme of the conference is “Theory and Politics: Between the Globalization of …

Fitch Affirms Florida State University’s Mandatory Student Fee …
MarketWatch
NEW YORK, May 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘AA’ rating on approximately $30.3 million of mandatory student fee revenue bonds (the bonds) issued by the Florida Board of Governors (BOG), on behalf of Florida State University (FSU). The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Downtown Boca “Rolled Out Welcome Mat” to Visitors Near and Far During 2012 …
EON: Enhanced Online News (press release)
She [Mayor Susan Whelchel] then applauded the City’s key tourism drivers that include a revitalized Downtown Boca with a newly constructed and landscaped Pedestrian Promenade that connects the downtown community for easy and enjoyable strolling, Lynn University as the site for the presidential “Debate in Paradise”, Florida Atlantic University, where President Obama recently made a nationally televised visit and the home to a new state-of-the-art stadium, and the annual Allianz Championship PGA Tournament that draws more than $15 million in economic impact…

John Spence says Santa Fe Changed his Life
Santa Fe College
Spence said, he was told that Santa Fe College could help him. “They did,” he said. “Santa Fe changed my life.” Spence went on to graduate from UF as as the …

UF political science professor receives $1.25 million grant from Department of …
University of Florida
The US Department of Defense has awarded a University of Florida professor $1.25 million to study factors affecting political stability in the African Sahel, the region south of the Sahara Desert. The award is part of the DOD’s Minerva Research …

The UM Miller School of Medicine Wins Prestigious Designation as Center for …
MarketWatch (press release)
MIAMI, May 17, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The National Institutes of Health has recognized the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as Florida’s first and only Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), a prestigious designation awarded to only about 20 of …

National Institutes Of Health Awards $350000 To University Of Miami School Of …
MarketWatch (press release)
CORAL GABLES, Fla., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has granted $350000 to a professor at the University of Miami (UM) School of Business Administration for an innovative study aimed at uncovering cocaine …

Here’s what caught my eye today…

Posted on May 17, 2012 by flhespectator

SPECIAL SECTION: FL BOG Establishes New Task Force on Degree Attainment

New panel to focus on Florida higher ed. access
MiamiHerald.com
The chairman of the Board of Governors on Wednesday added to the growing list of committees, task forces and other panels examining higher education in Florida. Dean Colson announced that his new seven-member commission will focus on access and degree attainment.

New Florida higher ed task force to push baccalaureate degrees
Tampabay.com
A new task force has just been set up to study higher education in Florida. No, not the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform. Or the Board of Governors’ Task Force on Facilities Funding. Or even a soon-to-be announced Online University Task Force. This new group will study a statewide need for future baccalaureate degree attainment, Board of Governors Chair Dean Colson wrote in a letter to higher education leaders Wednesday. It will be responsible for reviewing the work of those other ongoing task forces before making final recommendations…

Board of Governors creates another study group for state universities
The Florida Current
This could be the summer of higher education task forces. Florida Board of Governors Chairman Dean Colson on Wednesday announced a new panel will be looking at how the state university system will meet its goal of issuing more degrees to more students in the coming years…

State University System

Marching 100′s ban sends a bad note to Atlanta Football Classic
Atlanta Journal Constitution
The extended suspension of Florida A&M University’s famed yet troubled marching band has the Atlanta Football Classic scrambling for a halftime replacement. The game, one of Atlanta’s biggest after the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, will pit FAMU’s football team against Southern University on Sept. 29. But many of the 60,000 fans expected at the Georgia Dome are probably equally interested — if not more so — in seeing the bands perform…

Analyst: Suspects in FAMU hazing case could avoid prison
WFTV Orlando
Most of the 13 suspects charged in the beating death of FAMU drum major Robert Champion may never go to jail, even if they are convicted of the crime, according to WFTV’s legal analyst. It will be another month before the suspects are arraigned in court. Eleven of the 13 FAMU students arrested in the case are charged with death by hazing, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Government ranks as top employer in South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
Florida Atlantic University ranks 9th in employment. “The government has a massive direct effect on local economies throughout the state through employment and payroll practices,” the TaxWatch report says.

FIU Owes $660000 to Isiah Thomas Because Being a Terrible Coach Wasn’t Just Cause for Firing
Miami New Times (blog)
Most of us would expect to get fired for sucking at our jobs, and Isiah Thomas’s 26-65 record as head coach of Florida International University‘s men’s basketball program makes a strong case that he sort of sucked at his job. Thomas, however, had a contract, and the contract didn’t mention anything about a lousy record being a justifiable reason for termination…

UF hopes new building breaks down walls between researchers
Gainesville Sun
The last metal beam was put into place Wednesday in the University of Florida’s Clinical Translational Research Building, but the walls inside are still missing…

Shands sheds light on atrium plans for children’s hospital
Gainesville Sun
The new entrance and lobby to the Shands Hospital for Children will feature a two-story atrium, University of Florida officials announced on Wednesday. The project will cost $8 million to $9 million and is the latest step in the transformation of the east end of Shands into a pediatric center, said Dr. David Guzick, president of the Shands Health System…

State College System

Pomp and circumstance: Politicians deliver words of advice to the Class of 2012
The Hill
Biden spoke at the commencement ceremony for Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 4. In her speech, released by the White House, Biden, a community-college English professor, shared three lessons she has learned: Lift others up, …

Matt Reed: Name change, ‘Texas model’ comes to BCC
Florida Today
New Brevard Community College President Jim Richey has moved fast, adding bachelor’s-degree programs, dropping in on classes and reaching out to business to plug students into jobs…

Open book interview: Candidates for Edison college president know what they’ll …
Naples Daily News
The nine candidates vying to become Edison State College’s next president will come into this week’s interviews well-prepared — they already know the questions. With that in mind, committee members will pay close attention to their…

Former Collier campus leader among 5 finalists for Edison president
Naples Daily News
A former Collier campus president is one of five finalists for the top post at Edison State College, but some question whether his history at the college should be seen as an advantage. Jeffery Allbritten, who left his job at Edison …

Finalist for Edison State College president withdraws
The News-Press
Peggy Kennedy, who was interim president at Minnesota State Technical and Community College, notified Edison that she has been offered the permanent position at her current institution. Although a search committee voted on the five finalists as a group …

Cost savings lost with college furniture
WZVN-TV
We uncovered Edison State College and Florida Gulf Coast University didn’t even check with PRIDE before buying furniture for two new buildings…

FKCC president ‘very close’ on contract talks
KeysNet
Jonathan Gueverra, tapped in April to become the sixth Florida Keys Community College president, is “very close” to signing a contract to make his new post …

Santa Fe Community College sues state to get approval for new …
The Republic
A Santa Fe college is taking legal action against the state in a bid to gain approval for a planned education center…

Independent College and University System

Florida Catholic school considers dropping student health plan, on heels of …
Fox News
The school, the private Ave Maria University, is voicing both moral and economic concerns. Like Franciscan University — the Steubenville, Ohio, school that just announced it is dropping student coverage — Ave Maria officials are opposed to the …

Tupperware CEO gets honorary Rollins degree
Orlando Sentinel
Orlando-based Tupperware Brands Corp. chief executive officer and chairman Rick Goings received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rollins College during its commencement ceremony this week Goings, …

Mighty move for oak tree
Tbo.com
Workers on Wednesday move the 65-foot oak tree to its new home about 400 feet away on the University of Tampa campus. Worker Jarett Brownie secures the rigging as the massive oak tree is moved to its new location.

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

Opinion: Suspension of FAMU marching band leaves void, hope for better future
CNN (blog)
The Florida A&M University Marching 100 band is an icon: they have played at inaugural presidential parades and Superbowls, and been a source of pride… Dereyck Moore is currently employed by NBA digital and previously worked for CNN Digital. He is a graduate of Florida A&M University, where he was a member of the FAMU marching band from 1990 to 1994.

Letter: Governor’s cuts are ruining Florida education
TCPalm
You can thank Gov. Rick Scott for the likely closing of the Florida Atlantic University in Port St. Lucie. He has cut the university’s funding by $24 million and, even though Florida ranks 45th in the nation for tuition, he refuses to allow the university to raise tuition. Florida’s tuition is about $5,500 and the national average is $8,200… Judith R. Fleming, Port St. Lucie

Moulton: Why Big 12 move makes sense and how FSU can make it work
The Republic
Of course, Florida State University President Eric Barron is not going to be in favor of the Seminoles leaving a superior academic conference (Atlantic Coast Conference) for an inferior one (Big 12). He is a college president! — So he sent out a memo framing the argument over the weekend.

South Florida population booms, up 1.7% in year
Miami Today
Although South Florida, especially Miami, has large tourism and finance service industries, said Maria Aysa-Lastra, assistant professor of sociology at Florida International University, the real driving force is the housing market for baby boomers.

South Florida suffers from credit ‘hangover’ with record delinquencies
Miami Hurricanes (blog)
Many South Floridians will have to go through another couple of years of pain while they pay down debt, predicted Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, an economics professor who directs the Center of Economic Research at Florida International University.

Florida’s new election laws challenge young voters
Florida Flambeau
Dr. Carol Weissert, a professor of political science at Florida State University said that, because of the threat of fines to third-party organizers, such groups have halted their registration of voters. “Since the passage of this bill, third-party voter registration groups such as the Boy Scouts and the League of Women Voters are not registering people,” Weissert said. “These organizations are often responsible for registering many young people and students on college campuses. Because they’re not doing so like they used to, the ability of people to register to vote has lowered.”

No, thanks: Facebook resisters say their lives already fulfilled without social network
The Republic
Kariann Goldschmitt, 32, a music professor at New College of Florida in Sarasota, Fla., was on Facebook not long after its founding in 2004, but she quit in 2010. In part, it was because of growing concerns about her privacy and Facebook’s ongoing encouragement of people to share more about themselves with the company, with marketers and with the world. She says she’s been much more productive since leaving. ”I was a typical user, on it once or twice a day,” she says. “After a certain point, I sort of resented how it felt like an obligation rather than fun.”

New Pensacola Christian College President Shoemaker is ‘Keeper of the vision’
Pensacola News Journal
Normally soft spoken, the new president of Pensacola Christian College was once heard by a colleague to yell. The unusual outburst by Dr. Troy Shoemaker came as he jumped from a 75-foot-high bungee platform in Destin a few years ago…

As student loans grow, so does university leadership pay
Fortune (blog)
At public universities, the median compensation for presidents was $375,442 in 2009-2010, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s latest figures. The top 10 highest paid boasted compensation ranging from $1.8 million to $728,350, with Ohio State University president Gordon Gee at the top, followed by former University of Washington president Mark Emmert with $904,004 (he’s now president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association), Francisco Cigarroa of the University of Texas System with $813,892 and John Hitt of the University of Central Florida with $800,703. That’s way more than what many of today’s most high-profile public servants earn…

Foreclosures in Manatee tumble to six-year low
Bradenton Herald
A resurgence of hiring in the labor market also has fewer workers falling behind on their mortgage, said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida. “This has been a long process of healing for the housing market and it’s still …

Expert: Recovery slow but steady
Daytona Beach News-Journal
That was the good news delivered by University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith, who spoke to a gathering of the Port Orange/South Daytona Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday morning. The not-so-great news? The pace of recovery will likely remain …

University of Florida grad starts promotion company to brings bands to town
The Independent Florida Alligator
Vishal Agarwala was tired of bands he loved not touring in Gainesville, so he started his own company to bring his favorite artists here. Now Garage Mahal Presents, the former Grooveshark employee’s promotions company, has booked close to 40 live shows …

In Florida, It’s Often Shoot First, Learn The Law Later
Daily Beast
George R. “Bob” Dekle of the University of Florida says Stand Your Ground’s “provoke” language is intended to prevent someone from “engineering” a self-defense case—that is, provoking an enemy into committing violence just to kill him…

It’s that time of the season to be aware of what slithers
Florida Times-Union
Snakes are active this time of year, and the dry weather conditions have an impact on how they behave, said Max Nickerson, curator of the University of Florida’s division of herpetology at the Florida Museum of Natural History…

Should you buy Facebook?
CNN
“Investors shouldn’t invest in any one stock unless they can afford to lose it all,” said Jay Ritter, professor of finance at the University of Florida.

CORRECT: 2nd UPDATE: Facebook Boosts Size Of IPO To 421.2M Shares
Wall Street Journal
“This is not surprising,” said Jay Ritter, a University of Florida finance professor who has published extensive research on IPOs. “When the offer priced gets bumped up, it is very common for the offering to not only increase in price, but in shares …

Iconic Cuban cigar goes un-smoked at home
MiamiHerald.com
“It remains a status symbol,” said Jose Azel, a professor at the University of Miami.

Stoudemire enrolls at University of Miami
UPI.com
New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire has enrolled at the University of Miami, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in general studies, UM said…

Miami has highest healthcare costs in country for private insurance
MiamiHerald.com
Steven Ullmann, a healthcare policy professor at the University of Miami, said Wednesday there are several reasons for high healthcare costs in South Florida, including an oversupply of equipment and services, and providers shifting costs to …

Justice wasn’t fair in Alexander case
Florida Times-Union
To Michael Hallett, University of North Florida criminology professor, such changes are long overdue.

FCAT Fallout: UNF Professor Weighs In
First Coast News
Dr. Christine Weber is a University of North Florida education professor who understands why parents are concerned. Every winter, she is part of team that hosts an 18-hour writing camp to tutor students for the exam…

Facebook IPO belies perils of collegiate inventors
Boston Globe
Though Andreessen beat the odds and eventually took his company public, Petr Taborsky, an undergraduate at the University of South Florida, wasn’t so lucky. After assisting with a university project that failed to yield results, Taborsky carried on in his spare time and discovered a method for treating polluted water. When USF asserted ownership of his invention, Taborsky retrieved his research notebooks from a university lab and filed his own patent applications. USF deemed Taborsky’s actions “theft” and pressed charges. Taborsky ultimately spent eighteen months behind bars, including two on a chain gang, for stealing his own discovery…

Boozing and buying
MyFox Tampa Bay
And retailers are taking notice, according to the University of Tampa’s Marketing Professor Erika Matulich. “I think everybody knows that when you have a special event and you do serve wine or other alcoholic beverages, people are going to be more …

Releases and Web Stories

Flagler College Associate Professor McCook chosen for New York acting workshop
ReadMedia (press release)
AUGUSTINE, FL (05/16/2012)(readMedia)– When Flagler College associate professor Andrea McCook heads to New York in June to attend the Actor’s Center, the teacher will once again become the student. McCook is one of 14 participants chosen for the …

Florida Tech Extends Special Military Tuition Rate to Selected Reserves …
MarketWatch (press release)
Florida Institute of Technology, recognized as a “military-friendly school” by GI Jobs magazine, has long supported servicemembers seeking to advance in military rank or to build upon their military experience in preparation for the next phase of their …

Get training needed for business success at IRSC
TCPalm
By news release – Businesses just starting out with a new idea, or those that are already established, have a partner with Business and Entrepreneurship Services and Training at Indian River State College. From classes on navigating social media for …

Lynn’s class of 2012 enters a world of possibilities
Lynn University
“You are empowered more than any generation,” said Peter Diamandis, chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, to more than 500 graduates at Lynn University’s 47th commencement exercises on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12.

University of Florida researcher to discuss shared use concept, childhood …
University of Florida
A University of Florida professor will participate in an interactive webinar discussion Thursday on how shared use could improve community health and combat childhood obesity. JO Spengler, associate professor and researcher in the College of Health and …

Harn presents exhibition of Alachua County’s self-taught artists
University of Florida
This summer the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida will explore the thought-provoking work of artists living and working around Gainesville. The exhibition, “Deep Roots, Bold Visions: Self-Taught Artists of Alachua County,” will include …

Carolyn Mathis joins the Florida Venture Forum Board of Directors
MarketWatch (press release)
Ms. Mathis sits on the Foundation Board of the University of North Florida, where she serves as Vice Chair of the Investment Committee. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center.

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