Here’s what caught my eye over the weekend…5/20/13

Posted on May 20, 2013 by flhespectator

Florida Higher Education Capitol Clips:

Fla. Gov. will veto 3 percent college tuition hike
AP
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has maintained a steadfast opposition in the last year to raising the cost of college for students, will veto a proposed 3 percent tuition hike. Despite the governor’s earlier warnings the Republican-led Florida Legislature included the hike in a $74.5 billion budget passed earlier this month. Scott planned to sign the budget into law on Monday, but he is expected to veto numerous spending items, including the proposed tuition hike. The hike was expected to generate close to $50 million for the state’s public universities and 28 colleges. In a copy of his veto message first obtained by The Associated Press, Scott writes that Floridians should be “proud to keep tuition low.”

State Universities Celebrate Lucrative Legislative Session
WFSU
Florida’s public university administrators are celebrating after the legislative session. Lawmakers restored funding they’d lost in the recent past. And, higher ed officials say, things like “preeminent” status for Florida State University and the University of Florida should help keep more Florida high-schoolers in state for college.

State University System

Substance abuse treatment facility leases at FAU Research Park
South Florida Business Journal
A substance abuse treatment facility signed a 6,000-square-foot lease at the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University. Life of Purpose opened this month in the Boca Raton location. It helps young adults who had their academic careers disrupted by substance abuse and uses different treatment methods than for the general population…

New Survey Highlights Optimism And Challenges For Lee County’s Economy
WGCU News
According to a survey of about a hundred executives conducted by Florida Gulf Coast University and the Horizon Council, optimism about the future of the local economy among industry leaders in Lee County has greatly increased.

Teacher-training programs’ success under scrutiny
MiamiHerald.com
…UCF is the largest producers of teachers in the state; the university’s education school enrolls more than 2,000 students. It prides itself on being one of the strongest teacher training program in Florida, a position it has gained, school officials say, by nimbly responding to changes in the profession…

UCF med students graduate debt free
NBC Nightly News
Four years ago when UCF had just broken ground on its medical school, it offered free tuition and a stipend for living expenses to lure the best and brightest students. Now those students are graduating and heading off to prestigious residency programs. NBC’s Kerry Sanders reports…

The doctors are in: UCF College of Medicine graduates charter class (Video)
Orlando Business Journal
A who’s who in Central Florida business showed up on May 17 as the University of Central Florida College of Medicine graduated its charter class of 36 students…

UCF Medical School graduates its first class today
Orlando Sentinel
The first class of medical students graduated from University of Central Florida College of Medicine this morning, during a ceremony at the main university campus…

UCF School of Medicine graduates charter class
WFTV Orlando
Of the more than 235,000 degrees awarded by the University of Central Florida, 36 were awarded Friday to the UCF School of Medicine charter class. The Florida Legislature approved the program in 2006, and $70 million in donations built the 170,000-square-foot facility at Lake Nona…

A license plate for every cause, but how much is raised?
Sun-Sentinel
…By contrast, just 13,309 drivers bought University of Central Florida plates, providing more than $330,000 for the school…

City narrowly OKs higher parking fees for renters
Gainesville Sun
Renters in residential areas near the University of Florida campus will pay significantly more for parking permits. On Thursday, the City Commission narrowly approved a plan to increase the cost for an annual on-street residential parking decal…

Two women held up at gunpoint in separate robberies
Gainesville Sun
Gainesville police were in the midst of an active manhunt on Friday afternoon just after 5 p.m. for two men suspected in two separate armed robberies within blocks of each other near the University of Florida campus.

A Florida first: UF offering cheaper online degrees
Sun-Sentinel
The University of Florida, the state’s top-ranked public college, soon will offer 20-25 bachelor’s degree programs fully online, at a cost cheaper than on-campus classes. It’s the first such program offered by a Florida public university

Update: Bomb Threat Reported at USF’s Beta Hall
Patch.com
A possible bomb threat at the University of South Florida’s Beta Hall has sparked an investigation on campus. According to The Oracle, the USF Police Department has confirmed a bomb threat. Domingo said the police department received an anonymous threat around 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, and immediately set up a perimeter around the building. The threat also led to a full search inside and outside of Beta Hall, which is currently unoccupied for the summer term…

USF, Eckerd host sailing championships
Tampabay.com
Hundreds of the country’s top collegiate sailors will compete on the waters of Tampa Bay this week and next as USF St. Petersburg, Eckerd College and the …

Summit encourages girls to pursue science
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee hosts the event to encourage girls to enter fields stereotyped as “male” domains. Nationwide, 22 percent of engineers are women, according to the Florida Commission on the Status of Women…

State College System

High School Students Look to Dual Enrollment to Boost Employment Prospects
WMFE
In April the Florida department of education gave the College of central Florida a $100,000 grant to run a statewide website as a one stop resource for dual enrollment…

FGC to host Common Core Standards conference this Saturday
Lake City Journal
Florida Gateway College will host a conference on Saturday, May 18, on the college campus to train teachers for the upcoming statewide implementation…

Haney, GCSC sign transfer agreement
The News Herald
Heads of Gulf Coast State College and Haney Technical Center signed articulation agreements that will offer Haney students a shortcut to earning an associate’s degree of science and gain more support for future employment…

GCSC Voodoo Jet Scheduled For Removal
wmbb
Panama City will remove the remaining Voodoo fighter jet located at Gulf Coast State College on June 5th. For almost four decades, these military jets made their mark on Bay County. Now it’s their legacy that will be remembered.

Guinness World Records collection on display at Santa Fe College
Gainesville Sun
A Guinness World Records certificate sits on top of a sample of the 5000 letter openers on display at Santa Fe College…

Independent Colleges and Universities

Flagler College’s fourth floor Solarium is almost completed
St. Augustine Record
The scaffolding is coming down and the Windex is doing overtime duty in the domed solarium at Flagler College as workers with A.D. Davis Construction finish up a $2.3 million renovation…

FIT wants state funds to launch new lab
Florida Today
As he did a year ago, Gov. Rick Scott will soon decide whether state funds should launch a new space research center at Florida Tech. The Melbourne university says its Space Exploration Research Laboratory would position the state to grow its meager share of NASA science research grants, create jobs and benefit students…

Hunger “Summit” In Fort Myers
Southwest Florida
The 2013 Hunger Summit will be held May 31 at Hodges University in Fort Myers…

Lynn edges Nova Southeastern for D-2 title – Golf Week
Golfweek.com
Lynn University took home the big prize defeating Nova Southeastern by three shots at LPGA International’s Legends Course…

Sykes partners with Saint Leo for degree programs
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Saint Leo University will open an education center on the premises of the Sykes Enterprises contact center in Lakeland near Interstate 4…

University of Miami Hospital sends team to Panama to save NCIS agent’s life
MiamiHerald.com
Avid runner Noel Zuniga had just finished his daily run, when he began experiencing chest pains. It was 6:30 p.m. on March 17, and Zuniga an NCIS agent in charge for the U. S. Embassy in Panama, had returned days earlier from a snorkeling trip…

University of Miami research park leasing up – slideshow
South Florida Business Journal (blog)
The occupancy rate at the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park is now at 75 percent following its lease for 20,000 square feet with DaVita, the nation’s largest dialysis provider…

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

Editorial: Rein in outsized perks given Florida’s college presidents
Sun-Sentinel
Start with a six-figure base salary for state college presidents. Add five figures for a retirement package, another five for deferred compensation and another five for a housing allowance. In some cases, add another five figures for a vehicle and another five for major medical. Now, throw in a host of “other compensation benefits” and pretty soon you’re talking real money…

Accounting for pay
The News Herald
You know you have a problem when state auditors cannot tell the governor exactly how much some public college presidents are paid in salary and benefits…

CF president is a bargain
Ocala
When the trustees at the College of Central Florida hired Jim Henningsen last year as the college’s new president, it was the culmination of a lengthy national search that had the trustees gushing…

Stein: FAU’s Saunders puts blame in wrong place
Sun-Sentinel
There were two things very unsurprising about the resignation last week of Florida Atlantic University president Mary Jane Saunders. Not surprising thing No. 1: That Saunders resigned. It would have been surprising only if she had tried to stay in her job.

Guest column: Backed into a corner
Florida Today
Let me add my own analysis to Florida Institute of Technology professor Dr. Wanfa Zhang’s comments in Matt Reed’s recent column, “How much to fear North Korea.” A healthy country must possess two things: a strong vision of the future and an accurate …

Denton: The better FSCJ story
Florida Times-Union
This is the story of the real Florida State College at Jacksonville, where eager, hardworking students can take affordable advantage of caring faculty members to build their lives, often through great adversity.

Letter: Outstanding theater productions at Indian River State College deserve …
TCPalm
Letter: Outstanding theater productions deserve wide audience. It was my pleasure to attend the Indian River State College McAlpin Theatre production of “Annie Get Your Gun.” As always it was a wonderful show…

Pell grants for poor students can change lives so let’s fix the system not …
MiamiHerald.com
We read a great deal lately about the high cost of education, and as sequestration goes into effect the discussion often turns to eliminating taxpayers’ dollars from education…Eduardo J. Padrón is the president of Miami Dade College.

Editorial: USFSP business school deserves state support
Tampabay.com
The business school at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg has succeeded despite its physical constraints. Spread across seven locations on the campus, the school’s 1,900 students and faculty have never had a place to call their own, yet they have still managed to launch an entrepreneurial program that’s garnering national attention. It’s time the school had its own facility, and a single $5 million line item in the state budget for 2013-14 could start the process. Gov. Rick Scott should approve the money as a smart investment in a higher education program that’s already impacting Tampa Bay’s economy for the better…

James Cassel: Seeking VC funds? Get creative
MiamiHerald.com
…Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University and the University of Miami, for example, offer a broad range of opportunities, including everything from business plan competitions to access to funding…

AMU President Towey: “It was an ‘extraordinary’ year!”
The Ave Herald
The 2012-2013 academic year at Ave Maria University ended two major announcements: The closing of the Latin American campus and the pronouncement by Standard and Poor’s that the university’s financial outlook was “stable,” enabling the school to save “millions” through consolidation of debt by floating investment-grade bonds…

Judge to decide if former B-CU football coach was fired over age
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Alvin Wyatt, the winningest football coach in Bethune-Cookman history, will learn next week whether he will add another “W” to his win column — only this time it would be against his old university which he is suing for $1.2 million, accusing it of breach of contract. Wyatt, 65, is suing B-CU, accusing it of breach of contract and age discrimination after he was fired in 2009 and replaced by then-39-year-old Brian Jenkins. Circuit Judge Terence R. Perkins said he would issue a ruling on Wednesday after the nonjury trial this week at the City Island Courthouse Annex…

Student beaten, car stolen after stopping to help woman he hit
Tbo.com
After he got out of his car to help a woman he had accidentally hit with his car, an Eckerd College student was beaten by a small crowd early this morning in South St. Petersburg, according to police. Connor Gallagher, 20, was left lying in the road while someone rode off with his car, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz…

Florida mandate will cost school districts
The News-Press
Maggie Helms, a graduating senior from Southwest Florida Christian Academy, credits the dual enrollment program between her school and Edison State College for exposing her to teaching styles of college professors…

Robinson delivers state of FAMU: calls alumni to recruit new students …
Tallahassee.com
FAMU, a historically black university, has been has seen its funding source through state budget reduced as has had all of the state-funded schools…

FAU president’s new salary to cost taxpayers more
Sun-Sentinel
Mary Jane Saunders may be stepping down as president of Florida Atlantic University, but she will remain as one of the school’s highest paid employees. And her new $276,000 salary will actually cost taxpayers $76,000 more…

Florida State police find spray-painted messages on Florida High campus
Tallahassee.com
Three Lincoln High School seniors were arrested today for their role in spray painting on numerous Leon County high schools. Fidel Ibeneme, Edmond Adkins, Danial Ibrahim, all 18, now face charges of trespassing on school grounds and criminal mischief for causing several thousand dollars worth of damage to Lincoln, Leon, Chiles, Godby and Rickards high schools, according to Lt. James McQuaig, public information officer for the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.

Bay unemployment down, but so are jobs
The News Herald
That’s not unusual, said Florida State University Economics Department Chairman Robert Mark Isaac. “The employment rate only applies to those people who are in the job market,” Isaac said.

STEM Building Makes Turkey List
wmbb
Dr. Jim Kerley, president of Gulf Coast State College, says the current science facilities were built in the 1950′s and are significantly outdated. He says there are some safety concerns, and they are not ADA compliant…

The New Innovation Of A College Education
CBS Local
“Most people do very well as long as they are in class and one of the advantages of college is that it gives you structure,” said Dr. Rene Garcia, Miami-Dade College Enrollment Director…

Polk’s Unemployment Rate Falls
The Ledger
“Clearly, businesses continue to struggle in a challenging economic environment,” said Gordon Kettle, an economics professor at Polk State College…

Alexander leaves Stetson to take Lipscomb job
Fox News
Casey Alexander resigned after two seasons as head coach of the Stetson Universitymen’s basketball team to take a similar job with Lipscomb, another Atlantic Sun Conference squad…

UCF Rosen Instructor Reinstated Following Suspension for “Killing Spree …
KnightNews.com
An instructor at the University of Cenrtal Florida’s Rosen Campus was reinstated after being placed on administrative leave following a reference he made to “a killing spree” during one of his class sessions, the Orlando Sentinel reports. According to the Orlando Sentienl, a university spokesman said Dr. Hyung-il Jung, a lecturer at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, has been cleared and will teach a class this summer.

UCF student’s blood tested for alcohol after crash kills Orlando man
Orlando Sentinel
A University of Central Florida student’s blood was tested for alcohol after she was accused of causing a fatal head-on crash early Saturday. Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes said the test was ordered after first responders to the 5:30 a.m. crash in east Orange County suspected driver Dana McKinnon was impaired. McKinnon 22, of Oviedo was driving eastbound on Lake Pickett Road near Tanner Road when her two-door Mitsubishi crossed into the westbound lane, crashing into a Toyota van and killing its driver, Montes said. The van driver, Vinh Vo, 42, of Orlando, died at the scene, officials said.

Volusia, Flagler unemployment rates keep improving
Daytona Beach News-Journal
“There’s still a long ways to go,” said Sean Snaith, with the University of Central Florida.

Rare drop in healthcare hiring brings Miami-Dade its slowest job growth in …
MiamiHerald.com
Sean Snaith, an economist at the University of Central Florida, cautioned against reading too much into recent hiring data for healthcare. “It’s probably reflective of where we are with healthcare reform, and trying to digest what it’s going to mean for premiums and insurance companies and how hospitals and caregivers are going to be paid,’’ Snaith said. “Until some of the smoke clears from healthcare reform, it probably makes sense that people would pause and get their bearings.”

Student Gets 3 Years In Jail For DUI Crash That Killed A Grandmother
CBS Local
Villanueva, a University of Miami student, faced multiple charges for the accident. Villanueva faced up to 20 years in prison had she been convicted of all of the charges she was facing…

First Coast home sales, prices way up, jobless figures dip down
Florida Times-Union
University of North Florida economist Paul Mason has been tracking figures that impact the First Coast economy for 12 years, but he’s never seen the housing market jump like it did between March and April. “We saw a monumental increase in the housing …

Sumter detectives ask public for help in identifying body found near I-75 and …
Orlando Sentinel
Detectives have been working with Erin Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist with the University of South Florida, to find out about the murder victim, reading her life history through the few clues left by her remains…

Best way to work out your core muscles?
Boston Globe
“There’s a vast array of things that people recommend,” says John Mayer, a biomechanical and chiropractic researcher at University of South Florida, yet there hasn’t been much research to support one exercise over another…

Troubled kids need more help – expert
3News NZ
Professor Bill Evans of the University of West Florida says with the right help, these students can become productive members of society. “These kids manifest lots of behavioural issues that impair their ability to interact with the school curriculum …

Releases and Web Stories

Keiser University partners with Aerotech Golf
TCPalm
By news release The Keiser University College of Golf & Sport Management announced a new partnership with Aerotech Golf…

Victory! Women’s Golf Fights to the Finish to Claim 2013 NCAA Division II National Championship
Lynn University
Daytona Beach, Fla.- Lynn University’s women’s golf team captured the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championship on Saturday afternoon, edging four-time defending national champions and top-ranked Nova Southeastern by three strokes with a 1,187 team score in the four-round tournament held at the LPGA International Legends Course. Lynn shot a 305 on the final day to finish the tournament +35 on the 6,228-yard par-72 course. This is the second NCAA title for the women’s program, and fourth overall, and gives Lynn University 21 national championships in its illustrious history…

Transcript: Spring 2013 President’s Report: A Video Message for the USF Community
USF News
Hello, this is Judy Genshaft, President of the University of South Florida System. We’ve wrapped up another academic year and celebrated more than six thousand new degrees in the USF System this semester alone…

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/17/13

Posted on May 17, 2013 by flhespectator

Florida Higher Ed Capitol Clips:

House Speaker Weatherford defends health care votes in Bradenton
Bradenton Herald
Weatherford defended approving $30 million in “pre-eminence” funding to help the University of Florida and Florida State University improve their national rankings among research universities.

“Sad to say, I would call our university system an average system compared to other parts of the county — but we have a chance to be great. And we just have to be sure we invest our resources the right way to get there.”

Polk Legislators Tout Benefits to Polk In This Year’s Legislature
The Ledger
…Education was the big winner in the session, McKeel said, referring to a $1.8 billion increase for education, teacher pay raises and money repaid to the university system. Locally, Lakeland did well, thanks to the state’s increased revenues. After a flap, the money for Florida Polytechnic University was restored and funds were allocated to repair and connect the Skyview utility system to the Lakeland sewer system, along with money going to a graduate medical program teaming Lakeland Regional Medical Center and the University of South Florida…

FL Tax Watch issues Annual Budget Turkey List:

Budget Vetoes Sought
Capitol News Service
Governor Rick Scott has until next Friday to sign off on the state’s 74 billion dollar budget. His staff has been sending letters to organizations set to receive state money, asking for justifications. And government watchdog says at least one hundred million of spending ought to be axed…On the list is 9 million for Embry Riddle, a private aeronautical university in Daytona Beach.14 million for a building at Gulf Coast State college in Panama City that ranked low on a priority list, and four million for a film project in Clearwater. “This is a hundred million dollars that could have gone to things like schools or healthcare. “, adds Weissert.

Slimmed down budget ‘turkey’ list still catches Senate leader’s wrath
Florida Times-Union
The biggest project that made the list was $14 million for Gulf Coast State College in Panama City. There was originally $300,000 in the Senate’s budget for the school, which is in Senate President Don Gaetz’s district…

Florida TaxWatch bags 107 budget ‘turkeys’ worth $107 million
MiamiHerald.com
Florida TaxWatch finds 107 line-item projects in the new state budget totaling $107 million that it says Gov. Rick Scott should veto because they bypassed the Legislature’s own standards for transparency and competitiveness….Among the projects that made the statewide list: * $14 million for a science and technology building at Gulf Coast State College in Bay County…

Annual ‘budget turkey’ list draws flak
Sun-Sentinel
…And a $14 million grant for a Gulf Coast State College Panama City campus was the biggest single item on the list…

One Polk Project on TaxWatch ‘Turkey’ List
The Ledger
Scott vetoed both of them, plus an appropriation for Florida Southern College’s Frank Lloyd Wright education and tourism center…

GCSC has top tax ‘turkey’ // DOCUMENTS
The News Herald
Gulf Coast State College gets top-turkey honors. The watchdog group Florida TaxWatch released its annual list of “turkeys” Thursday, naming 107 projects totaling $106.8 million, in the state budget…

Panhandle Projects on the “Turkey” Watch List
WJHG-TV
The proposed $14 million science and technology building at Gulf Coast State College made the 2013 turkey watch list…

State University System

Shooting Near FAMU Campus [SLIDE SHOW]
WCTV
At approximately 12 a.m., the Tallahassee Police Department received a call that a male had been shot in the area of 2800 Wahnish Way near FAMU. TPD says they responded and found a black male in his 30′s with gunshot wounds.

New survey shows Lee County business leaders more bullish about economy
The News-Press
Florida Gulf Coast University and the Fort Myers Regional Partnership – Lee County’s economic development office – shared these and other results in the Second Quarter 2013 Business Climate Survey Report.

UCF College of Medicine’s first graduates to walk May 17
Orlando Business Journal (blog)
May 17 is going to be a big day: The University of Central Florida will graduate its first class of 36 doctors from the College of Medicine…

UCF reports more aggravated assaults, fewer burglaries and vehicle thefts in 2012
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
The number of aggravated assaults and rapes reported at the University of Central Florida rose slightly in 2012 while the school saw fewer burglaries, robberies, larcenies and vehicle thefts, according to crime data released this afternoon…

The College Competition Is On
CBS Local
The University of Florida had a record 29,300 applicants last year and 11,800 were accepted…

UF management of St. Augustine now producing historical dividends
Gainesville Sun
Visitors to the country’s oldest continuously occupied city founded by European settlers can now see the impact of the University of Florida’s stewardship of two dozen state-owned properties here. Three years after taking over the management of 38 buildings on 23 parcels in the historic downtown quarter, UF can point to the opening of the Colonial Quarter, a historically accurate tourist attraction with live re-enactors in colonial garb that has been operating for two months…

Moffitt Cancer Center researchers analyze how Spanish smoking relapse booklets are distributed
Science Codex
Researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida have evaluated how Florida health care and social service agencies distribute “Libres para Siempre” (“Forever Free®”), a Spanish smoking relapse prevention booklet series…

USF Sarasota-Manatee sponsors STEM summit for middle-school girls
Bradenton Herald
…The USF Sarasota-Manatee campus will host its fourth- annual STEM Summit on Saturday. The summit is free and open to all middle-school girls in Manatee and Sarasota counties. The day-long program will offer the girls an opportunity to research and explore the four core fields…

State College System

BCC’s Last Graduating Class Receives Diplomas
SpaceCoastDaily.com
About 1,900 students were eligible to receive their degrees Thursday as the last graduating class from Brevard Community College walked across the stage at the King Center for the Performing Arts…

Graduation season gets going
Ocala
Meanwhile, 38 of West Port High’s nearly 500 graduates have already graduated from the College of Central Florida with associate’s degrees…

A better economy for college graduates
Florida Courier
Daytona State College held two commencement ceremonies on Monday at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach…

DSC captures national JUCO golf title
Daytona Beach News-Journal
With a great run of consistency and a nine-shot lead entering the final round of the National Junior College golf championship, a certain level of comfort might’ve been expected for Daytona State College…

IRSC respiratory care program earns award
TCPalm
The Indian River State College Respiratory Care program is among a select group of respiratory care programs being recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) with the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award…

Independent Colleges and Universities

SBA to offer help to Edward Waters, surrounding area
Florida Times-Union
Edward Waters College signed an agreement Thursday afternoon with the federal government to bring more business help to its students and the neighborhood that surrounds the college…

Fashionable Shoes Step Out at Lynn University’s 2013 Commencement
Huffington Post (blog)
Every graduate needs to step out into the “real world” in style, and at Lynn University all styles are welcome as you’ll see from the many styles of shoes that made their red carpet appearance at our 2013 commencement ceremony.

682 receive degrees from Stetson University
Daytona Times
Stetson University conferred bachelor’s and master’s degrees to 682 graduates on May 11, during two commencement ceremonies at the Edmunds Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Ave…

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

Opinion: Florida taxpayers need accounting of college pay
Daytona Beach News-Journal
You know you have a problem when state auditors cannot tell the governor exactly how much some public college presidents are paid in salary and benefits…

Does FAU board of trustees need an overhaul?
South Florida Business Journal (blog)
With Mary Jane Saunders resigning as president of Florida Atlantic University, a question remains regarding whether some of the board members should go, too…

Letters: Next administration at FAU should be leaner, more open
Palm Beach Post
Regardless of the post-mortem to follow, I thank Mary Jane Saunders for making the courageous decision to step down as Florida Atlantic University’s president. Hopefully, the administration now will begin to think of students as more than data in an Excel table…RAMASWAMY NARAYANAN – Boca Raton

Lowe: FAU’s Saunders resigns
Sun-Sentinel
Over the course of my journalistic career, I’ve witnessed a number of good reporters get promoted to management positions because that was the natural next step for them in their careers. Except that it was unnatural because sometimes they turned out to be disasters as editors…

Stein: Can FAU restore its image?
Sun-Sentinel
Can Florida Atlantic University restore its image? Absolutely. Thankfully Mary Jane Saunders has resigned as president of the university which had become a late-night TV joke favorite. That’s not what you are looking for when you are considering donating to a university, or sending your child there. You want to be proud of the university. While many good things have happened at FAU, the blunders during the past few months under Saunders obscured any of the good. It was time for her to be gone. She knew it. Everyone knew it…

FAU editorial was good obituary
Sun-Sentinel
Regarding the May 16 editorial, “What’s next for FAU:” I filed this editorial under: “How to write a kind obituary for a victim.” It was sappy and supercilious, but the tone was just right; ironically, so was its vague conclusion.…Richard Dea, Delray Beach

Letter: Jesus exercise did not come from ‘textbook’
Sun-Sentinel
In Mike Mayo’s May 16 column about Florida Atlantic University’s President Mary Jane Saunders’ resignation, he wrote “Religious conservatives and Gov. Scott got mad when they heard about a classroom exercise that called for Jesus’ name to be stepped on, even though the professor got the exercise from a textbook and it had been done numerous times before.”…Chris Christensen, Margate

Nick Healy Helping to Start New Catholic College in Ireland
The Ave Herald
Former Ave Maria University President Nick Healy is somber as he cites example after example of how Ireland is slipping farther and farther away from its Catholic heritage. “Ireland once supplied priests, missionaries and educators all over the world …

Journalist Soledad O’Brien to speak at Broward youth event
MiamiHerald.com
Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, known for her Black In America documentary series as well as being a former CNN Anchor, will be the keynote speaker at the #IamCHANGE Youth Town Hall at 7 p.m. Friday at Broward College South Campus.

Interim President of FAU Pushed Chick-fil-A Stadium Naming Deal, Former A.D. …
New Times Broward-Palm Beach (blog)
Hapless Florida Atlantic University president Mary Jane Saunders resigned yesterday, and with their usual talent for due diligence and public relations savvy, the board of trustees filled the still-stinking seat with Dennis Crudele, who reportedly was go-between in the school’s effort to sell naming rights to its football stadium to the notoriously homophobic fast-food chain Chick-fil-A. Crudele is better known for supporting maximum tuition hikes last summer, at a time when governor Rick Scott opposed them. Crudele argued hikes were necessary because FAU faced cuts of $24.8 million in state funds and might have to close campuses in downtown Fort Lauderdale and Port St. Lucie. (The former is still open; the latter is not.)

Famed NCAA coach Andy Enfield shares his ‘second act’ with Slate
DigitalJournal.com
In the second installment of Slate magazine’s Second Acts crowd-sourcing and editorial series, Florida Gulf Coast University‘s basketball coach Andy Enfield provides perspective on how his original experiences in his “first act” working as a vice president at a technology start-up provided the legs for his “second act” as an NCAA basketball coach for one of the most exciting teams to make it to the Sweet 16.

Miami Artist Turns Body Fat Into Soap After Surgery
WLRN
Miami artist Orestes De La Paz has an unusual piece of performance art on display at the Frost Art Museum on the campus Florida International University…

Taylor named director of undergraduate admissions
University at Buffalo Reporter
Barry Taylor, director of undergraduate admissions at Florida International University, has been appointed director of undergraduate admissions at UB, effective June 19…

Rise in Roadkill Requires New Solutions
Scientific American
In February of 2000 Matt Aresco, then a PhD student at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, drove through and was stunned at the sight of dozens of crushed turtles. For the next five weeks he patrolled the road between the lakes, once counting 343 dead turtles in 10 days. “It was so heartbreaking to see dozens of turtles, animals that could be 50 or 60 years old, smashed before they make it two feet onto the road,” he says…

Crime rate down in state, county Number of arrests in county rise
St. Augustine Record
Bill Bales, professor in the College of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Florida State University, said crime has been declining in Florida for around 20 years, and Florida is not alone…

Internet cafe law may have unintended targets
Tampabay.com
That word — skill — “from a legal standpoint, is a huge, huge change,” said Marc Dunbar, an adjunct law professor at Florida State University and an attorney who focuses on gaming and governmental law…

Online database shows how much pharmaceutical companies are paying …
WPTV
“There is a legitimate fear,” said Dr Craig Hanson, a professor and medical ethics expert at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

3 Ringling graduate students win Student Academy Awards
WWSB ABC 7
Three graduate students from Ringling College of Art and Design have been selected as winners in the 2013 Student Academy Awards…

Feds say students can bring pets to college dorm rooms – WOGX.com
WOGX
Stetson University senior Brenton Alloway says he likes the fact that pets are allowed in his dorm, Stetson Cove Apartments — one of two dorms on campus that is pet friendly. “You can choose when you sign up…

FDLE report shows crime down across central Florida
WFTV Orlando
But despite the jump in sex crimes, experts told Heath that the study shows a much safer central Florida. ”For the most part, it’s a tricky business to interpret crime statics,” said Kenneth Adams, criminal justice professor at the University of Central Florida…

Florida coach calls Nick Saban ‘the devil himself’
Examiner.com
Tim Davis, an assistant coach for the University of Florida Gators football team, is not a fan of University of Alabama coach Nick Saban. At a recent event Davis referred to Saban as “the devil himself,”…

Harris employee honored by University of Florida
Florida Today
Cindy Kane, director of corporate relations for Melbourne-based Harris Corp., has been named a 2013 Alumna of Distinction by the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications…

African American Baby Boomers And Retirement: It’s A Challenge
WJCT NEWS
Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder, a professor of sociology at the University of North Florida, says the same black Baby Boomers who lived through the Jim Crow era and the turmoil of the Civil Rights movement often find they don’t have the skills to successfully navigate the vagaries of retirement. ”You know there are definitely racial gaps as far as access to technology,” says Wilder. “And so African Americans in particular have less access to to computers and technology. And even if they do have access to it, they’re a lot more resistant to embrace all the different things that the technological advances have brought.”

Pre-med student arrested for tricking girlfriend into taking abortion pill
WTSP 10 News
According to his Facebook page, [Andrew] Welden was a pre-med student at the University of South Florida…

How USF engages in education
MyFox Tampa Bay
Jenna Withrow has helped build the University of South Florida’s social media empire from the ground up. It started with just one Facebook page. “From there it just kind of grew organically,” Withrow said.

Releases and Web Stories

FGCU Claims the 2013 A-Sun All-Sports Championship
FGCU Athletics
MACON, Ga. – Florida Gulf Coast University is the Bill Bibb Trophy winner for the first time in the school’s history, edging ETSU to claim the 2012-13 Atlantic Sun All-Sports championship…

Study: Oil Dispersants May Make Oil Sink Deeper Into Sand
WCTV
Tallahassee, FLA — A Florida State University researcher working as part of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) investigated the effects of dispersants on the movement of crude oil through water-saturated marine sand and found that dispersants potentially facilitate penetration of oil components into the seabed, where oxygen concentrations may affect the degradation of the oil.

Peekaboo Photo Booth Present in Rollins College Senior Sendoff Celebration
DigitalJournal.com (press release)
Andrew Birr, owner of Peekaboo Photo Booth states, “Over the last few years, we’ve done many events for Rollins College and this event is the most rewarding each year.

SF Digital Media Students Receive Scholarships
Santa Fe College
The Digital Media Technology department at Santa Fe College held the 2013 Student Showcase Thursday, May 2 with a gala opening and awards ceremony…

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/16/13

Posted on May 16, 2013 by flhespectator

State University System

Growth Engines
Florida Weekly
Florida Gulf Coast University, in its seminal teenage year, has exploded onto the national stage, and is also considering an opportunity to expand the campus to nearly double its size…

‘US News’ Top Law Schools Fall Short on Diversity
The National Law Journal
…Florida International University College of Law (ranked No. 105 by U.S. News);…

Israel trip canceled due to Syrian conflict
Tallahassee.com
Plodding along on dunes of Israeli desert on camelback, Florida State University students absorb the nuances of a foreign nation’s landscape beneath an unfamiliar sun. Each summer, FSU’s study abroad program allows students the opportunity both to travel abroad and travel by camel in Israel. Due to conflict in the region, however, the 2013 Israel trip has been canceled, meaning camels will go unridden. Despite program claims that Israel is statistically safer than Tallahassee, Florida State University called off its summer 2013 international program in Israel earlier this month among growing concerns about the country’s conflict with Syria…

Local Leaders Say 2013 Legislative Session Was Good For Leon County
WFSU
…And representatives from Leon County Schools and Florida State University say they’re pleased with increased funding this session. FSU got a recurring $15 million for being designated a preeminent university…

University partnership combines teaching with arts in Manatee and Sarasota
Bradenton Herald
Leaders of three local schools have signed on to a new “artist-to-teacher” program. Educational leaders and administrators from USF Sarasota-Manatee, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota and Ringling College of Art and Design signed memos of understanding creating the program, which allows students to enroll in participating schools for further education…

A History of Bay County
The News Herald
…The University of West Florida’s PC branch campus began classes in the old shipyard buildings in 1972. Florida State University at Panama City replaced UWF in 1987…

SPECIAL SECTION: FAU President’s Resignation – Coverage and Reax

Controversial president of Florida Atlantic University resigns
BizPac Review
Mary Jane Saunders Beleaguered president of Florida Atlantic University, Mary Jane Saunders, has resigned, according to a statement released by the university Wednesday…

Florida Atlantic U. Chief Cites Crushing Media Scrutiny in Resignation
Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)
Mary Jane Saunders, who announced her resignation as Florida Atlantic University’s president on Wednesday, said she was not ready for the intense media scrutiny that came with the job and fears other public-university presidents are similarly unprepared…

‘A sad day’
FAU Owl Access
Florida Atlantic Athletic Director Pat Chun called it “A sad day” after FAU announced the resignation of President Mary Jane Saunders on Wednesday.

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders Resigns Suddenly!
Gossip Extra
Mary Jane Saunders, the embattled president of the Boca Raton-based Florida Atlantic University, is resigning her post — two years before her contract ends…

Mary Jane Saunders Resigns As Florida Atlantic University President
Huffington Post
Florida Atlantic University president Mary Jane Saunders tendered her resignation late Tuesday, May 14, 2013, after months of controversies at the public college…

Controversy-Scarred Florida Atlantic President Says She’ll Resign
Inside Higher Ed
Florida Atlantic University has had more than its share of controversies in the last several months, over the naming of its football stadium for a private prison company owned by an alumnus and a professor’s in-class exercise in which he invited students to step on a piece of paper with “Jesus” written on it, among others. (The university took heat from many in the public for the professor’s actions, and from many faculty members for failing to defend his academic freedom to their satisfaction.)…

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders resigns
MiamiHerald.com
After months of controversy, Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders has resigned — though she’ll still retain a job on campus and most of her salary. In a resignation letter submitted to the university late Tuesday, Saunders highlighted FAU’s progress in academics and student success, but also noted “there is no doubt the recent controversies have been significant and distracting to all members of the University community.”…

President of ‘Jesus Stomping’ Florida University Quits – Newsmax.com
Newsmax.com
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders has resigned in the wake of students being asked to stomp on Jesus’ name. The school announced that she resigned late Tuesday and that FAU Board of Trustees Chairman Anthony Barbar had accepted the resignation. Saunders will remain at FAU to take a faculty position, where she will be assigned a special research project to assess the feasibility of developing a physician’s assistant program at the university…

Embattled FAU president quits after series of controversies
Palm Beach Post
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders is resigning, citing the “fiercely negative media coverage” the school has received this year after a series of high-profile controversies…

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders resigns after controversies
South Florida Business Journal
Saying that recent controversies “have been significant and distracting,” Mary Jane Saunders has resigned as president of Florida Atlantic University after only three years in office…

Saunders accomplishments at FAU listed
South Florida Business Journal
Mary Jane Saunders had a relatively short three-year stint as leader of Florida Atlantic University, but the announcement of her resignation listed a lot of accomplishments…

FAU president resigns
St. Augustine Record
The embattled president of Florida Atlantic University has resigned. On its website the school released a statement saying Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees Chair Anthony K. G. Barbar accepted the resignation of Mary Jane Saunders late Tuesday…

FAU searches for new leader, new image after Saunders resigns
Sun-Sentinel
Florida Atlantic University is looking for a new leader — and a new public image — after a series of controversies prompted President Mary Jane Saunders to step down on Tuesday night. For the next few months, Dennis Crudele, senior vice president for financial affairs, will serve as acting president, although Saunders will continue to hold the title of president, said Anthony Barbar, chairman of the Board of Trustees. Crudele has been an FAU administrator in some capacity since 1987.

FAU student plans to sue Saunders after being injured by car
Sun-Sentinel
FAU student plans to sue Saunders after being injured by car…

Turmoil at Florida Atlantic
Sun-Sentinel
FAU has received attention for several recent controversies, including: January: James Tracy, an associate communications professor, questions in his private blog whether the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Connecticut happened as reported, or whether it happened at all. He made similar comments about the Boston Marathon bombing. FAU issues him a reprimand, saying he hadn’t properly distanced FAU from his comments…

Dogged by controversy, FAU President Saunders steps down
Tampabay.com (blog)
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders was dogged by a series of controversies in the past year, including defending a professor who asked students to stomp on a paper after writing the name “Jesus” and a failed attempt to name the football stadium after jail contractor Geo Group…

Embattled FAU president resigns
The Florida Current
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders is stepping down. The Boca Raton school Wednesday announced Saunders’s resignation…

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders resigns
University Press
When she resigned, her salary was $200,000 flat, according to the Florida State University System payroll information. Chair Barbar, who volunteers on the BOT and receives no salary, “regretfully” accepted her resignation letter…

FAU President Saunders resigns
UPI
BOCA RATON, Fla., May 15 (UPI) – The president of Florida Atlantic University has resigned amid controversy to rename the school’s football stadium for a private prison company. Mary Jane Saunders sent a letter Tuesday saying she would step down and return to the FAU faculty, The Miami Herald reported…

FAU President Resigns After ‘Significant Controversies’
WLRN
FAU President Mary Jane Saunders resigned effective immediately from her top post at the university. She’ll stay on as a member of the faculty. Mary Jane Saunders has resigned…

FAU President Mary Jane Saunders has resigned – WPTV.com
WPTV
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders, who has had to deal with several controversies over the past year, has resigned…

Students react to FAU President’s departure
WPTV
There are mixed reactions among students to the news that President Mary Jane Saunders has resigned from her position as President of FAU…

Can FAU attract a top-tier replacement?
WPTV
The president of FAU‘s resignation amidst several public relations nightmares leaves big questions hovering over campus. Who’s next? And what impact will the incidents that led to her resignation have on the search?

State College System

School board stands firm
Florida Today
As is their protocol, they did not respond. Astronaut High School teacher Debbie Sandstrom pushed officials to fund the schools instead of the dual-enrollment program, which gives high school students a free college education at Brevard Community College.

Lox Groves files to block residents resisting PBSC campus
Palm Beach Post
In response to an April lawsuit filed by a group of residents trying to stop Palm Beach State College from building a campus in this rural community, the town in court papers filed Tuesday said the petition to block the campus is without merit and should be rejected by the court…

Independent Colleges and Universities

Ave Maria students in India on mission trip
The News-Press
Ave Maria University President Jim Towey and a dozen Ave Maria students are in Calcutta, India, for a weeklong mission helping the religious order that was the focus for much of Mother Teresa’s work.

Center for Nonprofit Excellence moving to Hodges University
Naples Daily News
The Community Foundation of Collier County and Hodges University announced Wednesday that the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE), established at the Community Foundation in 1997, is moving to Hodges University this summer. The Community Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to Hodges, totaling $150,000, to help establish the training program at the university…

Education Combo Meal: Undergraduate and Law Degree in 6 Years
JDJournal.com
Recently, Stetson University College of Law has tried to do its part to help in its partnership with the University of South Florida, by offering combined undergraduate and graduate law programs that can be completed in six years…

‘Raising Canes’ documentary to continue at UM
Sun-Sentinel
The University of Miami and 3 Penny Films announced an extension of their soon expiring two-year contract that’ll continue their relationship.

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

Editorial: Saunders resignation right move for FAU and for her
Palm Beach Post
Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders’ surprising resignation Wednesday shows that her “traditional academic background” didn’t prepare her for the political issues that go with the job.

Will resignation of FAU President Saunders end recent controversy?
Palm Beach Post
FAU President Mary Jane Saunders has had a bad couple of months. And that means Florida Atlantic University has had a bad couple of months. The university blundered into a controversy when it struck a deal with GEO Group, a private prison company, for naming rights to its football stadium. Critics immediately dubbed the edifice “Owlcatraz,” a combination of the team’s mascot and the infamous prison…

Editorial: What’s next for FAU, given its president’s resignation
Sun-Sentinel
No one likes to see a smart and capable person nudged out of a job, but FAU President Mary Jane Saunders made the right call Wednesday in announcing her decision to resign and step back into a faculty role. By all accounts, Saunders is a brilliant scientist and a delightful person who gave her heart — and her all — to the university she led for three years…

Mayo: FAU president’s resignation no surprise
Sun-Sentinel
Given the semester from hell she just endured, it’s not surprising that Florida Atlantic University president Mary Jane Saunders quit this week. In the end, Saunders couldn’t please anyone and alienated just about everyone: trustees, students, faculty, donors and alumni. Saunders, a plant cell biologist, simply got tired of being under a microscope…

Can’t You Put Down Your Phone When You’re With Someone Else?
Huffington Post
Many of us do it — we pay more attention to our phones than even our own family, friends or pets. Some students even seem to be addicted to their cell phones because right after class they immediately pull out their phone to check their texts or make a call…UCF Forum columnist Heather Waymouth, a recent University of Central Florida graduate who majored in advertising/public relations and English writing…

Column: To cut college cost, finish on time
Tampabay.com (blog)
With students busy finalizing their fall college plans, parents would do well to talk to their seniors this spring about ways to hold down the cost of a college degree. The higher education price tag continues to soar. It is more important than ever to find ways to contain costs…Catherine Chastain-Elliott is an associate dean of the baccalaureate experience at the University of Tampa.

CF’s Ryskamp resigns
Ocala
The College of Central Florida is looking for a new softball coach. Kerri Ryskamp, who just finished leading the Patriots to one of their most successful seasons this month, resigned Wednesday…

FAMU football coach Earl Holmes eager to restore pride in Rattlers
Orlando Sentinel
Holmes, a Tallahassee native who played at FAMU before spending 10 seasons in the NFL, took over as the Rattlers’ new head football coach in January…

Men’s basketball: Taking a look at new coach Joe Dooley’s contract
Naples Daily News
New Florida Gulf Coast University men’s basketball coach Joe Dooley has not yet signed his contract, but the Daily News received a copy of the amended one through a public records request.

Music therapy brings multiple benefits
Florida Today
Jamie Youngkin, a music professor at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, is working closely with The Scott Center for Autism to better understand how music helps autistic children improve their social and communication skills.

Report: FKCC’s Gueverra No. 27 on salary chart
KeysNet
The president of Florida Keys Community College receives the second-lowest salary among the state’s 28 community college presidents but he and a college board member say don’t read too much into it. Monday, the Florida Office of the Chief Inspector General released a report detailing the presidential salaries, a report requested by Gov. Rick Scott. FKCC President Jonathan Gueverra comes in at $198,492, including benefits…

Class Notes For Sale. Student-Run Marketplace Expects $500000 In Revenue
WFSU
Selling class notes online is paying off for thousands of college students, and for the Florida State University students who run the study guide marketplace Moolaguides.com. The two-year-old company has buyers and sellers on more than twenty campuses, and the owners expect to bring in half a million dollars this year…That’s according to Moolaguides co-founder and CEO Thomas Brady, who’s still a semester shy of graduating from FSU…

Florida State names new Undergraduate Studies assistant dean
Florida Flambeau
Freshman and sophomore Florida State University students will soon be greeted by a new face when seeking advising for their academic careers. The university has just appointed Dr. Nicole Raimondi as the new assistant dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Inmates urge Scott to veto Timely Justice Act
Bradenton Herald
Mark Schlackman, senior program director for Florida State University’s Center for Advancement of Human Rights, said the bill was ill-conceived but has also been mischaracterized by some advocacy groups…

Mayor Buckhorn Dedicating Mural in Ybor City on Tuesday
Patch.com
Michael Parker, a local artist overseeing the project, taught a class at Hillsborough Community College specifically for the mural, and researched the neighborhood by interviewing residents…

High-Demand Degrees That Matter
WBFS
“There’s a reason why they are in demand, it’s hard to get a degree in that area, those are hard classes, a lot of math a lot of science, those aren’t always people’s favorites,” said Miami-Dade College enrollment director Dr. Rene Garcia…

Climate change brings disease threat for polar bears
New Scientist
…Diana Weber, who works at both the New College of Florida, Sarasota, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, led a team that sequenced DNA from 98 polar bears in Canada. They looked specifically for genes coding the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) – a molecule found on the surface of cells that acts as a crucial component of the immune systems of most vertebrates…

Following hackings, students and admins tighten security
USA TODAY
…Cyber hacking, or the practice of breaking into computer networks to gain information, is becoming increasingly common, according to Greg Eller, the chief information officer at Northwest Florida State College…

Florida college presidents’ base salary vs. total compensation
Tampa Bay Business Journal
A recent report from the Florida Office of the Chief Inspector General found that the president of St. Petersburg College had the largest total compensation package, $449,031, out of the five colleges in the Tampa Bay area…

They can help grow your business
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Cameron Ford, director of the University of Central Florida’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, is a believer in the economic gardening philosophy that is the basis for GrowFL…

Gorgeous, but Highly Poisonous Snake Species Discovered in Honduras
Sci-News.com
A team of biologists headed by Dr James Austin from the University of Florida in Gainesville has described a new species of green palm-pitviper from a threatened cloud forest reserve in northern Honduras…

Lovebugs: The bugs we love to hate
Florida Weekly
First things first: Florida lovebugs are not genetically engineered — the result of a University of Florida experiment gone freakishly, Frankensteinally wrong. “Maybe we can finally dispel that myth,” said lovebug expert James Cuda…

UF’s Machen 9th, USF’s Genshaft 22nd on List of Highest Paid University …
WUSF News
The Chronicle of Higher Education has compiled its list of the highest paid public university presidents for fiscal 2011-12, and the University of Florida‘s Bernie Machen is again the top earner in Florida. The head Gator placed 9th among the 214 public university presidents ranked, with a total compensation package of $834,562. About 62 percent of that came from his base salary, the rest from a combination of bonuses, allowances and other compensation…

Man convicted in UM computer lab child porn case
MiamiHerald.com
When a man walked into a small private room of a computer lab at the University of Miami in February 2006, lab monitor Alejandro Laza grew suspicious. Using special software, Laza on his own computer saw in shocking real-time what former teacher Robert DeNapoli was doing: searching the Internet for “topless preteens” and “underage topless.”

Cuban dissident says racism remains a grave problem
MiamiHerald.com
“As long as the race problem is not resolved, we don’t believe that the problems of the nation can be resolved,” Cuesta Morua, who is black, said during an appearance at the University of Miami’sInstitute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies…

MLB, Selig lauded in Racial and Gender Report Card
MLB.com
The 2013 Racial and Gender Report Card, issued annually by The Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) at the University of South Florida, gave Major League Baseball a grade equal to its highest ever on the issue of racial hiring practices: A. Richard Lapchick, the director of the institute and the primary author of the study, saluted Commissioner Bud Selig for his efforts in this area. ”As he nears retirement, one of the legacies of [Selig] is that he recognized the need for diversity in baseball long ago,” Lapchick wrote in the report, which was released Tuesday. “MLB continues to make real progress in the areas of inclusion and diversity.”

New dean of USF’s College of Education
Tampabay.com (blog)
The University of South Florida has a new dean of the College of Education, which is the academic home to more than 3,000 students. Vasti Torres, who comes from education leadership roles at Indiana University Bloomington, will helm the college…

Living with autism: Grandin shares story, gives tips at conference
Pensacola News Journal
[Temple] Grandin, 65, was the keynote speaker for the second day of the three-day Flying High With Autism conference, which features dozens of speakers and breakout sessions at the University of West Florida Conference Center…

Environmental attorney kicks off last day of autism conference
Pensacola News Journal
Environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off the last day of the Flying High With Autism conference at the University of West Florida today. n his presentation, “Autism and America’s Future,” Kennedy spoke about how levels of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines are dangerous to children and connected to autism…

Releases and Web Stories

FAU President Announces Resignation
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees Chair Anthony K. G. Barbar accepted FAU President Mary Jane Saunders’ letter of resignation late yesterday, responding with a letter expressing regret and praising her for her many accomplishments. “On behalf of the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees, I regretfully accept your resignation,” he said in his letter. “The Board respects your desire to return to the faculty, a decision we know you made in the best interest of the University.”…

Lynn’s youngest commencement speaker provides guidance for more than 500 graduates
Lynn University
Lynn University’s 48th commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 came at the end of a marquee year for the institution that saw the hosting of the final 2012 presidential debate, celebration of the school’s 50th anniversary and two major groundbreakings, one for its new International Business Center and the other for the new Bobby Campbell Stadium…

St. Thomas University, Konica Minolta replaces entire print operations
CR80News
St. Thomas University, located in Miami Gardens, Fla., has overhauled its entire print operations with a new complete desktop to print shop solution…

Researcher receives $1.4 million grant to study nutrition in low birth weight …
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida nursing researcher has received a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to determine how to best and most safely nourish very low birth weight infants, who weigh less than 3.3 pounds. The funding will allow researchers to study a standard clinical treatment used to assess these infants’ nutritional status to determine if it is beneficial or risky to the baby…

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/15/13

Posted on May 15, 2013 by flhespectator

State University System

All 93 FAU accounting grads get jobs
Sun-Sentinel
Florida Atlantic University’s ”honors” accounting graduates don’t have to worry about finding a job. Since 2009, FAU‘s accounting scholars program has achieved a 100 percent job placement rate. In the 2013 program, 23 students graduated with master’s degrees in accounting and are starting jobs with annual salaries averaging more than $55,000, according to FAU…

FAU, city agree to agree on off-campus housing
Sun-Sentinel
City officials and staff sat down with Florida Atlantic University over plans to revamp the Northwest 20th Street corridor into an off-campus college town and came away with an agreement to cooperate from now on…

FGCU foundation declines developer’s offer of 600-acre land donation
Naples Daily News
Florida Gulf Coast University has backed away from a developer’s offer to donate more than 600 acres for a future expansion of its sprawling campus in Estero. The developer, O.J. Buigas, CEO of Private Equity Group in Fort Myers, expected the university’s foundation to approve the donation at its next meeting, June 5…

How A Florida Medical School Cares For Communities In Need
NPR (blog)
If it’s a Monday, you can usually find Dr. David Brown parked next to a lake in Miami, spending the day inside a 36-foot-long RV. He’s not on vacation. Brown is chief of family medicine at Florida International University‘s medical school. The RV is the school’s mobile health clinic…

Tuition Discount Alert: 50 Great Colleges Desperately Seeking Students
Forbes
Noted institutions like Lewis & Clark College in Portland Oregon, the University of Maryland at College Park and Sarasota’s New College of Florida are on NACAC’s “we need students” list…

With new luxury dorm, Orlando philanthropists offer Hillel evergreen funding model
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
It’s a $60 million, 600,000-square-foot luxury dormitory at the nation’s second-largest college campus, the University of Central Florida in this city. When it opens in August, the new dorm will push the bounds of cushiness.

UCF med students help treat patients at free clinic
WFTV Orlando
Students at the University of Central Florida’s medical school will get some valuable experience and help the community by treating uninsured patients at a new free clinic…

Expansion OK’d for Fanatics Inc. office space in Southpoint
Jacksonville Daily Record
The St. Johns River Water Management District is reviewing plans for The Arc Village on almost 17 acres along Hodges Boulevard in South Jacksonville. It has been described on other plans as a community at 3615 and 3631 Hodges Blvd. The village is designed as an affordable rental community for adults, age 18 and older, with intellectual and development disabilities…The five group homes are within Arlington, where there are two, St. Nicholas, West Jacksonville and Mandarin. A college program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities is on the campus of the University of North Florida, the site says…

Jolie praised for writing about preventive double mastectomy
Tbo.com
That ability to better inform women and men about their risk is the focus of a $2.8 million grant issued last week to the University of South Florida. The five-year study will track 5,000 breast cancer patients nationwide who have Aetna health insurance…

State College System

$10K 4-year degree being offered at College of Central Florida
WFTV Orlando
The College of Central Florida in Marion County is offering a four-year bachelor’s degree for $10,000 this fall.

Edison College considered leasing castle
Fox 4
During the height of the recession in Southwest Florida, Edison State College, funded by your tax dollars, considered leasing a castle in France. The college discussed using tax dollars to open a branch campus in northern France…

FSCJ downsizes, eliminates seven vice president positions and two divisions
Florida Times-Union
The Florida State College at Jacksonville board approved a new organization chart for the college Tuesday that eliminates two free-standing divisions and drops seven vice presidents down to lower-pay positions…

Retired jets may have new mission at sea
The News Herald
The two F-101 Voodoo aircraft recently removed from the Panama City Marina and Gulf Coast State College are now being proposed for use as artificial reefs …

Economic Council of PBC enjoys legislative success
BizPac Review
One of the shared priorities included appropriations of $6.5 million to Palm Beach State College for its planned Loxahatchee Grove campus which will bring much needed job training to the central western section of the county…

Scott gets last-minute sales pitches on spending plan
Palm Beach Post
A similar tactic is being used by Palm Beach State College, which is eager to have Scott endorse $6.5 million in state funding for the school’s Loxahatchee Groves campus…

Friendly competition proves a little bit ‘can’ go a long way
Sun-Sentinel
Participating Canstruction teams are Hedrick Brothers Construction, hughesumbanhowar architects, Leo A Daly/The Weitz Company, architectural students from Palm Beach State College, PGAL/Kaufman Lynn Construction, Suffolk Construction and…

Independent Colleges and Universities

Colleges to watch out for in the future
International Counselor
…While I have not had a chance to read the book [College (Un)Bound by Jeff Selingo] yet (it has been just released), I have learned that he singles out 19 colleges which comprise “a short list of forward-thinking universities to keep an eye on…These are just a sampling of colleges that have adopted strategies and programs that will help prove the value of their degree in the years ahead.”

Ball State University
City University of New York
Cornell University
Drexel University
Georgia State University
Goucher College
Lynn University
Northeastern University

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

Florida AM University’s legacy is one of improving lives, community
Sun-Sentinel
Over the past 18 months, Florida A&M University has become an institution of national interest for a lot of the wrong reasons. But as the media repeatedly asked what went wrong at FAMU and focused on unflattering news stories, it may have been easy for the general public to miss more prominent yet less told stories of what goes right at FAMU…Dr. Larry Robinson in interim president, Florida A&M University…

Letter: Roberts Academy Great Transitional School for Children With Dyslexia
The Ledger
This year was my granddaughter’s first year at Roberts Academy at Florida Southern College. It has been by far the best year ever for my daughter and for my granddaughter. This academy is such a wonderful treasure in Lakeland…Doug Wimberly – Lakeland, FL

74 years after graduating high school, 91-year-old woman receives college degree
The Republic
Some 74 years after graduating from high school, a 91-year-old woman received a bachelor’s degree from Daytona State College. College officials say Irene Lewis may be the oldest graduate in the school’s 53-year history…

Public forums for KCKCC academic vice-president finalists
The Kansas City Kansan
Dr. Michael Vitale – Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Fla., Dr. Vitale previously served as Associate Vice President, College of Arts and Sciences at Daytona State College in Daytona Beach, Fla…

Reaching the big time: Fort Myers film hits Cannes
Florida Weekly
CHASE For grass-roots glory on the silver screen, it’s hard to match Steve Chase, born and raised in Naples, a filmmaker and teacher of fine arts photography at Edison State College…

Take the Aquatic Highway to Florida State Parks
Huffington Post
Southward lies Caladesi Island State Park, with a beach consistently ranked among the world’s Top 10 by Florida International University coastal geologist Stephen Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach. Leatherman considers 50 criteria when making his picks, including current, sand quality and water clarity. Caladesi scores high in all areas, but the lack of crowds makes it especially appealing…

S. Florida’s housing woes make us one of the most distressed metro areas
Sun-Sentinel
“I think we have become more adept at managing our finances,” said Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, an economics professor who directs the Center of Economic Research at Florida International University…

Baseball improves diversity among senior administrators, employment of women …
Washington Post
While Major League Baseball teams improved racial diversity in hiring senior administrators, the employment of women is still lagging, according to the annual report by Richard Lapchick’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida…

In Miami, more hospital prices may see light of day
MiamiHerald.com
As healthcare reform changes the way consumers pay for insurance coverage, prices will become a bigger factor in consumer decisions, said Steven Ullmann, a professor of health management and policy at the University of Miami…

Speakers, performers, sponsors sought for TEDxJacksonville
Florida Times-Union (blog)
The speakers there included Parvez Ahmed, director of the newly established Center for Sustainable Business Practices at the University of North Florida…

Paintball plan wins business competition
Tbo.com
Undergraduate Casey Henry had to sell a panel of entrepreneurs on her passion. Paintball. “It sounded pretty lame compared to everything else,” the 21-year-old University of South Florida senior said. “But they liked the plan. It was all buttoned down …

PBS Offers Guide to Cord-Cutting and Defense of Piracy
SF Weekly (blog)
The worst part of this section presents the personal musings of some dude named Dan Reimold, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Tampa and keeper of the blog College Media Matters…

Compelling need to help difficult school kids – expert
Voxy
Professor Bill Evans, Director of the School of Education at the University of West Florida, is a visiting Canterbury Fellow lecturing and researching at UC, looking into issues relating to students with serious problems…

Autism advocate tells story, offers tips
Pensacola News Journal
Autism advocate Temple Grandin spoke this morning at the Flying High With Autism conference at the University of West Florida…

Releases and Web Stories

Carlyon promoted to Flagler College Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
ReadMedia (press release)
AUGUSTINE, FL (05/14/2013)(readMedia)– Flagler College has announced that Kerri Carlyon has been promoted to Assistant Director of Alumni Relations.

Florida Tech Faculty Members Honored for Excellence
SpaceCoastDaily.com
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Three Florida Institute of Technology faculty members recently earned the university’s 2013 Faculty Excellence Awards for outstanding performance.

Fourteen SF Students Graduate from Entrepreneurship Academy
Santa Fe College
Fourteen Santa Fe College students recently graduated from the Entrepreneurship Academy (EA). This group is the fourth class to graduate from the EA…

UF International Center recognizes oustanding area teachers
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida International Center has recognized four area teachers for international endeavors in their classrooms…

University of Miami study: Companies in states with weaker economies provide …
Science Codex
Companies located in more economically-troubled states provide a greater opportunity for investors than companies in other states according to new research by the University of Miami School of Business Administration…

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/14/13

Posted on May 14, 2013 by flhespectator

State University System

Plea Deals In FAMU Hazing Case Raise Questions About Whether Charges Will Stick
WFSU
Four people have reached plea deals in the 2011 hazing death of a Florida A & M University Drum Major and all have settled for less than the maximum penalties of their charges. Experts say hazing is a crime that has proved difficult for prosecutors, but some say they expect others charged in the FAMU case to see stiffer penalties as a trial date nears…

UCF med-school grads are ambassadors
Orlando Sentinel
On Friday, 36 students from the University of Central Florida‘s College of Medicine’s charter class will graduate.

$6 Brochures Help Steer Latinos To Premium Universities
Fox News Latino
Most kids who are high academic achievers but come from low-income families aren’t applying to schools like Harvard or Columbia University, or even the University of Florida…

St. Petersburg co-op welcomes wide range of bike devotees
Tampabay.com
Across town, the student government at University of South Florida St. Petersburg recently voted to allow up to $11,200 from student fees for a bike sharing program after years of lobbying from campus sustainability groups…

SPECIAL SECTION: FL Inspector General’s Report on State College President Pay

View this document on Scribd

Round Up of Compensation Reax & Coverage:

Pay for college presidents vary widely
Bay News 9

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
Bradenton Herald

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
Businessweek

State review looks at college president perks
Daytona Beach News-Journal

Florida College Presidents’ Compensation Ranges From $143866 to …
FlaglerLive.com

Inspector General recommends limits to pay for college presidents
Florida Times-Union

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
Gainesville Sun

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
MiamiHerald.com

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
MSN Money

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
Naples Daily News

Report: PBSC’s Gallon has among highest perks among peers
Palm Beach Post

Florida college presidents given big perks
Pensacola News Journal

Scott releases a report on state college presidential pay plans
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

SCF president’s pay ranks in middle, report finds
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Salaries Of Florida College Presidents Under Scrutiny
StateImpact Florida

9 Florida colleges violate law on severance pay for presidents …
Sun-Sentinel

College Presidents’ Pay Wide-Ranging, Report Finds
Sunshine State News

SPC president pay tops among local institutions
Tampa Bay Business Journal

Review questions salaries for state college presidents in Florida
Tampabay.com

College presidents’ pay varies widely
The Florida Current

College presidents’ perks put into report
The News-Press

Pay, perks for Florida’s college presidents comes under scrutiny
TCPalm

Probe Uncovers Illegal Payouts At Some Florida Colleges
WCTV

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
WFLX

State Inspector General Recommends Limits On State College President’s Pay
WJCT NEWS

GCSC President Salary Among the Lowest in the State
WMBB

Area colleges split on report calling for change in President’s pay
WOKV

Fla. college presidents given expensive perks
WPEC

Florida college presidents making millions in salaries and …
WPTV

State College System

Staff cuts underway to plug $9 million hole in FSCJ budget
Florida Times-Union
Layoffs, pay cuts and expense trimming are underway at the Florida State College at Jacksonville, where its leaders are working to plug a projected $9 million shortfall with an overall 6 percent cut to its budget…

Decision day looming on PBSC Loxahatchee Groves suit
Palm Beach Post
… to respond to a lawsuit which compelled the town clerk to show why the controversial Palm Beach State College campus issue shouldn’t come to a vote.

Independent Colleges and Universities

Saint Leo University to Open Center at Sykes Enterprises
The Ledger
A Lakeland business has joined with a private Catholic university to set up an onsite education center to allow employees and local residents to work on associate or bachelor’s degrees. Saint Leo University, located about 30 miles north of Tampa, will offer courses at the Sykes Enterprises Inc. contact center location at 1044 Griffin Road in Lakeland…

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

Reed: Why change name, degrees at BCC?
Florida Today
This may be the last time I introduce today’s interview subject as the president of Brevard Community College. No, Dr. Jim Richey isn’t leaving. The institution will change its name this fall to Eastern Florida State College. I asked Richey to explain the name change and new degrees offered by the college. I also asked for his take on Gov. Rick Scott’s challenge for colleges and universities to offer bachelor-degree programs for $10,000…

People on the move
Sun-Sentinel
Kevin Wagner, associate professor and director of graduate studies in Florida Atlantic University‘s Department of Political Science, was chosen to be an academic fellow on the study of terrorism by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C. Wagner will travel to Israel in June for an intensive course on terrorism studies, focusing on how democracies can defeat the worldwide terrorist threat. The 2013 program will be conducted at Tel Aviv University, and includes lectures by academics, military and intelligence officials, and diplomats from Israel, Jordan, India and the United States. It also will include “hands-on” experience through visits to police, customs and immigration facilities, military bases, and border zones to learn the practical side of deterring and defeating terrorists.

Former Harbor Branch managing director to receive honorary doctorate
TCPalm
Marilyn C. Link, a pioneering pilot, educator, philanthropist and former managing director of a FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, will receive an honorary doctorate from Binghamton University, State University of New York at its doctoral hooding ceremony on May 17…

Local business briefs: Tilley honored; Cheddar’s hiring
Florida Today
Scott Tilley, Florida Institute of Technology professor of software engineering, was recently named a distinguished lecturer by the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest scientific computing society…

Rep. Frederica Wilson leads immigration forum tonight with Luis Gutierrez
MiamiHerald.com (blog)
The program will be moderated by Ediberto Roman, Professor of Law at Florida International University. “It’s fitting that we’re having this major policy event in Miami—one of the most diverse, immigrant-rich cities in the world…

The Lectern (May 13) – Corvallis Gazette-Times
Corvallis Gazette Times
Martin Kavka of Florida State University will argue that J.K. Rowling offers her readers a more worldly and life-affirming sort of Christianity than previous British fantasy literature had provided.Tuesday…

MDC president to be honored by Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
MiamiHerald.com
Miami Dade College President Eduardo J. Padrón will be honored next month by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Jane Austen’s ‘Guide to Thrift’
WPTV
In fifteen years as friends, Dr. Kathleen Anderson and Dr. Susan Jones, two English professors at Palm Beach Atlantic University, have gone bargain hunting together. Now, they’ve combined their love for books and their love for thrift shopping with inspiration from author Jane Austen. The pair has written the book, “Jane Austen’s Guide to Thrift: An Independent Woman’s Advice on Living.”

Conferences should hire more TV execs like Mike Aresco to run conferences
Orlando Sentinel
Instead, [Mike] Aresco and his team have been busy reinventing the University of Central Florida‘s new home, the American Athletic Conference. He wants to make sure the new logos and marks set to circulate over the next few weeks look great on television…

Road-builder bulldozes one of biggest Maya pyramids in Belize; police open …
Washington Post
Arlen Chase, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, said, “Archaeologists are disturbed when such things occur, but there is only a very limited infrastructure in Belize that can be applied to cultural heritage management.”

Public University Presidents Are Prospering, Annual Compensation Study Finds
New York Times
…Rounding out the top 10 earners were Jo Ann M. Gora of Ball State University ($984,647); Mary Sue Coleman of the University of Michigan system ($918,783); Charles W. Steger of Virginia Tech ($857,749); Mark G. Yudof of the University of California system ($847,149); Bernard J. Machen of the University of Florida ($834,562); and Francisco G. Cigarroa of the University of Texas system ($815,833)…

Harlem Shake video at South Florida Subway turns sour, dancer suing franchise …
WPTV
“It has been embarrassing because people around the community look at me as if, if I’m a criminal,” said Orlando Guapo, the man who is suing the Subway franchise. Guapo said after he refused to take the video down, he started seeing “wanted” signs posted all over town. The signs featured a picture of Guapo with the word “ATTENTION!” on the top of the poster. Below it read, “If you see this person on our premises please call the authorities! He is trespassing and not allowed to be here. Thanks you for your help, management.” Guapo said he did not want to take the video down because he said he did not break any laws, steal anything or break anything. The 22-year-old, who is in his senior year at the University of South Florida, said since he fears his reputation is being ruined, he is suing on the grounds of defamation…

Republicans head to the polls today
Pensacola News Journal
Lewis Bear Jr., president of the Lewis Bear Co. and chairman of the University of West Florida board of trustees, and his family have steered about $3,500 toward Gray’s campaign.

Noted speaker on autism in Escambia County
WEAR
…Dr. Temple Grandin is one of the most well known people with autism in the world. The best selling author struggled to overcome “Asperger Syndrome” since childhood and has gone on to lead in autism advocacy…She’s in town for the “Flying High with Autism” conference at the University of West Florida and will speak there tomorrow morning.

Releases and Web Stories

Bartoshuk to receive lifetime achievement award
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida professor Linda Bartoshuk wants you to taste a better tomato. She wants you to taste the best and most delicious tomato you have ever eaten…

How to Predict Stock Returns: Location, Location, Location!
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Forget earnings growth or valuation metrics, investors should use geography when deciding which stocks to buy, sell or short, according to a new research paper to be published next month from the University of Miami.

Here’s what caught my eye over the weekend…5/13/13

Posted on May 13, 2013 by flhespectator

Florida Higher Ed Capitol Clips:

Will Gov. Scott veto tuition hike?
Orlando Sentinel
Colleges and universities statewide are eager to see whether Gov. Rick Scott will veto the 3 percent tuition increase that the Florida Legislature approved recently. In a radio interview on Friday, Scott reiterated his concerns about rising college tuition in the Sunshine State. He has repeatedly spoken out against tuition increases. ”Tuition in our state has gone up close to 70 percent over the last five years,” Scott said in an interview on Tampa’s WFLA radio, according to the News Service of Florida. “I’m very concerned about tuition increases.” Scott received the state budget this week and has until May 24 to act on the proposal.

Now, it’s Gov. Scott’s turn to show leadership on the budget
Sun-Sentinel
…VETO: College Tuition Hike — Lawmakers restored last year’s $300 million budget cut from state universities, and want to split an extra $45 million between the University of Florida and Florida State University, while giving another $65 million for the university system as a whole. But the funding increase is partly built on funds from a proposed 3-percent tuition hike. Gov. Scott, by contrast, has said he wants to make higher education affordable and following years of double-digit tuition increases, told legislative leader he opposed tuition hikes. The Legislature crossed a line in the sand. A veto of the tuition hike is appropriate…

Legislators Make Case for Tuition Hike; Proposal Faces Scott Veto
The Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott has his dislike of tuition hikes clear, likening them to tax increases. But lawmakers defied his opposition and sent him a $74.5 billion budget for next year that contains a 3 percent tuition increase for state universities and colleges. The question is what will he do with it? And perhaps more importantly can he do anything about it?

Polk Happy to See Cash For Repairs in Budget
The Ledger
…Polk State College is to receive $8.5 million in capital outlay money. Of the construction money, $4.5 million will go to for the second phase of a planned $30 million Institute for Public Safety, state-of-the-art education facility for first responders. Last year, PSC received $9.2 million to fund the first phase…

Lawmakers’ pet projects leave no paper trail to Florida budget
Tampabay.com
Yes, as Page 421 points out, it’s a $74.5 billion spending plan that pays for 114,480.5 positions. But specific descriptions about what the money actually pays for are noticeably absent…

Chronicle‘s What Public-College Presidents Make list is out:

Data from this year’s list shows the compensation received in the 2012 fiscal year by 212 chief executives at 191 public universities and systems in the United States. Fiscal years typically run from July 1 to June 30 but can vary by institution. Time in position is the number of full years in office as of the start of the 2012 fiscal year. Here are Florida’s public higher ed CEOs:

Other recent rankings news:

U.S. study finds New School is most international campus
New York Times
The New School was followed by the Florida Institute of Technology (26 percent), the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (21 percent), Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida (18 percent), and the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma (18 percent). The five institutions with the highest percentages of foreign students were all private. On average, among all colleges and universities ranked by U.S. News, foreign students make up 5 percent of the student body…

Hingesights: Top 12 Hottest Colleges
Hinge
…We’ve compiled a list of the colleges and universities with the most highly appealing alumni in DC, according to your interest levels on Hinge. [Congrats to FSU...]

Outlook:

College graduates face tough job market
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
This spring, about 1,600 people, mostly in their 20s, will graduate from the four mainstay college-level schools in the Sarasota-Manatee area: the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, State College of Florida, New College and Ringling College of Art and Design. Roughly half, based on national and local statistics from past years, will pursue further academic degrees before entering the cold, cruel world of 9-to-5 work. That leaves perhaps 800 as a new crop of workers competing for jobs with those already out there…

Are Florida’s Law Schools in Trouble?
Sunshine State News
Thousands of students flock to the doors of Florida’s 12 law schools each year, chasing the dreams of a respectable, well-paying job as an attorney. But the unfortunate reality for many of these young hopefuls is they may not leave law school with a job as a lawyer at all. Paired with with poor employment outcomes is the staggering cost to attend law school, leaving many students in a bind that can take years to get out of…

Recent Notable Reports and Resources:

Should Everyone Go To College? (Brief)
Brookings Institute
For the past few decades, it has been widely argued that a college degree is a prerequisite to entering the middle class in the United States. Study after study reminds us that higher
education is one of the best investments we can make, and President Obama has called it “an economic imperative.” We all know that, on average, college graduates make significantly more money over their lifetimes than those with only a high school education. What gets less attention is the fact that not all college degrees or college graduates are equal. There is enormous variation in the so-called return to education depending on factors such asinstitution attended, field of study, whether a student graduates, and post-graduation occupation. While the average return to obtaining a college degree is clearly positive, we emphasize that it is not universally so. For certain schools, majors, occupations, and individuals, college may not be a smart investment. By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice.

College Reality Check (Website)
Chronicle of Higher Ed
This new website presents financial facts such as net price, average debt, graduation rates, and average starting salaries to help students when comparing and selecting colleges. Users can compare up to five colleges from among the nearly 3,600 in the database at the same time. The new data tools offer critical information to students that perhaps will help ensure that they avoid colleges where they might drop out or take on too much debt.

Undermining Pell: How Colleges Compete for Wealthy Students and Leave the Low-Income Behind (Summary) (Report)
New America Foundation
This report analyzes the “net price”–the amount students are expected to pay after grant aid–of a college education for low-income students at public and private, not-for-profit institutions of higher education. The report concludes that colleges expect low-income students to pay an amount equal to or greater than their family’s yearly income, leaving them to take on substantial debt levels. The report also discusses how institutions use resources to compete for wealthier, well-prepared students at the expense of student access.

State University System

Car Crashes into Ocala Road Apartment
WCTV
The hunt is on for a man Florida State University police say tried to run an officer off the road, before crashing his car into an apartment complex…

Boundless reports its online textbooks popular at BU, Northeastern
Boston Business Journal (blog)
Other colleges seeing a high amount of usage include Florida State University, University of Central Florida and University of Illinois, Boundless said…

With new luxury dorm, Orlando philanthropists offer Hillel evergreen funding model
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Real estate developer Hank Katzen has a dream: If you build it, they will come. Except this is no baseball field in an Iowa cornfield. It’s a $60 million, 600,000-sq.-ft. luxury dormitory at the nation’s second-largest college campus, the University of Central Florida in Orlando. When it opens in August, the new dorm will push the bounds of cushiness. Two- and four-bedroom suites will have island kitchens with stone countertops, in-unit washer/dryers and walk-in closets. Every room will come with en-suite bathrooms and flat-screen TVs equipped with premium cable. Duplex units will feature spiral staircases and two-story atriums with picture windows. There will be a resort-style swimming pool, 24-hour fitness center, sauna, game room and seven-story parking garage – so no student will have to take an elevator or brave the Florida elements on the way from their cars to their dorm rooms. But what makes Katzen’s new facility noteworthy isn’t so much the lavishness as the idea behind it: to create America’s first self-sustaining Hillel. The ground floor of this seven-story building will include a new 20,000-sq.-ft. Hillel center whose operations will be funded in large part by rental income from the 600-bed dormitory. The Jewish philanthropists behind this unique arrangement aren’t simply giving the 15-year-old Hillel at UCF a building; they’re giving it a permanent income stream…

UCF Upends Lindenwood for DI-AA Title – RugbyMag.com
RugbyMag.com
The University of Central Florida scored a last-second try to upset Lindenwood 27-25 in dramatic fashion and win the DI-AA National Championship Sunday in Bowling Green, Ohio…

Jailhouse farms feed Florida inmates, guards
Fox News
The Sheriff’s Office has teamed up with the University of Florida to provide inmate labor for their university’s research facility in Citra. Offenders work with the animals and harvest crops…

UF’s alcohol policy taking toll on frats?
Gainesville Sun
…The policy, however, also has led to a consequence that its advocates may not have intended: a striking increase in the number of fraternities and sororities either on probation or suspended by the university for varying offenses, usually related to alcohol use…

Florida Orange-Crop Estimate Unchanged at 138 Million Boxes
Bloomberg
Citrus greening cost Florida’s economy $3.63 billion in lost revenue since 2006 because of a reduction in orange-juice production, the University of Florida said in January…

Citrus Disease With No Cure Is Ravaging Florida Groves
New York Times
In a 2012 report, University of Florida agricultural analysts concluded that between 2006 and 2012, citrus greening cost Florida’s economy $4.5 billion and 8,000 jobs…

Why JaxChamber Loves The Players Championship
WJCT NEWS
A 2007 study by the University of Florida estimated the economic impact of The Players Championship to be $150 million. It creates 2,000 jobs and is the busiest week at Jacksonville International Airport.

White House Boys seek justice for their abuse
Orlando Sentinel
Their last hope is a forensic anthropologist from the University of South Florida who has received a grant to excavate the school’s cemetery to determine whether any of the boys buried there were murdered.

USF wins Big East softball title
Tampabay.com
The USF softball team celebrates after Saturday’s 1-0 USF win over Notre Dame in extra innings in the Big East softball title game Saturday, May 11, 2013, at University of South Florida.

State College System

Broward ready to convert failing schools
Sun-Sentinel
Arthur Ashe Middle would be closed to current students and converted to a workforce center for adults. Lauderhill Middle will partner with Broward College for a grades 6-12 college academy…

Taste of Ocala raises more than $35000 for CF students
Ocala
About 200 people attended the upscale event held, once again, inside CF‘s Ewers Century Center…

Budget crunch could mean higher tuition at Daytona State
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona State College students may face higher tuition bills as college officials look to balance their budget in light of a state funding reduction and continuing drop in enrollment…

College graduates largest class to date
Hometown News
On a cloudy Saturday morning on May 4, Indian River State College graduated its largest class to date at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie…

Workforce Grads Most Likely to Get Jobs
The Ledger
Graduates of workforce-based programs at Polk State College continue to get jobs at a higher rate than equivalent graduates of any college in the state, a new study shows.

Independent Colleges and Universities

Ave Maria University Receives Stable Financial Outlook
The Cardinal Newman Society
Ave Maria University has informed The Cardinal Newman Society of the positive financial news recently received by the University. Standard and Poor’s Rating Services reviewed the University’s finances and gave Ave Maria a “stable outlook.”

For Ave Maria law school grads, it’s time to step up to the Bar
The News-Press
From Connecticut to the Democratic Republic of Congo, students from Southwest Florida and afar shifted their tassels to the left and tossed their caps in the air during the 11th graduation ceremony for Ave Maria School of Law in Naples.

Barry earns national championship against Armstrong
NCAA.com
It took nearly five hours, but top-ranked Barry beat No. 2 Armstrong 5-4 to win the 2013 NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Championship…

Landmark Legend: Ponce de Leon Hotel
First Coast News
“Welcome to Flagler Legacy Tours,” said Archie Josie, a senior at Flagler College. Tourists from around the world come to tour the Ponce de Leon which has been Flagler College since 1968.

Local students graduate from Flagler
St. Augustine Record
More than 414 Flagler students participated in the commencement ceremony April 20 at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre…

Florida Tech Has Conferred More Than 53000 Degrees
SpaceCoastDaily.com
The large graduating class of 486 undergraduate and 645 graduate students required two separate commencement ceremonies—one for the bachelor’s degrees and one for the master’s and doctoral degrees—and represents on-campus, as well as online students and students at 10 extended studies department sites located throughout the United States…

Nearly 700 graduates earn Stetson degrees Saturday
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Nearly 700 graduates earn Stetson degrees Saturday. Graduates listen for their turn to walk across the stage during Stetson University’s graduation ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences at the Edmunds Center in DeLand on Saturday, May 11, 2013…

[Video] This May Be the Worst First Pitch in Baseball History
Mashable
Stetson University brought out an insurance company executive to throw the ceremonial first pitch before a recent baseball game against Florida State. But instead of a nice nod to a corporate sponsor, what Stetson got instead was quite possibly the worst first pitch in the 100-plus-year history of baseball as a human sport…

University of Miami graduates more than 3300 students in ceremonies
MiamiHerald.com
Six members of the University of Miami’s best-ever basketball team, a four-time Olympic speed skater, and the first UM student to be awarded the National Institutes of Health/Oxford-Cambridge Scholars program fellowship are among the 3,300 students …

University of Miami student dies in crash days after graduation
MiamiHerald.com
A University of Miami student died early Sunday morning of injuries suffered in a car crash near the school’s Coral Gables campus. The student, identified as Dino Ghilotti, had graduated on Friday with a degree in business…

UM cafeteria workers vote to unionize
MiamiHerald.com
Cafeteria workers at the University of Miami unionized after a majority of workers voted in favor of representation in a card check on May 3. The employees voted to join 32BJ, a branch of the Service Employees International Union.

For-Profit and Career Colleges

60-year-old graduates from Full Sail University
WESH.com
60-year-old graduates from Full Sail University. weshtv·15,437 videos. SubscribeSubscribedUnsubscribe 6,020. 3 views. Like 1 Dislike 0. Like. Sign in to YouTube. Sign in with your YouTube Account (YouTube, Google+, Gmail, Orkut, Picasa, or Chrome) to …

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

Viewpoint: Transforming lives at UWF my legacy
The Florida Current
As President of the University of West Florida, I am writing to let you know that the future of UWF is solid and we will continue to take visionary steps to move forward into the 21st century of higher education… Judy Bense is president of the University of West Florida.

Marion County Sheriff Blair dismisses critical grand jury report
Gainesville Sun
The sheriff explained that upon retiring from the Sheriff’s Office in December 2010, where he ended his 35-year career as head of the agency’s major crimes unit, he had an opportunity to teach at the College of Central Florida…

College president gets high marks from Daytona State board
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona State College President Carol Eaton has received a glowing report on her annual evaluation…

Mother, daughter graduate together
MiamiHerald.com
Karen Baker, 58, and daughter Latisha Robinson, 38, graduated from Edward Waters College in Jacksonville with a business administration degree…

Student papers featured in communication conference
St. Augustine Record
Six students enrolled in a Sex, Gender and Media course at Flagler College saw their work in the classroom pay off when papers they wrote were accepted into the South Florida Undergraduate Communication Honors Conference at Florida Atlantic University. Katelyn Bonnevier, Margaret Wallis and Sarah Williamson submitted “Sex and the City: A Backlash Against Modern Feminism,” which was also selected as one of the top three papers at the March conference. Also accepted was “Life Imitating Art: The Reinforcement of Gender Stereotypes in American Sitcoms” by Sean O’Connell, Megan Rohlfing and Richard Robinson. Flagler College associate professor of communication Helena Sarkio teaches the communication theory course and selected the two papers to be submitted…

Former FAMU student Rikki Wills pleads no contest in hazing case
Orlando Sentinel
Former FAMU drum major Rikki Wills, who insists that he tried to shield his college roommate Robert Champion from a brutal hazing in Orlando in 2011, pleaded no contest today to felony hazing resulting in death.

How to use aspirin to treat and prevent heart disease, cancers – Zee News – India
Zee News
A Florida Atlantic University researcher has published a review for clinicians on the optimal utilization of aspirin to treat and prevent heart attacks as well as commentary on the cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent colorectal and other cancers. Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at the University and James E. Dalen, M.D., M.P.H., dean emeritus, University of Arizona College of Medicine and executive director of the Weil Foundation published this update in the current issue of the American Journal of Medicine…

Carly Rae Jepsen performs at Fontainebleau Hotel
Local 10
“Call Me Maybe” was Carly Rae Jepsen‘s pop hit that inspired good-natured parodies from brawny military men, svelte Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, snappy Florida International University students, and even Local 10′s Will Manso…

The biggest hot dog of all: Oscar Mayer Wienermobile visits Shore this weekend
The Star-Ledger – NJ.com
When Anggela Pimentel first saw the Wienermobile as a student at Florida International University, she was startled. “I thought, what is that giant hot dog doing on my campus?” Pimentel said. Now she has the keys to the giant hot dog. Pimentel is one of 12 “hotdoggers” who drive six Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles around the country for a year doing promotional appearances. ”You need an appetite for adventure,” explains Pimentel, a native of Lima, Peru who now lives in Miami. “And you have to want to meet people.”

As Hispanic voters’ numbers increase, politicians come calling
Broward Politics (blog)
“It’s a no brainer for both parties to try to be attractive to Latinos and Hispanics because they’ve shown in the last election that they have strong influence — and it’s just going to get bigger and bigger,” said Felipe Korzenny, director of the Florida State University‘s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication and author of the 2011 book “Hispanic Marketing: Connecting with the New Latino Consumer.”

FSU graduate competes for job of a lifetime in Austrailia
Bay News 9
Caroline Vetter, 22, graduated from Florida State University with a degee in Animal Conservation and Ecology, and has been all over the world working with animals…

Gloria Estefan speaks at Cuba’s Independence Day
MiamiHerald.com
Singer Gloria Estefan is expected to speak at a Miami event to commemorate Cuba’s Independence Day. The Cuban-born singer will appear Monday at Miami Dade College.

Ohio abduction: victims switched on ‘auto-pilot’ to survive
NDTV
Steven Gold of Nova Southeastern University‘s Center for Psychological Studies, said that in many cases victims of this kind of abuse survive by “shutting down emotionally and often even on a sensory level.”

Mother-daughter duo to walk at Saint Leo graduation
Ocala
In 2009, at the age of 68, she enrolled online at Saint Leo University, the very school her daughter, Lisa, attends…

Nan Rich, long shot for governor, says she’s undeterred
Orlando Sentinel
“Stranger things have happened in Florida politics,” said University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett, noting that Rich has little money or name recognition. “But going into the race, she would be considered an underdog.”

Indian River Lagoon Conservationist Field & Stream Magazine “Hero”
Brevard Times
The oyster reef restoration project was started in 2005 by Linda Walters of the University of Central Florida (UCF)…

UF professor honored for service to fitness councils
Gainesville Sun
Dr. Ruth Alexander, distinguished professor at the University of Florida, has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition…

Retired UF professor arrested in sex crimes sting
Gainesville Sun
A former four-time teacher of the year in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy was arrested Thursday as officers with the Gainesville Police Department conducted an operation at Bivens Arm Park, 3650 S. Main St., targeting sexual offenses. Gerald E. Gause, 73, was charged with prostitution and indecent exposure after police say he offered to perform a sex act on an undercover officer for $20 and then exposed himself and masturbated. Another undisclosed person was trespassed after offering free sexual favors to two of the undercover officers, police said…

Petition by former Miami Hurricanes coach Frank Haith denied
MiamiHerald.com
Frank Haith will have to wait a little longer to find out who may have snooped on his bank records as part of the NCAA investigation into the University of Miami and incarcerated rogue booster Nevin Shapiro…

Hernandez returns to USF in diversity role
Tbo.com
As it moves to modernize and increase diversity, the University of South Florida is welcoming back an old hand. Jose Hernandez, USF’s former director of diversity and equal opportunity from 2002 to 2008, will take the new position of chief diversity officer. He returns to USF from a stint as associate provost for institutional diversity and inclusion at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington…

New underwater feature in Lens plan still has skeptics
Tampabay.com
“I support education and information about the bay. It’s kind of apple pie and mom, but my suspicions are that it probably doesn’t have much value to improving the ecology of Tampa Bay,” said Walter Jaap, a retired Fish and Wildlife Research Institute scientist, now a consultant and honorary professor at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science.

Education topic at Lakewood Ranch Kiwanis luncheon
Bradenton Herald
Dr. Bonnie Jones, regional vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, said the $40 million the Legislature restored in the state university system budget will go a long way to create degree opportunities. For example, USF Sarasota-Manatee will receive $2 million for the science laboratories the university is building in cooperation with Mote Marine Laboratory, Jones said. She also said the university on U.S. 41 in Manatee County now serves more than 4,000 students, and they hope to grow to 10,000…

Things to do and places to go in the Pensacola area
Pensacola News Journal
“If we come up with an effective way to intervene and engage employees to lead healthier lifestyles, that will pay for itself,” said Rick Harper, another keynote speaker and a University of West Florida economist.

Releases and Web Stories

IT ADDS UP: Every FAU Accounting Grad Lands A Job
BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — If you are looking for a sure fire way to land a job, consider enrolling in FAU‘s accounting program. Every single 2013 graduate of the school’s program has landed a job — and we’re not talking about a small class of 8 people. Nearly 100 grads are now embarking on the career of their choice…

University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame Introduces KC Jones as President and …
Wall Street Journal (press release)
MIAMI, May 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame (UMSHoF) today introduced K.C. Jones as president and named the other officers who will help guide UMSHoF through its planned renovation and expansion.

Students call experimental course on field research a big success
USFSP News Center
By all indications, an experimental environmental science course taught for the first time during the spring semester was a big success. The undergraduate selected topics course, “Field Experiential Methods,” combined time in the classroom with hands-on field research in Tampa Bay. It was designed by David Fries, director of the Ecosystems Technology Group at the College of Marine Science. “This is a terrific example of recent collaborations and expanding opportunities that exist between USF St. Petersburg and the USF College of Marine Science,” said Frank Biafora, Ph.D., dean of the USFSP College of Arts and Sciences…

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/10/13

Posted on May 10, 2013 by flhespectator

Florida Higher Ed Capitol Clips:

University leaders expect Gov. Rick Scott to veto tuition increase
Tampabay.com
Lawmakers included a 3 percent tuition increase in next year’s budget, but state universities say they aren’t counting on the extra money. Most expect Gov. Rick Scott to veto the modest tuition increase when he signs the state budget into law in the coming weeks.

“He’s come out strongly against tuition increases and fee increases, and now will be a time to see if the governor stands by his word,” said Brian Goff, the outgoing student body president at the University of South Florida.

Scott received the budget from the Legislature on Thursday and has until May 24 to decide whether to sign it into law or veto it. He has been clear where he stands on tuition…

Machen, UF trustees pleased with legislative support
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida President Bernie Machen told the Faculty Senate on Thursday that he was pleased with the results of the legislative session, which ended a week ago with UF getting the legislative backing and financial support to pursue Top 10 status. Machen also said the session resulted in the restoration of funding for higher education, pay raises and benefits, and it produced money to help pay for deferred construction and maintenance projects — including $15 million toward construction of a chemistry building…

State University System

FAMU recruiting musicians, still no word on Marching 100 band’s return
Tampabay.com (blog)
Current FAMU music students will perform at each event, and prospective students can audition on the spot in hopes of earning music scholarships…

FAMU Stop Hazing Tour
WCTV
Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) Department of Music will host a recruitment and outreach tour titled Working Together to Stop Hazing beginning May 19 through May 21 in South Florida for high school students…

Algenol & FGCU move forward on Honors Program
Naples Daily News
Algenol Biofuels Inc., is pleased to report that they continue to work closely with Florida Gulf Coast University on several important STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) initiatives. While this summer will mark the third year Algenol has hired FGCU interns, a new Honors program class entitled “Biotech Entrepreneurship” is under development to be offered to students for the first time this Fall…

Higher education could benefit from Hertz relocation – Wink TV
Wink News
Leaders with Florida Gulf Coast University and Edison State College plan to meet with Hertz to discuss how the Fortune 300 company can work with Southwest Florida’s students.

Fire Incidents at FSU Classified As Arson
WCTV
The Florida State University Police Department is currently investigating three fire incidents that it is classifying as arsons. Each of the incidents, if taken individually, represent minor incidents, however, with the current number being three and of similar circumstance, the FSUPD considers these on-going, though not campus-wide at this time…

Firm with UF ties wins Cade Prize
Gainesville Sun
…On Thursday night, the company with offices in Orlando and in the University of Florida Innovation Hub in Gainesville won the fourth annual Cade Museum Prize and the $50,000 cash prize courtesy of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida…

USF Gets $2.8M Grant to Study Genetic Testing, Breast Cancer
The Ledger (blog)
The University of South Florida, working with Aetna, will follow 5,000 Aetna members nationwide who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing genetic testing.

State College System

Edison faculty & students send books to Indonesia
Wink News
Faculty and students of Edison State College School of Health Professions Nursing program continually work together to collect and donate educational books to Udayana University in Bali, Indonesia…

After six months, state’s FSCJ investigation still not complete
Florida Times-Union
It has been six months since Florida State College at Jacksonville’s president announced his resignation and the governor ordered an investigation into its foundation’s spending, but the report has not yet been issued and nobody is speaking publicly about where it stands…

Pasco closes on Wiregrass Ranch property
Northwest News and Tribune
The family had also donated land to Pasco Hernando Community College for its Porter Campus, which is scheduled to open Jan. 1…

Independent Colleges and Universities

AMU Divesting Nicaragua Campus; Announces Favorable Bond Rating …
The Ave Herald
Ave Maria University has announced two developments that will have a significant impact on the school’s finances and operations. AMU is divesting its Latin American campus and also announced it has received an investment-grade bond rating from Standard & Poor’s that will let the school save “millions” through a bond offering that would consolidate its debt. AMU President Jim Towey said in an announcement to staff and faculty Thursday morning that the school has signed a letter of intent with Keiser University, a private non-profit university based in Fort Lauderdale, to transfer ownership of the AMU Latin American campus effective July 1.

No one injured after Northside drive-by shooting
ActionNewsJax.com
Gunfire erupted during a drive-by shooting Thursday night near Edward Waters College on the Northside.

Rollins designated a Fair Trade College
Winter Park/Maitland Observer
At Rollins College, fair trade isn’t just about guilt-free coffee anymore — it’s become a school-wide movement. And now it’s official: Rollins is the first Florida school to be designated a Fair Trade College through the Fair Trade Colleges and Universities organization…

Want to compare hospital costs in South Florida? Here’s how:
MiamiHerald.com
Jackson Memorial and the University of Miami Hospital are much less than two miles apart — they’re right across from each other along Northwest 12th Avenue — but they charge far different prices for the same procedures.

For-Profit and Career Colleges

Nicaragua’s Ave Maria becomes Keiser University
Nicaragua Dispatch
Keiser University, a U.S. non-profit educational institution serving 18,000 students on 15 Florida campuses, at overseas facilities, and online, will be assuming operational and educational control of Nicaragua’s Ave Maria University as of July 1. In what university officials are calling a “seamless transition,” Keiser University says it will continue to build upon Ave Maria’s “solid tradition of serving students, maintaining and attracting accomplished faculty from all over the world, and its commitment to leading as an economic driver for the city of San Marcos and the country of Nicaragua,” according to a statement from the chancellor’s office. Keiser University’s Chancellor, Dr. Arthur Keiser, said the acquisition of Ave Maria is part of his school’s “ongoing mission to serve students and communities internationally, globalize the learning environment, and to continue bringing access to American education beyond our borders.”

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

Commentary: Media should focus on the achievements of Florida Atlantic University
Palm Beach Post
It has been frustrating for us, and for all members of the Florida Atlantic University Foundation, to see the media focus on the negative out of proportion to the contributions that FAU makes every day. We would like to balance the discussion by pointing out all that has been right at FAU for half a century and continues to be right under the leadership of President Mary Jane Saunders…Bruce Allen is chairman of the Florida Atlantic University Foundation. J. Randy Justice is a past chairman of the foundation.

Weisman: Palm Beach County should unload unused, $60 million Mecca site for …
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman will recommend to the county commission that it accept $26 million for Mecca Farms — the 1,900-acre fallow former citrus grove that has cost the county $100 million in a failed attempt to lure biotech to the site. The board of the South Florida Water Management District voted today to buy the site for $26 million, which comes to 26 cents for every dollar the county spent to buy the land and remove thousands of orange trees, with the hope that the Scripps Research Institute would root itself there and build a bio-tech research park. Instead, Scripps chose to settle at the Florida Atlantic University campus in Jupiter…

End of an era as Alvarez leaves FSU
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
Ralph Alvarez is telling people that he “graduates” from FSU today, 41 years to the day after he started working at Florida State University. Hired by his alma mater as an Accountant 1, Alvarez will leave FSU as Associate Vice President for Budget Planning and Financial Services, the institution’s go-to guy for budget questions for almost 30 years. Just don’t use the word “retirement.” Instead, congratulate the 64-year-old Alvarez on his “graduation.”

Bill Harkins Won’t Return as Florida State’s Head Coach
LaxPower
The Men’s Lacrosse Club at Florida State University announced Wednesday, May 8th that Head Coach Bill Harkins will not return as the Seminoles’ coach next season…

NWF State president seeking new position
The Northwest Florida Daily News
Northwest Florida State College President Ty Handy is a finalist for the presidency of a community college in Kentucky. Handy is one of three candidates named earlier this month by Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College to take over after the current president retires June 30.

Deputy accused shooting recieved free ride through police academy
WPTV
The Contact 5 Investigators have learned the name of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy accused of shooting and critically injuring Aldo Alvarez. He is 23-year-old Joshua McGehee. The deputy is 23 years old and was a 2011 graduate of the Palm Beach State College Police Academy…

10 high-profile commencement speakers – USA Today
USA TODAY
Last Thursday, former president Bill Clinton spoke to graduates of University of Central Florida‘s College of Health and Public Affairs and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, and on May 14, he is set to speak at Washington, D.C.’s Howard University…

SeaWorld Orlando brings Antarctica’s penguins to Florida
Pensacola News Journal
Duncan Dickson, who teaches theme-park management at the University of Central Florida, agrees. “All 10 of our major theme parks create a synergy in the region,” he says. “It is the reason we attracted 56 million visitors last year…

Digging deeper into the decline of African-Americans in major league baseball
NBCSports.com
The context of all of this was the annual report in which Richard Lapchick‘s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida releases numbers which purport to show the decline…

Consultant Releases Shelter Report
WCTV
Findings and recommendations in a major study about the operations and policies of The Shelter were released today by United Way of the Big Bend (UWBB) and the board of The Shelter. The study and report — commissioned by United Way and The Shelter — are the work of Dr. James Wright and Dr. Amy Donley, of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Social and Behavioral Science. The seasoned experts in the field of homelessness have conducted effective studies of this kind throughout Central Florida. They are the authors of Poor and Homeless in the Sunshine State: Down and Out in Theme Park Nation…

Student Maid expands classy cleaning model to Pensacola
Gainesville Sun
When Kristen Hadeed asked her parents four years ago for a $100 pair of Lucky brand jeans, they told her to get a job. Hadeed, then a 20-year-old UF junior, took their advice. She posted ads on Craigslist offering to clean houses and started an enterprise that now employs more than 300 college students during peak season. Hadeed’s company, Student Maid, has signed numerous commercial and residential contracts in Gainesville since 2009. She took another major step on May 1 when she expanded into Pensacola…

Do Gators fans fully appreciate Will Muschamp?
Orlando Sentinel
In another time and another place, Will Muschamp, the emotional, passionate head coach of the University of Florida, might have taken umbrage and become defensive. But not this Will Muschamp. On this night, Muschamp simply smiled confidently…

Photos, Video: Florida Cabinet, on the road again
Orlando Sentinel
University of Florida and UCF presidents, Bernie Machen and John Hitt, also attended for briefings on the progress of Orlando’s Medical City…

Olympic medalist Jennifer Rodriguez will get her UM diploma
MiamiHerald.com
From a distance, Jennifer Rodriguez will look much like the other 1,962 students graduating from the University of Miami on Friday. She’ll be wearing a cap and gown, and surely a big smile, as she crosses the stage at the BankUnited Center…

Exhibit highlights artwork by UM architecture professor
MiamiHerald.com
The exhibition goes through 30 years of drawings and paintings of Thomas Spain, professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Miami. “His drawings are just extraordinary. I think we’ve never exhibit anything quite like his drawings here …

USF student pedaling 3800 miles for veterans
Tbo.com
Forget sleeping late and hanging at the beach. Kiersten Downs has some serious travel plans over summer break. Recalling her own struggles in transitioning from military to academic life, the University of South Florida student is preparing to bicycle from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to raise money and awareness for student veterans…

Future bright for USF, coach tells Plant City audience
Tbo.com
Two top athletic officials at the University of South Florida say the outlook for the school has never been brighter. Head football coach Willie Taggart and senior associate athletic director Bill McGillis said USF excels on and off the field….

Did Marco Rubio flip-flop on setting Florida’s presidential primary date?
PolitiFact
To help us consider that question, we turned to Steven Tauber, a political science professor at the University of South Florida…

Releases and Web Stories

Ringling College Launches CONTXT Magazine in iPad, PDF and Print Editions
PR Web
Ringling College of Art and Design launched CONTXT Magazine as a media rich, no-cost iPad application, downloadable PDF file and glossy print publication…

New book on marijuana: ‘Not a benign drug’ and now more dangerous
DigitalJournal.com
Two addiction specialists from the University of Florida published a book on marijuana this week intended to help parents, and others, wade through the plethora of info on the drug. It is not a book that proponents of pot will be likely to endorse.

Harn explores creation, meaning, importance of portraits
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida will present a new exhibition later this month that explores the creation, meaning and importance of portraits.

Florida Higher Education Spectator

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Here’s what caught my eye over the weekend…5/20/13

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/17/13

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/16/13

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/15/13

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/14/13

Here’s what caught my eye over the weekend…5/13/13

Here’s what caught my eye today…5/10/13

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