The Senate Appropriations Committee meets 9:00am —12:00 noon today in 412 Knott as it prepares to release its proposed budget bill later in the week. The meeting notice can be found here.
The House Higher Ed and Workforce Subcommittee, originally scheduled to meet 8:00am – 10:00am in 102 HOB, is now not meeting.
Florida Higher Ed Legislative News:
House education budget pumps up spending, tuition
Palm Beach Post
The Florida House would increase school spending by $395 per-pupil next year while also allowing Florida colleges and universities to boost tuition by 6 percent, under an education budget released Wednesday. Education Budget chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said the spending plan is also likely to include $2,500 teacher pay raises — a priority of Gov. Rick Scott. Details are still being worked out.
Gov. Scott Opposes University Tuition Hikes
Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott said he will oppose any college tuition increase now being contemplated by the Florida Legislature. House budget chief Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, has pushed for a 6 percent tuition increase at the state’s universities and colleges and others have discussed increases as high as 15 percent. But the governor basically said “no” during a meeting with The Ledger on Wednesday.
Also:
The Florida Board of Governors will meet today for the second day at FAMU.
Speaker Weatherford will provide brief remarks at the meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Student Union.
The BOG will consider a series of issues, including a report on the progress of the new Florida Polytechnic University. The update will deal with meeting “benchmarks” about issues such as accreditation, academic programming, staffing, student enrollment and facilities.
State University System
Still no decision on FAMU band reinstatement
AP
The famed marching band of Florida A&M University may miss another year on the football field, continuing its indefinite suspension after a drum major died in a hazing ritual. FAMU interim president Larry Robinson said Wednesday there is still no timeline on when The Marching 100 will return. The band has been suspended since November 2011, soon after Robert Champion died.
Accreditation is FAMU’s priority
Tallahassee Democrat
Frank Brogan and Larry Robinson appear to be in complete agreement: the No. 1 priority for Florida A&M University is to successfully come off probation this December when its accrediting agency issues its next ruling. Brogan, chancellor of the State University System, updated members of the Board of Governors on FAMU’s corrective action plan during Wednesday’s BOG Audit and Compliance Committee meeting, but that plan isn’t the most pressing issue for the university…
FAMU updates state on accreditation issues, no timetable on Marching 100 return
Tampa Bay Times
The panel overseeing Florida’s state universities said it is pleased with the way Florida A&M University is working to correct its issues. FAMU provided the Board of Governors an update on its corrective action plan and its most pressing concern: being removed from accreditation probation…
FAMU Board of Trustees Meeting
WCTV
Accreditation issues, the organization audit, and a corrective action plan. All three are things that The Florida Board of Governors says FAMU needs to address. This afternoon, university administrators did just that. Members of the Board of Governors commended FAMU‘s Interim president for being forthcoming and helpful throughout the turnaround process. Today, Dr. Larry Robinson got the opportunity to publicly tell the board just how hard the university has been working…
He Didn’t Say ‘Stomp on Jesus’
Inside Higher Ed
Florida politicians and conservative pundits have been expressing outrage for the last week about an exercise in which students in a course on intercultural communications at Florida Atlantic University were allegedly told to “stomp on Jesus” (in the form of a paper with “Jesus” written on it).
FAU Technology Business Incubator expands again
South Florida Business Journal
The expansion is the second in 10 months for the incubator that serves as a resource center and office for entrepreneurs from FAU and the South Florida community, according to a news release.
How The City Of Fort Myers Is Exploiting Florida Gulf Coast’s NCAA Tournament Success
Forbes
There is currently an unprecedented amount of attention being paid to the city of Fort Myers, Florida after Florida Gulf Coast University (based in Fort Myers), a school with a basketball program that has less than two full years of Division I status, knocked off Georgetown and San Diego State University to become the first ever No. 15 seed to make the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. The city is also home to two professional baseball teams (the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox) during Major League Baseball’s Spring Training, but never receives the national attention that it has experienced over the past few days…
Florida Gulf Coast University’s success transforms Fort Myers into ‘Dunk City’
MiamiHerald.com
What’s happening at Florida Gulf Coast and in Fort Myers is the type of marketing and branding boom that schools with relatively upstart sports programs (like Florida International University and Florida Atlantic) have been chasing for years…
Florida Gulf Coast University rides the wave to national prominence
SI.com
…According to figures released by the school, FGCU.edu had 230,985 unique visitors on Monday. Meanwhile, FGCUAthletics.com had 117,113 unique visitors on Monday. A month earlier, those totals were 49,143 and 3,856. Meanwhile, the student bookstore saw a year-over-year increase of $28,550 (521 percent) in women’s apparel sales and $100,246 (686 percent) increase in men’s apparel sales for the period of March 1-25…
Polytechnic will fight to remain a standalone university
Tampa Bay Times
The state’s newest university is having to convince lawmakers that it deserves to remain that way. House Speaker Will Weatherford continues to suggest that Florida Polytechnic University may be better off as a branch of another school instead of the state’s 12th public university. Lawmakers who control education funding have questioned whether Polytechnic needs the $27 million it is slated to receive this year. The school’s interim leader would like to respectfully disagree. The school was given its independence last year, and the Polytechnic Board of Trustees is working toward that, said Ava Parker, the interim chief operating officer…
Price tag for improving the Civic Center could top $100 million
Tallahassee Democrat
Officials at Florida State University may be dealing with a classic case of sticker shock today after learning what it might cost to make major improvements to the Civic Center. While no numbers are concrete, FSU is looking at about $40 million to make basic upgrades at the 31-year-old arena. FSU is in the process of assuming ownership of the Civic Center from the city and county; the Legislature is scheduled to take up the issue on April 1…
USF scientists see opportunity gushing from water treatment
TBO.com
When a beach, food product or water source is contaminated, it can take days to discover and resolve the issue. A device developed at the University of South Florida can cut that time to hours.
Manatee calf suffering from cold stress rescued near USF St. Petersburg
Tampabay.com
A manatee calf apparently suffering from cold stress was rescued by state biologists Wednesday when it surfaced in Bayboro Harbor by the University of South Florida St.Petersburg campus.
State College System
NJCAA champion CF hoops team returning
Ocala
On Monday evening, nearly 100 fans and supporters gathered in front of the gymnasium at the College of Central Florida in Ocala to greet the team after their nearly 1,400-mile trip.
Independent Colleges and Universities
Behind Rollins College Chief’s Battle, a Broader Liberal-Arts Debate
Chronicle of Higher Ed
Just days before his long-simmering conflict with professors came to a head last week at Rollins College, its president, Lewis M. Duncan, gave a sobering speech about the future of higher education. Speaking at a March 15 faculty meeting, Mr. Duncan appeared to cast online learning as a viable replacement for traditional liberal-arts institutions like Rollins, which serves about 3,200 students in Winter Park, Fla. Over the course of 49 PowerPoint slides, Mr. Duncan cited dozens of news articles and opinion pieces about the need to radically disrupt the higher-education business model and about the promise of massive open online courses, or MOOCs.
Miami Hurricanes claim more unethical behavior by NCAA
Miami Herald
The NCAA investigator who took over the University of Miami case last May attempted, as her fired predecessor did, to use Nevin Shapiro’s attorney to help build a case against Miami — a detail curiously omitted from the NCAA-commissioned report detailing the NCAA’s improper handling of the case, according to an email exchange between the parties relayed to The Miami Herald…
For-Profit and Career Colleges
Full Sail study explores the value and hidden weights of Metacritic
Polygon
For as much rage as is often directed at it, much of the process behind Metacritic, the popular game review score aggregation site, remains frustratingly opaque. A group of researchers at Full Sail University sought to shed some light on the service …
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
College affordability a big struggle
Miami Herald
…Eleven have cut their financial support per student by more than a third, it found, while states such as Florida, Idaho, South Carolina and Washington have slashed even deeper, cutting back college support by nearly 40 percent or more.Meanwhile, annual tuition at four-year-public colleges increased by an average of $1,850 — 27 percent — from 2008 to 2013, adjusting for inflation.In Florida, tuition costs double what it did a decade ago, hovering around $6,000 per year. Gov. Rick Scott has called for a freeze on state college and university tuition while restoring $118 million of a controversial $300 million cut to universities made last year…
Our View: Jackson spurs progress with ‘walk-around’ style
Daytona beach News-Journal
When Edison Jackson came out of retirement and stepped in last May as interim president of Bethune-Cookman University, he described himself as a “walk-around president” who would get out of his office, mingle with students and faculty and get involved in the community.
Editorial: ‘Step on Jesus’ response just the latest bungling by FAU
Palm Beach Post
The uproar over the “step on Jesus” incident at Florida Atlantic University is as much about the administration’s botched handling of the incident as it is about the controversial classroom lesson. Had FAU dealt properly with Ryan Rotela, Gov. Scott wouldn’t be sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. The governor has asked Frank Brogan, chancellor of the state university system and a former FAU president, for a report on “how (the incident) was handled and a statement of the university’s policies to ensure this type of ‘lesson’ will not occur again.” Mr. Brogan or FAU’s trustees might demand such a report. Gov. Scott has no direct authority over FAU’s “policies.” Such posturing aside, FAU continues to make its own bad news…
More missteps at FAU
Sun-Sentinel
If you’ve ever been in the middle of a group of protesters, surrounded in your car, you can understand how FAU President Mary Jane Saunders might have suddenly accelerated, reportedly hitting a student with the passenger-side mirror before fleeing down …
Editorial: Avoid sequel to Digital Domain and the $20 million
Palm Beach Post
…Without that state money, Port St. Lucie would not have invested $40 million in cash and land on a Digital Domain animation studio. Without that state money, West Palm Beach would not have invested $12 million in cash and land on a Florida State University film school designed to complement Digital Domain. The company went bust last year. Port St. Lucie is out the $40 million. West Palm Beach is out the $2 million but got back the $10 million property that was to have been Digital Domain’s headquarters…
An ‘ailing’ part of Manatee
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Outside planning experts have challenged the Manatee County commissioners, their staff and the public to simultaneously hold a mirror up to their communities and gaze into a crystal ball. In a report delivered Tuesday, an advisory panel from the Urban Land Institute presented its members’ observations of the county and recommendations for development and redevelopment…The panel pointed to the presence of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, the University of South-Florida Sarasota/Manatee and State College of Florida in the southwest submarket. ULI also noted the proximity of the Ringling Museum of Art, New College of Florida and the Asolo theater complex, all nearby in Sarasota County…
Ensley: Don’t starve our state universities
Tallahassee Democrat
…Tallahassee is rebounding out of the recession with a slew of new commercial buildings, restaurants and retail stores — many of which owe their creation to the 60,000-plus college students in Tallahassee. And who cares if they’re spending Mom and Dad’s money? They’re spending money…
Clary: ‘Jesus’ Incident: The Students at FAU Are the Losers
Florida Voices
…In the end, it is the students of FAU who are the losers. Gone is an important lesson on culture. A faculty member’s future hangs in the balance. Discussions on the constitutionality of the school’s “speech code” have been buried. And they have been used in a political game of chess where no one wins.
Mayo: How low can FAU go? A satirical look ahead
Sun-Sentinel
The stomp on Jesus controversy. The Owlcatraz stadium/GEO Group sponsorship controversy. The Sandy Hook massacre-doubting-professor controversy. Think things can’t get any worse at Florida Atlantic University? Here’s how: An exclusive sneak peek at President Mary Jane Saunders’ (imaginary) calendar for, yes, April 1.
Gabordi: Gulf Coast coach has earned his “luck”: Go Eagles
Tallahassee Democrat
Like many – maybe most – of you, I’m all caught up in that mania that is Florida Gulf Coast University basketball these days. After all, its head coach, Andy Enfield, is one of ours. Corey Clark, writing for Tallahassee.com and Nolesports.com, tells a fascinating and well-written story about the Eagles’ coaching connections to Florida State. Credit Leonard Hamilton – again – for seeing talent and believing in it before anyone else.
Governor Rick Scott Appoints Elizabeth Fago Smith to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees
Capital Soup
Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the appointment of Elizabeth Fago Smith to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees. Fago Smith, 62, of Palm Beach Gardens, is founder of Palm Health Partners & NuVista Living. She was recognized as the “Top Woman-led Business Leader in Florida” in 2007 and 2008 by Florida International University. Fago Smith’s company was ranked 53rd among Florida’s top 200 private companies by Florida Trend in 2008. She was a member of the Harvard Medical School Systems Biology Board, Florida Council of 100, Director of Scripps Florida Funding Corporation, and the Florida Medical Association. Fago Smith received her master’s degree from Harvard Business School. She succeeds Sheridan Plymale and is appointed for a term beginning March 27, 2013, and ending January 6, 2018…
FGCU: Bradshaw brings university to top of its game in academics, athletics
Naples Daily News
Ed Morton recalls the day he made the motion to hire Wilson Bradshaw as Florida Gulf Coast University’s president. Morton, then a university trustee, said it was Bradshaw’s humor that really stood out. He quickly recognized Bradshaw’s ability to connect with people through what he describes as a “wicked sense of humor.”
Florida Gulf Coast’s first student reflects on hoops progress
USA TODAY
The first student in the door at Florida Gulf Coast University has never seen the basketball team play a game, not even on television. She will Friday. “I didn’t even know this was going on until my mother and sister called,” Mariana Coto James said …
A Cinderella Story: The Florida Gulf Coast Coach and His Bikini-Model Wife
Slate Magazine (blog)
Florida Gulf Coast University is living the dream this March—an unknown school marauding through the NCAA tournament, one tomahawk dunk at a time. And FGCU coach Andy Enfield is living another, allegedly just-as-unlikely dream: He’s married to a model…
Miami veterans group head convicted of looting taxpayer money
MiamiHerald.com
The former CEO of a Liberty City veterans assistance group has been convicted of stealing taxpayer grant money. Charles Leon Cutler, 60, convicted at trial last week on two counts of grand theft, will be sentenced July 19. He faces up to 10 years in prison…The CRA later moved the contract to Miami Dade College, where today the program is thriving, helping inner-city residents train and get jobs in the hospitality industry. Cutler was supposed to return what was left of the grant. Instead, he wrote $4,000 in checks from the grant account, and more than $2,000 to friends and family. He disguised the payouts as project expenses, prosecutors said.
Jackson Company Line: New College of Florida names Shannon Duvall as vice president for advancement…
The Jackson Citizen Patriot – MLive.com
New College of Florida, the state’s honors college for arts and sciences, has selected Shannon Duvall as its new vice president for advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation. Duvall is associate vice president for development at Albion College. At New College, she will be responsible for all aspects of the College’s fund-raising program, including major and planned giving, the annual fund and the New College Promise, the ongoing capital campaign. Duvall was chosen after a national search for her experience in securing large gifts, developing and managing giving programs, and generating a strong return on investment in fund raising…
BioCurity Inc. wins $25000 award from Rollins College
Orlando Business Journal
Cari Coats, executive director and adjunct faculty member at the Rollins College Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship, said the goal of the competition is to find commercially viable companies…
Former TCC student sentenced to 13 years in deadly DUI crash
Tallahassee Democrat
After a day of emotional impact statements, a former Tallahassee Community College student was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the drunk driving death of a Florida State University student. Jordan Scott Griffith, 22, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Frank Sheffield on manslaughter charges relating to the 2011 crash that killed Brooks Rogers on Oct. 30, 2011.
Pictures: Seth Meyers
Central Florida Future
Saturday Night Live star and Weekend Update correspondent Seth Meyers headlined a comedy show at the UCF Arena for UCF CAB.
Todd Stansbury issues statement on conference situation
Central Florida Future
UCF Athletics released a statement from athletic director Todd Stansbury regarding the school’s conference alignment. “Among the most recent news are the official announcements of television deals with ESPN and CBS,” Stansbury said in the email.
Road to ‘Drunkorexia’
The Atlantic
Adam Barry, a professor of health education and behavior at the University of Florida, has compiled the most comprehensive research to-date on drunkorexia, published last spring in the Journal of American College Health. Barry examined 22,000 college students across 40 universities and found that, even after controlling for race, school year, Greek affiliation and whether a student lived on campus (the authors did not control for whether a respondent played on a sports team), vigorous exercise, and disordered eating uniquely predicted binge drinking. In fact, those who exercised or dieted to lose weight were over 20 percent more likely to have five or more drinks in a single sitting. Students who had vomited or used laxatives in the previous month to shed pounds were 76 percent more likely to binge drink.
USA TODAY CEO Forum to be held in Coral Gables on April 10
Miami Herald
The University of Miami’s School of Communication and USA TODAY said they will present the USA TODAY CEO Forum from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10. The forum will feature Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision, who will be interviewed by USA TODAY’s Technology & Digital Entertainment reporter, Mike Snider.
Work under way to digitize 1500s Fla. records
Ocala
They’re the earliest written documents from any region of the United States, according to J. Michael Francis, a history professor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
Releases and Web Stories
Gulf Coast State College hosts Open House
WJHG-TV
Offering the lowest tuition in the area, Gulf Coast State College puts everyone’s future within reach. The event is free and open to the public.
Nova Southeastern University Earns Place on President’s National Honor Roll …
International Business Times (press release)
FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Nova Southeastern University(NSU) was named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
Admissions 101 Workshop April 5
Santa Fe College
The Santa Fe College Office of Admissions is holding an Admissions 101 Workshop from 8:30 a.m.-noon Friday, April 5, in S-29/30.
Stetson hosts symposium on Putin’s Russia
Stetson University Today
The internet age presents serious challenges to authoritarian governments by democratizing political discourse. Citizens now have the means to speak directly to each other without the filter of the official media. To explore the impact of the new media on Russian public life, the Russian Studies Program at Stetson University will host a symposium, #Politics: The Social Media Revolution in Putin’s Russia on Wednesday, April 3, at 4 p.m. in the Rinker Auditorium of the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
New bone survey method could aid long-term survival of Arctic caribou
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A study co-authored by a University of Florida scientist adds critical new data for understanding caribou calving grounds in an area under consideration for oil exploration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Hough Graduate School event to match students, alumni with local employers
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Graduate Business Career Services office at the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida will host the first-ever “Stay in the Swamp” Career Fair from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Hough Hall, Room 150.
Parkinson’s book geared toward helping families across the globe
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida neurologist Dr. Michael Okun has answered more than 20,000 questions from patients with Parkinson’s disease, typically not about cures or the latest treatments, but about something much simpler — how to live well with the disease. Now Okun has written a book that he hopes will help patients everywhere.
UF survey: Florida consumers more optimistic than other Americans
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s consumer confidence rose in March, gaining three points from the revised February reading of 73, according to a monthly University of Florida survey.
National Academy of Inventors and NCET2 collaborate to promote invention and entrepreneurship
News – USF Research & Innovation
Two of the leading organizations in the United States dedicated to promoting academic innovation and entrepreneurship—the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2)—have committed to an ongoing collaborative relationship, designed to further their organizations’ missions, by recently signing a memorandum of understanding…
University of South Florida faculty honored at AAAS Fellows luncheon
News – USF Research & Innovation
TAMPA, Fla. (Mar. 26, 2013)—The University of South Florida faculty members who hold the distinction of being elected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently held their third annual luncheon, hosted by USF Research & Innovation in celebration of their accomplishments. USF has 36 AAAS Fellows, 15 of whom were elected to Fellow status in 2012.
Jazz Trombonist John Allred to Perform at Free Valencia Concert
Valencia News
Jazz trombonist John Allred, who has played with such jazz greats as Harry Connick Jr., Wycliffe Gordon and Woody Herman, will perform in a free concert at Valencia College’s Performing Arts Center on April 3 at 7:30 p.m.
