Today:
The first meeting of Florida Polytech University Board of Trustees
9:00 am, Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport, 9300 Jeff Fuqua Blvd., Orlando, FL
State University System
FAMU’s Rx for Panhandle
Tallahassee Democrat
Officials at Florida A&M University will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate the university’s new Rural Diversity HealthCare Center in Crestview. The center, a 40,000-square-foot former shirt factory that had been vacant for more than 25 years, will be a satellite campus for FAMU’s Collge of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS) and a much-welcomed health-care educational facility for Okaloosa County. Twenty-seven students, almost all from western Panhandle counties, are enrolled and ready to start taking classes Aug. 27 when the fall semester gets under way. All have completed two years of pre-professional college courses and will begin the four-year pharmacy program.
Central Florida Gets Postseason Ban, $50000 Fine From NCAA
Businessweek
The University of Central Florida was banned from the football and men’s basketball postseason this year and is on probation through 2017 because it knowingly allowed third parties to recruit and make cash payments to athletes, college sports …
Brevard in hunt for new energy jobs
Florida Today
Jobs, new companies, national visibility, a new economic identity. That’s what could come to the Space Coast, according to economic development officials, with a successful Central Florida bid for a multi-million dollar federal effort to develop high-capacity batteries and energy storage technology. The University of Central Florida in Orlando and the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, with help from the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast and others, want to bring it to an unused building in Palm Bay…
NCAA bans Central Florida football, basketball from postseason
USA TODAY
The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions has banned the University of Central Florida from postseason play for one season in football and men’s basketball because of major rule violations in both sports…
New Parkinson center to open in Sarasota
Bradenton Herald
The Parkinson Research Foundation, a national nonprofit organization, in conjunction with the University of South Florida will open a new, first-of-its-kind center in Sarasota on Sept. 5.
State College System
Florida education commissioner resigns
ActionNewsJax.com
The Florida Department of Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson announced his resignation from the head of the state’s school system…
Florida Department of Education Commissioner submits letter of …
Broward Net Online
Florida Department of Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson submitted a letter of resignation today to Governor Rick Scott and State Board of Education Chair Kathleen Shanahan.
Florida’s chief for education resigning
Florida Times-Union
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is resigning from the job he’s held for a year, his time marked by glitches in the state’s school grading system and standardized testing…
Embattled education commissioner Gerard Robinson resigns
MiamiHerald.com
After a tumultuous year shepherding a series of high profile reforms to the state’s education system, Florida Department of Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson submitted a letter of resignation Tuesday, citing family reasons…
Gerald Robinson Out After One Year as Head of Florida Education
Sunshine State News
Gerard Robinson, who took over the state Department of Education last summer and would take some flak over a dramatic drop in school test grades, has submitted his resignation effective at the end of August…
Florida Education Chief Resigns
WFSU
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson is resigning just after a year on the job. Robinson’s abrupt departure comes as the department faces strong criticism over problems with the state’s school grading system and standardized testing program.
Flagler sheriff candidates tackle questions at forum
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Tuesday night’s forum was co-sponsored by Daytona State College and drew the largest audience.
New era starts at Edison State
The News-Press
Under ideal circumstances, Jeff Allbritten would be sipping from the water fountain. With a steady stream of people, reports and decisions coming at him, though, Edison State College’s new president has a different analogy for the amount of work on his …
Edison State College welcomes new president
Wink News
Edison State College welcomed its new president on Tuesday. The first order of business, taking on the accreditation issues that surfaced under former leadership.
High school students participate in IRSC forensic science project
TCPalm
Over the past five weeks, 27 students in the TRIO/Upward Bound Math and Science program at Indian River State College used Forensic Science and Chemistry to examine evidence discovered at several crime scenes and accidents.
Santa Fe College employees not paid as scheduled due to technical problem
Gainesville Sun
Santa Fe College employees awoke Tuesday to discover they had not been paid as scheduled because of a technical problem the college attributed to the …
Independent Colleges and Universities
Obama trip to Rollins rescheduled for Thursday
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
President Barack Obama has rescheduled his campaign rally at Rollins College for Thursday for Thursday afternoon. The rally was postponed from two weeks ago because of the theater shootings in Colorado.
Stetson readies living facilities before students return to DeLand
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Work crews at Stetson University are racing to beat the clock and complete renovations on Stetson Cove Apartments and Conrad Hall, two residential facilities, before students start arriving in a couple weeks. Stetson purchased the 44-unit …
UM’s Miami Project gets FDA approval for clinical paralysis trial
MiamiHerald.com
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis said Tuesday it has received federal approval to conduct “revolutionary” human trials to transplant a patient’s own Schwann cells, found mainly in the nervous system, to the site of recent spinal cord injuries in the hope that the trials may bring researchers closer to finding a cure for paralysis…
Regional cooperation seen as biggest legacy of RNC
Tampa Bay Business Journal (blog)
The RNC, Aug. 27-Aug. 30, offers local businesses, governments and civic groups an unprecedented opportunity to work together to promote the area nationally as a good place to do business, said panelists at the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s “The Economy Convention” event Monday afternoon at the University of Tampa.
For Profit and Career Colleges
For-Profit Colleges Called Into Question by Senate Report
Governing (blog)
An associate degree costs $6453 at Miami-Dade College, but its for-profit neighbor, Everest College, charges $46792…
For-Profit Colleges Cheat Students and Get Away With It
Miami New Times
After a two-year investigation, the Florida Office of the Attorney General recently agreed not to pursue charges against MedVance if the firm provided $600,000 in scholarships and free retraining to scores of students. Similar probes into other for-profit institutions of higher learning — Kaplan University, Everest Institute, the University of Phoenix, and Argosy University — are still open, with no sign of a resolution. If the MedVance settlement is a sign of what’s to come for those investigations, the state’s for-profit schools will get off with the deal of the century…One key to the business is student aid. To these schools, every American is worth around $117,000. That’s the total amount each person is eligible for in government financial aid. Under federal regulations, for-profit schools are required to collect 10 percent of all tuition in cash; the rest can be financial aid. The industry makes roughly $30 billion a year off American taxpayers under this arrangement.
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
Communication Conformity: University Controls News Boxes
The Ledger
The University of Florida, apparently for the sake of aesthetics and perhaps safety, has a new policy that all newspapers on campus must be displayed in uniform, black modular units that are owned by the university…
Flagler College president elected chairman of Independent Colleges …
Florida Times-Union
Flagler College president William T. Abare Jr. has been elected chairman of the Council of Presidents of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida….
Abare will chair Council of Presidents
Historic City News
The Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida have announced to Historic City News in St Augustine that Flagler College president William T. Abare, Jr., Ed.D., has been elected as the chairman of the organization’s Council of Presidents…
The conscience of her class
Tallahassee Democrat
Ciara Taylor did not set out to be the conscience of her class at Florida A&M University. Taylor credits – blames might be a better word – FAMU for inspiring her to speak out, igniting a firebrand who has become a visible figure in Tallahassee and across the state. It started about 18 months ago, when the university abruptly eliminated her major, Spanish, during a sweeping academic restructuring. Taylor led a group of students who spoke out at a town hall meeting on campus, and then addressed the university’s trustees before they approved the plan. “It’s been really personal for me. That’s how I got involved, and it just sort of snowballed from there,” said Taylor, 23, who switched her major to political science and will earn her bachelor’s degree Friday during FAMU’s summer commencement…
Decades-old mystery of buckyballs cracked
Phys.Org
The results from Florida State University and the National Science Foundation-supported National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, or MagLab, in Tallahassee, Fla., shed fundamental light on the self-assembly of carbon networks. The findings should have important implications for carbon nanotechnology and provide insight into the origin of space fullerenes, which are found throughout the universe…“The difficulty with fullerene formation is that the process is literally over in a flash — it’s next to impossible to see how the magic trick of their growth was performed,” said Paul Dunk, a doctoral student in chemistry and biochemistry at Florida State and lead author of the work…
Why we laugh even at silliest jokes
Times of India
Joyce Ehrlinger, a Florida State University assistant professor of psychology, maintains that because society trains us not to hurt others’ feelings, we rarely hear the truth about ourselves — even when it’s well deserved. Additionally, that can be a problem for overly self-confident people who carry around inaccurate, overly positive perceptions of how others view them. Three studies conducted by Ehrlinger and two Florida State graduate students — Adam J. Fay and Joanna Goplen — were modelled after awkward social situations in which one person argues for a political position that others find reprehensible. Three studies conducted by Ehrlinger and two Florida State graduate students — Adam J. Fay and Joanna Goplen — were modelled after awkward social situations in which one person argues for a political position that others find reprehensible…
Courts mull whether illegal immigrants can be licensed to practice law
Reuters
A 26-year-old Eagle Scout who has the backing of his former law professors at the Florida State University College of Law to enter the legal profession, Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio arrived in the United States at the age of nine, when his parents illegally carried him across the border from Mexico…”My graduation was bittersweet, since I was accomplishing something that made my family proud, but knew I wasn’t going to be a lawyer because of my status,” Vargas told Reuters…
Florida State 3L Allegedly Shoots Florida State 2L
Above the Law
A third-year student at the Florida State University College of Law was arrested and charged in a shooting over the weekend. An FSU 3L, Jeffrey Heller, allegedly shot another law student, a rising 2L, during an off-campus incident on Saturday morning…UPDATE (4:15 PM): We now have additional details from the arrest/probable cause affidavit (available in full on the next page). The alleged victim, Tyler Thomas, claims that he threw a cup of water on Jeffrey Heller, and then Heller shot him in the back…
Eight Tips on Starting a Business
Huffington Post
“Everything should start with a business plan,” says Rick Scott, assistant professor of finance at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Fla…
Manatee retailers hope to cash in on sales tax holiday
Bradenton Herald
But some experts believe the general economic benefits may be tamer, with consumers only adjusting when they buy, not necessarily what they buy. The holiday will at worst provide a break for parents of school children to help offset the rising cost of commodities like gas, said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida. ”Some people will buy merchandise that’s not for their kids, and if they wouldn’t have spent in the absence of the holiday, then there’s some stimulus effects,” Snaith said. “But if my kid needs glue sticks, he’s going to need them anyway.”
Gas prices rising, consumers looking to cut back
Palm Beach Post
University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said Tuesday, “I think the psychological impact is greater when we sort of break thresholds for the first time, such as the first time we went over $4 a gallon. We’ve seen it. Do we like $3.50? Probably not. I don’t think it has shock value.”
Worms: New weapon against citrus greening
Tbo.com
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a compound that is resistant to pests like diaprepes root weevils, by using microscopic worms that kill the insect by eating them. The new discovery could help the fight against citrus greening. The study was funded by the University of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The discovery is in its infancy and time will help develop the method, said professor Larry Duncan. But although it was a trial, the project had results. ”We noticed that we attracted natural enemies around the diaprepres, which will kill it,” he said in a phone interview…
‘Joggler’ Matthew Feldman, 19, Beats Guinness World Record To Support Japan …
Huffington Post
A student at the University of Florida spread both laughter and goodwill as he used his unconventional talent to break his third Guinness World Record and simultaneously support charity. According to FOX 12, Matthew Feldman, a 19-year-old engineering student, broke the Guinness World Record for completing the mile in the little known sport “joggling” on Friday…
Consumer confidence rebounds in Florida in July
Sun-Sentinel (blog)
Floridians defied some glum spirits elsewhere in the nation with their consumer confidence rebounding in July after plummeting a month earlier, according to a monthly University of Florida survey. Consumer confidence among Floridians increased in July by three points from the revised June figure to 76. That was nine points higher than this time last year, according to the poll. ”In July, consumers [in Florida] are feeling much better about their personal finances compared to June and their circumstances since the recession ended 2½ years ago,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Florida consumers feeling better about their own finances, if not the overall …
Tampabay.com
When it comes to regaining confidence in the economy, Floridians appear to be of two minds. They’re feeling better about their own finances but are still gloomy about where the national economy is headed in the next few years, according to a monthly survey released Tuesday by the University of Florida. Overall, consumer confidence among Floridians rose three points in July to 76, which is nine points higher than confidence levels a year ago, the UF survey found. Chris McCarty, survey director within the university’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said Floridians across all age groups were moderately upbeat…
University of Florida survey shows state consumers’ confidence increased by 3 …
The Republic
A University of Florida survey of 411 residents, which was released Tuesday, showed a 3 point gain in July to 76. That score is on a two-to-150 scale with 100 equaling consumer confidence in the benchmark year of 1966…Chris McCarty, director of the university’s Survey Research Center, said rising housing prices low and record-low mortgage rates have contributed to the overall optimism.
Discount retailers add stores
Jacksonville Daily Record
“When the economy is weak, people spend their money more frugally, so discount stores and stores that sell necessities do better,” said Paul Mason, University of North Florida Coggin College of Business economics professor…
University of North Florida graduates
Florida Times-Union
Listing of Summer Grads…
Deputies search for robber of New Port Richey BB&T bank
Tampabay.com
He had a beard and was last seen wearing a red, white and blue hat with “Budweiser” logo, a long-sleeve T-shirt with a University of South Florida Bulls logo, and sunglasses and a yellow vest…
Tenure and Harassment
Inside Higher Ed
As a feminist, I wouldn’t want to give a person a chance to engage in such behavior,” said Michelle Hughes Miller, an associate professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies at the University of South Florida…
Price of life-saving allergy injections has spiked
Chicago Tribune
Dr. Richard Lockey, the analysis’s senior author from the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, told Reuters Health that he and his colleagues decided to track the cost when some patients said they could not afford the autoinjectors…
GOP senators say federal budget cuts threaten MacDill
Tbo.com
Asked whether she considered it a political event, University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus said, “Anything in the middle of a presidential campaign is a political event.”
Dig delves into Ybor City’s past
Tbo.com
Recently, archaeologists working in conjunction with the University of South Florida conducted a dig at the park, unearthing historical items from four holes. ”We’re going to utilize it to learn more about Ybor City and the people who made it unique,” said Jeff Moates, an archeologist who works with USF and runs a regional center for the Florida Public Archaeology Network…
Polk Psychologists Offer Guide to Raising Emotionally Healthy Children
The Ledger
[Richard] Marshall, an associate professor of education at the University of South Florida-Lakeland, said it’s a mistake to simply characterize as “misbehavior” any actions that don’t conform to adult expectations…
Vilona column: An Olympic memory that never fades
Pensacola Business Journal
Twenty four years later, [Steve] Bultman, who earned his master’s degree from the University of West Florida, is back on the U.S. Olympic coaching staff…
UWF hires first swimming coach
Navarre Press
The University of West Florida announced today that it has hired Andrew Hancock to be the Argonauts’ first women’s swimming and diving coach. UWF will compete in the sport beginning in fall 2013…
Releases and Web Stories
FGCU Partners with Enterprise to Offer Car Sharing Services
DigitalJournal.com (press release)
Fort Myers, FL (PRWEB) July 31, 2012. Florida Gulf Coast University and Enterprise Rent-A-Car partner to offer car sharing services through WeCar by Enterprise. Available to students, faculty and staff, WeCar by Enterprise is a membership-based …
Florida’s ‘Online U’ Could Be Nations First Online Public University
College Classes
There are currently discussions underway concerning a new online university based in Florida that might be opened to the public, under the name “Online U”, and if all goes well, this institution will be added to the 12 universities that have already been established in the area.
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Stetson University College of Law …
DigitalJournal.com (press release)
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and Stetson University College of Law proudly announce the release of a new video that will help attorneys who specialize in Elder and Special Needs Law better serve consumers in planning for the …
McGraw-Hill Tegrity Campus Builds on Record Academic Year with New and …
MarketWatch (press release)
Thanks to new agreements, McGraw-Hill Tegrity Campus will be available campus-wide at Eastern Kentucky University, Lipscomb University and the University of Central Florida.
