State University System
Protesters targeting GEO Group shareholders meeting at Breakers …
Palm Beach Post
The GEO Group, which is based in Boca Raton and manages prisons across the country, is no longer going to hang its name on Florida Atlantic University’s football stadium, but it continues to be the target of protesters…
FAU President Mary Saunders refuses to comment on ‘Jesus’ professor’s contract
WPEC
Today is the deadline for a new contract for the Florida Atlantic University professor whose class assignment sparked a national controversy. In an assignment used for years in his and other classrooms, he told students to write “Jesus” on a piece of paper and then step on it — all as a learning exercise. A student objected and the professor says the student’s reaction caused him to feel threatened and he filed a complaint with university police, which the school dropped. The university ultimately removed the student from the class roster…
FAU dodging tough questions, faces possible PR fallout
WPEC
Florida Atlantic University‘s leaders are dodging tough questions and the national media is taking notice. It’s no secret FAU’s reputation has taken serious hits over the past few months, and now sources tell CBS12 News that some are questioning whether the university president should be replaced.
Recruiting Students While Keeping High Admissions Standards Is Focus for Florida Poly
The Ledger
Despite a controversial beginning and some setbacks, Florida Polytechnic University leaders checked off a number of accomplishments from their list at Tuesday’s board meeting. The school has nearly 20 employees, a master plan, a budget and a recruitment plan…
Garmor Inc. gets $300000 seed funding to grow firm
Orlando Business Journal
Garmor Inc., an Orlando company founded through sponsored research at the University of Central Florida, received $300,000 from the Institute for Commercialization of Public Research…
University Of Florida Installs The State’s Fastest Supercomputer
Forbes
The University of Florida announced today that it has installed a new supercomputer that’s capable of processing at a speed of 157 TeraFLOPS, making it the fastest supercomputer in the state of Florida, and among the top 200 supercomputers in the world.
photo credit: University of Florida
University of Florida introduces supercomputer
Orlando Sentinel
The University of Florida today unveiled what officials are calling the state’s most advanced supercomputer — a machine that can do as many as 150 trillion calculations per second. University officials said the Dell machine, called the HiPerGator …
University of Florida is first university to fully connect to Internet2 Innovation Platform’s three components
Phys.Org
The University of Florida is the first university to fully connect to the Internet2 Innovation Platform’s three components, an achievement that will transform research at UF and provide a national model for research computing. The move will allow UF researchers to easily share enormous amounts of data at ultrahigh speeds in collaborations with scientists worldwide…
Ajax to manage $6M student amenity construction at UNF
Business Journal
Ajax Building Corp. will be the construction manager on a $6 million student amenity project at the University of North Florida.
State College System
In rough economy, 2-year degrees soaring in popularity
Bay News 9
Cost often plays a big role when it comes to getting a college education. Studies show that more and more students are choosing to get two-year degrees instead of the traditional four-year degrees…
Buehler Planetarium: Have a Cosmic Night Out in Broward
New Times Broward-Palm Beach
Space may be the final frontier, but when brought to you by the impassioned astro-geeks at the Buehler Planetarium, located at Broward College’s Central Campus in Davie, it’s also the best-keep secret in Broward County…
School District Begins the Cuts Past the Bone, Into Cherished …
FlaglerLive.com
For the Flagler district, that translates to a new, $180000 bill to account for students enrolling at Daytona State College…
Local High School Makes Newsweek’s “Best” List
WBFS
Eleventh and 12th graders at SAS complete their last two years of high school while attending Miami-Dade College (MDC), many of them graduate with a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree from MDC…
Four Public Colleges Will Cut Adjunct Faculty Hours To Avoid Providing Health Coverage
ThinkProgress
Four public colleges and universities — Florida’s Palm Beach State College, Pennsylvania’s Community College of Allegheny County, Ohio’s Youngstown State University, and New Jersey’s Kean University — are planning to move adjunct and “contingent” faculty members to part-time status in order to avoid an Obamacare provision requiring businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health coverage for at least 95 percent of their workers…
State funds to boost Pasco education programs
Suncoast News
…$6.9 million for Pasco Hernando Community College for construction of the new campus in Wesley Chapel…
Independent Colleges and Universities
JU Health Science Center plans filed – Jacksonville Daily Record
Jacksonville Daily Record
Engineering firm Prosser Hallock filed plans with the City and with the St. Johns River Water Management District for the Jacksonville University Health Science Center, described as a two-story, 29,800-square-foot building on the JU campus…
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the Web
Johnston: Man of steel born in welding class
Florida Today
Last week, we followed me as I attended a welding class at Brevard Community College. As I said then and want to repeat today, it is a phenomenal class. The students and instructors were as skilled and professional as any I have ever encountered…
Our Opinion: A hand up
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
The district also will provide field trips for juniors and seniors to visit Florida State and Florida A&M universities and Tallahassee Community College, as well as purchasing laptops computers for homeless students who have been accepted to college…
Letters: James Tracy just latest controversy to show problems at FAU
Palm Beach Post
Regarding “Prof doubts Boston events,” I cannot fathom how bad Florida Atlantic University has become in the last year. The school has no leadership, or a good social standing. It is plagued by professors who are radical (“step on Jesus”), a president and board members who will not believe that a donation by The GEO Group is tainted and by the professor/blogger who is loco…EDWARD BOWERS – Palm Beach Gardens
Thumbs up, thumbs down: Judging Brevard’s winners and losers in the news
Florida Today
Thumbs up: To the Florida Institute of Technology football program for landing a starring role on TV. The Panthers’ inaugural Gulf South Conference game — against West Alabama at home at Palm Bay High School — will appear on the CBS Sports Network…
Editorial: Scott should approve $6.5 million for Palm Beach State College
Palm Beach Post
Two years ago, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $7.3 million that legislators had approved for Palm Beach State College’s fifth campus, claiming that he didn’t want to increase state debt. This year, there’s a budget surplus, and the self-proclaimed “education governor” has no excuse to deny PBSC the $6.5 million the Legislature included for the Loxahatchee Groves campus in the record $74.5 billion budget…
Editorial: Pensacola’s ‘huge win’
Pensacola News Journal
Grover Robinson, lV, right, talks about possible distribution of Restore Act funds between Escambia County and the City of Pensacola during a meeting with Sen Bill Nelson at Pensacola State College Monday morning…
Graduation Begins Today — Online
Huffington Post
Many adult learners enrolling online for the first time may be somewhat apprehensive about online education. After all, their only experience of learning has been in traditional, face-to-face settings. Other adult learners expect it to be fun, fast, and friendly. This certainly is the message of the enticements from television, websites, print media, and the salespeople in response to inquiries. However, students soon find that success in the online environment requires significant energy, personal discipline, and sacrifices that test patience, willpower, physical stamina, and even domestic tranquility. As withdrawing students often explain to their academic advisers, “Life got in the way.”…Arthur F. Kirk - President, Saint Leo University
Nickinson: The price of growth for UWF
Pensacola News Journal
Such introductions seem to be in order at the University of West Florida, especially in the area of admissions. Who would have thought that the residency requirement to receive a Pensacola Pledge scholarship would be such a tough row to hoe?
FAMU names Sylvester Young as new marching band director
Orlando Sentinel
Sylvester Young, a former music professor at Ohio University, has been selected as FAMU’s new marching band director…
Sylvester Young Named New FAMU Band Director [SLIDE SHOW]
WCTV
FAMU hires compliance officer for music department
WPEC
Florida A&M University is hiring a compliance officer for its music department. The university announced Monday that Deirdre McRoy will start her new job on May 13. She was a research associate in the university’s retention office. It will be McRoy’s job to make sure students in the music department follow the rules. FAMU put in strict new requirements amid the fallout over the hazing-related death of drum major Robert Champion.
Commissioner Frank Mann calls Hertz relocation defining moment in Lee County history
The News-Press
[Frank] Mann said Hertz adds to Lee’s economic lineup that includes spring training facilities for the Minnesota Twins’ and Boston Red Sox’s spring and Florida Gulf Coast University…
Miami Student Holly Jacobs Fights Revenge Porn
Miami New Times
Holly Jacobs‘ nightmare began in 2009. That’s when naked photos of the Florida International University PhD student first popped up online. They soon went viral, appearing on hundreds of so-called revenge porn sites along with her name, phone number, and email address. Photos and videos were even sent to her bosses. After futilely battling for four and a half years to remove them, Jacobs is now coming out of the shadows. She’s sued her ex-boyfriend and several sites and created her own advocacy page —endrevengeporn.com — to lobby Florida lawmakers. Bills to enact tougher penalties for revenge porn failed in Tallahassee this year, but Jacobs says her fight will continue…
Israeli climber visits, receives award
Sun-Sentinel
Ben-Yehuda recently visited Miami where he shared his Mount Everest experience at Temple Menorah in Miami Beach and received Florida International University‘s Medallion of Courage during a graduation ceremony.
Frank Bradley Named Head Coach of Florida State University Swimming Teams
SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
FLORIDA State Director of Athletic Randy Spetman announced Wednesday the hiring of Frank Bradley as the head coach for men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs at FSU.
Bondi enlists businesses to help fight sex trafficking in Florida
MiamiHerald.com (blog)
Terry Coonan, executive director of the Florida State University’s Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, said a study done in 2010 discovered that “human trafficking has permeated a great many of our businesses in agriculture, in our resorts and in our entertainment industry.”
Astronaut David Scott urges Jacksonville University graduates to ‘see the world’…
Jacksonville Daily Record
On Saturday, the seventh U.S. astronaut to walk on the moon, retired U.S. Air Force Col. David R. Scott, stepped to the podium at First Baptist Church Jacksonville Downtown to receive an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree at the Jacksonville University commencement. ”I would like to especially congratulate the graduates for achieving a major summit in their life,” Scott told the graduates and guests, who gathered in the church auditorium because the outdoor ceremony at the Arlington campus was rained out. JU said 830 degrees were awarded at spring commencement.
Lavendar Graduation celebrates Rollins students
Watermark Online
Cornell Fine Arts Museum Curator Jonathan F. Walz remembers the pain of being an undergraduate college student unable to live as an openly gay man. He wanted LGBT students at Rollins College, where the museum is located, to celebrate their identities. So, he planned the first Lavender Graduation two years ago. Gay-friendly colleges all over the country celebrate the accomplishments of graduating seniors with this ceremony. More than a dozen nervous seniors gathered at the Winter Park Plaza Wednesday night to don rope tassels, weaved with gold and rainbow-colored thread, for this year’s Lavender Graduation. “When I came here I saw this as a way to give positive support to the students in a way I hadn’t experienced,” Walz said. “Our students have so much to be proud of.”
Trash Talkin’
Santa Fe Reporter
For many, digging through a dumpster for groceries doesn’t sound too appetizing. But for two Santa Fe college students, dumpster-diving has become a routine adventure. What keeps them in your trash week after week? Trying to live on a college budget along with distaste for the way our society wastes food. Both students agreed to discuss local dumpster-diving anonymously, so as to avoid possible repercussions from their occasional trespasses…
Orlando is testing ground for restaurants’ new ideas
Buffalo News
“Orlando gives you the geographic diversity; people from all over the country go here,” said H.G. Parsa, a former University of Central Florida restaurant professor now on the faculty of the University of Denver’s business school…
Synthetic-drug investigation into UCF student leads to another arrest
Orlando Sentinel
An additional arrest has been made in a federal synthetic-drug investigation that involves a University of Central Florida student, court records show. Nathan Mayell, 25, of Delray Beach was arrested Friday when he traveled to Seminole County where he planned to buy methylone — a synthetic drug known commonly as “Molly” that is used to make bath salts — from an undercover agent, according to a criminal complaint. Mayell‘s arrest is linked to the DEA case filed last month against Sebastien Salzmann, a UCF biology student who once played for the university’s tennis team…
Wuerffel named to College Football Hall of Fame
The Northwest Florida Daily News
Former Fort Walton Beach quarterback Danny Wuerffel, a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida, was named to the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Former Nevin Shapiro executive backs up jailed booster’s allegations about …
MiamiHerald.com
The chief financial officer for rogue University of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro’s investment business has backed up his former boss’ claims that he threw parties on his yacht for UM football stars
Mosquito season could be a bad one, expert warns
CTV News
“This thing’s like a pterodactyl in the mosquito world,” Debbie Cassyl, a biologist at the University of South Florida, told ABC News.
Destin weighmaster awarded medal by UWF president
WEAR
A man familiar to many saltwater anglers got an award from the University of West Florida on Saturday. UWF President, Dr. Judy Bense, gave Bruce Cheves the Presidential Medal of Honor. Cheves is the weighmaster for the Destin Fishing Rodeo. The award recognizes his vast knowledge of marine life, and the history and folklore of fishing, and his efforts to teach people about the sport and the environment.
Releases and Web Stories
A new book by Chronicle of Higher Ed editor praises Lynn’s core curriculum
Lynn University
Lynn University’s “novel curriculum” is discussed in the new book “College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for College Students” by Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large at The Chronicle of Higher Education—officially published yesterday and available on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. According to the official overview, “What is the value of a college degree? The four-year college experience is as American as apple pie. So is the belief that education offers a ticket to a better life. But with student-loan debt surpassing the $1 trillion mark and unemployment on the rise, people are beginning to question that value. Is a college diploma still worth pursuing at any price?”
Miami to Launch Taxation of Cross-Border Investment LL.M. Program
LLM GUIDE
The University of Miami School of Law has announced it is launching a new LL.M. program in the Taxation of Cross-Border Investment. The 28-unit program can be taken on a full- or part-time basis.
$ 1 Million Caplow Children’s Prize Partners With University of Miami’s Department of Pediatrics
Fort Mills Times
The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has joined the Caplow Children’s Prize in their effort to save the lives of children around the world.
University of Miami Researchers Develop Model to Predict and Reduce Sudden Cardiac Deaths
Wall Street Journal (press release)
A multidisciplinary team of University of Miami researchers has developed a novel prediction model for sudden cardiac death that has the potential to substantially reduce the number of people who abruptly lose consciousness and die shortly after experiencing acute symptoms of cardiovascular disease…
