State University System
FAMU close to naming new Marching 100 leader
Tallahassee.com
There’s no timetable for reinstating FAMU‘s famed Marching 100, but university officials are in the process of hiring a new band director. The search committee charged with recommending a band director to Interim President Larry Robinson is meeting with the last of four finalists today.
Final Interviews Underway for FAMU Director of Bands
WCTV
The associate band director for FAMU admits to administrators what he could have done differently to stop hazing within the Marching 100. Dr. Shelby Chipman is one of the final candidates to fill the director of bands position.
FAU president didn’t visit Port St. Lucie campus for more than year before it was closed
TCPalm
When Florida Atlantic University President Mary Jane Saunders recommended the move to close the Treasure Coast campus in Port St. Lucie earlier this year, she checked the numbers and sought input from staff via email or phone calls. A study of travel records for Saunders shows the decision to close the Treasure Coast campus wasn’t based on her visits to the campus that FAU shared with Indian River State College. Saunders proposed closing the campus in May as part of the university’s plan to absorb a $24 million state funding cut. The campus closed in June. That’s because Saunders hasn’t actually visited the campus in more than a year…
FGCU proposal to fingerprint employees drawing criticism
Naples Daily News
A proposed Florida Gulf Coast University policy requiring all employees to be fingerprinted for criminal background checks is raising concerns among some faculty members, who question whether the procedure will actually improve campus safety. The university’s Faculty Senate on Friday passed a resolution rejecting the policy in its current form, in part because administrators have not provided an analysis of the costs and benefits of fingerprinting. The senate also wants the faculty union to be involved in final decision-making on the policy. Estimated to cost at least $50,000, the policy is aimed at preventing sexual crimes against minors. It grew out of a national discourse universities had about campus safety following the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University that came to light last year, FGCU President Wilson Bradshaw said.
Florida Poly Backers Visit New Campus
The Ledger
About 80 Florida Polytechnic University supporters visited its campus-in-the-making Thursday to hear about and visualize an outcome that’s been a long time coming: A new state university in Polk County. It was the first time for many of the members of Florida Poly Vision to see the campus site and get a look at the progress on the new building…
National search for New College vice president for advancement
Bradenton Herald
A national search is under way for New College of Florida‘s vice president for advancement. The same individual will also be the executive director of the New College Foundation. A search committee chaired by Felice Schulaner, New College trustee and chair of the New College Foundation board of directors, considered proposals from six search firms that responded to New College’s request for proposals to guide this national search.
Fairwinds Credit Union replaces SunTrust as UCF’s official campus ‘bank’
Orlando Sentinel
Fairwinds Credit Union, a close neighbor of SunTrust Banks on the downtown Orlando skyline, is taking over from SunTrust as the official campus “bank” of the University of Central Florida.
‘Suspicious package’ on UCF campus deemed safe
Orlando Sentinel
Officials with the University of Central Florida and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office were called out to investigate a suspicious briefcase left behind near a Salsa-to-go kiosk east of the Reflecting Pond in the center of campus…
Shands places second nationally in effort to avert medical errors
Gainesville Sun
The University of Florida and Shands placed second in the nation for their ability to report patient safety events aimed at reducing medical errors in hospitals. The competition was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology…
UF unveils its center in Medical City
Gainesville Sun
On hundreds of acres of pasture with planes regularly roaring overhead, a so-called Medical City of health care and biomedical research facilities is taking shape. The University of Florida marked the grand opening Friday of its contribution to the development, the UF Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona. The $53 million, 106,000-square-foot building includes the Orlando campus of the UF pharmacy college and centers housing research into aging and new drug treatments…
UF Research and Academic Center opens today in Lake Nona Medical City
Orlando Sentinel
Adding the fifth jewel in the Medical City’s crown, the University of Florida‘s Research and Academic Center officially opens today at Lake Nona. The event brings the Lake Nona Medical City one giant step closer to what its visionaries hoped for — the development of a top-flight bioscience cluster that incorporates medical education, research and treatment…
Florida considering O’Connell Center upgrades
SB Nation
The University of Florida is mulling a possible $50 million renovation to the O’Connell Center, according to a report from Gainesville.com. The plan may potentially include contributions from the school. Florida trustees are expected to vote next week whether the university should be on the hook for $10 million of the cost to renovate. The source of that cash has not yet been determined but, if the vote does pass, Florida CFO Matt Fajack said that it will not come from tuition or state operating funds.
UF Presidential Search Delayed Until January
WUFT
Candidates for the University of Florida presidency will not be invited for a campus visit until after the new year, the chairman of UF board of Trustees and presidential search committee announced. In an open letter to the UF community, C. David Brown II said bringing candidates to the campus at the end of the school year may reduce the number of people who are able to participate in the search process.
UWF Wins Women’s Soccer National Title
NorthEscambia.com
The University of West Florida women’s soccer team won its first national championship in program history with a 1-0 victory over UC San Diego on Saturday. Chelsea Palmer scored the game-winner with an assist from Sashana Campbell…
State College System
DSC adding barber course
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Daytona State College is adding a barber preparation course for any licensed cosmetologist interested in the state board exam for barbers.
High schoolers get taste of cooking school
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Seventy students from area high schools with an interest in careers in culinary arts got hands-on experience cooking at Daytona State College on Friday.
Former state Senator Steve Wise among those applying for FSCJ interim …
Florida Times-Union
The Florida State College at Jacksonville Board of Trustees could select an interim president on Tuesday from more than a dozen applicants and some recruited candidates.
Community college faculty blast tenure proposal
Orlando Sentinel
Dozens of faculty members from across Florida gathered at Seminole State College on Thursday to oppose a state plan that would make it harder for community-college professors to earn and keep their tenure. For more than two hours, faculty and representatives from the Association of Florida Colleges took turns pointing out what they saw as problems with the proposal, which the state Board of Education will vote on in early 2013.
More attention, resources focusing on homeless college students as …
Palm Beach Post
Recently, some colleges, recognizing this population of students in their midst, have moved to do more to help their homeless attendees. Valencia College in Orlando writes off more than $3.5 million annually in tuition and fees for homeless students and other students in need, it said…
Independent Colleges and Universities
Family with ‘suicide pact’ last seen at Florida Tech
Bay News 9
Police said the family was last seen at the Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, most likely to visit the Scott Center for Autism Treatment.
Fla. police searching for parents in alleged suicide pact
New York Daily News
They were last seen at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, which is home to the Scott Center for Autism Treatment. A spokeswoman for Florida Tech wouldn’t confirm whether they were seeking treatment there…
Jacksonville University plans new football stadium, athletics practice facilities
Florida Times-Union
As part of its newly announced fundraising campaign, Jacksonville University wants to build a football stadium along with a practice facility for basketball and volleyball teams. JU officials announced plans for these buildings Friday alongside their official unveiling of the ASPIRE capital campaign. The campaign’s goal is to raise $85 million by 2016. The money will go toward scholarships, the JU endowment, new buildings and faculty research among other things.
JU stepping up its efforts to reach graduates
Florida Times-Union
Universities spend thousands of dollars sending messages to alumni, hoping graduates will donate to their alma mater. Some schools see greater returns than others. Still, securing alumni donations is a skill many large universities have down to a science. It’s a task so important that one Washington expert called it critical.
Fighting Knights come out on top
The Augusta Chronicle
While the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals scored two late goals, they weren’t enough to get out of the hole that had been dug and the Lynn University Fighting Knights claimed the NCAA Division II men’s soccer national championship with the 3-2 victory at Blanchard Wods Park on Saturday.
Southeastern to Establish Nursing Education Program
The Ledger
Southeastern University plans to establish a nursing education program in response to a projected shortage of nurses nationwide and strong demand from students interested in the training…
$3.2M upgrade to Spec Martin Stadium to begin
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Crews will demolish the press box at Spec Martin Stadium early this week, kicking off a more than $3.2 million improvement project to prepare for the return of Stetson University football next fall…
World stem cell event opens in West Palm Beach
Sun-Sentinel
World Stem Cell Summit organizer Bernie Siegel has joined forces with scientists from the University of Miami to host the 1,000 attendees from 34 countries expected at the summit in West Palm Beach this week…
Making heart of Tampa more habitable and fun
Tbo.com
In 1933 the University of Tampa wisely set up classes in the former Tampa Bay Hotel. The downtown University’s recent growth will contribute to the success of Buckhorn’s vision…
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
Editorial: Florida Polytechnic University: Parker Good Pick As Executive
The Ledger
Ava L. Parker, a Jacksonville lawyer and, until being named as Florida Polytechnic University‘s first chief operating officer, a member of the State University System’s Board of Governors, is another strong choice at the top of the developing leadership of Florida’s 12th state university. Parker may be best known to those who followed the contentious conversion of the University of South Florida Polytechnic into the independent Florida Poly state university. She was the chair of the Board of Governors, and deftly guided heated testimony and responses so that a clear course leading to conversion could be created…
Procter: Universities need flexibility to offset state funding cuts
Orlando Sentinel
Column justifies differential tuition: Universities need flexibility to offset state funding cuts. In opening remarks to the Florida House of Representatives last January, Speaker Dean Cannon warned that Florida’s higher education system is “racing toward mediocrity.” Now, 11 months later, the system confronts hurdles of increasing proportion. Florida’s public universities have experienced and continue to confront serious reductions in state funding. Governing magazine reported in its June edition that Florida’s universities have lost 25 percent of state support in four years…William Proctor is chancellor of Flagler College and a former Republican member of the Florida House from St. Augustine.
Santiago: Gov’s 10K tuition push is political gimmick
MiamiHerald.com
Gov. Rick Scott’s latest brilliant idea: He wants you, young Floridian, to get a cheap college education. Not just any education, but a four-year bachelor’s degree for the bargain-basement price of $10,000. In a media blitz at St. Petersburg College and Valencia Community College in Orlando this week, the Republican governor publicly told leaders of the 28 state colleges what his people had already delivered by phone as they sought credible podiums for Scott: Colleges need to figure out ways to reduce costs and come up with “10K,” four-year programs. The Democrats quickly dubbed the plan “The Walmart of Education.” College and university presidents are terrified of this governor, who wields an ideological ax at budget time and is vindictive (just ask the University of Florida, that bastion of liberal thinkers who issue liberal arts and anthropology degrees and became the target of the governor shortly after inauguration).
Viegbesie: Know the dangers of the ‘fiscal cliff’
Tallahassee.com
Under the terms of the Budget Control Act signed by President Obama in 2011, automatic across-the-board spending cuts may take place in January. The “fiscal cliff’ is the name given to what may happen if the federal government does not reach an agreement…Anthony “Dr. V.” Viegbesie is a professor of economics and public administration at Tallahassee Community College.
Outgoing CSU chancellor Charles Reed faced controversy, challenges
Daily Breeze
One thing about retiring California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed is that he doesn’t take long to make a point…He worked as chief of staff for Florida Gov. Bob Graham before serving for 13 years as chancellor of the State University System of Florida…
Former CBHS student wins national Dr Pepper scholarship during SEC …
WMC-TV
Garrett Booker, a student at Barry University, won the $100000 grand prize scholarship as part of the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway by completing the most football throws into an oversized Dr. Pepper can replica on national television at the SEC Championship game Saturday…Garrett completed 20 football throws in 30 seconds, his opponent scored 13 throws.
Brevard School Board says voters warned; public disagrees
Florida Today
“It would have been to the benefit of the school board and the district if they had made a more aggressive campaign and spelled out the actual ramifications of not passing the tax,” said Christopher Muro, an assistant professor of political science at Brevard Community College, when asked to offer political analysis of the campaign. “You have got to be on the forefront of informing and mobilizing voters and persuading voters that this is the right path and the right policy,” he said. “That just didn’t happen.”
EWC professor recognized by scientific journal
Florida Times-Union
Edward Waters College biology professor Prabir Mandal‘s scientific review was the most downloaded within the Journal of Comparative Physiology …
Former FAMU band member sentenced in misdemeanor hazing of female student
Orlando Sentinel
Former FAMU piccolo player Jamon Green was sentenced to 50 hours of community service today for hazing a female band member on a charter bus in Orlando last year before drum major Robert Champion was beaten to death…
Atlantic Hurricane Season Ends; Experts Warn Of Strong Seasons To Come
WFSU
That’s according to Erik Salna with the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University. “So many storms have been formed, but so many of them stayed off shore because they all curved away from the U.S coast line.” Salna said.
Gov. Rick Scott’s office: 2 apply for FSCJ board spots
Florida Times-Union
Two people have applied for open seats on the Florida State College at Jacksonville Board of Trustees, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s office. Applicants are Thomas J. Majdanics and Randle P. Shoemaker-Crump, according to Scott spokeswoman…
Man falls from upper level of Charlotte stadium during ACC Championship game
Atlanta Journal Constitution
A spectator was rushed to a North Carolina hospital Saturday night after falling from an upper level ramp at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium during the ACC Championship football game between Georgia Tech and Florida State University. Charlotte Mecklenburg police spokeswoman Jessica A. Lawrence told the AJC that officers responding to the 8 p.m. incident determined that Sean Michael Powers, 22, had fallen from the 400 level ramp and onto a lawn…
Oh, the scandal: National politics come to Lynn University again
Sun-Sentinel
Just when you thought you’d had enough of national politics, along comes a talk about national politics — and sex. Lynn University‘s American Studies Chairman Robert P. Watson will be discussing his book published last September, “Affairs of State: The Untold History of Presidential Love, Sex, and Scandal,” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) at noon, Wednesday on the campus for C-SPAN’s Book TV…
How Floridians feel about the impending fiscal cliff
Examiner.com
There’s a “clear danger” to the economy if Washington doesn’t come to an agreement, warns economist Sean Snaith of the University of Central Florida in his final U.S. forecast for 2012, released Tuesday…
Why China Matters to US Investors
The Atlantic
“Most people don’t comprehend how important China is to the U.S., both in terms of trade and in the financial markets,” said Sean Snaith, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida…
Fiscal cliff could rough up Southwest Florida
The News-Press
But even the contentious debate and dissent could do damage, said Sean Snaith, the director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness….
Florida lags in racehorse doping regulations
Sun-Sentinel
“The use of drugs, to the extent they are used in Florida, should outrage gamblers,” Richard Sams, former director of the University of Florida laboratory that handles all of the state’s horse industry testing, told the Sun Sentinel…
Boston College Wants Miami’s Al Golden
Rant Sports
University of Miami head coach Al Golden may be the most wanted coach in America as his name continues to pop up with every vacant coaching job with Boston College the latest to be added to the mix…
Peanut, orangutan with cancer, and twin turn 9
WPEC
The admission price will be donated to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, which helped provide “world-class care to Peanut during her chemotherapy treatment.”
2012 One of the Most Active Hurricane Seasons
Yahoo! News (blog)
One of the busiest on record, the 2012 season also saw weaker-than-average cyclones and began earlier than usual, said Brian McNoldy, a researcher at the University of Miami…
It’s a different kind of life on Black Hammock Island
Florida Times-Union
People have lived on Black Hammock Island for 6,000 years, says University of North Florida archeologist Keith Ashley, who digs out there.
We take plenty of photos but are we getting lost in the flood of digital images?
Florida Times-Union
“I only have maybe 50 pictures from my childhood,” said Paul Karabinis, a photo historian and professor of photography at the University of North Florida. “You may have 50,000. What do those mean?”
UNF criminology professor arrested on St. Johns County battery charge
Florida Times-Union
A 37-year-old University of North Florida criminology professor was arrested Thursday on a battery charge after a woman was shoved against a wall and held down on a couch, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Daniel Patrick Pontzer of Pissaro Avenue in Ponte Vedra Beach was released on bail Friday from the St. Johns County jail, according to the Sheriff’s Office. University of North Florida spokeswoman Sharon Ashton said they have not talked with Pontzer. Once they have talked and reviewed all necessary information, “we will act appropriately,” Ashton said.
2012 Hurricane season ends with no real damage in Florida
Tbo.com
University of South Florida professor Al Hine, a coastal geologist with the College of Marine Science, said building on sandy coastlines is just plain foolish. “The coastline not a permanent line in the sand,” he said. “It’s a highly moveable shoreline…
USF Athletic Director: Search for New Coach Starts Immediately
WUSF News
The University of South Florida ends its 16th football season on the hunt for a new head coach. Athletic director Doug Woolard said in a statement, released after the dismissal of Skip Holtz, that he plans to act quickly and will not use a conventional search firm.
South Florida fires Holtz
Yahoo! Sports
“I want to thank my assistant coaches, staff, the players and their families for their dedication and loyalty,” Holtz said in his statement. “I’m extremely proud of how they fought through adversity during this time. Throughout my time here, the young men on this team never gave up, and that reflects on their character as individuals and as a team. I believe we made some positive strides, most notably in our academics, that were helping to build a foundation for this program and I would have liked the opportunity to see it through. “But, I understand the administration’s decision and wish them nothing but success in the future. I’m grateful to the University of South Florida, President Genshaft and Doug Woolard for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this fine institution.”
Motorcycle deaths up among older bikers
Sun-Sentinel
“We’re starting to see many older riders getting hurt,” said Chanyoung Lee, a senior researcher at the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research.
Swing Counties Tell Story of Republicans’ Defeat
Bloomberg
“The Democrats’ grass-roots organization bringing minorities and young college students to vote was the difference,” says Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida…
Open Books plans lecture on LGBT topics
Pensacola News Journal
Open Books and the University of West Florida Anthropology Department will host a lecture by Amanda Lawson on Tuesday, covering topics such as rural health care and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities in rural communities.
Releases and Web Stories
GrowFL Partners With Entrepreneurial Organizations Throughout Florida To …
Sacramento Bee
29, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The University of Central Florida‘s GrowFL program, in collaboration with statewide Entrepreneurial Support Organizations, provides a year-long series of CEO Forums…
New UF campus at Lake Nona enhances medical, economic impact in region …
University of Florida
A new University of Florida research and education center brings to the Orlando area vital research on new therapies and cures, increased opportunities for participation in clinical research and enhanced access to professional and graduate pharmacy education. The UF Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona officially opens today (Nov. 30). The $53 million roughly 106,000-square-foot facility extends UF’s presence into the greater Orlando area…
