Higher Education Capitol Clips:
Governor Scott Signs Florida Families First Budget
New Release
Today, Governor Rick Scott signed the 2013-2014 Florida Families First Budget. Below is Governor Scott’s letter to Secretary Detzner, followed by links to budget highlights. To view the full veto letter, click HERE. Additionally, Governor Scott today signed 16 bills to implement the budget. For a list of the bills signed today, click HERE.
Budget Reax and Coverage...
Governor’s veto pen spares Embry-Riddle wind tunnel
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Scott vetoed $3 million for Daytona State College to begin work on transforming the theater on the main campus into a new student services/classroom building. The college originally requested $24 million for that project.
Scott vetoes nearly $400 million from budget
Gainesville Sun
Gov. Rick Scott, who had a tough time winning cooperation this past year from the Republican-led Legislature, struck back on Monday by vetoing nearly $400 million from the state’s new budget. Area leaders breathed a sigh of relief, however, as few area projects were among the governor’s vetoes — but among those vetoed were $625,000 for the Tumblin’ Creek stormwater project, $305,000 for the rehabilitation of sanitary sewer line segments in Williston and $500,000 for a University of Florida-produced documentary film on St. Augustine…
Gov. Scott vetoes hundreds of millions from state budget
MiamiHerald.com
…As expected, Scott vetoed a 3 percent tuition increase for state colleges, universities and workforce education. His letter included comments of support from three community college presidents and University of Florida President Bernie Machen. “As a result of the additional funds contained in the budget, the University of Florida will not be seeking a tuition increase for next year,” Machen said. Scott had hoped all 12 state university presidents would collectively sign a letter rejecting any tuition revenue increases, but they refused. Although Scott said his intent is to maintain tuition and fees at current levels, state law requires tuition to rise at minimum to keep up with the rate of inflation, which is 1.7 percent this year. Universities have already said they won’t ask the state Board of Governors to raise tuition up to 15 percent, as allowed by state law. But none have committed to refusing the inflation adjustment. Scott said Monday he hopes they will, but he avoided the question of whether it’s legally possible…
FGCU, Edison anticipated governor’s veto of 3 percent tuition hike
Naples Daily News
“Edison State College recognizes the importance of striking that critical balance between affordability and still providing the necessary services and opportunity to our students locally,” Morgenstern said in a statement.
Gov. Scott’s veto of FGCU research park money surprises local leaders
Naples Daily News
Florida Gulf Coast University officials were confident the $7.5 million they requested for the school’s Innovation Hub was a done deal. The university received $4.9 million last year when Gov. Rick Scott signed the fiscal 2012-13 budget; state lawmakers supported putting the remaining $7.5 million in the fiscal 2013-14 budget; and school officials spent the weekend answering the governor’s questions.
CF funding cut for Levy campus
Ocala
For the fourth time in five years, funding for the College of Central Florida’s Levy campus has been vetoed by the governor…
Gov. Scott to veto 3 percent tuition increase
Orlando Sentinel
…The University of Central Florida accounts for a majority of the county’s haul — $273 million for “general activities,” the medical school, a classroom building, an autism program, and other projects…
No tuition increase? It could go up 1.7 percent at UCF and other …
Orlando Sentinel
Even though Gov. Rick Scott on Monday vetoed a 3-percent tuition hike by the Legislature, there’s still a chance that rates could go up 1.7 percent at public universities. That’s because of a provision that might allow tuition rates to automatically increase with inflation if lawmakers don’t hike the rates on their own. There’s still uncertainty, however, if the 1.7 percent increase will happen. Even though Gov. Rick Scott on Monday vetoed a 3-percent tuition hike by the Legislature, there’s still a chance that rates could go up 1.7 percent at public universities. That’s because of a provision that might allow tuition rates to automatically increase with inflation if lawmakers don’t hike the rates on their own. There’s still uncertainty, however, if the 1.7 percent increase will happen…
Gov. Scott to veto 3% hike in college tuition
South Florida Business Journal (blog)
The increase could have brought an additional $18 million in revenue to the state’s 12 universities, including Florida International University in Miami and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, according to the Herald.
Scott vetoes $368 million from budget, including Palm Beach State money
Sunshine State News
…Erased with the vetoes was $6.5 million sought by Palm Beach State College for a new campus in Loxahatchee Groves — the third time such funding has been wiped out by a Florida governor…
Scott signs budget, vetoes $368 million in projects
Tallahassee.com
From courthouse renovations and water infrastructure upgrades in rural areas to funding for building maintenance at Florida State University, Scott eliminated dozens of projects from what had been a $74.5 billion spending plan.
Governor kills two Pinellas projects, others survive veto pen
Tampabay.com
And Rouson said that several of his projects had also gone through, including $5 million for the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg College of Business building…
Gov. Scott vetoes 3% tuition increase
Tbo.com
Students at the University of South Florida and other state colleges got a giftMonday from Gov. Rick Scott – a veto of the 3-percent tuition hike in this year’s state budget…
Indian River Lagoon cleanup among local projects Scott vetoed
TCPalm
Rick Scott nixed millions of dollars to clean up the Indian River Lagoon and revamp an Indian River State College campus on Monday — the two biggest Treasure Coast projects that fell to his veto pen.
Scott signs budget but vetoes $368 million in spending first
The Florida Current
Senate President Don Gaetz, who saw his plans for a $14 million building at Gulf Coast State Collegein his Panhandle district to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates and jobs vetoed by Scott gave a measured response…
Scott Vetoes 9 Polk Projects From State Budget
The Ledger
The two largest local projects rejected were $2.5 million for construction of the University of South Florida/Lakeland Regional Medical Center graduate medical program, and $2 million for Peace River Center’s planned crisis stabilization unit and Baker Act Triage Center in Lakeland.
Gov. Scott signs budget, vetoes $370 million in spending
The News-Press
For Southwest Florida, Scott vetoed $7.5 million for Florida Gulf Coast University’s Renewable Energy Institute (Innovation Hub Research) because of little demand by area companies.
Scott signs budget, restoring funding and vetoing tuition
The Oracle
…The budget also includes more than $40 million in new funds to USF, according to the statement, which will be used for new projects, such as the new College of Business building in St. Pete and the USF Heart Health Institute…
Gov. Scott Vetoes Funding For FGCU’s Renewable Energy Institute
WGCU News
Among the cuts: millions of dollars for Florida Gulf Coast University’s unfinished Renewable Energy Research Institute. FGCU has been working to get the research institute up and running. It is supposed to be a partnership between the school, the community and private industry. Scott and the Florida Legislature awarded FGCU $4.9 million last year to plan what the school calls its “Innovation Hub.” The “I-Hub” is aimed at fostering research and creating internships for students in the renewable energy sector in Southwest Florida…
Scott Vetoes $30 Million From State Budget for Panhandle Projects – WJHG.com
WJHG-TV
The biggest of the cuts, $14 million for a new STEM building at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.
State University System
Another coup for the Mag Lab: Researchers confirm Hofstadter butterfly
Tallahassee.com
Two teams of international scientists, employing the unique magnets and other research tools at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University, recently were able to solve the puzzle and prove that the Hofstadter butterfly is ..
Aspiring teachers learn from their avatars
The Hechinger Report
…Started ten years ago, the so-called TeachLivE lab was developed by faculty in the education school at UCF, and at least 22 other universities across the country have opened their own labs using TeachLivE technology. Much like a flight simulator trains pilots, faculty use the virtual classroom to train teachers-to-be by helping them isolate and master strategies like higher-level questioning or behavior management…
Shands Jacksonville has been renamed UF Health Jacksonville
Florida Times-Union
Shands Jacksonville has been renamed UF Health Jacksonville to make clearer the hospital’s affiliation with the University of Florida, officials announced Monday afternoon…
UNF now offers a bachelor’s in social work
Florida Times-Union (blog)
The University of North Florida will offer students a bachelor’s degree in social work starting this fall. UNF will admit 40 students in the initial cohort and they will study under the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
USF researchers find far-reaching, microvascular damage in uninjured side of brain after stroke
Science Codex
…Now, a new study by the University of South Florida reports that within a week of a stroke caused by a blood clot in one side of the brain, the opposite side of the brain shows signs of microvascular injury…
State College System
Sneak Peek Into Advanced Technology Center Wows Visitors – WJHG
WJHG-TV
Sneak Peek Into Advanced Technology Center Wows Visitors. While the inside of the Advanced Technology Center on the Gulf Coast State College campus is bare, it hasn’t stopped visitors from seeing the potential in where it’s going…
Independent Colleges and Universities
Let’s Make a Deal
Inside Higher Ed
Sure, Aramark may be able to provide delicious sandwiches, brew a mean cup of coffee, cater important university functions, and do it all at the lowest price. But can it help a sophomore get a job in two years? That is a consideration Barry University, a private university in Miami, might weigh after administrators rework the university’s process of issuing requests for proposals and evaluating the bids of potential contractors for everything from dining services to office supplies to accounting. Barry’s administrators see the hundreds of relationships the university has with suppliers of goods and services as an untapped resource to give their students job preparation while they’re in college and potential avenues to postgraduate employment…
Top collegiate sailors to see action in Tampa Bay
Gant Daily
USF St. Petersburg, Eckerd College and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club will host the event that showcases the best in collegiate sailing…
Newly renovated solarium at Flagler College opens after 40 years
ActionNewsJax.com
The room is known as the centerpiece of Flagler College, perched on the fourth floor of the historic building once known as the Ponce de Leon Hotel.
Gas leak at Rollins College repaired
Central Florida News 13
Three buildings at Rollins College were evacuated for around two hours Mondaymorning after a construction crew hit a gas line at a construction site near the Archibald Greenville Bush Science Center.
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
Editorial: Budget lacks long-term vision
Tampabay.com
Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Monday a $74.1 billion state budget for 2013-14 that makes few waves thanks to an improving economy and a predictable list of vetoes totaling $368 million. Florida finally has returned to at least modestly investing in education and the environment. But Scott’s veto of a 3 percent tuition increase for state colleges and universities is shortsighted, and his clumsy effort to extort promises from university presidents and others is inappropriate…
Rein in pay and perks for Florida college presidents
Orlando Sentinel
Start with a six-figure base salary for state college presidents. Add five figures for their retirement, another five for deferred compensation and another …
Ave Maria University president emeritus helps start up college in …
Naples Daily News
President Emeritus Nick Healy of Ave Maria University (AMU), who worked with founder Tom Monaghan during the school’s fledgling years, has set his sights on a new project: helping to start up a Catholic college in Ireland largely structured on the AMU model…
Teacher Training Programs Grapple With Recruitment
StateImpact Florida
“If they want to make [admissions] harder, I’m all for it,” said Les Potter, chair of the School of Education at Daytona State College.
Last of FAMU suspects in court
MiamiHerald.com
The last of the suspects to be charged with the death of a Florida A & M University drum major during a hazing ritual has a date in court. Darryl Cearnel has an arraignment Tuesday in state court in Orlando…
Teacher training programs grapple with recruitment
The Hechinger Report
Somewhere midway through his sophomore year of college at Florida Atlantic University, Christopher Clevenger started to question his aeronautical engineering major…
FAU president’s new salary as a professor to cost taxpayers more
South Florida Business Journal (blog)
Mary Jane Saunders‘ new salary as a professor at Florida Atlantic University will cost taxpayers $76,000 more, following her resignation as the school’s president, the Sun Sentinel reports…
Why I invested in Caffeine Spaces to help build a Startup Community
Network World
Last week, my partners and I in The CISO Group invested as lifetime members in Caffeine Spaces, a new co-working space that opened in the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) R&D Park here in Boca Raton, Florida. Caffeine Spaces is the brainchild of Mark Laymon, who is seeking to build a strong startup community here in South Florida…
Palmetto Bay man wrestles, kills 128-pound python
MiamiHerald.com
Jason Leon said he has two regrets about slicing the head off the longest Burmese python recorded in Florida: He wishes he didn’t have to slay the beast, and he wishes his bedroom walls were big enough to mount the snake’s skin…Leon, a part-time marine biology student at Florida International University and a former owner of pet snakes, jumped off his ride and grabbed the python behind its head, dragging it into the roadway.
FIU, Sweetwater unveil José Martí statue on Cuban Independence Day
MiamiHerald.com
In commemoration of the 111th anniversary of Cuba’s independence from Spain, Florida International University’s Honors College has donated the more than life-size statue of Cuban writer José Martí, sculpted by the late artist Tony Lopez…
Florida high court refuses to grant stay of execution for condemned killer Van …
Palm Beach Post
On Friday, both the association and D’Alemberte, a former state lawmaker and past president and law school dean of Florida State University, said they wanted to explain problems with the death penalty process that has led to confusion in Van Poyck’s case…
Gov. Rick Scott speeding up Florida inmate execution process
Tampabay.com
Cantero’s article was co-written by Mark Schlakman, senior program director for the Center for Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University…
Ladies in White leader receives MDC award
7Online WSVN-TV
Berta Soler, the leader of the anti-Castro group Ladies in White, visited the Freedom Tower Monday to receive the Miami-Dade College Presidential Medal.
Dr. Donald Warren honored for his work with Palm Beach Atlantic …
Palm Beach Post
Dr. Donald Warren remembers when he and his co-founders mapped out the land in the late 1960s for what today is Palm Beach Atlantic University. “We put green dots on 110 buildings” near downtown West Palm Beach, Warren told nearly 500 people gathered Monday morning to honor him at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Over the years PBAU has acquired almost all of those buildings. As for the ones that remain: “We’ll get those too someday,” Dr. Warren, a cardiologist, said…
Tampa Bay Speakers Advocate For STEM, STEAM In Education
83degreesmedia
Another panelist, Larry Thompson, the president of the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, is a strong proponent of STEAM…
Public university instructs students on how to build genital models out of play-doh
Campus Reform (blog)
…In a statement, UCF Spokesman Chad Binette, said the language used to promote the event reflected a “lack of judgement.” “This event and the email promoting it clearly demonstrate a lack of judgment,” he said. “Housing and Residence Life will be reviewing its approval process for events and event promotions. “The email was sent and approved by the Apollo community staff, and the event was scheduled by Apollo community staff,” he concluded, referring to the on-campus dorm that organized the event…
University of Florida honors architect William Morgan with a Lifetime …
Florida Times-Union
Jacksonville architect William Morgan (right) is presented with a lifetime achievement award by Martin Gold, the director of the school of architecture at the University of Florida…
Citing thin bench for start-ups, high-level boot camp never opens its doors
Tampabay.com
“It is a disappointment,” says one of the standby mentors, Rebecca White, a management professor who holds the James W. Walter distinguished chair of entrepreneurship at The University of Tampa…
