State University System
Florida is one step closer to getting a 12th university
Tampabay.com
The creation of Florida’s 12th university has cleared its second-to-last hurdle, with both the House and Senate approving the move with nominal resistance. Now Gov. Rick Scott is all that stands between the University of South Florida’s branch campus in Lakeland splitting away. If Scott signs off on the move, Florida Polytechnic University will be born — starting fresh without accreditation, students or buildings on its campus.
Lawmakers pass UF, FSU tuition bill
MiamiHerald.com
In a state with an ever-increasing shortage of higher education funding, Florida’s top universities could soon have the power to seek unlimited tuition hikes. With a 36-3 Senate vote Thursday, legislation that would allow universities to raise tuition beyond a 15 percent cap — after reaching certain benchmarks and getting the okay from the Florida Board of Governors — is headed to the governor.
FAMU campus taking shape
Crestview News Bulletin
James Sampson’s workday began a bit earlier than usual Wednesday. He was on the job at the Alatex Building by 3:30 in the morning. Within half an hour, the historic downtown Crestview landmark was a beehive of activity as workers from Peter Brown Construction poured the remaining half of the second story’s floor slab. The 1930s former sewing factory is undergoing a transformation into a school of pharmacy for Florida A&M University…
Community input wanted on modified FAMU Way route
WTXL ABC 27
The City of Tallahassee will host a public meeting on to get public input on the FAMU Way Extension Project. The meeting will be on Thursday, March 15. It starts at 6 pm and will take place in the Walker-Ford Community Center gymnasium, located at 2301 …
FGCU’s growth means graduation tickets will be limited to five in spring
Naples Daily News
Florida Gulf Coast University administrators are facing the “good problem” of having more and more graduates who want to squeeze parents, siblings, boyfriends or girlfriends, and grandparents into Alico Arena to watch …
FIU acquires new genealogy research collection
MiamiHerald.com
Florida International University has acquired new research materials that could help Hispanic families trace their roots. The university has obtained a collection of thousands of books, letters and other primary documents relating to Cuba …
New College president announced
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The next president of New College of Florida will be Donal O’Shea, a world-renowned mathematician who is currently the dean of faculty and vice-president for academic affairs at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, the oldest women’s college in the world.
ONLY on 10: Victim of Sarasota serial rapist speaks out
WTSP 10 News
Young coeds are being targeted at Sarasota colleges as a serial rapist is on the loose. Students from New College of Florida and Ringling College of Art and Design are now on high alert and have been since the summer of 2010, according to residents. A serial rapist, described as a young white man, is breaking into female students’ homes through unlocked doors or windows and attacking them in their beds…
Woman tells UCF police two men had sex with her while she was asleep
Orlando Sentinel
A woman told University of Central Florida police two men had sex with her while she was asleep after a night of drinking, and authorities have filed criminal charges against one of those men. Kalan Robert Norris, 23, …
Dozens of birds mysteriously drop dead on UCF campus
WFTV Orlando
Dozens of birds are mysteriously dropping dead on the campus of the University of Central Florida. Students have reported the dead birds near the music building, and the incident is still a big mystery…
New master’s at UF will help put crucial info into the hands of patients who …
Gainesville Sun
Shortening the time between health breakthroughs and when people use that knowledge will be the focus of a new master’s program at the University of Florida College of Medicine. The new Master’s of Health Outcomes and Policy will give …
GatorCare bill passes … barely
Gainesville Sun
Legislation that allows the University of Florida to self-insure for the health care of all its employees and their beneficiaries made its first appearance on the second-to-last day of the legislative session and passed on Friday — the session’s final day. The legislative action clears a hurdle for what UF President Bernie Machen is calling GatorCare — exempting UF employees from being on the state’s insurance. If put into place at the beginning of next year, as expected, it would mean that all UF employee insurance — covering about 70,000 people — would be administered by one company instead of the current eight…
USF heart institute may get $2 million from Hillsborough
Tbo.com
County commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to have the county economic development staff work with USF Health on an agreement that would provide up to $2 million for a heart institute at the University of South Florida…
Harry Potter legend still casting its spell
Pensacola News Journal
More than 70 students gathered at the University of West Florida Conference Center on Sunday morning for the third annual Harry Potter Muggle Outreach Conference. A muggle is a person who lacks any sort of magical ability…
State College System
Big week for Edison State’s nursing program
Lehigh Acres News Star
Another make-or-break week is on tap at Edison State College. The National League for Nursing’s Accrediting Commission will visit campus to decide if Edison’s four-year nursing program meets national standards. Evaluators will review policies, inspect medical equipment and interview administrators, faculty and students.
CNL to buy four senior properties
Orlando Sentinel
H.J. High Construction of Orlando completed the Brown Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. The new, 55,000-square-foot building is 30 percent powered by sun and wind energy and will serve students learning about new, sustainable technologies…
5 Cheapest Public Colleges in the U.S.
PolicyMic
3. Indian River State College is a member of the Florida college system located in Fort Pierce, Florida. Net tuition: $2,138 a year
Search for new Keys college president down to nine
KeysNet
Florida Keys Community College‘s presidential search committee on Friday identified nine semi-finalists to replace President Larry Tyree, whose contract expires on June 30…
Report highlights colleges graduating Latinos
CNN (blog)
A report released Wednesday by Excelencia in Education revealed the top colleges graduating Latinos in the U.S. The report titled “Finding Your Workforce: The Top 25 Institutions Graduating Latinos” included information on public, private and for profit and non-profit institutions graduating the most Latino students. According to the report, Miami Dade College in Florida awards the most associate degrees to Latinos, while Florida International University, the University of Phoenix, and the University of Texas at El Paso each led in two or more academic levels (including associate, undergraduate graduate, and/or doctoral.)
College student pleads not guilty in Facebook threats to President Obama
MiamiHerald.com
A Miami Dade College student accused of threatening to kill President Barack Obama on Facebook pleaded not guilty Friday morning in federal court. Joaquin Amador Serrapio Jr., 20, was charged and pleaded not guilty before federal magistrate Patrick A. White, who set his cash bond at $20,000, in addition to a $50,000 personal surety bond that his parents signed, according to court records. Serrapio made no comments in court, but he was apologetic in an interview with The Miami Herald last week…
Cybercrime course now offered at PSC
Pensacola News Journal
Pensacola State College is offering a forensic cybercrime course as part of its crime scene investigation certificate program. The course is open to students who are not in the program and will be offered in the summer and fall semesters. Students will learn about criminal hacking, cyber terrorism, sexual victimization, digital laws and legislation, criminal investigations and acquisition of evidence…
Feminine distinction
Gainesville Sun
From the winningest coach in University of Florida history to a 16-year-old finding her way in life, seven women come together next week to be recognized for their accomplishments with the Santa Fe College Women of Distinction award…
Probationers could get GED instead of doing community service
WTXL ABC 27
Local probationers may soon have the choice of obtaining their GED instead of doing community service. Tallahassee Community College along with Gadsden County Judge Kathy Garner will host a press conference Monday at the Quincy House, located at 216 North Adams Street in Quincy, Florida.
Independent College and University System
B-CU settles discrimination claim with former employee
Daytona Beach News-Journal
A top administration assistant at Bethune-Cookman University was paid a $30,000 settlement after she claimed the college president told her there were rumors that the employee was having an affair with the chairman of the school’s board of trustees, state documents show. Ashley Erin Johnson filed a complaint against the college with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year after she said President Trudie Kibbe Reed also discriminated against her because of her age and race…
Woman injured in fall into drain after cover stolen
Local 10
A woman recovering from a fall through an uncovered storm drain may be the victim of thieves who target the metal for recycling money. The office staff of Barry University’s marketing department first noticed two missing grates last week on Northeast 116th Street just east of Second Avenue. They notified Miami-Dade Public Works to replace them and temporarily covered at least one of …
Senate drops amendment creating Jacksonville University nursing home
Florida Times-Union (blog)
In the final hours of the legislative session, a provision to sprout a 150-bed nursing home tied to Jacksonville University died almost as quickly as it appeared. The plan was tacked onto a much larger nursing home industry bill on Feb. 22…
Suspect’s victims claim Sarasota Police didn’t do enough to warn of attacks over last 2 years
ABC Action News
They think he’s responsible for at least five attacks on Ringling College and New College students…
Former Secretary of Defense Gates Talks Business With Quips
The Ledger
Robert Gates, former secretary of defense and director of the CIA, speaks at the sixth annual National Leadership Forum in the Bush Chapel on the campus of Southeastern University in Lakeland on Friday.
DeLand officials to make case for Stetson stadium funding
Daytona Beach News-Journal
City leaders are not giving up on getting a $1.4 million county grant to improve Spec Martin Stadium, where Stetson University plans to play football games next year.
For-Profit and Career Colleges
High school seniors compete for $70000 scholarship to Digital Media Arts College
Sun-Sentinel
For a shot at a full scholarship, student artists had to unleash the Dr. Seuss within. Twenty-eight high school seniors from South Florida and beyond vied Saturday in the sixth annual competition for an undergraduate scholarship to Digital Media Arts College in Boca Raton. Although the $70,000 scholarship was being awarded for a bachelor’s degree in graphic design or computer animation, the judges were looking for a mastery of the basics. They also wanted to see how creative and “Dr. Seussian” students could be…
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
Colorado must not go the way of Florida on tuition hikes
Denver Post (blog)
BREAKING: In a state with increasingly scarce public funds for higher education, the legislature passed a bill allowing unlimited tuition hikes. It’s not Colorado, but it could be. No, that news bulletin comes from Florida, which has been a bellwether on so many issues. Here’s hoping this move isn’t a harbinger of what’s to come in Colorado.
Dockery: Bait and switch: USF Poly Folly
Hernando Today
In this year’s session, both houses of the legislature were fooled by one of the oldest tricks in the book, the bait and switch. For more than 20 years, the University of South Florida has operated a campus in Lakeland, giving thousands of students the opportunity to earn degrees from a respected accredited university. But one senator, Budget Committee Chairman J.D. Alexander, is on a mission to rid the area of USF, and immediately open an unaccredited, unknown 12th public university.
Millions from claims bill won’t heal Eric Brody’s wounds
Sun-Sentinel
On Monday, Sharon Brody will return to work at the registrar’s office at Broward College. “People are saying, ‘Oh, you’re rich now,”’ said Chuck Brody.
Corrections firm offers states cash for prisons
The Associated Press
“Knowing the state government, it has to have something to do with the potential political backlash,” said Jeanne Stinchcomb, a criminal justice professor at Florida Atlantic University who has written two books on the corrections industry.
South Florida’s highest paid CEOs
Sun-Sentinel
It shows the risks that CEOs undertake, said Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, an economics professor who directs the Center of Economic Research at Florida International University. Their tenure can be short if they don’t perform well, Salazar-Carrillo said.
Political parties attempt to show how much they love women
Broward Politics (blog)
“They’re going to lose the women’s vote. But by how big a percentage?” said Kathryn DePalo, a political scientist at Florida International University. She said 1 or 2 percentage points could sway the 2012 election outcome in key states like Florida. Women’s views on social issues tend to be more moderate than men’s, DePalo said. When the public gets the idea that Republicans want to restrict access to birth control, even if that’s not accurate, it “drives women away from Republicans. The Republicans have to try to stem that tide,” she said.
State Supreme Court Rejects Senate Redistricting Plan
The Ledger
Senators didn’t pay much attention to detail when they drew the maps, said Bruce Anderson, a Florida Southern College political science professor who has studied the districts. The Senate ignored racial make-up and directives to make compact districts, …
Valrico’s Jeremy Rosado ejected by ‘Idol’ judges
Tampabay.com
The Hillsborough Community College student struggled on a week where all male performers had to perform Stevie Wonder songs. Tampa’s Shannon Magrane, a 16-year-old sophomore at Blake High School, also finished toward the bottom of the pack; …
Will Weatherford, first Tampa Bay House speaker in a decade, ready to take reins
Tampabay.com
With a defensive end physique from his college football days at Jacksonville University somewhat intact, Weatherford cuts an imposing figure.
New book details the five-decades-old epic journey of Cuban exiles
MiamiHerald.com
The task of detailing the myriad of struggles fell on Juan Clark, professor emeritus at Miami-Dade College and a paratrooper during the Bay of Pigs invasion. “The other myth that we break down is that all Cubans who came here were gangsters, …
Puerto Rico’s population exodus is all about jobs
USA TODAY
“They’re here for awhile, and they want to go back,” says Victor Vazquez Hernandez, chairman of the social sciences department at Miami Dade College and former head of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights…
Cunningham’s Relationship With Lake Wales Charter System Raises Eyebrows
The Ledger
The Ledger asked Wayne Bailey, a Stetson University political science professor, about the business relationship. Bailey said Cunningham should have disclosed her conflict at the September meeting when the School Board approved transferring items it …
King of the Dung Hill
New York Times (blog)
As for scientists specializing in dung beetles, “they do it because they absolutely love the work,” said Phillip Kaufman, a veterinary entomologist at the University of Florida who recently undertook a dung beetle investigation on Florida livestock farms…
UF helps put state on map for blueberries
Ocala
She [Carleen Gunter] credits the University of Florida for developing varieties of blueberries that thrive in the state, which historically hadn’t been a hotbed for the fruit. “There wouldn’t be blueberry farms in Florida without the University of Florida,” she said.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Buys $3.4 Million Estate From Miami Dolphins Player …
Huffington Post
After unloading multiple South Florida properties last year, the movie star and WWE legend just bought a massive 13353-square foot mansion just north of Miami from another former University of Miami football player, Miami Dolphins tackle Vernon Carey.
Treatments abound for Erectile Dysfunction, which can mask cardio issues
MiamiHerald.com
“You can’t go to a baseball game without seeing a Viagra ad,” said Dr. Bruce Kava, associate professor of urology and interim chairman of the department of urology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Erectile dysfunction has gotten …
Top 10 tests every man needs
MiamiHerald.com
“It’s a life-saving test because it detects the early presence of cancer or polyps that are in the process of turning cancerous,” said Dr. Marc Lippman, chairman of the department of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and …
Visceral fat around the belly leads to higher risks of heart attacks and …
MiamiHerald.com
“Visceral fat tissue causes the release of certain hormones and other substances that have a deleterious effect on the body,” said Dr. Jennifer Marks, a professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the division of Endocrinology, …
UNF professor Donald Moores receives lifetime achievement award
Florida Times-Union
Donald Moores, a professor in the Department of Exceptional Student and Deaf Education at the University of North Florida, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of College Educators-Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Releases and Web Stories
Southeastern University Announces Possible Football Program During Tim Tebow …
MarketWatch (press release)
With one of the most popular athletes in the country in attendance Thursday night, Southeastern University announced a major initiative for its athletic program. “We are looking at the possibility of bringing college football to Lakeland!
