House Education Approps takes up funding methods: The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee hears about funding formulas and programs for early learning, the Florida College System and the State University System.

State University System

Florida Atlantic University will begin Conference USA competition in Fall 2013.
WPTV
Florida Atlantic University will begin Conference USA competition in Fall 2013, a year ahead of schedule…

Gov. Rick Scott’s involvement in UF president decision under review
Miami Herald
The University of Florida said SACS has not contacted school officials about the abandoned presidential search or Machen’s decision to stay. Although another rebuke of Scott is most likely if SACS determines he crossed the line…

UF study raises question of how best to increase Vitamin D intake
Gainesville Sun
…A recent study from the University of Florida shows that Vitamin D also might have a role in reducing health disparities. It found that vitamin D deficiency might be a risk factor for increased knee osteoarthritis pain in African-Americans, who generally have lower vitamin D levels because their skin absorbs less sunlight, a natural source of vitamin D…

27 snakes killed so far in Florida python hunt
Fox News
University of Florida researchers are examining more than two dozen Burmese pythons harvested as part of the state’s “Python Challenge.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Tuesday that 27 of the invasive snakes have been killed …

Movers and Shakers: South Manatee Business Coaliton teams with USF
The Bradenton Times
Local business owners can receive guidance on business financing and cash flow stability at a Feb. 21 program co-sponsored by the South Manatee Business Coalition, SCORE and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Bradenton.

State College System

911 Calls Released In Cocoa Double Shooting
Brevard Times
The Cocoa Police Department has released the Brevard County 9-1-1 calls following yesterday’s mid-day shooting of a mother of three small children, Lydia Bradford, and their grandmother, Equaller Marie Bradford, on Clearlake Road across from the Brevard Community College campus in Cocoa, Florida…

Entertainment best bets for Wednesday
Florida Today
The 16th annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival kicks off Wednesday at Brevard Community College in Titusville…

Broward College has $1B economic impact
South Florida Business Journal
Broward College had a $1 billion economic impact in the 2010 to 2011 academic year, according to a study the college ordered from EMSI. The college of over 67,000 students had the report presented at its board of trustees meeting in Davie on Tuesday by President J. David Armstrong. This is a critical year for college funding in the Florida Legislature, as higher education leaders are requesting more funding while Governor Rick Scott wants lower tuition for STEM degrees…

Broward College says it adds $1B to economy
MiamiHerald.com
Broward College released an economic-impact study stating the community college contributes about $1 billion toward the local economy…

Edison pursues offering $10K degree
The News Press
Edison State College has accepted the governor’s challenge to try creating a $10,000 baccalaureate degree program, a price point that would represent a $3,000 break from the standard tuition rate.

Seaside School could add elementary, high school grades
The Northwest Florida Daily News
…Assuming the Seaside School Board gives the concept the green light, Northwest Florida State College tentatively has agreed to lease classrooms at its South Walton campus for the new school. Northwest Florida State President Ty Handy said he has been speaking with Seaside School officials since last fall about the proposal, and a draft lease agreement exists…

Cut Back Autumnwood Plan, RaceTrac Told
The Ledger
County planners have told officials at RaceTrac, the convenience store chain that has been aggressively expanding in Polk County during the past year, that it will have to cut back on its plans for another 12-pump location on U.S. 98 south across from the entrance of the Polk State College campus…

State College of Florida picks Probstfeld as new president
Bradenton Herald
In a stunning development, the State College of Florida‘s Board of Trustees voted 7-0 Tuesday to offer a contract to interim President Dr. Carol Probstfeld to be the school’s next president. Probstfeld accepted the offer during Tuesday night’s special board meeting to discuss aspects of the presidential search on the Lakewood Ranch campus. Probstfeld becomes the second woman president in SCF history. Sarah Pappas was president from 1997-2008..

Independent College System

Florida Southern Students Gather to Watch History at Rogers Auditorium
The Ledger
Monday was a holiday at Florida Southern College and other schools, but 15 FSC students who could have slept in or been walking Lake Hollingsworth were at Rogers Auditorium. They gathered to watch the second inauguration of President …

Statue marks milestone at Saint Leo University, school’s first black student
Tbo.com
“A Spirit of Belonging,” a statue dedicated Tuesday at Saint Leo University, marks the arrival on campus in 1898 of the school’s first black student, Rudolph Antorcha. The figure at right represents the Benedictine monks at the school who chose to admit Antorcha…

Car found in University of Tampa student hit and run
WTSP 10 News
Detectives with the Tampa Police Department say they’ve found the car believed to be involved in Sunday’s hit and run that sent a University of Tampa student to the hospital…

For-Profit and Career Colleges

Investigation Continues Into Deadly Lauderhill Tow Truck Accident
CBS Local
…Until last week she and her husband were living the American dream. Elias Konwufine received his doctorate at Nova Southeastern University and was working as an associate dean at Fort Lauderdale’s Keiser University…

Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State

Mayo: Parking in front of own home shouldn’t bring tow — or death
Sun-Sentinel
Two of my least favorite things of South Florida life – nitpicking condo/homeowner associations and overzealous towing companies – collided to produce a needless tragedy last week, the death of Elias Konwufine, 39, a Keiser University professor/administrator and father of three…

The University of Miami NCAA Investigation Is A Witch Hunt
Miami New Times (blog)
Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke gives his take on the latest developments in the NCAA probe of the Miami Hurricanes…

New Anchors Announced for Spring 2013 FAMU TV-20 newscast
WTXL ABC 27
The Florida A&M University (FAMU) TV-20 spring 2013 anchor team features four women from various regions, an international student and a 4.0 scholar, who bring a wealth of talent to the live student-run newscast. News 20 at Five will air Monday through Thursday beginning Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. on Comcast 20 and on the web a twww.FAMUTVNews.com. FAMU-TV 20 is an educational access channel operated by the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. It reaches more than 80,000 households. The anchors are broadcast journalism students Tanya Glover and Valeria Sistrunk (co-anchors on the main news desk), Samone Davis (sports) and LaCrai Mitchell (weather)…

New Governing Board for FAU
Boca News Now
Florida Atlantic University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously named Anthony Barbar ‘78 as the new chair and Tom Workman ‘71 as the new vice chair of the University’s governing board…

Florida GOP donor Jay Odom indicted on campaign finance fraud charges
Tampabay.com
Panhandle developer Jay Odom, the man whose desire for a new airplane hangar led to the downfall of former House Speaker Ray Sansom, has been indicted on federal campaign finance violations…Odom was indicted in 2009 with Sansom and Northwest Florida State College president Bob Richburg on charges stemming from Sansom’s inclusion of a $6 million appropriation in state school construction funds to build a hangar for Odom’s business, Destin Jet. The charges were dropped mid trial by State Attorney Willie Meggs in 2011 after a judge limited the evidence that could be used against the three men. Sansom has since sued Meggs and the state seeking more than $800,000 for legal expenses…

Robert Forbes, to be honored by Northwood University, discusses his pursuits
Palm Beach Daily News
Forbes, a Palm Beach resident since 1980, is being recognized Friday at a Breakers gala as an outstanding business leader by Northwood University…

Pork Producers Encouraged to Reassure Consumers About Their Food Choices
ThePigSite.com
Dr Wes Jamison, a professor of public relations with Palm Beach Atlantic University, says opponents of animal agriculture have been very successful in making the public feel guilty about their food consumption choices…

Lake Wales High School Counselor Passes Along Experience
News Chief
Heather Romanosky, a college admissions counselor at Lake Wales High School, uses the Polk State College website to teach students how to fill out college to teach students how to fill out college applications. School officials wanted her experience with getting into college — both getting and keeping academic scholarships, especially as a student athlete…

Commisioner Adam Putnam hosts panel about 500 years of Florida agriculture
Tallahassee.com (blog)
Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam, in partnership with the University of Florida, will host a panel discussion commemorating 500 years of agriculture in Florida on January 24 at the University of Florida’s Straughn IFAS Extension Professional Development Center in Gainesville…

Attorney defends former Miami coach as next phase of NCAA inquiry looms
Sun-Sentinel
Miami’s official notice of allegations from the NCAA in the Nevin Shapiro recruiting scandal could drop, well, any moment still. Speculation and media reports are on the rise as the day nears. Pompano Beach attorney Michael Buckner can tell you all about it. He represents former Miami basketball coach Frank Haith, who’s now at Missouri. Buckner was on a teleconference with co-counsel Monday afternoon when CBSSports.com published a story about his client…

Local grad appears on cover of People magazine
Pensacola News Journal
A University of West Florida and Pensacola Junior College graduate is featured in People magazine… Ashley Donahoo, 27, who graduated from UWF last summer, was featured in the magazine’s “Half Their Size.”…

Releases and Web Stories

Chicago Sun-Times reporter to discuss Obama’s second term at Flagler College …
ReadMedia (press release)
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (01/22/2013)(readMedia)– With his inauguration finished and his second term officially underway, Barack Obama has plenty of issues facing him over the next four years. Lynn Sweet, the c, will discuss these issues when she kicks off the Spring 2013 Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy series on Jan. 31…

College to launch 2 fast-track health programs
Seminole State College
In response to high demand within the healthcare industry, Seminole State College of Florida will launch two new fast-track programs – home health aide and phlebotomy technician – starting in March…

Panel discussion examines academic freedom, activism at UF
University of Florida
A five-part public discussion series at the University of Florida titled “Humanizing Conversations at UF” opens Monday with a panel discussion of the history of academic freedom and activism at UF from the late 1960s to the present…

Florida Supreme Court to judge Maguire Competition at UF Law
University of Florida
The current members of the Florida Supreme Court will once again visit the University of Florida Levin College of Law to hear oral arguments in the 29th annual Raymer F. Maguire Jr. Appellate Advocacy Competition at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center courtroom. The event is free and open to the public…

Study Abroad Fair highlights global education opportunities
University of Florida
The University of Florida International Center will host the spring 2013 Study Abroad Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 30 on the Reitz Student Union Colonnade. With 60 study abroad program representatives and UF-sponsored programs expected, students will have an opportunity to explore the many possibilities that enable them to become “Global Gators.” Apart from a few exceptions, the application deadline for fall 2013 study abroad programs is May 7, 2013…

People Seek High-Calorie Foods in Tough Times Says University of Miami Study
International Business Times (press release)
CORAL GABLES, Fla., Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Bad news about the economy could cause you to pack on the pounds. This according to a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration published in the February edition of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science…