The House Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee listens to an overview of what the Florida Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform has found in its work. 3 p.m., 102 House Office Building, The Capitol.

State University System

University presidents to make funding proposal at Capitol
Gainesville Sun
University of Florida President Bernie Machen will be among the state university leaders gathering Wednesday at the state Capitol to make a higher education funding proposal. Machen will be appear at a press conference with the presidents of Florida State and Florida A&M universities, New College of Florida and the universities of Central Florida, North Florida, South Florida and West Florida. The 10 a.m. event will be broadcast online. A member of the Florida Board of Governors let it slip last month that state universities might pledge to forgo tuition increases next year in exchange for increased state funding.

Florida universities’ campaign aims for higher state funding
Palm Beach Post
With taxpayer support for universities steadily eroding, campus leaders are launching a new offensive to convince Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers that Florida schools play a key role in economic development and are worth renewed investment. The campaign, dubbed “Aim Higher,” will be rolled out Wednesday by university presidents and student government association presidents, three months before the start of the legislative session to build a case for more dollars, said those familiar with the plan…

FGCU could require fingerprinting from employees
NBC2 News
Taking a fingerprint could become standard procedure for new and current employees at Florida Gulf Coast University.

UCF organic grocery store deal a no-go
Bizjournals.com
Administration officials at the University of Central Florida have decided to pass on the concept of bringing an organic grocery store to the intersection of University Boulevard and Alafaya Trail. Two developers — Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors Inc. and a partnership between Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments Inc. and Real Property Specialists Inc. — had proposed to develop the 11-acre parcel into an organic grocery story; Unicorp’s had a $40 million build-out cost to it.

Professors’ plagiarism reported
Central Florida Future
UCF has implemented several new policies to curb plagiarism and cheating among its students. One recent effort is the Z designation, which places a Z on students’ transcripts if they are accused of academic dishonesty. But students aren’t the only ones getting busted. Three federal investigations into faculty plagiarism led the university to send a mass email to faculty on Sept. 24 declaring a new plagiarism-detection program, iThenticate, mandatory.

4 workers injured in construction accident near University of Central Florida
The Republic
Four construction workers have been injured following an accident near the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The workers got hurt as a concrete floor was being lowered by a crane Monday at the site of an apartment building under construction. The site is across the street from UCF’s football stadium, and the apartment building eventually will house UCF students…

State College System

Family of worker killed in MDC garage collapse has filed suit against contractors
MiamiHerald.com (registration)
The widow of one of four workers who died after a Miami Dade College parking garage collapsed filed a lawsuit Monday against five construction companies hired for the project…

Seminole State College board approves massive Altamonte Springs master plan
Orlando Business Journal
Seminole State College’s Board of Trustees approved a 1.4 million-square-foot master plan Dec. 3 for its Altamonte Springs campus. The project, which industry experts estimated will cost $211 million to build, now must be approved by the Florida Department of Education, which oversees the community colleges. The project won’t seek state money or tax exempt bonds for construction, instead relying on public-private partnerships…

State College of Florida nursing programs expand
Bradenton Herald
…This May, the State College of Florida ASN nursing program will offer classes during the weekends and evenings, and cater to working licensed practical nurses who want to advance their degree, but can’t attend the already-existing day program…

Independent Colleges and Universities

Mark Twain the topic of discussion of Dec. 11 Flagler College lecture
Florida Times-Union
Flagler College wraps up its 2012 Community Lecture Series with a discussion of one of America’s most famous writers – Mark Twain. Assistant professor Wesley King will present “Mark Twain’s ‘Gilded Age’ and the Lure of the West” at 10 a.m.

Things to do in Tampa Bay for Dec. 4
Tampabay.com
University of Tampa Orchestra: The orchestra performs its final fall concert, featuring works from Schubert and Wagner. It’s at 6:45 p.m. at University of Tampa Plant Hall, 401 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. Free. (813) 253-3333.

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

Siegel: Could Florida produce the stem-cell breakthrough?
Palm Beach Post
We are on the cusp of a new age in medical treatments and cures. Stem cell research, using embryonic, adult and reprogrammed stem cells, represents one of the greatest biomedical advances in our lifetime, offering the prospect of discovering the root causes of disease, serving as an efficient and personalized tool for drug discovery and creating potential therapies to replace damaged tissues with healthy cells and regrow organs. Dr. Joshua Hare at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is leading a new clinical trial in which stem cells repair damaged hearts…Bernard Siegel is founder and co-chair of the World Stem Cell Summit and executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute.

13th Grade: How Florida Schools Are Failing To Prepare Graduates For College
StateImpact Florida
National educators are watching how Florida addresses this problem. The Sunshine State has one of the largest community and state college systems in the country. Randall W. Hanna oversees it. “There is a cost, a cost to the state, a cost to the student. There’s a cost of time,” said Hanna, chancellor of the Florida College System, which does not include the state’s four-year universities. “We all know if they go into the lower-level math class, they have less of a chance to make it all the way through. We have a real incentive from a cost standpoint to reduce the number of students in developmental education and to make sure they are college ready when they come to our system.”

FAMU Freshman Continues to Excel After Inventing Surgical Technique at Age 14
WCTV
Tony Hansberry has been in numerous magazine, newspaper, and TV reports. But, the 18-year-old says he’s a regular freshman at FAMU. He says, “Like other students, I’m trying to do the best I can; really no difference.” What Hansberry has achieved is not “regular” for a teenager. At age 14, he created a new medical technique for sewing up women after a hysterectomy…

Gov. Scott appoints 2 people to Florida State College at Jacksonville Board of …
First Coast News
Rick Scott announced on Monday two people he has appointed to the Florida State College at Jacksonville Board of Trustees, according to a release from the governor’s office. Randle “Randy” Shoemaker-Crump, 48, is the senior underwriter at senior vice president at Fidelity National Title Group. Her term is set to begin Monday and end May 31, 2014. Thomas Bryan, 45, is a partner at Terra Capital Holdings. His term is set to begin Monday and end May 31, 2015.

Exploring the causes and cures of a common problem: Dandruff
Washington Post
What we do know is that oil on the scalp plays a role, says Antonella Tosti, a professor of dermatology at the University of Miami who specializes in hair and nail health…

Aerospace entrepreneur Burt Rutan talks about the world of commercial …
Jacksonville Daily Record
In a presentation liberally sprinkled with the words “weird” and “cool, commercial space entrepreneur and aerospace engineer Burt Rutan shared the story of his career and his forecast for the industry with more than 700 people Tuesday at the University of North Florida.

Homeless USF graduate earns state honor
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee graduate was one of eight women recognized by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women for their work in improving the lives of women and families in their communities and have served as positive role models. Shawna Machado of Sarasota received an achievement award and a congratulatory letter from Gov. Rick Scott during a ceremony Nov. 15 at the Capitol Center in Tallahassee…

Releases and Web Stories

University of Florida moves up in national rankings for research spending
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new report from the National Science Foundation shows the University of Florida jumped from 14th to 12th in a national ranking of research and development spending at the top 30 public universities in 2011.

New Jamaica butterfly species emphasizes need for biodiversity research
University of Florida
University of Florida scientists have co-authored a study describing a new Lepidoptera species found in Jamaica’s last remaining wilderness. Belonging to the family of skipper butterflies, the new genus and species is the first butterfly discovered in …