Forbes 2012 Annual Ranking of Top Colleges is out! How did your institution fare? Here’s a peek at the 2012 results for Florida Institutions. . .
Click here to access the full 2012 rankings…
State University System
No butts about it: Students collect more than 10000 cigarette butts on campus
Sun-Sentinel
In an effort to bring awareness to the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) community about the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke, 25 volunteers recently cleaned up cigarette butts. Less than an hour after they started, the volunteers had collected more than 10,000 butts. The cleanup, organized by FAU’s Exercise Science and Health Promotion club, along with the American Lung Association in Florida (ALAF) and the Transforming Our Community’s Health (TOUCH) initiative, helped students to acknowledge not only the dangers of tobacco, but that cigarette butts are non-biodegradable.
Student bridge designs unveiled Aug. 2, 3
KeysNet
The public gets to give input this week into possible aesthetic changes to the old Seven Mile Bridge, Pigeon Key and Knights Key in the Middle Keys. In March, the Monroe County Commission OK’d spending $5,000 to have 15 students from Florida International University‘s College of Architecture and the Arts come up with design plans for the Marathon end of the Seven Mile Bridge…
The hard work begins at Florida Poly
Tampabay.com
Florida Polytechnic University is still a long way from opening its doors, but a loose framework for the new school is beginning to take shape. No tenure, no general education courses and guaranteed local jobs for Florida Poly graduates — those were among the ideas tossed around Wednesday at the first meeting of Florida Poly‘s Board of Trustees…
Florida Poly trustees meet for first time; start state’s first STEM university
WTSP 10 News
The state’s 12th university has no students, no faculty, and no campus yet, but the future STEM institution in Lakeland is a step closer to having its first president. But starting with a clean slate may be harder than first thought. The Board of Trustees (BOT) for Florida Polytechnic University met for the first time Wednesday morning at the Hyatt Regency at Orlando International Airport. The eight trustees – half of whom were selected by Gov. Rick Scott, and the other half by the BOG - will be tasked with starting the new university from the ground-up…
THR’s Top 25 Film Schools List Revealed
The Hollywood Reporter
FSU‘s College of Motion Picture Arts in Tallahassee is huge news in Hollywood, thanks to its collaboration with VFX titan Digital Domain (Transformers), which gives students actual experience making blockbusters at its West Palm Beach facility. VFX professionals are screaming about the competition from unpaid — in fact, tuition-paying — young rivals, but in a down job market, this may be just the ticket for hungry talent trying to break in. FSU students have won as many Student Academy Awards as AFI’s have: eight…
NCAA release: UCF cited for recruiting violations, lack of institutional control
Orlando Sentinel
The University of Central Florida exhibited a lack of institutional control and was responsible for impermissible recruiting activities and extra benefits, according to a decision announced today by the Division I Committee on Infractions…
Central Florida sorts through impact of NCAA sanctions
USA TODAY
There are still a lot of unanswered questions following the announcement of NCAA sanctions this week stemming from major recruiting violations by the University of Central Florida‘s football and basketball programs…
UF presidential search committee holding first meeting
Gainesville Sun (blog)
The search for the University of Florida’s next president starts today with the first look at hot-button issues such as pay and qualifications. UF‘s presidential search committee holds its first meeting this afternoon at Emerson Alumni Hall. UF’s presidential search committee holds its first meeting this afternoon at Emerson Alumni Hall. The committee has more than 20 members including university trustees, administrators and faculty.
Next UF president must be able to accept ‘warts’ of the job, panel told
Gainesville Sun
It’s not exactly an appealing job ad: “Wanted — President of major research university in a state with declining higher education funding, limits on tuition and meddling politicians.” Yet that’s the situation faced in the University of Florida‘s search for its next president, according to one of the men who previously held the job.
UF’s rack policy under new scrutiny after letter to magazine
Gainesville Sun
The University of Florida’s plan requiring outside publications to be distributed in university-owned boxes had raised concerns that the university might later censor those publications. It looks like the first test case is already here…
State College System
Rick Scott Will Give Florida School Board His Input on Replacing Gerard Robinson
Sunshine State News
Scott, speaking after an appearance at a Florida Health Care Association conference at the Hilton Orlando, maintained he was “surprised” and “disappointed” in Robinson’s abrupt resignation. But Scott added that he doesn’t believe any change in leadership will impact the ongoing drive to overhaul the state’s Pre-K-12 system. And Scott said he intends to give his input as the state Board of Education begins a search to find Robinson’s replacement.
Group seeks information on earmarks Cliff Stearns secured for …
Florida Times-Union
A Washington-based watchdog group has filed records requests seeking more information on earmarks Stearns helped secure for the College of Central Florida. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent requests to the college, its foundation, and the Florida Department of Education…
Candidates gather for debate Thursday night
The News Herald
The first will be at Gulf Coast State College in Sarzin Hall, where about 15 candidates for offices from US Senate to School Board will be available …
HCC to welcome new Plant City campus president
Tbo.com
Hillsborough Community College will host an Aug. 9 reception to welcome its new Plant City campus president, Martyn Clay.
IRSC’s National Preparedness Institute conducting security, safety training
TCPalm
People attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa this month may feel safer because of a new initiative at Indian River State College…
Afro-Cuban Dance back with free MDC kickoff
The South Florida Times
Miami Dade College (MDC) will help kick off the 14th Annual IFE-ILE Dance Festival with a pre-festival event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 9, free and open to the public at the College’s Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami.
Harrison Submits Charter Application
The Ledger
Polk State College Lakeland Pathways would be a third high school offered on the campuses of Polk State College, joining one in Lakeland and another in Winter Haven.
Independent Colleges and Universities
Black bear roams Ave Maria neighborhood
Fox 4
An Ave Maria neighborhood says a black bear is getting way too comfortable nears their homes. The male bear has been spotted at coffee shops and supermarkets. No one wants to wait in line for a cup of Joe and a black bear might have wanted to be the first in line! A picture of a black bear shows him up against a coffee shop window at The Bean on Ave Maria University‘s campus…
Chamber’s Celeb Dinner called fun event
Lehigh Acres Citizen
It was held at Hodges University in the new Student Union Building and Bright said officials there went out of their way to make the event a success.
Long lines for ticket exchange to see Obama Thursday
Central Florida News 13
Dozens of people lined up at the Obama For America Orlando Office Tuesday night to make sure they have their tickets to see the president when he speaks at Rollins College Thursday afternoon.
Randolph, Obama campaign: Romney tax plan would hurt middle class
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
Setting the stage for President Barack Obama’s speech at Rollins College Thursday, Orange County Democratic Executive Committee chairman Scott Randolph outlined campaign reports that say Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s tax plans…
Rollins College preps for President Obama’s arrival
WFTV Orlando
In less than 24 hours, President Barrack Obama will visit the Rollins College campus to speak about his campaign. The president’s trip was canceled last time because of the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo. Now campus crews are gearing up again …
Winter Park parking, traffic information ahead of Obama visit
WKMG Orlando
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the college and the area to have him here,” said Lindsay Clarke, an employee at Rollins College. There will be no parking on campus; all cars must be cleared out by 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Saint Leo University facility to serve as Front Row Tampa Bay ‘hub’
Upstart
Saint Leo University will turn its Tampa Education Center into a social media hub for Front Row Tampa Bay, a live programming series scheduled to coincide with the Republican National Convention Aug. 27-30. The hub will be a place where representatives from economic development organizations can maintain blogs and post updates during the series, a Saint Leo spokeswoman said…
The Risks of a One-Year MBA
Wall Street Journal
Also with summer internships on its agenda, the University of Miami School of Business Administration conducts its one-year M.B.A. on a calendar cycle, breaking for the summer months, rather than a traditional academic year…
ACLU to hold forum on free speech and the RNC
Sacramento Bee
The American Civil Liberties Union will hold a forum on free speech and the Republican National Convention. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Tampa‘s Reeves Theater in the Vaughn Center. Representatives from the ACLU, along with officials from the city of Tampa, law professors and lawyers, will discuss the rights of citizens, demonstrators and journalists at the RNC, which will be held in downtown Tampa from Aug. 27 to 30…
For Profit and Career Colleges
Full Sail offers monthly Behind the Scenes tours
Winter Park/Maitland Observer
If you’re not paying attention you might not even realize it’s there, nestled between endless shopping centers and restaurants on University Boulevard. Inside and behind the two reflective multi-story glass buildings visible from the street stands the 191-acre campus that is Full Sail University just outside Winter Park. Inside, an array of 110 recording and/or gaming studios, sound stages, a live performance venue and full-scale backlot sets spread a quarter mile into the distance.
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
B-CU helps freshmen with focus on retention
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Bethune-Cookman University is dealing with a problem that could affect the future prospects of many students: freshman retention. New policies aimed at improving freshman retention and graduation rates were announced by interim President Edison Jackson. University officials should be commended for going the extra mile to help students succeed. The new policies include enforcing attendance, requiring tutoring classes and seminars on subjects such as how to succeed and adding staff to help students. The new Freshman College, led by Dean Michelle D. Thompson, aims to provide a first-year experience to ensure a seamless transition from high school.
FPU Board of Trustees Meets for the First Time
flpolyblog
Today, Florida Polytechnic University’s (FPU) newly appointed Board of Trustees met for the first time for an orientation session hosted by the Florida Board of Governors (BOG). With today’s gathering, eight of the thirteen appointed trustee members have begun the discussions that will shape Florida’s 12th university…
Letter: Florida Poly will open opportunities
Tampa Bay Times
Florida Polytechnic University has officially arrived. With the Board of Trustees’ orientation meeting scheduled for today, we will begin to see the first of many critical decisions that will push Florida Polytechnic forward. As we welcome Florida’s 12th university to Polk County, we are also opening the doors to employment opportunities that will grow our local and statewide economy and produce highly prepared and competitive graduates to help meet the critical need for a skilled STEM workforce…Victor B. Story, co-chair, Florida Poly Vision Inc., Lake Wales
UCF should take lumps, build new sports culture
Orlando Sentinel
The lords of discipline in college sports hit the University of Central Florida hard Tuesday for major recruiting-rules violations. But it was a clean tackle…
Letter to UCF Fans From AD Todd Stansbury
UCF Today
Dear Knight Fans,
I want to update you on today’s NCAA ruling related to our football and men’s basketball programs and what it will mean for UCF Athletics. You have most likely already seen the media coverage of today’s ruling. But I felt it was important that I reach out to you as supporters of our programs…
Gerard Robinson leaves the rodeo
http://www.shermandorn.com (Blog)
Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson has submitted his resignation effective the end of August. The past year would have been hard on anyone in that position, appointed by the state board of education in large part because of pressure by Florida’s bull-in-a-china-shop governor Rick Scott, the same governor who pushed out Eric Smith in spring 2011…
Book Review: Two dudes talking
MiamiHerald.com
A terrible thing happened to Padgett Powell in the years after the release of his first novel: he was awarded tenure. Powell is completing his third decade at the University of Florida’s MFA program, which he currently co-directs. State-supported job security has allowed him to write as he pleases, with decidedly mixed results. He likes to experiment, a residual legacy, perhaps, of his stint as a chemistry grad student… Ariel Gonzalez teaches English at Miami Dade College…
Robinson: It’s no cliche – I’m truly leaving for family reasons
Orlando Sentinel
Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson knows it’s a political cliché to cite family as a reason for leaving a high-powered job. But in his case, he said, it’s true. ”It actually is that factor,” Robinson said in a telephone interview today with the Orlando Sentinel, one day after he announced his resignation as Florida’s school chief…
Florida Education Commissioner Robinson says he wasn’t forced out
Tampabay.com
Despite his rocky tenure, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson insisted Wednesday that leaving was his choice. ”I am not being forced out by Gov. Rick Scott,” Robinson said Wednesday. “I am not being forced out by Chair (Kathleen) Shanahan or the State Board of Education.”
Allbritten addresses Edison State College’s probation issues on first day
Naples Daily News
Edison State College’s new president hit the ground running on his first day, meeting with groups across campus to get a sense of what issues remain at the embattled school. “It’s going to be sort of like what I call drinking water from a fire hose …
FAMU Law student competing in 2012 Olympic Games in London
Bay News 9
No hurdle is too high for Lavonne Idlette. The FAMU Law student traveled to London for the 2012 Olympic Games. She’ll line up on Aug.6 in the 100-meter hurdles. Idlette is the national record holder for the Dominican Republic in the 100m hurdles, with a time of 12.96…
Matt Reed: Brevard poised for a jobs breakthrough?
Florida Today
But now, the Space Coast may be eking into positive job growth for the first time in years, says economics professor Mike Slotkin from the Florida Institute of Technology…
Seeking the Jewish vote
Sun-Sentinel
At the press conference at Obama headquarters, Rabbi Kurt Stone of Tamarac, who leads the North Broward Havurah and teaches at Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University, said Romney’s visit to Israel will not be important “beyond the next 48 hours.” Stone said the Republican strategy toward the Jewish community is to have Israel in the spotlight because on so many social and domestic issues, including women’s issues, education, social security and gay marriage, “They don’t stand much of a chance with the Jewish community.” He said the strategy is “demeaning and it shows a lack of understanding of the Jewish people.”
Bostick Named Vice Chair of Florida Poly Board
The Ledger
Robert Gidel, managing partner of Liberty Capital, was tapped to chair the board; Comcar Industries President Mark Bostick of Lake Wales will serve as vice chair…
Board Chair, Vice Chair Elected For Fla.’s Newest University
WFSU
The formation of Florida’s 12th and newest public university, Florida Polytechnic, comes after protests from several lawmakers and many at the University of South Florida, whose polytech program is being phased out with the creation of the new university. On Wednesday in Orlando, Florida Polytech’s board of trustees met for the first time to learn just what’s expected of them and what challenges might get in their way. For their first order of business, the eight-member board elected as its chairman real estate investment executive Robert Gidel. Trucking company president Mark Bostick is the vice chair…
District 36 candidates detail views
Tbo.com
As state funding for higher education is reduced, colleges and universities are raising tuition, placing a greater burden on parents and students. What, if anything, should the state Legislature be doing to keep college affordable?
(Mike) FASANO: Keeping college affordable should be a top priority of the Legislature. One thing the Legislature should not have done was create a 12th university this year. I vehemently opposed Senator Alexander’s move to immediately split Polytech from the University of South Florida. This new school will be an instant drain on already strained higher education resources. It is my hope that a future Legislature will revisit this ill-conceived move and put the new school on hold until the budget can sustain the costs…
FSU’s Fisher assures police official of more punishment for player who wrote objectionable tweet
Florida Today
The controversy swirling around a Florida State football player’s objectionable posts on Twitter heated up again on Wednesday, but a resolution could be at hand following communication between Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher and the president of Florida’s Fraternal Order of Police. James W. Preston, who represents the 20,000-member state FOP, fired off a letter to university president Eric Barron and athletic director Randy Spetman on Tuesday, demanding the university investigate and discipline the player who made a post on the social networking site about killing police officers. “For a Florida State University football player to publically advocate the murder of police officers is outrageous and hateful. His disparaging language was racist, provocative and violent in an attempt to incite others to violence.”
Tweets from FSU player about killing cops has state Fraternal Order of Police mad
Orlando Sentinel
Jim Preston has been a Florida State fan for as long as he can remember. He has tried to make the trek from his Tampa home to Tallahassee whenever the opportunities present themselves. But before he makes any trips to Doak Campbell Stadium this fall, he wants to be assured Florida State University officials will take care of one issue that he considers “life and death.” On Tuesday, Preston, the president of Florida’s Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, sent a letter to FSU president Eric Barron and athletics director Randy Spetman concerning tweets from Seminoles cornerback Tyler Hunter about killing police officers. Preston said he and his executive board were troubled by the statements Hunter rattled off following a routine traffic stop in Tallahassee earlier this summer. ”As a student-athlete, whether he likes it or not, Hunter is a representative of student-athletes everywhere,” Preston‘s letter read. “To suggest that the killing of a police officer is warranted because he received a traffic citation is disgraceful and appalling.”
Candidates paying their own way
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
Carol Weissert, LeRoy Collins eminent scholar and professor of political science at Florida State University, said self-financing is not new or unusual. It helped Gov. Rick Scott, a political outsider in 2010, beat Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary and ultimately win the governor’s race. “Look at the governor — he put $70-plus million in his campaign the first time, and he says he’s not going to put anything in there now,” Weissert said. “So maybe the others are using this as a model — you can self-finance the first time and you don’t have to do it again. Another factor may be that there are so many candidates in this race, and that makes it harder to stand out.”
Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: The Whole Story
SouthFloridaGayNews.com
… [Rob] Rabenecker’s wife, Chandra Bill-Rabenecker, who quit her job, as a local TV anchor, to help her husband run the Wellington CFA, happens to be on the board of directors of Palm Beach Atlantic University — PBA does not allow homosexual behavior, according to their handbook…
The Online Pecking Order
Inside Higher Ed
“There is no doubt in my mind that in just a few years the entire online space is going to be very different,” says Arthur Kirk, the president of Saint Leo University, which enrolls about 3,000 online students. “And while the MOOCs aren’t, in my mind, an immediate threat, it’s just one of a number of things that are going to transform the entire space.”
TCC alum finds success in mobile technology
WTXL ABC 27
When James Parsons walked into his CGS1060 class as a first semester student at Tallahassee Community College in August 2006, the farthest thing from his mind was becoming a technology “rock star.” “I couldn’t even type all that well,” recalls Parsons. “But I was very intrigued and realized there were so many opportunities in the technology field that I could go into. It turned into a quest to develop a skill set that could lead to where I am now.” And where Parsons is today is serving as a partner and executive sales director for App Innovators, a Tallahassee-based firm that develops and markets smart phone applications.
Man accused of posing as UCF student, crafting prescriptions for controlled …
WFTV Orlando
A man posing as a patient at University of Central Florida Health Services is now facing some serious charges. Investigators said 24-year-old Ryan Muscanell crafted his own prescriptions for controlled substances using UCF letterhead…
Colony Collapse Disorder: Can BeesFree Save the World’s Bees?
New Times Broward-Palm Beach (blog)
James Ellis, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida, says his main concern with the company’s claim is that there’s no single known cause of colony collapse, and touting that a product can beat the disorder seems premature. ”CCD remains a mysterious phenomenon, but we know a lot more about bee health because of this phenomenon,” Ellis says. “It’s potentially a synergistic interaction among multiple stressors.”
For Crist, support of Nelson is telling
The News-Press
“To most anybody,” said Susan MacManus, political science expert at the University of South Florida in Tampa, “they will assume he has become a Democrat. There has been a rumor about that for quite a while.”
Cartoon exhibit reflects politics of their time
Tbo.com
The Tampa Museum of Art’s newest exhibit anticipates the politically savvy throngs that soon will invade downtown Tampa during the Republican National Convention… Considered provoking or pleasing depending on your political views, the exhibit images have been culled from about 1,000 cartoons of all sorts in The Mahan Collection of American Humor and Cartoon Art, now held by the University of South Florida Library. The collection was compiled over a lifetime of serious and purposeful gathering by Dr. Charlie Mahan, retired Dean and Professor Emeritus of the University Of South Florida School Of Public Health.
Beach report reveals massive shifting of sand after Tropical Storm Debby
Tampabay.com
Tropical Storm Debby swept an estimated 630900 cubic yards of sand off three barrier islands in Pinellas County in June, said a report released by University of South Florida researchers on Wednesday…The study by Ping Wang, a University of South Florida geology professor, and doctoral student Tiffany Roberts, found that beaches in the southern barrier islands fared the worst against Debby’s southerly winds. The storm pushed sand north, depositing most of it a few feet from shore and creating wide and shallow sand bars…
Releases and Web Stories
Walk Benefiting Alzheimer’s Research Set For November
BocaNewsNow.com
Florida Atlantic University’s Caring Hearts Auxiliary of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center will host the seventh annual “Keep Memories Alive — Steppin’ to the Oldies, Bobby Socks Optional!” walk affair on Sunday, November 4 at 9 a.m. at the Town Center at Boca Raton, 6000 Glades Road, Boca Raton…
UF HIV/AIDS expert awarded prestigious science and policy fellowship
University of Florida
A noted University of Florida professor selected for a prestigious fellowship will serve as a science adviser at the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development. Maureen Goodenow, the Stephany W. Holloway University Endowed Chair for AIDS Research in the UF College of Medicine department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and one of the nation’s leading experts in HIV/AIDS research, has been named a 2012-2013 Jefferson Science Fellow by the U.S. Department of State.
Fast-growing startup graduates from Florida Innovation Hub at UF, moves to …
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Shadow Health Inc., a virtual education and training company based on University of Florida computer-programming technology, will graduate from the Florida Innovation Hub at UF at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with an informal ceremony in the …
At University Of South Florida, The Human Body Goes Virtual, And Over 700 …
Daily Markets
This spring, over 700 students at the University of South Florida (USF) studied anatomy & physiology in a fully virtual environment, using Primal Pictures’ Anatomy & Physiology Online. Using this interactive, online learning tool, students view and study the entire human body using three-dimensional, medically accurate, rotatable images, and can complete these required courses from anywhere they can access the internet…
