State University System
Lawmaker warns of Fla. university quality decline
Herald Times Reporter
The quality of Florida’s state universities is bound to erode due to spending cuts and a veto of a proposal to allow steeper tuition increases at two schools, the House Education Committee’s chairman said Thursday at a meeting of the Higher Education Coordinating Council.
Lawmaker Says Quality Of Florida Universities Will Erode Without Funding
StateImpact Florida
The lawmaker behind two key pieces of legislation relating to Florida’s state university system – one signed by Gov. Rick Scott, the other vetoed – talked about the Legislature’s efforts before the Higher Education Coordinating Council on Wednesday. Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, told the group’s seven members that many of their recommendations were reflected in HB7135, which provides requirements for goal setting and a plan to improve STEM education in Florida, and HB7129, the tuition “preeminence” bill vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott.
Prosecutor: 13 Charged in FAMU Hazing Death
The Associated Press
A prosecutor says 13 people will be charged in the death of Florida A&M university drum major who died after being beaten during a hazing ritual in November. 26-year-old Robert Champion died aboard a bus parked outside a hotel…
Florida files charges in death of FAMU drum major, hazing of 2 others
CNN International
FAMU said it has taken steps to eradicate the problem. Authorities declined to identify those who had not been arrested. Two suspects were being held Wednesday afternoon at the Leon County Jail, according to Lt. James McQuaig, spokesman for the Leon …
Florida A&M hazing charges underscore larger problem
Christian Science Monitor
Thirteen people were charged Wednesday in one of the biggest college hazing cases ever prosecuted in the U.S., accused in the death of a Florida A&M University drum major who authorities say was mercilessly pummeled by fellow members of the marching band…
13 Charged in Hazing Death at Florida A&M
New York Times
Thirteen people were criminally charged on Wednesday with hazing in the death of a Florida A&M University marching band member who was beaten after a football game last fall…
Arrests in hazing death renew scrutiny of violent rite
USA TODAY
In one of the largest hazing prosecutions ever, 13 people were charged Wednesday in the brutal hazing death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion…
FAMU hazing suspect had criminal record
MiamiHerald.com
A Tallahassee man arrested in the beating death of a Florida A&M University drum major has a criminal record. State and local records show that Caleb Jackson was serving probation for a felony battery charge…
Rocket Designed by FAMU students takes flight and first place
WTXL ABC 27
The FAMU Rocket, affectionately known as Blue Diamond, reached 5270 feet, a mere 10 feet from one mile. The competition, which was held at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala., brought together 53 teams from all over the US…
FAU accounting scholars program Class of 2012 has 100 percent job placement
Palm Beach Post
All 23 graduates of the Florida Atlantic University Accounting Scholars Program are leaving school with a job in their field…
FAU to honor 3 local Tuskegee Airmen
Sun-Sentinel
Seventy years after battling foreign enemies abroad and racism at home, three local Tuskegee Airmen are receiving a special honor from Florida Atlantic University. President Mary Jane Saunders on Thursday will issue her Distinguished Service Medallion to the World War II veterans — retired Judge Richard B. Rutledge, 90, of Plantation; Lt. Col. Eldridge F. Williams, 94, of Miami, and Lt. Col. Leo R. Gray, 87, of Dania Beach.
Confronting campus anti-Israel activism
Sun-Sentinel
More than 500 people packed Boca Raton Synagogue on April 23 to hear Jewish community leaders, elected officials and students confront campus anti-Israel activism, after an earlier contentious incident at Florida Atlantic University sparked a firestorm…
FSU athletics forced to cut spending
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
The Florida State University athletic department may be forced to cut as much as $2.4 million in expenditures for the 2012-13 fiscal year in part because of what athletic director Randy Spetman called lagging ticket sales in football…
Mom, son share a journey through UF
Gainesville Sun
Two college seniors head into the University of Florida Reitz Union, past the books, past the blue-and-orange hoodies, back to the table downstairs where fellow college seniors are picking up their caps and gowns for graduation. Within 15 minutes or so, these two soon-to-be alumni, mortarboards and honors cords in hand, leave to go home.
County takes on transforming USF area into ‘innovation destination’
Tampabay.com
Hillsborough County wants to make a greater push at turning the area around the University of South Florida into an economic development hub…
County wants to turn around ‘Suitcase City’
Tbo.com
Of all the blighted areas in Hillsborough County, perhaps the most notorious is the area just west of the University of South Florida known as “Suitcase City.” Despite millions of dollars invested there by federal, state and local governments, many of the areas between Fletcher and Fowler avenues are still dogged by crime and poverty. Local officials believe the neighborhood’s problems have hindered efforts to turn the university area into a bio-medical and technological mecca similar to the Research Triangle in North Carolina or Silicon Valley in California…
Polytech’s fiercest opponent to speak at commencement
MiamiHerald.com (blog)
When Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, pushed to break off the University of South Florida’s Lakeland branch to create the state’s 12th university, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, was the fiercest critic. Now Dockery will be guest speaker at the branch’s Monday commencement ceremony. The topic: Integrity in leadership…
Work on Florida Polytechnic Campus Under Way
The Ledger
As accusations of broken rules and a multitude of inappropriate business maneuvers swirled around the University of South Florida Lakeland campus recently, a more peaceful scene was unfolding just across town…
State College System
Jill Biden to speak at BC graduation
MiamiHerald.com
Dr. Jill Biden, wife of US Vice President Joe Biden, will be speaking at the Broward College graduation commencement ceremony Friday at 3 pm The educator of over 30 years will address students, along with their family members, …
Daytona commission shoots down proposed retail center on ISB
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The land, located across from the Daytona State College campus, is near homes just south and east of the site. The 2.47-acre property is an irregularly shaped parcel that has about 500 feet fronting International Speedway Boulevard…
Embry-Riddle team excels with water purifier project
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Normally, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University deals with things related to the skies: aviation, air-traffic control, satellite technology and aerodynamics. But this week it was disclosed the university and a team of students have excelled with another …
Contract talks start with likely new Keys college chief
KeysNet
With contract negotiations ongoing, Jonathan Gueverra is prepping to leave the nation’s capital to lead Florida Keys Community College, where he was tapped Saturday to be the institution’s sixth president…
FSCJ students with Pell debts can stay enrolled
Florida Times-Union
Students who may have to repay federal grants they received with Florida State College at Jacksonville’s approval can still take classes after the FSCJ board made an exception to school policy. Board members voted unanimously …
See more documents from suspended FSCJ associate VP Celine McArthur
Florida Times-Union (blog)
Suspended associate vice president Celine McArthur provided more documents to the Times-Union related to her accusations against Florida State College at Jacksonville…
Not your average student loan story
WOKV
Chad Nodine, a sophomore at the Florida State College at Jacksonville, says the school gave him about a week to provide the proper legal documentation for his federal loans. He has until Thursday and has been taking final exams all week…
Survivor: Friends Always Made People Smile
The Ledger
Christian Rodriguez and Joe Palacios, both 19, laid in state during the funeral service where there were tears and some laughter, as family and friends remembered the two Polk State College students who were gunned down in a Winter Haven apartment last …
Polk State students mourned
News Chief
All three of the victims were Polk State College students. Christian Rodriguez and Joe Palacios were killed and Esteban Zavala was wounded during the shooting…
Graduations begin Thursday at SF College
Gainesville Sun
Santa Fe College commencement ceremonies will begin Thursday and culminate Friday evening in the main commencement in which 350 students are expected to receive diplomas. The number of students who have applied for graduation in the spring ceremonies …
Jailed SFCC lead instructor had good background check
News-Sun
Administrators at South Florida Community College were as shocked at the arrest of William C. Morrison Jr. on campus …
Independent College and University System
Jeb Bush to address Ave Maria grads
Naples Daily News
Jeb Bush, former two-term governor of Florida, will address the 2012 graduating class of Ave Maria University on Saturday at 10 am in the Tom Golisano …
Shaq is soon to be Dr. O’Neal, an expert on humor in the workplace
MiamiHerald.com
When Shaquille O’Neal graduates from Barry University this weekend, he’ll receive a Ph.D in organizational learning and leadership…
Shaq gets a doctorate, Jack White gets to the top of the charts
Philadelphia Inquirer
It’s from Barry University, a previously unsuspected Catholic school in Miami Shores, Fla. So Shaq’ll get out of his Buick LaCrosse (if he even can!), don mortarboard and cloak, and walk the walk. Congrats, Big Guy!..
Role models make a difference for Bethune-Cookman group
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Taylor, D-Daytona Beach, and Handfield, board chairman at Bethune-Cookman University, use their experiences and serve as mentors to inspire other black males that they can succeed despite their backgrounds…
UM, Lynn soar in social media rankings
Sun-Sentinel (blog)
In South Florida, the University of Miami ranked 18th among the top 100 social media colleges in the country, according to a new list by the website Student Advisor. The website credits UM for creating a Facebook page allowing fans to decide what jersey and hats the Hurricanes baseball team would wear on game day. Lynn University ranked 43rd, thanks to its extensive use of social networking to engage students and the public for the October presidential debate…
South Miami police: Help us find car that hit UM student
MiamiHerald.com
South Miami police are asking for help finding the driver who struck a University of Miami student, then drove away. The crash happened shortly before 5 am Friday. The student was struck by a car while crossing South Dixie Highway at …
Former Miami football coach Randy Shannon sues school for breach of contract
Boston Herald
Former University of Miami football coach Randy Shannon is suing the school for breach of contract, claiming that UM has “improperly denied and continues to deny” compensation owed as part of his contract which ran through 2014, according to court documents…
Gov. Rick Scott turns down Tampa’s request to ban guns outside GOP convention
Tampabay.com
It also would ban many objects that could be used as weapons inside a smaller “Event Zone,” which covers downtown up to Interstates 4 and 275, plus Ybor City, the campus of the University of Tampa and areas across the Hillsborough River as far west as North Boulevard…
For-Profit and Career Colleges
Burning bodies case person of interest’s past surfaces
WKMG Orlando
Davis has been questioned about the deaths of Nicholas Presha, 16, and Jeremy Stewart, 18, whose bodies were found burning by two bicyclists around 6:40 am on April 15 just off Cady Way Trail near Full Sail University…
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the State
SFCC should give a class in openness
News-Sun
The administration of South Florida Community College has increased our respect for the school, which we already admired. When presented with a list of …
Letter: Proposed Flagler PUD doesn’t fit city’s historic design rules
St. Augustine Record
My letter is in regards to the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) by Flagler College at the corner of Cuna and Cordova streets. We seem to constantly widening the gap between what the city’s guidelines for Colonial …
Final Dean of Students candidate addresses ISU at open forum
Iowa State Daily
Terry Mena, currently the associate dean of students at Florida Atlantic University, addressed members of the campus community in a presentation followed by a question and answer session…
Gov. signs restricts Cuba-Syria trade, backpedals
WSLS
Florida International University Political Science Professor Dario Moreno said the law could still go into effect, but if the governor chooses not to enforce it, it’s essentially invalid. “Obviously, he signed the law because of the Cuban vote for 2014 …
Stand Your Ground law: Florida review panel to draw wide scrutiny
MinnPost.com
One member of Senator Smith’s panel, Florida International University law Prof. Joelle Anne Moreno, suggests that the law did shift the self-defense standard to a such a degree that it created opportunity for abuse and injustice…
As state cuts jobs and merges services, it trims $16 million in rental costs
The Florida Current
“It’s kind of like playing three-dimensional chess when you don’t have all the pieces,” Mark Bertolami, facilities planner for Florida State University, said Tuesday…
Seminole State College professor wins several honors in National …
Orlando Sentinel
John Sunvold, a communications professor at Seminole State College of Florida, won the 2012 Amateur Best in Show prize at the American Pie Council’s Crisco National Pie Championships held April 27-29 in Orlando, Fla. For his Peg’s Banana Cream Supreme Pie, Sunvold won $5,000, a Sears Kenmore Range and a Crisco gift basket…
Rub on red meat: Steak OK, but plant-based sides are important
Florida Today
“Eating red meat isn’ta good thing to do,” said Dr. Ralph Vicari, a MIMA cardiologist who teaches at the University of Central Florida…
Fungus that kills avocado trees turns up in South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
Jonathan Crane, professor of agriculture at the University of Florida, who is involved in the fight, said scientists have several weapons against the disease, including insecticides, fungicides, barriers, repellents, and trap-and-kill systems.
Heads of Latin America for multinationals discussed what they’re looking for …
WorldCity
You “have to get [students] out into the real world so they connect the theory from the classroom,” said Eugene Anderson, dean of the School of Business Administration at the University of Miami.
Prosecutors opt for hazing charges in FAMU case
Kansas City Star
“The prosecutor in this case had an opportunity to do something, to send a stronger message, a deserved message based on the conduct,” said Tamara Lave, a University of Miami law professor.
Renowned author speaks at UNF to veterans, students
Ponte Vedra Recorder
Author Tim O’Brien wears a baseball cap every single day to remember his first day back in Minnesota after leaving the Vietnam War — and formal speaking engagements are no exception. With tufts of gray hair poking through the bottom of his red cap and rustling against his black suit’s collar, O’Brien used simple speech and blunt phrases to discuss the poignant topic of war featured in his Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel, “The Things They Carried” at a Jax Reads event at the University of North Florida on April 26…
Top USF doctor to become state surgeon general
Tbo.com
John Armstrong was a premier hire for the University of South Florida when he left the University of Florida last year to become the chief medical officer of USF’s high-tech medical training center in downtown …
Study: Women with melanoma fare better than men
Fox News
“Once somebody has melanoma, we absolutely believe that men and women deal with it differently, in general,” said Vernon Sondak, chair of the department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and a professor at the University of South Florida …
UWF introduces new women’s basketball coach
Pensacola News Journal
The University of West Florida welcomed its new women’s basketball head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton in a news conference Wednesday at the Argonaut Athletic Club…
Releases and Web Stories
Florida International University Wins ABC Student Chapter Construction …
ForConstructionPros.com
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced the winners of its 12th annual Student Chapter Construction Management Competition during the 2012 ABC EdCon and Expo, April 24-27 in San Antonio. Teams of students from 25 colleges and …
(BPRW) Florida Memorial University Set to Graduate Largest Class …
Black PR Wire
Florida Memorial University will graduate its largest class in school history during spring commencement. The ceremony is set for Saturday, May 5, 2012, …
Lynn’s social media is among top 50 in the nation and top 5 in Florida
Lynn University
Other Florida colleges on the list include Florida International University (#64) and Rollins College(#90). Although Lynn dropped one spot in the rankings …
Different abilities advocate to graduate and walk across Lynn’s stage
Lynn University
Stephanie Hammerman, a 22-year-old senior, New York native and well-known disability awareness advocate who has cerebral palsy, will graduate from Lynn University with a Bachelor of Arts in advertising and public relations from the College of …
Bioheart’s President/CEO Mike Tomas Inducted Into Miami Dade College Hall of Fame
MarketWatch (press release)
OB) announced today that Mike Tomas, the company’s President/CEO, has been named a 2012 Hall of Famer by Miami Dade College (MDC). Tomas is one of 25 alumni presented with its top recognition, and induction into the MDC’s Alumni Hall of Fame, …
Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler School of Education Granted National …
MarketWatch (press release)
LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — In addition to regional accreditation, NSU’s education programs now have highest level of national accreditation Nova Southeastern University (NSU) President and Chief Executive Officer
Pearson Announces Cite 2012 Award Recipients
PR Web (press release)
Two instructors at Palm Beach Atlantic University and National University are the 2012 recipients of the Pearson Cite Awards of Excellence. The awards honor outstanding accomplishments in online higher education using the Pearson LearningStudio …
Central Florida Crowned Champion in Inaugural $100000 ACC Clean Energy Final Four
Greentech Media
COLLEGE PARK, Md., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/— Mesdi Systems Inc., a company founded by a team of six students from the University of Central Florida (UCF) developing precision electrospray modules to accelerate and improve the production of …
USF Federal Credit Union awarded CUNA’s Complete Campaign Diamond Award
MarketWatch (press release)
USF Federal Credit Union is a leading financial institution serving the faculty, staff and students of the University of South Florida. Additionally, USF Federal Credit Union membership is open to organizations that have employees on the campuses of …
