Panel seeks stronger BOG
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
A stronger, more powerful Board of Governors would oversee Florida’s public universities if the governor and Legislature embrace recommendations coming from a task force studying higher education reform.

Florida has STEM jobs, but not grads to fill them
Sun-Sentinel
…This past year, the 11 state universities graduated just 10,273 students with bachelor’s degrees in STEM, out of 54,614 total degrees awarded. It also handed out 4,582 STEM graduate degrees out of 18,416 master’s and doctoral degrees awarded…

FAMU wants public’s feedback in search for new president
Orlando Sentinel
About two dozen people turned out at FAMU’s law school in Orlando on Saturday to tell university officials what kind of qualities they want to see in FAMU’s next president…

High-speed LambdaRail at FAU Research Park expected to boost development
Palm Beach Post
Private businesses housed at Florida Atlantic University’s Research Park now have access to a high-speed network enabling collaboration with universities across the state, nation and world.

Acting sick
Palm Beach Post
FAU is the latest medical school to adopt this program. Once a week, students practice everything from their bedside manner to physical examinations on people pretending to be sick. It’s good training for the day far in the future when they have to deal with actual patients…

Faculty slam FAU president in survey
Sun-Sentinel
Mary Jane Saunders received a warm welcome from faculty when she arrived at Florida Atlantic University in 2010, but the honeymoon appears to be over. Faculty members panned her performance in a recently released United Faculty of Florida survey…

College price hikes more modest but still painful
Sun-Sentinel
At Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, tuition has risen 15 percent for the past four years. Room-and-board charges grew by a comparable amount nationwide, raising the full cost for students living on campus to an average of $17,860…

Florida Polytechnic University: Off and Running
The Ledger
In November, nearly a year ago, the State University System’s Board of Governors outlined a series of steps that would allow the University of South Florida Polytechnic to become Florida Polytechnic University, independent from the USF regional system …

Decoding the 11 constitutional amendments
Orlando Sentinel
Supporters say: It is unfair for public universities to have to pay dues to join the FSA. Critics say: It is an unnecessary change prompted by Florida State University students, who aren’t FSA members…

Obama campaign moves up Monday Obama/Clinton UCF rally to an earlier time
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
Because of Hurricane Sandy the presidential campaign rally scheduled for the University of Central Florida featuring President Barack Obama and former president Bill Clinton has been pushed earlier a couple of hours.

The most important legislative races in Florida
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
The seat includes the 60,000-student University of Central Florida, and it is nearly one-third Hispanic. The direction the seat swings could very well signal whether young voters are turning out in big numbers for President Barack Obama…

UCF Holding Asteroid Fly-By Viewing Party In February 2013
RedOrbit
The University of Central Florida (UCF) announced on Saturday that they would be hosting a special event on February 15, 2013, to watch asteroid 2012 DA14 come within 14,000 miles of Earth…

UF studying the value of families eating meals together
Gainesville Sun
Families who eat together at meals at least three times a week tend to have healthier kids and stronger family ties, and a new study at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions is investigating why.

Armed robbery on UF campus
Gainesville Sun
The University of Florida Police Department (UFPD) said the attach happened at about 1:15 am as the woman walked on the northeast side of Bryan Hall. She told police that a man brandished a knife and demanded her belongings…

University of Florida fraternity members wore blackface to party
Orlando Sentinel
A University of Florida fraternity has drawn sharp criticism this week after two members darkened their skin and went to a fraternity party dressed in a style meant to represent African Americans. On Thursday and Friday, social media sites were abuzz with news of the event as students and others passed around a photo showing two Beta Theta Pi members wearing “blackface” and donning thick gold chains, baseball caps and pants that hang so low they show their boxer shorts. The theme of Wednesday night’s Halloween party, which was held off campus, was “Rock-stars and Rappers.”

Red-light runners soon to be on camera in Palatka
Florida Times-Union
Some question their effectiveness as a safety measure, including a University of South Florida study that they cause more rear-end collisions because people stop suddenly.

Workplace deaths: Florida second in nation, region has a dozen or more yearly
Naples Daily News
In Florida, USF Safety Florida falls under the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health. It conducted more than 700 consultations last fiscal year, about 60 percent involving safety issues and roughly 40 percent health-related…

Bayfront deal brings up questions of hospital charity care
Tampabay.com
Leaders at the University of South Florida — who have cried foul over the Bayfront deal, arguing that they should be its academic partner — nonetheless agree that patient care trumps tax status…

School Briefs
Pensacola News Journal
The project, titled “Engaging Non-Traditional and Underrepresented Students in Mobile App Development,” is a collaboration between the District’s Workforce Education Department business partner Tech Soft, and education partner University of West Florida.

State College System

Broward College training Chinese air controllers
Sun-Sentinel
…The one-of-a-kind program was orchestrated by China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), what Wilson called “like the FAA of China,” he said. The CAAC chose Broward College from among the U.S.’s 36 FAA-approved air traffic control colleges because of its instructors who were high-level air traffic control managers, Shakespeare said. Instructors include aviation managers from Fort-Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport…

Public radio station WQCS celebrates 30 years on the airwaves
TCPalm
The Fort Pierce public radio station located on the campus of Indian River State College has been on the air 30 years…

New Palm Beach Gardens digital sign draws residents’ attention
Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach Gardens High School and the Eissey Campus Theatre at Palm Beach State College installed changeable copy signs during the past year, Jablin said…

Polk begins new portion of My Ride initiative
Bay News 9
A Polk State College agreement has grown in the past year from 2,400 trips per month to 8,157 trips per month.

Polk State might look at Frostproof
News Chief
Now Frostproof City Hall could house classes again, if Polk State College is interested in the building…

Students Debate Immigration at The PSC Lakeland Campus
The Ledger
The Puerto Rican/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Polk State College are hosting an immigration debate Tuesday at the PSC Lakeland campus…

Veterans Day Ceremony set for Nov. 9
Seminole State College
Seminole State College of Florida is holding a Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 9, to honor those who have served in the military…

Major SCF changes not expected after Hafner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Amid record unemployment, State College of Florida began an ambitious bachelor’s degree nursing program to address a shortage of qualified nurses in local hospitals and clinics. SCF graduated its first nursing class in 2011, three years after trustees hired college President Lars Hafner and charged him with an aggressive modernization of what was then Manatee Community College. The Hafner era could end Tuesday, when trustees are set to approve a severance package for him after a contentious four-month struggle over his future at the college…

Independent College and University System

Republicans revved up for Ryan’s FIT stop today
Florida Today
…The Republican vice presidential candidate will lead a campaign rally at 5 p.m. at the Clemente Center at Florida Tech in Melbourne…

Tim Cost selected as next JU president
Florida Times-Union
A man who used to attend classes at Jacksonville University has been named the university’s next president. The JU Board of Trustees on Friday named Tim Cost to succeed outgoing president Kerry Romesburg.

Lynn revels in social media, TV debate publicity
Palm Beach Post
The college said Friday that, with nearly 60 million sets of eyes turned to televisions to watch Boca Raton’s Lynn University for Monday night’s presidential debate, and hordes more connecting through the Internet, not to mention the thousands of print …

South Florida debate on role of government draws hundreds to Nova Southeastern
Examiner.com
Audience members attending the event at the Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center at Nova Southeastern University, participated in a question and answer session and book signing with the speakers following the debate…

University of Miami‘s Richter Library celebrates its 50th
MiamiHerald.com (registration)
Over the years, the school’s Otto G. Richter Library, built for $3 million, has grown into one of Florida’s largest repositories for some of the region’s most significant collections of memorabilia and history.

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

Vote no for Amendment 12
The Oracle
Amendment 12, pitched by USF graduate Rep. Shawn Harrison, is not good for the students at USF — nor for students across the state…

Our Opinion: Welcome back
Tallahassee Democrat (blog)
Today, thousands of Florida State University alumni, current students and adopted supporters are expected to turn things up a notch in celebration of homecoming 2012.

Editorial: Results are in: Lynn University won the debate
Palm Beach Post
By last Tuesday morning, Lynn University was looking much better than the event it had hosted so well. Lynn had staged the final presidential debate. It marked only the second time a Florida college had been the site of a debate; the University of Miami, in 2004, was the first. At roughly 10,000, though, UM’s student body is five times larger than Lynn’s. Indeed, some of the 3,000 reporters covering the debate went to high schools that had more students than Lynn…

Denton: Creating civility in Camden County
Florida Times-Union
Southern’s email was in reaction to a panel discussion Ross hosted on WJCT-TV and radio as part of a project on civil discourse organized with the Times-Union, the OneJax Institute, the University of North Florida and the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission.

Amendment 8 debate; political photos; films
Naples Daily News
Jim Towey, Ave Maria University president, is for the ballot issue and Howard Simon, Florida ACLU executive director, is against…

Bochy makes the right moves
Florida Today
Melbourne High and Brevard Community College grad Bruce Bochy, who may just be the best manager in San Francisco Giants’ history, could be lining himself up for a spot in Cooperstown…

Merritt Island author Patrick Smith is a literary classic
Florida Today
In 1966, he [Patrick Smith] was offered a job as public relations director for what is now the University of Central Florida. However, the school didn’t have a campus. Instead, he accepted the position of public relations director at Brevard Community College.

Female engineers in short supply, declining
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Carol Eaton, president of Daytona State College, said while the situation is disheartening, an observation of the medical field’s transition from being male-dominated to one of equal representation — and applying those principles to the problem of the …

FAMU Professor Awarded U.S. Patent to Identify Bacteria Stains
WCTV
Marlon S. Thomas, bioengineer and professor in Florida A&M University‘s (FAMU) College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, was awarded United States Patent No. 8,252,522 for his research development in species detection methods and systems…

Florida Republican Voters Targeted for Suppression
BET
Marcus Bright, an adjunct professor of public administration at Florida Atlantic University, said that letters were a “miniscule distraction” in the overall range of voter suppression activity…

Are Floridians upbeat enough to spend?
Sun-Sentinel
“That is the conventional wisdom. If you are not worried about the future you will spend,” said economist William B. Stronge, a professor emeritus at Florida Atlantic University.

Political Notebook: Supreme Court justices not ‘activists’, study finds
Naples Daily News
Elizabeth Foley, a law professor at Florida International University, said she examined nine controversial cases on behalf of the Washington, D.C.-based Federalist Society…

Florida Free Poker League Raided By Police
Poker News Daily
Marc Dunbar, a Florida State University college professor that teaches gaming law, offered his opinion to Wang that the poker laws in the state aren’t well understood or well enforced…

Bill Nelson pitches long-held moderate message in tight US Senate race
Tampabay.com
Four hours later, Bill Nelson was in Tallahassee, pointing again — this time at the world’s strongest magnet, housed at the National Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University. ”We are going to Mars,” he told the scientists. “We need to create a magnetic field around our astronauts so if there is a solar explosion, they won’t get fried. Can you do that?”

Seminole Tribe joins Osceola on the field
Florida Flambeau
“We are extremely honored to be at Florida State University and take part in Homecoming activities,” said [Tony] Sanchez. “We thoroughly enjoy the relationship between Florida State and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.”

Rock The Vote
Boca Raton (blog)
“When we first heard that Lynn University secured the final presidential debate we at the CVB tried to think of a way that we could leverage that attention and just talking about coming to visit wasn’t enough,” said Shirley Talbert, chief marketing officer for the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “So we decided to reach out to Rock the Vote to see if they would be interested in having a concert here because a lot of people don’t have a clear understanding of Boca. They may have some unclear perceptions, or inaccurate perceptions. We wanted to show the world how hip and cool and beautiful Boca is.”

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog crashes Lynn debate, ambushes Evan Axelbank
WPTV
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog does his shtick with WPTV’s Evan Axelbank in the spin room at Lynn University after Monday night’s debate in Boca Raton…

Northwood Florida President Weighs in on Presidential Race, More
Examiner.com
Northwood University Florida President Dr. Tom Duncan continues to serve as a valuable political commentator by sharing expertise with a variety of media outlets…

Final defendant to be sentenced in NSU professor’s killing
Sun-Sentinel
A final defendant is set to be sentenced in the murder of Nova Southeastern University professor Joseph Morrissey. The sentencing date for Randy H. Tundidor, 24, is scheduled for Dec. 7, officials decided Friday…

Woman accused of breaking into cars near Palm Beach Atlantic …
Palm Beach Post
A 21-year-old suburban West Palm Beach woman is accused of breaking into several vehicles on or near the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University recently. When shown supposed video evidence of the crimes, she said it was probably her twin sister. Misti D. Swartz is facing charges of burglary, petit theft and grand theft, city police said. She was arrested Wednesday and remains in the Palm Beach County Jail today in lieu of $60,000 bail, Palm Beach County Jail records showed…

St. Petersburg College student accused of claiming $1.7 million in …
Tampabay.com
Carlos Oscar Johnson worked part time as a certified nursing assistant. In 2010, he earned $14,000 at Sabal Palms Health Care Center in Largo, picking up spare shifts. The government says his next line of work paid $1.7 million. Johnson, a 23-year-old St. Petersburg College student, was arrested Friday on a federal criminal complaint that alleges he has filed more than 200 fraudulent income tax returns since February, using other people’s Social Security numbers…

Trumpet great Arturo Sandoval visits with Stetson students in DeLand
The DeLand-Deltona Beacon
Practice and passion are keys to mastery, he [Arturo Sandoval] told Stetson University students…

Jose Fajardo leaving WMFE
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
Jose Fajardo, the president and CEO of WMFE, is leaving, the public broadcaster announced Friday. Fajardo has been with WMFE since 1996 and became CEO in 2007. He oversaw WMFE’s getting out of public television last year, a controversial move that ended with the sale last month of Channel 24 to the University of Central Florida for $3.3 million.

In liberal Madison, young Republicans rare, passionate
Wisconsin State Journal
“They were saying they were a Republican or a Democrat but testing out as something different,” said lead researcher William B. Russell III, an associate professor at the University of Central Florida.

So Much Training, So Little to Show for It
Wall Street Journal
Eduardo Salas, a professor of organizational psychology at the University of Central Florida and a program director at its Institute for Simulation and Training, has studied corporate training programs for more than two decades. What happens before and after a training session, he says, is just as important as the actual instruction itself…

University of Florida at Gainesville students named 2012 National FFA president
Syracuse.com (blog)
University of Florida at Gainesville student Clay Sapp was named president of the National FFA organization at the conclusion of the 2012 National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis…

Diverse population adds up to swing-state status for Florida
Gainesville Sun
Hispanic voters have become pivotal in presidential elections, said Richard Scher, a political science professor at the University of Florida…

Miami’s Bid to Attract Latin American Startups
ABC News
Susana Amat, the co-founder and director of the University of Miami’s Launch Pad and one of Miami’s biggest champions of entrepreneurship, is confident about the city’s potential. “Miami will be the tech hub of the hemisphere within five years,” she said.

Computers, Pinch Of Art Aid Hurricane Forecasters
NPR
Brian McNoldy, a senior research assistant at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, says that if you’re trying to untangle the spaghetti charts, it’s important to understand that not all models are created …

Campaigns battle for critical Jewish votes
Chicago Sun-Times
According to projections by Ira Sheskin, the director of the University of Miami’s Jewish Demography Project, about 6 percent of the Florida vote will be Jewish, 3 percent in Ohio and close to 4 percent in Nevada…

Commentary: Cuba policy was missing from presidential debates
Kansas City Star
“I don’t think people were crushed that Cuba didn’t come up,” University of Miami history professor Jaime Suchlicki told me.

Disabled teen thrives at college
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Two days before Sara Gaver was scheduled to move into her dorm at the University of North Florida, the 19-year-old received a phone call that stopped her cold…

Being civil is hard work, but worth the effort
Florida Times-Union
They want to say, ‘I’m here, listen to me,’ ” said Bert Koegler chairman of the philosophy department at the University of North Florida…

Child welfare job fraught with risk
Tbo.com
Investigators toe a delicate line between ensuring the safety of children and “protecting a family’s right to care for their children,” said Mary Armstrong, a professor of child and family studies at the University of South Florida.

Analyzing Digital Domain stock not a perfect science
TCPalm
Analysts who work for investment banking companies that buy and resell publicly traded companies’ stocks to make a profit are regulated, but the rules could improve, University of South Florida Associate Professor of Finance Daniel Bradley said…

USF Professor Hitches a Ride Into the Eye of Hurricane Sandy
WUSF News
One University of South Florida professor got a first-hand look at the eye of Hurricane Sandy, and says she got quite a ride. After eight hours in the sky, USF professor and meteorologist Jennifer Collins is back on terra firma…

In God’s name
Tampabay.com
More must be done, says Robert Friedman, a psychologist and professor emeritus with the University of South Florida’s Department of Child and Family Studies. Friedman founded an advocacy group to stop abuse in residential facilities…

Religion affects voters’ choices — in subtle, and direct, ways
Tampabay.com
Michael Gibbons, associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Florida, said faith plays a definite role in the outcome of national and state elections. “Don’t underestimate the influence of religion…

Ludacris performs tonight after USF homecoming parade
Tbo.com
Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris, known for high-energy club hits like “Get Back,” “Move” and “Act a Fool,” will perform at the University of South Florida’s homecoming parade after-party tonight…

New poll has Romney pulling away from Obama in Florida
Examiner.com
Tampa-based University of South Florida political science professor Susan Macmanus told the paper turnout will be the key to winning the election. “Polls can never predict turnout,” Macmanus she said…

Bill Nelson Leads Connie Mack by 5 Points; I-4 Corridor Could Be the Decider
Sunshine State News
As University of South Florida political science professor Susan Macmanus noted that a key for Obama will be getting younger voters to the polls, Nelson also sees a wide range of support from younger voters…

Shadowy groups are spending cash to influence Pinellas elections
Tampabay.com
University of South Florida government professor Susan MacManus said it’s not surprising, given the extraordinary amounts of money brought to this battleground state by the closely contested presidential race…

Shannon Nickinson: Ballot bingo boggles the mind
Pensacola News Journal
David Ramsey, an assistant professor of political science at the University of West Florida, says that confusion is by design. Ramsey, whose area of specialty is constitutional law, says once a proposed amendment gets lawyered up, as it were, it is hard to know what you are voting for when you vote yes…

Releases and Web Stories

JU Board picks 1981 alum Tim Cost as next president
Jacksonville University
Selecting a candidate with proven passion for Jacksonville University’s academic mission, high-end fundraising skills and dedication to keeping his alma mater focused on student success and growth, the JU Board of Trustees announced Friday it has chosen 1981 alumnus Tim Cost as its next president.

Early numbers show that efforts to host the final presidential debate are paying off
Lynn University
The hosting of a presidential debate takes months of planning, untold hours of work and several million dollars—a mammoth task for any organization, but especially challenging for a small, independent school such as Lynn University.

Master plan expands Altamonte Springs Campus
Seminole State College
Architects have unveiled a vision for Seminole State College of Florida’s Altamonte Springs Campus that includes an academic village of eight new high-rise buildings, two large parking structures and a unique mix of classrooms and commercial space.

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Black and white framed photo.

Simple skin retouching and color pop.

Everything from the Orignal to Black and White. The subject in this photo is Marcus Bright (model, actor, dancer).

Dramatic touch with a simple photo pop.

Minor skin smoothing/editing and image enhancement.