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SAVE THE DATE!

REUNION RESORT . KISSIMMEE, FL

FAC&U ANNUAL CONFERENCE JUNE 4, 2014

welcome new presidents!Jason Hurst

Chipola College

Jeanette BrockHodges University

ElmirA MangumFlorida Agricultural

& Mechanical University

Cynthia A. Bioteau Florida State College

at Jacksonville

Roslyn Clark ArtisFlorida Memorial University

Thomas LeitzelSouth Florida State College

fac&u endorses legislation supporting veterans in pursuit

of higher educationSee full resolution on page 2

Welcome New SUS Chancellor Marshall Criser, III!

A resolution by the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities, supporting veterans in their pursuit of higher education in Florida.

WHEREAS, recognizing the contributions of those who served our country in defense of our freedom, the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities - the only organization in the state that represents all of Florida’s community and state colleges, state universities and private, independent colleges and universities - supports the professional development and advancement of servicemen and women in our state; and

WHEREAS, each year over 30,000 servicemen and women and their families attend Florida colleges and universities and claim veterans benefits; and

WHEREAS, the State of Florida has the third largest population of veterans in the United States with more than 1.6 million veterans – 12 percent of our state’s population over the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, our colleges and universities are opening our doors welcoming veterans home and improving services to meet the unique needs they present; and

WHEREAS, the State of Florida is a leader in its support for veterans and continuously seeks to enhance its support for those who serve our country; and

WHEREAS, the Association supports all legislation with provisions to grant resident status for tuition purposes for veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States, including the National Guard and reserve components joining 20 other states in the Union who have passed similar legislation; and

WHEREAS, the Association supports giving veterans broader educational choices that address their specific needs and helps ease their transition into civilian life afforded by the proposed G.I. Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2013 that grants in-state resident tuition at public colleges and universities.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities hereby commends the contributions of active duty servicemen and women and veterans of the Armed Forces and declares our support for their pursuit of higher education in Florida.

ADOPTED this 14th day of January, 2014, by unanimous action of the Association’s Board of Directors and signed by the members of the Association’s Executive Committee below on the opening day of Florida’s legislative session, this 4th day of March, 2014.

Exceutive CommitteeFlorida Associaton of Colleges and Universities

FAC&U President FAC&U Past PresidentSister Linda Bevilacqua, OP, Ph.D. Katherine M. Johnson, Ed.D.President, Barry University President, Pasco-Hernando Community College

FAC&U Vice President FAC&U Vice President, ElectJohn Delaney, J.D. Eileen Holden, Ed.D.President, University of North Florida President, Polk State College

FAC&U Legislative Committee ChairJames Murdaugh, Ph.D. President, Tallahassee Community College

florida association of colleges & universities

2013-2014Board Members

Jeffery Albritten, EdDEdison State College

Anthony Catanese, PhD, FAICPFlorida Institute of Technology

Mr. Andrew CortyPublisher,

Florida Trend

David Greenlaw, DD Adventist University

of Health Sciences

James Kerley, EdDGulf Coast State College

James Murdaugh, PhDTallahassee Community College

Donal O’Shea, ScDNew College of Florida

Mark Rosenberg, PhDFlorida International University

Ex-Officio Members

Marshall Criser, III, JD Chancellor,

State University System

Randy Hanna, JD Chancellor,

Florida College System

Edwin Moore, PhD President,

Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida

Officers 2013-2014

PresidentSister Linda Bevilacqua, OP, PhD

Barry University

Vice- PresidentJohn Delaney, JD

University of North Florida

Vice- President Elect Eileen Holden, EdD

Polk State College

Past PresidentKatherine Johnson, EdD

Pasco-Hernando Community College

A live webcast from the Palm Beach State College Belle Glade campus is giving students and the world a bird’s eye view of the in-tricate lives and behaviors of one of the earth’s most mysterious crea-tures, the barn owl.

Webcams installed inside two owl nesting boxes on campus pro-vide up-close observation anytime from any computer or mobile de-vice. The cameras catch everything from the owls’ resting patterns and food selections to their interaction with one another and their owlets. “It’s like being in someone’s house. Instead of seeing a snap-shot, you see events 24-7,’’ said Dr. Vetaley Stashenko, PBSC anatomy and microbiology professor who supervises the project.

Stashenko built the plywood boxes, added wood shavings for nesting material and mounted them on 10-foot poles. Within a week

of installation, two owls had populated the nesting boxes. A campus-wide naming con-test came up with the names Hootie and Luna for these first two residents, who con-tinue to inhabit the first nesting box while another pair of owls have made the second nesting box their home.

The owls spend their days sleeping, sitting attentively, grooming or caring for their owlets and their nights guarding their nest and searching for food. “We’re already finding out very interesting modes of behavior that are not recorded anywhere in the wildlife literature,’’ Stashenko said. “For example, we have discovered that the owls can recognize infrared light from the cameras. We have the ability to change the intensity of that light, and if we manipulate it, the owls

will answer or call to the light.”In addition, he said that while

wildlife literature says that owls nor-mally lay eggs between December and March, these owls have shown that is not always the case. “They’re like people. They’re going to behave differently. They’re going to feed from different sources. They differ in how they behave, how they reproduce and how long they stay inside of the box. In the literature, you can’t find this sort of data,’’ Stashenko said.

To view the Barn Owl Project, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/pro-grams/gladesbiology/owls.aspx.

news from across the statepalm beach state college

All Eyes On Hoo?

3

Rollins College stu-dents were welcomed by a newly renovated, ex-panded and state-of-the-art science center when classes began this fall. The new 103,580-square-foot Archibald Granville Bush Science Center positions Rollins to provide stu-dents with increased re-search opportunities and a highly interactive and engaging learning experi-ence.

One of the goals of the $30 million project was to create an interdisciplinary environment that would promote integrative sci-ence. Faculty members from various academic d i s c ip l ines—biolog y, chemistry, computer sci-ence, marine biology, mathematics, physics and psychology—will be able to more easily collaborate

on research in a building that supports connectivity and accessibility.

“The science center’s dynamic, interdisciplin-ary spaces create an at-mosphere of scientific dis-covery and will allow us to keep pace with the emerging technology of the 21st cen-tury,” said Rollins College President Lewis Duncan. “With a national focus on STEM education, Rollins is better equipped to en-courage and support cur-rent and future students to pursue scientific fields.”

Designed by EYP Ar-chitecture & Engineering, the science center blends seamlessly with the col-lege’s distinctive Spanish-Mediterranean architec-ture and is now the largest

building on campus with 51 offices, 15 classrooms, 15 instructional teaching labs, 19 research labs, and 18 student/faculty loung-es. Brasfield & Gorrie

served as the general con-tractor on the project and has recently teamed with

Rollins College on the newly opened Alfond Inn.

A key feature of the new building is the three-story Rice Family Atrium, with floor-to-ceiling win-dows facing the main pe-destrian promenade and the nearby Annie Russell Theatre. Not only does the atrium provide dramatic views to the green space outside the building, it also encourages visits from passersby and stu-dents from nearby build-

ings. Once inside they ex-perience a cutting-edge, modern and contempo-rary space with areas for gathering as well as for viewing the exciting re-search happening in the labs.

Another goal of the building design was to promote sustainability with eco-friendly features such as an energy recov-ery wheel for retrieving energy lost during cool-ing and dehumidification, direct digital control, LED lights and chilled-water powered air condition-ing. The site will also uti-lize rain water harvesting for non-potable usage and Florida-native cypress trees to aid in the natural treatment of storm water. Rollins anticipates that the building will receive LEED Gold Certification.

news from across the stateROLLINS COLLEGE

Rollins College Opens Newly Expanded and Renovated Bush Science Center

saint leo universitySaint Leo University Makes News with New Polling Institute

The Saint Leo Uni-versity Polling Institute, a new initiative of Saint Leo University, has at-tracted widespread atten-tion as an independent, nonpartisan source of data on public attitudes on political and cultural issues. The institute was announced and its inau-gural survey results were

released in mid-De-cember 2013. Results

were reported in scores of media outlets, includ-ing newspapers, broad-cast outlets, and online publications. Most notably, the poll re-ported on the popularity of Pope Fran-cis the very same week the pontiff was named Person of the Year by Time magazine.

The institute has com-mitted to conduct its reg-ular polls quarterly. The Saint Leo University Poll-

ing Institute uses online technology to survey adults both nation-ally and with-in the state

of Florida. The institute’s political polls regularly include oversamples of

Florida voters to gener-ate statistically valid data on views within the state. Faculty from Saint Leo help create the survey questions and interpret the findings. Full poll re-sults and survey infor-mation are still available for viewing at the polling institute’s website, polls.saintleo.edu. The institute also created a Twitter feed: @saintleopolls.4

news from across the state

5

Professors John H. Trefry and Ashok Pan-dit of Florida Institute of Technology and Profes-sor Jonathan B. Martin of the University of Florida were awarded a contract for $865,000 from the St. Johns River Water Management District for sediment and groundwa-ter studies in the Indian River Lagoon. The group will investigate inputs of the nutrient elements ni-trogen and phosphorus to the lagoon via the sedi-ments. Trefry and Martin will determine release rates for nutrients from muck sediments. Martin and Pandit will measure the rate of input of ni-

trogen and phosphorus to the lagoon from seep-age of groundwater up through sandy sediments to lagoon waters.

An algae superbloom hit the lagoon in 2011 and the blooms are continuing to harm the sys-tem. In the past three years, more than 47,000 acres of seagrass— ap-proximately 60 percent of the total seagrass area in the central and northern lagoon—has disappeared because the algae blooms block incoming sunlight. Trefry notes that “The distribution of muck has continued to increase in

the lagoon and the release of nitrogen and phospho-rus from muck sediments may have played an im-portant role in fueling these algae blooms.”

The group will focus sampling along the following three transects across the la-goon: adjacent to the mouth of the Eau Gallie

River, across the Indian River and Banana River lagoons from near Rock-ledge to Cocoa Beach, and across the Indian River and Mosquito la-goons north of Titusville and Haulover Canal.

The group will collab-

orate with Florida Tech’s Professor Kevin Johnson in his recently funded study of zooplankton, organisms that have the potential to graze on the nuisance algae. The two projects bring a total of $1.1 million to the newly established Indian River Lagoon Research Insti-tute (IRLRI). The institute is a collaboration of the university’s scientists, en-gineers, coastal resource managers, and educators working independently and with community or-ganizations to improve and sustain the health of the Indian River Lagoon.

florida institute of technologyCauses of Algae Superbloom Under Study Funding

United States that have implemented “Rights of Nature” laws. They also discussed a unified glob-al strategy for advancing the Rights of Nature movement.

Sister Pat is Director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, a collaborative initiative co-sponsored by Barry and St. Thomas Universi-

Barry University School of Law’s Sister Pat Siemen, OP, was among the key leaders of the emergent nature-rights movement participating in the first international Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature summit and tribunal from Jan. 13-17 in Ecuador.

Summit participants analyzed the experiences of communities in Ec-uador, Bolivia, and the

ties. A Dominican Sister and civil attorney, Siemen has been a leading envi-ronmental advocate in

Florida, cham-pioning issues such as the on-going Wekiva Springs cleanup and serving as a speaker in last fall’s TEDx

Jacksonville event. The Global Alliance

for the Rights of Nature

was created in 2010 to help advance the mes-sage that humans are one part of an interdepen-dent community of life on Earth and human ex-istence is wholly depen-dent on the health of the world’s rivers, plants, ani-mals, oceans, forests, and other ecosystems.

The five-day summit concluded with a public tribunal in Quito, where key Rights of Nature cas-es were heard.

BARRY UNIVERSITYBarry Names President’s Award and St. Catherine’s Medal Winner

ditional fishery-related employment to new jobs focused on the natural heritage of their commu-nity.

The Institute recently welcomed 10 oyster fish-ermen to a new program designed to help them learn oyster farming techniques. Oyster aqua-culture offers the pos-sibility of a more stable source of income than

fishing does, and Wakul-la County’s coastal region is ideal habit for the tasty shellfish.

“This has the poten-tial to revitalize the lo-cal oyster industry,” said Ballard. “Farmed oysters help fertilize wild oysters, they encourage sport fish and they are tremendous cleaners of the environ-ment. Just a small parcel of land can house thou-sands of cages, which can produce hundreds of thousands of oysters.”

The program offers micro-loans to students to purchase the equip-ment they will need

news from across the state

6

Tallahassee Community CollegeTallahassee Community College to Open New Environmental Institute

Some might say the most important part of Tallahassee Community College’s Wakulla Envi-ronmental Institute is al-ready complete. After all, the breath-taking natural space of TCC’s new prop-erty in Crawfordville will be the Institute’s most unique and widely used classroom. Nevertheless, it was with great excite-ment that the College broke ground for the In-stitute’s first building in April of 2013.

TCC President Jim Murdaugh and WEI Di-rector Bob Ballard—with the help of TCC trustees and local and state digni-taries—celebrated TCC’s expanded future in most-ly rural Wakulla County before a crowd of more than 200. Trustee Dana G. Callen unveiled the new sign that will desig-nate the road to the Insti-tute—Preservation Way.

The facility will for-mally open to students in January of 2015 and is slated to offer associate degrees and college-cred-it certificates in hospi-tality and tourism man-

agement, aquaculture management, parks and leisure services technolo-gy, agribusiness manage-ment and more. Instruc-tion will be provided online in conjunction with field training on the Institute’s 158 acres. The Institute already offers an environmental science technology A.S. degree and a water quality tech-nician certificate through TCC’s exist-ing Wakulla Center. The Institute will also host non-credit pro-grams, such as Green Guide Certifica-tion.

One purpose of the Institute is to promote the economic develop-ment of Wakulla County, which has been hit hard by the economic down-turn, the Gulf oil spill, and declines in oyster and other fisheries. The hope is that the WEI will increase Wakulla Coun-ty’s share of the growing ecotourism market and assist local residents in transitioning from tra-

for the class. Once they graduate, students will keep the equipment and be ready to start farming.

Another innovation is an introductory profes-sional diving course now being offered by WEI. The 16-week course tar-gets students who wish to extend their skills in compressed-gas diving in order to support their work as research scien-tists or underwater crime scene technologists, or who seek a career in teaching diving or run-ning a dive store or dive boat. Additional courses will be developed to facil-itate students’ entry into these career fields.

Among future oppor-tunities will be the even-tual diving exploration of the natural cave system and sinkholes that run under the WEI campus, possibly linking the cam-pus to the Gulf of Mexico.

For information about the Wakulla En-vironmental Institute, visit www.tcc.fl.edu/wei or contact Bob Ballard at (850) 201-9661 or bal-lardb@tcc.fl.edu.

to implement the program and will offer scholarships for students who success-fully complete the courses and pass the national exam (ONC HIT Professional Competency exam). The Rural Health Information Technology (HIT) Work-force Program is focused on training students from our rural areas, provid-ing them apprenticeship opportunities at our rural facilities, and ultimately coordinating with local employment resources to assist with job placement, when necessary, back into our rural communities.

news from across the statenorth florida community college

NFCC receives $737,189 Rural Health Information Technology Workforce Program grant

North Florida Com-munity College has been awarded a three-year, $737,189 Rural Health Information Technol-ogy (HIT) Workforce Program grant in partner-ship with the US Depart-ment of Health and Hu-man Services. The grant is one of 15 new Rural HIT Workforce grants awarded in 2013. The overall goal is to develop Health In-formation Technology (HIT) training programs that will produce a pool of qualified and certified workers to help rural hos-pitals and clinics transi-tion records from a paper system to a digital for-

mat. The HIT Workforce Program was developed in part in response to lo-cal need identified through the North Florida Rural Healthcare Work-force Development Network and the North Florida Workforce Development Board.

“This grant enables NFCC along with the North Florida Rural Healthcare Workforce Development Network to provide training that is responsive to the current and future HIT work-force needs of our service area,” said Julie Townsend, NFCC Director of Al-

lied Health. “NFCC’s HIT specialist training will be geared for people al-

ready working in healthcare or in-formation tech-nology who need to upgrade their technology skills

to successfully transition to the future paradigm of medical services delivery. These trained HIT per-sonnel will be critical to medical providers now and in the future.”

North Florida Com-munity College will utilize funding to develop a six-month, non-credit online HIT specialist training program, to hire personnel

Polk State Chain of Lakes students are once again collecting prom dresses, a project that is much deeper than silk, tulle and ribbon.

“This is a cause near and dear to our hearts,” said Michelle Luckett, a senior at the high school and a member of the its Leadership Cadre, a ser-vice-learning club. “Prom is such a big event in a high school girl’s life. I can’t imagine not being able to go.”

Luckett and her class-mates first collected prom dresses last year. Over the course of three months,

they collected about 40 dresses, which they then handed over to Winter Haven’s Women’s Re-source Center.

“Knowing that so many girls were able to have a special prom night, and that they’re girls just like us right here in Polk County, it was pretty great,” Luckett said.

Inspired by the impact they had last year, the students decided to repeat the proj-ect.

The students are us-ing Facebook and flyers around campus and town

to garner donations. They are accepting donations through May 1. Women’s Resource Center will sell the dresses at a deep dis-count at its Cheep Bou-tique, 165 Ave. A N.W.

The effort won’t just benefit females. Students are also accepting shirts,

ties, suits and shoes to help guys have the perfect prom night, too.

Donations may be dropped off on school days between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate High School, on the cam-

pus of Polk State Winter Haven, 999 Ave. H N.E. All styles and sizes of dresses and suits are welcome, but donations should be in good condition, with no stains or tears.

Polk State College op-erates three public charter high schools, including Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate in Winter Ha-ven, and Polk State Lake-land Gateway to College and Polk State Lakeland Collegiate High School. The schools allow students to earn their high school diplomas while also earn-ing college credit — all at no cost to the stu-dents.

polk state collegePolk State Chain of Lakes Students Help Make Prom Dreams Come True

7

news from across the state

Three Florida Keys Community College stu-dents can rest a little easier now following an intense week marking the culmi-nation of a two-semes-ter research, design, and building challenge called Perseus. The program, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Rapid Reaction Technol-ogy Office, brought un-dergraduate student teams from four universities to FKCC’s Key West Cam-pus for the second year running. Their mission: to create an underwater vehicle capable of locating and analyzing simulated explosives submerged 40 feet beneath the water’s surface in the College’s dive lagoon in a demon-stration held recently.

The objective of Per-seus is to explore if a party with modest resourcing and in a relatively short period of time could as-semble an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), Remotely Oper-ated Vehicle (ROV) or Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of conducting a specified mission. It also provides a venue for students to demonstrate their multi-disciplinary science, tech-nology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

At first, the FKCC team seemed at a rela-

tive disadvantage—

consisting of only three freshman and sophomore students in the non-en-gineering disciplines of computer science, marine environmental technol-ogy, and diving. The other teams were larger and comprised of juniors and seniors major-ing in fields like electrical, mechanical and ocean engineering from larger universities—specifically, Florida Atlantic Univer-sity, Georgia Tech, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Univer-sity and Stevens Institute of Technology. For many of those students, Perseus was their capstone senior project.

Nevertheless, the FKCC team was confi-dent in their recently re-worked creation dubbed the “Hammerhead.” They initially designed a sub-mersible device, but wa-ter-proofing, buoyancy control and engineering agile navigation present-ed many challenges—as many of the teams experi-enced.

The team cleverly opt-ed for a simpler surface-skimming design with above- and below-water components. The device is steered via a wireless navigation system from a laptop computer, which also displays live images

and location data. Upon discovery of an object, the students can direct the “Hammerhead” to descend its lower unit for closer investigation and analysis.

After three days of fi-nal tweaks, repairs and practice at FKCC, it was time

for the student teams to show off their unique de-vices. Each team was al-lotted 45 minutes to locate simulated unexploded or-dinance (UXOs) of vari-ous shapes and sizes that were strewn throughout the College’s dive lagoon by the Navy’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit. Ultimately, the FKCC team located three UXOs during the exercise. Only one other team, from Ste-vens Institute of Technol-ogy, was able to complete the same feat.

FKCC diving student Justin Gabbard praised his Perseus teammates, Ricardo Castro Perez and Jarrett Clark, for their suc-cess: “It was a team effort.

Our programmer, Ricar-do is the genius; he pro-grammed it. Jarrett and I built it, wired it and sunk it.” Each earned four col-lege credits for their par-ticipation.

“While this activity certainly has a cool factor, it requires the students to put theory into practice by applying advanced tech-nologies learned in STEM programs,” said FKCC President Dr. Jonathan Gueverra. “The unique devices have applications in many sectors and in-dustries. They also reflect of the quality of education at FKCC as well as the oth-er colleges with which we are collaboratively work-ing.”

The Perseus demon-strations, associated pre-sentations and reports will provide Department of Defense and related stakeholders insight into a number of rapidly evolv-ing technical areas of in-terest through the inno-vation of America’s next generation of engineers and scientists.

Florida Keys Community collegeFlorida Keys Community College’s Student Team Shines in DoD’s Perseus

8

Member institutions should submit content for possible inclusion in the next issue of this electronic newsletter by April 15, 2014.

Articles should be 250-300 words in length and sent electronically to news@facuflorida.org. Photos and a current school logo are encouraged.

FAC&U(850) 488-4845

P.O. Box 15587, Tallahassee, Florida 32317 www.facuflorida.org

news from across the state

Keeping with its mis-sion to provide a truly international perspec-tive to students and the community, Miami Dade College (MDC) will open a School of Government in partnership with the renowned José Ortega y Gasset – Gregorio Mara-ñon Foundation from Spain, establishing an education program for government leaders from throughout Latin Ameri-ca and beyond.

MDC President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón for-mally signed an agree-ment with Alfredo Pérez de Armiñán, the Foun-dation’s general director, at a ceremony recently. Perez de Armiñán ex-pressed his pleasure at the creation of this center of higher learning that would benefit elected of-ficials, government and business leaders from Latin America and the larger Hispanic commu-

nity in the United States, and that it would be lo-cated in the city known as the Gateway to the Americas.

“We are extremely pleased to enter into a partnership with the Col-lege, especially since it is the institution that grad-uates the most Hispanics in the United States,” said Pérez de Armiñán. “We will provide all our cultur-al knowledge of the Span-ish language, to jump-start the program as soon as possible, plus specially designed curric-ulum materials for public servants.”

The Ortega – Mara-ñon Foundation is a cultural organization in Spain focused on the social sciences and hu-manities. It will contrib-ute its vast network of

miami dade collegeGregorio Marañon Foundation to Open School of Government in Miami

cultural resources and educational services to the new School. MDC will contribute its proven teaching experience and its great influence and prestige as an institution known for promoting so-cial development.

The new School will also benefit from the ex-pertise of Enrique V. Igle-sias, the former secretary

general of the Iberoameri-can General S ecretar iat , who will

serve as an “honorary collaborator” in the en-deavor. In the near future, MDC will share details of the initial steps being taken to open the School and receive the first class that will benefit from this groundbreaking initia-tive.

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado was also pres-ent at the ceremony and expressed his support for this new program. The new School also has the support of several inter-national organizations.

9

Farewell departing presidents!Gene Prough

Chipola College

FAC&U is the only organization comprised of all 70 college and university presidents in all three sectors of the non-profit private and public higher educational institutions in Florida; this includes all presidents from the State University System,

the Florida College System and the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

Eric J. BarronThe Florida State University