July 20, 2008
In case you missed it, Time magazine recently did a number on Florida. At least that's how tourism and chamber of commerce officials probably see it. I thought the story was a badly needed reality check in this state of denial.
The University of South Florida's private fundraising totaled $81.3 million in gifts and commitments for the fiscal year ended June 30.
The amount represents a record for the university's annual charitable giving, a release said.
The USF Foundation credited the success to renewed efforts to share its accomplishments and opportunities for support, the impacts of scholarships and the outcomes of investments, according to the release.
The Harn Museum of Art will remain open Tuesdays, after donations allowed the reversal of a budget-cutting decision to close on that day.
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The Rev. R.B. Holmes Jr., vice-chairman of Florida A&M University's board of trustees, has written to Gov. Charlie Crist, asking that state money be made available to assist the university.
In a letter dated July 14, Holmes asked Crist to free-up money in the state's $4 billion reserve fund to "provide more funding to the university."
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Instead of giving his prepared speech to student senators, Machen addressed questions from the senate that Senate President Kellie Dale read from index cards.
Florida's economy is not just firmly and bleakly in the red ---- it will likely stay that way until next June, according to the state government's top economists who issued their most pessimistic financial forecast in years.
With few exceptions, the economists' Wednesday forecast shows that most economic indicators will do worse in this budget year when compared to a forecast they issued in February.
Judy Genshaft, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York at Albany, knew what she wanted when she applied for the presidency of the University of South Florida in 1999.
A major research university in an anti-ivory tower, urban environment. A place young enough — 40-something — to still be making its mark. A place where community synergy and economic partnership could be more than idealistic aspirations or trendy buzz words.
— National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2002
Welcome to Florida, one of the high-growth, high-poverty states that six years ago the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education presciently warned would be in a particularly bad fix in the event of an economic downturn.
The University of Florida and Fox's Sun Sports have signed a media rights deal that is not only one of the most lucrative in the country, but also could end the likelihood of an SEC channel being created any time soon.
The deal will pay Florida's marketing arm, the University Athletic Association, roughly $10 million a year for the next 10 years. Florida, one of the Southeastern Conference's most marketable schools, was one of the few major colleges that handled many of its marketing and media rights in-house.
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With each announced departure of a high-profile Florida university professor for Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana, Virginia, Ohio, and so on, we can see the longstanding plans for a high-technology Interstate 4 corridor disintegrate at our feet.
Just a few years ago, we were going to enter the 21st century with a roar. We were going to attract top researchers while upgrading our higher educational system. We would train Florida kids to become the entrepreneurs in and employees for biotechnology, computers, modern materials, space, and other forward-looking industries lining up from St. Petersburg to Melbourne.
When life hands you lemons in the form of a lean budget year and tough choices, put the squeeze on the suckers to raise more money.
That was the philosophy in Tallahassee this month with the gleeful announcement that - once again - the state is expanding gambling. In January, Florida will join 29 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands in offering Powerball.