IN THE NEWS

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APRIL 2015

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6

President of Aspen Prize–Winning College Discusses Leadership

Seminole State receives $900K NSF grant for sustain-able engineering program

TCC forensics wins national award for 14th straight year

LSSC Baccalaureate Students Bring Home First Place in National Award

Chipola’s Dr. Clemmons is Citizen of Year

New Broward College Program Wants To Train Young Artists And Designers

CF Student Named International President of Honor Society

Pensacola State College partners with AppRiver to give students workforce experience

Provost Handfield Earns National Honor Society Award

$100,000 Given for Innovative

Service Models to Be Integrated

at Higher Education Institutions

PBSC leverages corporate con-nections to bring jobs, programs

Polk State Student, Cancer Survivor Sonja Wagner to Bike 4,000 Miles for a Good Cause

SFSC ranks high in graduation

rate

Celebrating FLORIDA COLLEGE SYSTEM MONTH

AACC Annual Convention

The AACC held its 95th Annual Convention April 18-21 in San Antonio, Texas. As the premiere event for community college leaders, AACC’s convention is among the largest and most dynamic gatherings of educational leaders, attract-ing over 2,000 community college presidents and senior administrators, inter-national educators, and business and government representatives.

This year’s convention featured an opening session; a farewell luncheon for retiring CEOs; the Awards of Excellence gala; and the AACC Outstanding Community College Alumni brunch.

Dr. Ken Atwater, president of Hillsborough Community College, serves as chair of the AACC Board of Directors and led this year’s convention.

"I was truly honored to have served as chair during such a transformational time for our nation's community colleges,” said Atwater. “From the thought-provoking perspective of Malcolm Gladwell to the interaction between practi-tioners and students attending PTK's Nerd Nation, this conference had something meaningful for everyone in attendance."

Two Students Recognized as Nation’s Best

This week, two Florida College System students were selected to the 2015 All-USA Community College Academic Team. Helene Alt from Hillsborough Com-munity College and Zeinab Noureddine from Miami Dade College were chosen

from a pool of more than 1,500 students nominated by more than 800 community colleges nationwide. Both stu-dents were also selected to the 2015 All-Florida Academic Team who were recognized in Tallahassee on April 9.

This distinction, which comes with a $2,500 scholarship, is designed to recognize 20 two-year college students from across the U.S. who display an outstanding combination of academic achievement and community service. The All-USA program is presented by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) and is sponsored by Follett Higher Education Group, with support from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Thank You A special thanks goes to the Florida Lottery, PTK -Florida, Florida College System Foundation, Council of Presidents, and the Florida Department of Education for supporting these students and sponsoring the 2015 All-Florida Academic Team Awards Ceremony.

Helene Alt

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Chancellor’s Student of the Week

Florida College System Month Spotlights

Galyna Tuz graduated Magna Cum Laude in December 2014 from Gulf Coast State College (GCSC) with an Associate in Arts degree in Anthropology.

Originally from Ukraine, Galyna has led by example through community service pro-jects and through her job as a student assistant on campus.

During her time at GCSC, Galyna started the Anthropology Club where she has organized student service projects. Her interest in anthropology has also allowed her to obtain a volunteer position at the

Publishing Museum and Visitor Center in the historic St. Andrews area of Panama City where she has logged in over 250 hours of volunteer service. In addition, Galyna has participated in GCSC’s Model United Nations on three separate occasions.

Galyna is currently continuing her education at GCSC in anticipation of transferring to the University of Florida, where she can major in anthropology.

For more information about the Chancellor’s Students of the Month, visit the Florida College System website.

2015 Connections Conference

Palm Beach State College, Florida’s first public community college, was founded in 1933.

Palm Beach State College is the nation’s 8th largest producer of associate degree graduates, according to Community College Week.

Among four-year public institutions, Palm Beach State College has the 6th lowest tuition in the nation and the lowest tuition in Florida, according to the U.S. DOE.

Counties Served: Palm Beach

Students Served: 47,194

Counties Served: Pasco, Hernando

Students Served: 16,384

Between 2005-2014, Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) saw its graduation rate increase by 43 percent.

An independent study in 2013 concluded that PHSC’s economic impact on the region is approximately $240 million annually.

PHSC's New Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel opened with 1,800 students in January 2014.

The 10th annual Connections Confer-ence will be held May 14-15 at the

Caribe Royale in Orlando. The program will focus on instructional design and

delivery, student and academic support innovation, and high-school-to-college

collaboration and alignment.

For more information, visit www.floridacollegesystem.com/

connections2015.

Padrón Honored With Fourth Annual Diverse

Champions Award

Diverse: Issues In Higher Education has selected Miami Dade College President Dr. Eduardo Padrón as the recipient of the 2015 Diverse Champi-ons Award. This award recognizes higher education leaders who have shown unwavering commitment to equal opportunity and access for all.

Dr. Padrón was presented with the fourth annual award during AACC’s 95th Annual Convention on April 19.

CONNECT WITH US For more information, contact:

Liam McClay, Director of External Affairs

Florida College System

Liam.McClay@fldoe.org

Phone: (850) 245-9788

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Counties Served: Escambia, Santa Rosa Students Served: 20,094

Counties Served: Polk Students Served: 17,664

Counties Served: Clay, Putnam, St. Johns Students Served: 11,071

Counties Served: Pinellas Students Served: 54,112

Polk State College is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1964 in a former Army air base, PSC now includes two campuses and four centers. The Center for Public Safety, located in the heart of the county, will open in 2016.

Polk State College operates three collegiate high schools which allow students to fulfill requirements for their high school diplomas while also earning college credit.

In 2014, Polk State College was the only institution invited to participate in archaeo-logical research being conducted at a site a mile from Stonehenge. Carbon dating has now proven the site to be the oldest in England.

The U.S. Department of Education ranks Pensacola State College in the top one percent in the nation for affordable tuition.

For the sixth straight year, Pensacola State College has been named a Military Friendly® School by Victory Media.

Pensacola State has been named to the list of Top 100 Colleges for producing associate degrees by Community College Week for six consecutive years.

St. Johns River State College’s respiratory care program was recently honored with the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award. SJR State is one of only 49 colleges nationwide to be honored with the award.

SJR State has expanded its testing services to offer students and the general public access to more than 100 key industry certification exams – from IT certifications to food safety and business management licensure exams.

After ending their last two seasons as the Mid-Florida Conference champions, SJR State's Viking baseball team rose in February to its first #1 JUCO ranking in the nation.

SPC’s “College Experience” initiative received a Chancellor’s Best Practice Award in 2014. The five-pronged initiative uses real-time data from the college’s unique and robust busi-ness intelligence system to monitor and analyze student success measures in order to tailor support efforts to students’ individualized needs.

SPC's College of Education has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Florida Depart-ment of Education for restructuring elementary education programs. This program is a joint partnership between SPC and Pinellas County Schools.

SPC is slated to open its brand new Midtown Center this summer. The three-story, 45,000 square-foot building will offer expanded academic offerings and multiple community resources in the African-American hub of the city.