Academic News - Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL

Arts News

Acclaimed Opera Singer To Perform At Florida Southern’s Branscomb Auditorium In January

Fleming, a world-renowned opera singer, will bring her impressive vocal talents to Florida Southern College’s Branscomb Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8 alongside the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra. The performance will be the only orchestral backed concert of her tour stops in Florida.

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Film Students “Reel” in Experiential Learning with Prof. Tim Register

Students in Prof. Tim Register’s introduction to screenwriting course, “Storytelling for the Screen,” dive into the fundamental practices of screenwriting in a myriad of ways, from group brainstorming to drafting their own screenplays.

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A Chariot Race Mystery: Unraveling The History Of A 'Lost' Painting

When Florida Southern College President Anne Kerr unrolled the large, dirty, torn painting, Dr. Alex Rich was baed.

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Polk Museum's 'Hindsight 2020: Art of This Moment' captures singular moment in history

While some people binge-watched "Tiger King" during the past seven months, others were busy with paints and brushes or their cameras, creating works of art that capture this singular moment in history — life during a pandemic and civil unrest.

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Matthew Herbertz, assistant professor of film

Retooled Film Program Promotes Creativity, Community through Remote Instruction

The online approach includes development of new assignments, remote guest speakers and Q&As through Zoom.

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FSC’s Film Program Partners with Nonprofit To Help Local Charity

Collaborative film project highlights the work of the Women's Resource Center.

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Business News

poets and quants best undergraduate business schools

FSC’s Barnett School Of Business And Free Enterprise Ranked Among Nation’s Best

Florida Southern College continues to be acknowledged as one of the top academic institutions in the nation, as Poets&Quants for Undergrads ranked FSC’s Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise as the 69th Best Undergraduate Business School for 2022.

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Princeton Review Ranks Florida Southern College’s Barney Barnett School Of Business And Free Enterprise Among Best Nationwide

The Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise at Florida Southern College is one of the nation’s most outstanding business schools, according to The Princeton Review’s “Best Business Schools 2022” rankings list. This is the fifth consecutive year FSC has been selected for inclusion in the nationally respected business school guide.

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Lierman Named A Daveler Scholar

Lierman ’24 recently competed and was one of four winners of the University of South Florida’s Frank and Ellen Daveler Entrepreneurship Program competition earlier in December.

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Florida Southern College Celebrates First Endowed Scholarship In Finance

Ashley A. Bailey and Nolen B. Bailey, native Floridians and graduates from Florida Southern College’s Business and Education programs respectively, have generously established the Ashley A. Bailey, M.Ed. ’16 & Nolen B. Bailey ’07 / CPS Investment Advisors Endowed Scholarship. The donation establishes the first endowed scholarship for Florida Southern College’s new finance major.

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Fortune Magazine Ranks Florida Southern College Among Best Online Mba Programs In Florida

Fortune Magazine Ranks Florida Southern College Among Best Online Mba Programs In The Nation

Fortune lauds Florida Southern College’s (FSC) online MBA program housed within the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise as no. 2 among the “Best Online MBA Programs in Florida” and no. 26 among the “Best Online MBA Programs in the South” in the 2021-2022 edition of Fortune’s respected online MBA rankings. The College is ranked at no. 68 among all online MBA programs at public and private institutions nationwide.

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For Lakeland Associate Carmen Smith, "There is Room for Everyone to Develop & Grow at GEICO"

GEICO looks to add to its robust workforce in Lakeland by hiring as many as 500 new associates as soon as possible in the fields of claims, customer service (including bilingual individuals) and sales (including bilingual individuals), among others.

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Education News

Florida Southern Graduate Rachel Pittman Named Teacher of the Year!

Rachel B. Pittman ’17, MEd ’19 has a passion for shaping young hearts and minds through education, and her commitment to her students has not gone unnoticed by her peers. Pittman has been named the 2021 Teacher of the Year by her fellow educators at Mayport Coastal Sciences Elementary School in Atlantic Beach, Fla.

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Florida Southern Ed.D. Students Awarded for Excellence at Annual FERA Conference

This year at the Florida Educational Research Association’s 65th annual meeting, three students in the Doctor of Education program marked a milestone in their academic careers by presenting poster presentations as a part of the conference.

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EdD Research Marathon 2021 - Roux Library

Fall 2021 Research Marathon for Doctor of Education (EdD) A Success

On Saturday, September 25, approximately 35 students in the Doctor of Education (EdD) program at Florida Southern College gathered with the Roux librarians, a dozen faculty members, and several staff members for the Fall 2021 Research Marathon. Florida Southern Provost Dr. Brad Hollingshead and Associate Provost Dr. Tracey Tedder also visited the event to provide their encouragement. It was the 7th research marathon that the Roux Library and the EdD Program have co-hosted.

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Florida Southern College Names Dr. Lori Rakes As The Nina B. Hollis Chair In Education

Florida Southern College has named Dr. Lori Rakes as The Nina B. Hollis Chair in Education.

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FSC Student Making an Impact in Education

Students in Florida Southern College’s Doctor of Education program are making an impact in the community even before they graduate.

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Education Update

Faculty continue their work and sharing their expertise with students, professional organizations and the community through their leadership roles.

Healthcare News

The Strength of FSC’s Exercise Science Program Recognized by the NSCA

Florida Southern’s Exercise Science program is really flexing! The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recently named FSC’s Exercise Science degree path as an approved and recognized program.

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Pre-Professional Program Reaches Historic Success at Florida Southern

Applying to any professional school is a daunting task. That’s where Florida Southern College Director of Career Services Dr. Lauren Albaum can help.

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physical therapy students spell out accredited

Florida Southern College School Of Physical Therapy Joins Select Ranks Of Nationally Accredited PT Programs

Following its fall meeting, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) granted full accreditation to Florida Southern College’s School of Physical Therapy. The milestone marks the inclusion of the College’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program among the less than 300 accredited DPT programs in the nation.

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Inaugural Doctor Of Nursing Practice Graduating Class Presents Capstone Projects

Members of the inaugural graduating class of the Florida Southern College Doctor of Nursing Practice program presented their capstone scholarly project posters in the Joe K. and Alberta Blanton Nursing Building, on August 11, 2021.

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New Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida Southern College Announced

Florida Southern College today announced the new Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The Florida Southern College nursing program is nationally recognized for educational excellence, and the opportunity to have a named school of nursing reflects the world-class quality of the curriculum, faculty, graduates, and current students.

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Dr. Linda Comer Named Berend Endowed Chair For FSC School of Nursing and Health Sciences

Florida Southern College announced that Dr. Linda Comer, professor of nursing and dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, will be the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Keith R. Berend Endowed chair in Nursing. This is the first endowed chair for the nursing school.

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Humanities News

Florida Lecture Series Returns With A Look At Influential Lawyer Chesterfield Smith

The Lawton M. Chiles Center for Florida History Florida Lecture Series kicks off the 2022 portion of its schedule with a look at one of the most honored lawyers in Florida history.

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Florida Governors Spotlighted In Next Florida Lecture Series Event

Boyd Murphree, the project manager at the University of Florida’s George A. Smathers Libraries and former Florida state archivist, will be joined by Robert Taylor, the associate dean and head of the School of Arts and Communication and professor of history at the Florida Institute of Technology, as they will discuss the 200-year history of Florida and its governors.

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New York Times Best-Selling Author Begins Florida Lecture Series With Humorous Talk

Former Tampa Bay Times award-winning journalist Craig Pittman is scheduled to be the first guest of the 2021-22 lecture series as he delivers a talk titled “The State You’re In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and other Wildlife,” Branscomb Auditorium.

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Florida Lecture Series To Hold Six Events

The Lawton M. Chiles Center for Florida History Florida Lecture Series returns to the campus of historic Florida Southern College for the 2021-22 academic season with a slate of six speeches set to enlighten and entertain audiences.

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Social Secretary for Japanese Embassy Visits FSC Virtually

Dr. Katherine Loh, assistant professor of communication, invited guest speaker Kiyomi Buker to discuss conflict from an organizational perspective for a Zoom session with students from her “Conflict and Race” course on Feb. 23.

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FSC Names Endowed Chair to Further Strengthen Ties Between Polk Museum of Art, Local Arts Community

Florida Southern's Dr. H. Alexander Rich joined the College in 2014.

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Natural Sciences News

National Science Foundation Taps Florida Southern College And Lsu To Research Climate Change Impact On Stone Crabs

Florida Southern College (FSC) and Louisiana State University (LSU) have been awarded a collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct groundbreaking research on how climate change could impact one of Florida’s iconic fisheries, the Florida stone crab. The stone crab fishery is a $30 million commercial industry in Florida and supports over 800 jobs.

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Marine Biology Research Grant to Fund Study of Environmental Impacts on Florida Stone Crabs

Research findings could inform discussions about the future of seagrass habitats.

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FSC Hosting Virtual Spencer Symposium with Guest Speakers to Discuss Careers in Chemistry

Symposium lectures will be free and open to the public via Zoom.

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FSC gets $250,000 to restore Wright planetarium

Florida Southern College will receive $250,000 for the restoration of the Polk County Science Building's planetarium through a program administered by the National Park Service.

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Research Study Identifies Largest Mitogenome

Assistant Professor of Marine Biology, Dr. Jason Macrander, Participates as Research Collaborator and Co-Writer at Florida Southern.

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Department of Chemistry Earns ACS Accreditation

Importance of The American Chemical Society-approved chemistry degree for the highest level of academic and career-oriented instruction.

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Technology News

Florida Southern College Names Dr. Christian Roberson As The Charles And Mildred Jenkins Chair In Mathematics And Computer Science

Florida Southern College has named Dr. Christian Roberson as The Charles and Mildred Jenkins Chair in Mathematics and Computer Science.

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Truist Foundation Awards $250,000 To Fsc For Cyber Initiatives

Florida Southern College has received a $250,000 grant from the Truist Foundation to launch a new Cybersecurity Innovation and Entrepreneurship program. This gift will create an innovative program to address the nation’s urgent need for well-educated cybersecurity experts with the entrepreneurial acumen to help shrink the skills gap in cyber careers while creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurism.

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New cybersecurity leader prepares students for urgent national needs

Dr. Jason Lewis has been a cybercrime investigator and has developed college-level cybersecurity programs.

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Construction Signals Growth for Computer Science Program

Florida Southern marked a major expansion of its computer science program with construction work underway for the Carole and Marcus Weinstein Computer Sciences Center, which will provide a state-of-the-art computing environment for the growing department; indeed, the fastest growing major on campus.

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