It's up in the Senate for final passage. They are set to adjourn for the day at 5:30, so they may not get to it today. But it is certain to pass tomorrow at the latest. The House version has already passed, so it's off to the Governor once the vote is taken, and the result is a foregone conclusion at this point.
Congrats Owls!
The bill was just taken up on the special order calendar. It should be adopted tomorrow on the 3rd reading calendar.
Congrats are in order to FAU.
Great news for us and the Belt.
Also word today from the BOT that we have selected a primary lender and will be doing a straight up loan without having to issue a bond. Stadium is all but set.
2011 is going to be a special year at FAU.
New Med School
New Stadium
Groundbreaking for the huge new student apartment complex, attached to the stadium site, was today as well. FAU continues to move forward.
FAU working on financing for $74 million football stadium
By Samantha Frank
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic University is working out the details of a $74 million financing plan for its proposed 30,000-seat, on-campus football stadium.
Of that cost, construction will account for $62 million.
The university plans to pay for the construction with a bank loan. FAU is recommending a $62 million proposal from Regions Bank, according to university general counsel David Kian, who spoke to the board of trustees' audit and finance committee at a meeting today .
About $12 million for the project is expected to come from the budget for the Innovation Village student housing project, which broke ground this morning .
To use money from one project's budget for another, FAU will have to show a relationship between the two projects and get approval from the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system. The board of governors is expected to vote on the final plan in June.
The financing plan for the stadium will go before FAU's board of trustees next month.
Construction is expected to begin at the end of June. Officials are hopeful that the stadium will be ready for the first home game in fall 2011.
"We are on track, we are on schedule, we are moving forward," Kian said.
Also during today's meeting, the audit and finance committee approved a $15 fee for each student enrolled in a course in which supplemental instruction is offered.
Supplemental instruction, a peer-tutoring program offered in classes with high failure rates, began at FAU in the fall of 2007. Since then, students who have taken advantage of supplemental instruction have received higher grades than their peers and were less likely to drop out of the course before completing it.
The fee would apply to about 26 courses for the fall 2010 semester.
FAU breaks ground on two new residence halls in Boca Raton
BOCA RATON — When Mary Jane Saunders was chosen in March as Florida Atlantic University's next president, she made it clear that one of her top priorities is to turn FAU into more a residential campus.
In line with her plans, the university begins construction Wednesday on a $111 million student housing project on its main campus in Boca Raton.
"It's well-documented that students living on campus tend to do better and remain with the university," Saunders said via phone today. "I think this is a wonderful step in the right direction for the FAU students"
The residence halls are being geared toward upper-level or graduate students. There will be two U-shaped buildings facing each other with a total of 1,218 beds in an apartment style setting. One building will be seven stories high and the other eight stories, making them the tallest buildings on campus, according to Ian Nestler, a principal with PGAL, the design firm for the project.
The buildings will be connected by a courtyard area with green spaces, an outdoor pool and a sand volleyball court. Other features include a fitness center, a convenience store, a computer lab and multipurpose meeting areas.
Some of the top rooms might even have a slight view of the ocean, Nestler said.
Another unique feature is that the buildings are being designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification.
Construction is expected to be complete in August 2011, before the fall semester starts.
The residence halls are considered the second phase of FAU's Innovation Village. The first phase consisted of building an alumni center and a student recreation/fitness center. Future phases include more student housing, a football stadium and retail space.
Hmm, this is getting interesting. Sen. Lawson (D-Tallahassee) is trying to tack on an amendment that authorizes a dental school at FAMU and there appears to be some opposition. The FAU bill should still pass today, but it'll be interesting to see if it passes in its current form.
2011 is the Sun Belt Conference year to shine!
FAU stadium opening
UNT stadium opening
TU arena opening
GO SBC!!!
(feel free to add in other openings I might have missed)
The bill is still tabled. I'm pretty sure it will still pass, but it might just be clinging on based on the FAMU deal.
(04-23-2010 11:10 AM)CitrusUCF Wrote: [ -> ]The bill is still tabled. I'm pretty sure it will still pass, but it might just be clinging on based on the FAMU deal.
Thanks Citrus,
Please let us know if you hear a final word.
How about they make the deal that FAMU gets its Dental school, but has to join FBS and the 'Belt.
On to the Governer!
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/...07611.html
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Atlantic University would open its own medical school under a bill awaiting approval by Gov. Charlie Crist.
The bill (HB 1581) unanimously passed the Florida Senate on Thursday and the House on Wednesday. It would be the sixth medical school in the state.
FAU's Board of Trustees voted in January to end its joint medical degree program with the University of Miami, which paved the way for FAU to move forward with plans for its own medical school on the Boca Raton campus.
School officials want to instead partner with Scripps Florida. The medical school would have up to 64 students per class and an in-state tuition of about $24,000.
FAU's target date for the inaugural class to begin is fall 2011, with total enrollment of the program reaching 246 students by 2014.
The school would offer a doctor of medicine degree, which was approved by the Florida Board of Governors in April and received approval by FAU's trustees February.
FAU also proposes to offer a dual M.D./biomedical sciences Ph.D. option in partnership with the Scripps Institute Kellogg School of Science and Technology, which would confer a doctorate degree. FAU estimates that up to one fourth of its M.D. students could take advantage of this option.
Student and residency training would be made available throughout hospitals in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Yeah, I was just about to post this. This morning when I looked, I didn't notice that they had taken up the House version of the bill, thereby working around the FAMU Dentistry amendment. It was ordered enrolled in the House today, so the Governor should have it next week.
It's official!
http://www.wpbf.com/education/23567653/detail.html
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation on Saturday authorizing the establishment of Florida Atlantic University’s independent medical education program.
The approval came after the doctor of medicine program was approved by the Florida Board of Governors in April and received approval by FAU’s Board of Trustees in February.
“This landmark legislation signed today by Gov. Crist will create new and diverse opportunities at Florida Atlantic University that will benefit Floridians for decades to come,” said Nancy Blosser, chair of FAU’s Board of Trustees. “We are extremely grateful to the governor for his support of this key research and educational initiative, and we appreciate his foresight and wisdom in preparing for Florida’s future. We also extend sincerest thanks to Rep. Adam Hasner and Sen. Joe Negron, the sponsors of this legislation, for their vital leadership.”
“What an important day for Florida Atlantic University,” said John Pritchett, FAU’s interim president. “We are grateful to the governor, Rep. Hasner, Sen. Negron and all of our supporters who believe that FAU’s medical education program will serve as a leader, combining unique, state-of-the-art medical education with modern research.”
The new medical education program will employ a unique Continuity Medicine Curriculum whose characteristics include a smaller, more interactive learning environment; interdisciplinary and community collaboration; patient-centered, self-directed learning; small learning communities; continuity of care, patient safety, and comprehensive, chronic disease management; early introduction of clinical training in multiple community-based hospital and outpatient settings; and a state-of-the-art medical simulation center.
In addition to offering the M.D. degree, FAU proposes to offer a dual M.D./ Ph.D. option in partnership with the Scripps Institute Kellogg School of Science and Technology, which would confer a doctorate degree. FAU estimates that up to 15 percent of its M.D. students could take advantage of this option.
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