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'It's basically a powder keg right now': UF braces for Richard Spencer

'It’s basically a powder keg right now': UF braces for Richard Spencer

As the clock ticked down toward white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech at the University of Florida, the campus was on edge amid concerns over potential violence between supporters and counterprotesters. More from USA Today, WFTX, NPR, CNN, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Miami Herald.

See also:
» University of Florida estimates $600,000 being spent for alt-right event security
» Q&A: Eight things to know about Richard Spencer and his visit to UF
» Treasure Coast officers heading to Richard Spencer event in Gainesville
» Tampa Bay deputies head to UF to assist with Richard Spencer's speech
» Live updates from UF

Florida Prepaid College Plan announces chance to win paid off tuition

The Florida Prepaid College Board has launched the 2017-18 open enrollment period. They say that early purchasers will have a chance to have their tuition plan fully paid off by the agency. People who purchase a PrePaid Plan between Oct. 15 and Nov. 30, 2017, will be automatically entered in the "Pay Off Your Plan" promotion to win the gift of college from FPCB. More from WTXL and the Tallahassee Democrat.

Florida private schools get nearly $1 billion in state scholarships with little oversight

Private schools in Florida will collect nearly $1 billion in state-backed scholarships this year through a system so weakly regulated that some schools hire teachers without college degrees, hold classes in aging strip malls and falsify fire-safety and health records. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

State trying to scuttle university matching gift lawsuits

The state is asking a Leon circuit judge to dismiss a case alleging the state has failed to match $460 million in private donations to universities and state colleges that were made under Florida‘s matching-gift laws. [Source: Daily Business Review]

Florida Department of Education explores testing questions

Following a legislative mandate, the Florida Department of Education has hired an independent contractor to determine whether the SAT or ACT tests could replace the state 10th-grade language arts Florida Standards Assessment and Algebra I end-of-course exam. [Source: ]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› President John Hitt touts opportunities, growth at UCF
As the leader of a university with more than 64,000 students, University of Central Florida President John Hitt said Tuesday he frequently hears from people “convinced that because something is big, it can’t be good”

› UF College of Veterinary Medicine Clinical Skills Lab wins statewide building group award
The UF College of Veterinary Medicine's Clinical Skills Laboratory building addition received the top overall state award in the education category of the Florida Chapter of the Design-Build Institute's annual awards competition.

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› Lifer: St. Petersburg College taps Tonjua Williams as president

When Tonjua Williams got a job as an accounting clerk 30 years ago at what was then called St. Petersburg Junior College, she didn’t plan on spending the rest of her career processing financial aid checks.

› FSU President John Thrasher among veterans named to Florida Hall of Fame
Florida State University President John Thrasher, a former state House speaker who served in the Vietnam War, is among 20 members of the 2017 class of the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame.

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