Latest news with #UWF
CBS News
a day ago
- Business
- CBS News
DeSantis deputy chief of staff tapped as Florida's next education commissioner
The Florida Board of Education has tapped a top aide of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to be the state's next education commissioner, a choice meant to influence K-12 and higher education policy in the state while bolstering a conservative legacy that could long outlast the governor's time in office. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint Anastasios Kamoutsas, a deputy chief of staff to the governor. The job opened up after Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, a former Republican state lawmaker, was named interim president of the University of West Florida. Kamoutsas' appointment is contingent on Diaz being named the permanent president of UWF. "Student safety and achievement will be my top priorities," Kamoutsas said. "Parents will continue to be empowered. And teachers, you have my word that I stand in support of you." Kamoutsas previously served as general counsel and chief staff at the state's Education Department, before moving to the governor's office. "Stasi Kamoutsas has delivered on important issues like parental rights, school choice, and fighting back against radical ideologies in education," DeSantis said in a statement. "I am confident that he will continue to serve our state well as the next Commissioner of Education." Kamoutsas to carry out conservative agenda Kamoutsas is expected to help carry out DeSantis' conservative education agenda, from banning public funds for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, to restricting how schools teach about race and history, and dramatically expanding the state's school voucher system, which provides billions in public funds for scholarships to private and religious schools. Among those who lauded Kamoutsas at Wednesday's meeting was former Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, who has overseen what critics describe as the "hostile takeover" of New College of Florida. He's among the slate of Republican former state lawmakers who are now helming state colleges and universities. "Every single major decision, I don't care if it was elimination of DEI, critical race theory, opening schools, demasking students, changing higher education, Stasi has been in that room, every single time," Corcoran said. "And not just as a participant. He's been in the room as a leader." ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fort Walton Beach High School JROTC instructor receives nationwide honor
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Senior Master Sergeant Amber Burke of Fort Walton High School has been recognized as the 2025 Overall AF/SF Junior JROTC Instructor of the Year. UWF graduate students and professor develop software to analyze app safety According to a news release from the Okaloosa County School District, SMSgt. Burke has also been named the regional-level award winner for Region 2. This honor authorizes her to wear the gold AF/SF JROTC instructor badge. 'This recognition is a testament to SMSgt Burke's unwavering commitment to excellence and service. She exemplifies leadership and inspires our students to reach their fullest potential,' Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers said. 'We are incredibly proud of her and grateful for the positive influence she has on our cadets and the school community.' The Department of the Air Force's AFJROTC Outstanding Instructor Awards recognize instructors who excel in mentoring, educating and shaping the lives of their cadets. Monroe County Hospital is considering creating a swing bed program 'SMSgt Burke's dedication to her students and her leadership within our JROTC program is truly outstanding,' Fort Walton Beach High School principal Lindsey Smith said. 'She embodies the values of hard work, integrity, and mentorship, making a difference in the lives of so many. We are honored to have her leading our Viking JROTC program.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pensacola news: UWF may have found its interim president, Wet Taco coming soon
Here's a roundup of our top stories from the past week. With a subscription to the Pensacola News Journal, you will receive full access to the work done by our journalists and photographers as they head out every day to help inform and explain the important issues affecting your community. Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. could become the University of West Florida's interim president. When asked about reports that he has been tapped to fill the position being vacated by UWF President Martha Saunders at a May 23 press conference in Pensacola, Diaz responded he would be open to the idea if that is the decision of UWF Board of Trustees. New UWF interim president? Manny Diaz Jr. likely to be UWF interim president. He confirms he is 'open' to idea Four years after Pensacola police officers found Joshua Donald fatally shot in a Highland Drive home, officers arrested his on-again, off-again girlfriend for what detectives says was a premeditated plan to lure him to his death. Officers arrested 44-year-old Shanette Robinson over four years after Donald was found dead at 125 West Highland Ave. on Feb. 26, 2021. Robinson, who claimed she shot in self-defense, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder. "The evidence shows Robinson lured Donald over to 125 Highland Drive with the hopes he would be picking up a stimulus check," Robinson's report said. "Once Donald entered the home and entered the bedroom, Robinson pointed a firearm (at) him and shot him multiple times resulting in his death." Latest evidence: 'Ima just kill him': Texts indicate Pensacola 'self defense' shooting was planned homicide A transgender Escambia Virtual Academy senior wants his preferred name announced at the school's graduation ceremony on May 27 and has his family's support. An Escambia County Public Schools practice won't allow it, however, even with parental consent. A practice that the teen's mother, Charline Barger, would like to see changed. Barger said the practice contradicts a supportive environment many LGBTQ+ students experience in the district's classrooms and schools. Full story: Transgender teen wants preferred name used at graduation - Escambia County Schools says no Navarre, Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach visitors will be able to swim, boat, paddle or float to a new floating taco restaurant starting as early as June. The Wet Taco will make its local debut this summer on the Intercoastal Waterway and plans to serve guests using a waterborne vessel. As its name suggests, The Wet Taco will primarily serve tacos. Wet Taco: Swim, boat, paddle or float to new 'floating food truck' coming to Pensacola-area beaches A proposal to raise the Escambia Public Schools superintendent's salary by about 19 percent has been placed on the backburner after severe pushback from the community after it was proposed just one week ago. The matter was not brought before the Escambia School Board at its monthly meeting on Tuesday. At the May 15 workshop, board member Paul Fetsko suggested Supt. Keith Leonard's salary be increased to at least $205,000 annually. The raise would make Leonard's salary comparable with what elected superintendents in other similar-sized school districts earn, Fetsko argued. It would also put Leonard's salary in line with what the state recommends for the elected position, Fetsko said. 'Bad optics': Escambia School Board reverses course on 19% raise idea for superintendent This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola news: UWF's interim president, Wet Taco and more
Miami Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
There's a push to make Manny Diaz Jr. interim president of University of West Florida
Just weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis told the University of West Florida to 'buckle up' for significant changes, multiple insiders say the Pensacola school will soon hire Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. as interim president. Sources say Diaz's appointment is expected to be finalized at a Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, with a start date in July. That timing would allow Diaz — who has served as the state's top education official since 2022 — to close out the fiscal year before stepping into the $536,000-a-year role. 'It's a done deal. It'll be Manny,' said one person close to UWF leadership, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive process of naming a replacement for longtime President Martha Saunders. 'It makes sense based on everything we've seen coming out of the DeSantis administration.' Diaz, a central architect of DeSantis' education agenda, would be the latest political ally to move into higher education leadership as the term-limited governor works to cement his legacy on the state's universities. Diaz, a Hialeah native and former teacher in the Miami-Dade public schools system, would also become the second Miami-Dade political insider this year to earn the top job at a state university after former Lieutenant Gov. Jeannette Nunez took over at Florida International University in February. When asked about his potential appointment at a Pensacola press conference on Friday, Diaz said he was open to taking on the job. 'What I'll tell you is that the board is clearly meeting,' he told reporters. 'That's a decision for the board to make, and if they were to call, I'd obviously be willing to have a conversation with them about that. But that's up to the Board of Trustees of the University of West Florida.' A UWF spokesperson didn't respond for comment on Friday. The appointment would come on the heels of a contentious shakeup at UWF since DeSantis installed a slate of new trustees earlier this year, some with close ties to national conservative organizations. The overhaul prompted swift bipartisan backlash from lawmakers and Escambia County locals, who raised concerns over some of the appointees' ties to national right-wing organizations and lack of familiarity with the community. Tensions came to a head during a May 8 trustee meeting when newly appointed board member Zack Smith, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, confronted Saunders over what he described as 'deeply troubling' university-sponsored programming, including two drag shows in 2019. Saunders, who had led the university since 2017, resigned days later. Behind the scenes, Diaz's name has quickly emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Saunders. State Rep. Michelle Salzman, a Pensacola Republican, told the Miami Herald that she has been advocating for Diaz for months in conversations with donors, local leaders and the governor's team — including Diaz. 'I hope the governor picks him,' said Salzman, who in the past has argued for limiting the governor's influence over selecting university presidents. Diaz has been a key player in reshaping Florida's education system, pushing policies that expanded school choice, curtailed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and placing restrictions on discussions of gender identity and race in classrooms. The former Miami-Dade lawmaker played a central role in implementing new accreditation laws that give Tallahassee more sway over state universities, and pushed for the removal of sociology as a core course for college students, saying the subject had been 'hijacked by left-wing activists.' His appointment would follow a growing trend of politically aligned candidates taking the reins at Florida campuses — similar to the presidential appointments of former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse at the University of Florida, Adam Hasner at Florida Atlantic University and Richard Corcoran at New College of Florida. While Diaz is widely seen as the frontrunner for UWF's top job, several procedural steps remain before any appointment becomes official — or permanent. Under Florida law, university boards of trustees are tasked with conducting presidential searches, but any final candidate must be confirmed by the university system's Board of Governors. In 2022, lawmakers made those searches largely opaque by shielding finalists' names from public view until 21 days before a hire is made. That secrecy has raised alarms among some local lawmakers, including State Rep. Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican who has clashed with DeSantis in recent months over funding transparency in the First Lady's Hope Florida initiative. 'I think [Diaz] would do a fine job, but I don't think it's going to be an open process,' Andrade told the Miami Herald. 'I think it'll be pretty much baked — kind of similar to the UF situation where we're not going to have a slate in the competition for it. It'll be whoever DeSantis wants.' Andrade also pushed back on the governor's public claim last month that UWF had the 'most liberal programs in the state.' 'The whole claim that UWF is super liberal and that's why they needed to stack the board — it turned everybody off over here,' Andrade said. 'It's an inorganic, false argument to say the UWF is some bastion of liberal thought. I think ultimately what's motivating all of this is DeSantis wanted to have his hands on every single university in the state, and this was just the last one that he hadn't touched.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Graduate student boosts animal rescue services with sophisticated data maps: 'The power that we have through using this information is incredible'
After delivering rescued wildlife to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge in Florida, James Barnes noticed something about their intake form. Specifically, he saw that it captured an abundance of raw data about the rescued animal, including its location. As a recent geographic information science (GIS) graduate from the University of West Florida, he realized he was looking at an opportunity to use his skills. "GIS is taking large volumes of raw data and organizing it into a map form to understand it better," he explained, speaking with the school's newsroom. "I said, 'I'm going to show you the breadth of GIS and how it can be used.'" Over the course of several months, he fed over 27,000 wildlife data entries into his GIS system, mapping his findings across five unique maps. These maps included the common locations of fishing entanglements, road collisions, distemper outbreaks, dog and cat attacks on wildlife, as well as rescues for chipmunks and flying squirrels, specifically. "The data generated is useful not just to myself, but wildlife rehabbers across the state, as we typically work for non-profits and don't often have the opportunity to have our data reviewed and compiled in one place like this," Michelle Pettis, the director of animal care at ECW, told UWF. She explained that being able to track the spread of distemper will be "incredibly helpful" for both the rehabbers and the public to understand how to contain it more effectively and also to share information about the importance of wildlife rehabilitation centers. "When it comes to species distribution maps, such as the one created for chipmunks and flying squirrels, this data can be used by many wildlife biologists and rehabilitators, as the field is often underfunded when it comes to specific species studies," Pettis added. Not only will the ECWR be able to use Barnes' research to inform the public and allocate their own resources, but it can also use it in applying for more grant funding to continue the lifesaving work it does. "Anyone looking at the wildlife vehicle collision map will instantly understand why wildlife rehabbers are so essential in our world today," Summer Hignite, another ECWR team member, told UWF. Do you think people should be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets? Yes No It depends on the animal It depends on the person Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "The well-designed and easy-to-read maps will be essential data points in grant applications and competitive presentations to help fund our mission. James has provided a service we don't often have the funding for, and we will be able to utilize these graphics for years to come." Barnes shared that he was delighted to be able to help, especially considering the critical work that ECWR does in his own community. He emphasized that even while it seems simple, tracking the location of an event can unlock major findings. Conservation efforts are critical to maintaining biodiversity and food webs, keeping our planet healthy and protecting the food supply for future generations. "Everything is affected by its location whether we realize it or not," he said. "The power that we have through using this information is incredible." It's an inspiring example of how, whatever your skill set may be, there's a way you can apply it to take local action and empower your community. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
