Since arriving at New College, the Board of Trustees and I have committed to returning the institution to its foundation as a classical liberal arts Honors College. Nearly two years later, we’ve honored this promise by reemphasizing the Classics—a tradition that has shaped intellectual thought for centuries.

Through collaboration with our exceptional faculty, New College has launched an innovative General Education core curriculum that provides a strong foundation for students to excel far beyond their college years. One of the many virtues of a great liberal arts education is its multidisciplinary nature, and professors from a wide array of academic fields have contributed in both the assembly and implementation of this curriculum. 

At the heart of New College’s academics is our Logos + Techne curriculum, which combines timeless wisdom with practical applications to prepare students for today’s world. Guided by Logos (reason and understanding) and Techne (practical skill and technology), the curriculum’s shared intellectual experiences allow students to engage deeply with the Humanities and Sciences, exploring great thinkers of Western civilization while embracing modern tools like data science and machine learning.

Our vision for higher education is rooted in the legacy of the Great Books and the foundational ideas of Western civilization. These timeless works encourage students to grapple with enduring philosophical and ethical questions like “What is a just society?” and “What does it mean to live a good life?” These questions and many others are a proven pathway to cultivating critical thinking and intellectual curiosity—embodying New College’s philosophy of “teaching students how to think, not what to think.”

The Techne portion of our curriculum emphasizes career development, hands-on learning, and research to prepare students for real-world opportunities and challenges. It introduces emerging fields like data science and machine learning while teaching practical skills in data analysis, visualization, and problem-solving. These tools are applicable across industries and prepare our students through both intellectual depth and career adaptability. 

A flagship course for first-year students is Homer’s Odyssey, read and discussed in small groups led by faculty from diverse disciplines. I am incredibly excited about this shared class, successfully piloted over the past two years, as it has enhanced camaraderie, critical thinking and inspired conversations across campus. Simultaneously, students will take Techne courses like Introduction to AI or Data Visualization, where they gain practical skills and explore how data-driven technologies and AI impact society. All of this creates a uniquely integrated learning experience, blending tradition and innovation to prepare students for meaningful lives and careers.

In the spirit of Archimedes, we aim to give our students “a firm place to stand from which they can move the earth.” Our new core curriculum integrates the old with the new—and is building a strong foundation for growth. 

Richard Corcoran is President of New College of Florida. 

Photo via Wikimedia: Mosaic depicting Odysseus.

Inclusionary housing requires or incentivizes developers to set aside a portion of new housing units for low- or moderate-income residents. In Florida, local governments have explored inclusionary zoning as a way to increase affordable housing availability. It has been a recommendation from the Sarasota County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee in the past and was included in their report this year.

However, inclusionary housing policies in cities like Pittsburgh and elsewhere reveals several negative effects that may also impact us here, such as reduced housing supply and increased housing prices.

Affordable housing is a market problem; there is not enough housing supply to meet demand. In short, you need more development of housing. One significant concern with inclusionary housing as a policy is its potential to decrease the construction of new housing.

According to a study on Pittsburgh's inclusionary zoning policies, developers often respond to mandatory affordability requirements by decreasing the total number of units they build. This occurs because the cost of providing affordable units often makes projects financially unfeasible. As developers struggle to balance profitability with affordability requirements, some may abandon projects that require affordable housing even with increased density or scale back their ambitions.

Here, where housing demand is already high, mandating inclusionary housing in order to get increased density can actually reduce new housing if the builder does not find the mandate feasible or is unable to secure lending due to the requirement. The lower density construction can exacerbate the housing shortage, leading to fewer homes being available for all income groups, not just low-income residents.

In addition to decreasing the overall housing supply, inclusionary housing policies may lead to higher prices for market-rate units. Developers, in an effort to recoup the costs of providing affordable housing, may increase rents or prices on the remaining market-rate units.

The Pittsburgh study highlighted this limited “filtering,” which “describes the chains of moves that result from higher-rent units being built while creating vacancies for lower-rent units.” The market-rate units saw price hikes as developers sought to offset the financial burdens imposed by inclusionary zoning which therefore limited filtering and locked people into affordable housing as opposed to allowing them to move up in housing, which would have freed up lower-priced units.

Our booming real estate market could see similar outcomes, where market-rate renters and buyers face higher prices as developers pass on the costs of affordability requirements causing limited movement upward in housing.

While inclusionary zoning policies aim to create a more equitable housing market, the negative effects seen in Pittsburgh and elsewhere demonstrate that these policies may have unintended consequences that worsen housing affordability and reduce the availability of housing overall. We must consider these outcomes and seek solutions to the housing crisis that do not exacerbate the problem.

Christine Robinson is Executive Director of The Argus Foundation. 

Image courtesy Pixabay.

The students, faculty and staff of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota have experienced a year full of changes, challenges and triumphs. It is my honor to highlight some of our accomplishments. One thing is for certain — our tradition of excellence continues!

• Eight SCF students of the Future Business Leaders of America SCF Venice and Bradenton Chapters won awards at the FBLA Collegiate State Leadership Conference.

• Our State College of Florida Collegiate Schools in Bradenton and Venice achieved an “A” rating from the Florida Department of Education for the 2023-24 school year for the thirteenth and third year, respectively.

• Ursula Kushner received an All-Star award medal as the second-highest scoring individual player this year as part of SCF’s Brain Bowl Team at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments 2024 Community College Championship.

• Four SCF music students won scholarship awards and invitations to perform at the solo artist recital at the Florida College System Activities Association Music Symposium.

• Eight employees won National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence Awards. SCF winners included Dr. Kristen Anderson, program director, TRIO Student Support Services; Matthew Britten, laboratory assistant, natural science; Eric Cintron, associate professor, language and literature; Lori Duncan, academic department secretary, academics; Arturo Mancillas, trades worker III, HVAC/mechanical, facilities, planning and maintenance; Theresa Smith-Ennis, librarian, library; Katy Wallis, associate professor, natural science; and Susanne Walters, assistant dean of students, dean of students.

• SCF student Brittany Marshall Davis participated in a Natural History Research 10-week internship this summer at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

• Robert Shollar, mathematics department instructor, won the Early Career Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America-Florida Section. Shollar is the second recipient of this annual award given to a full-time Florida college or university faculty member with an outstanding start in a mathematics career.

• Our dental hygiene students provided more than 150 Manatee County school-aged children with over $2,400 worth of free dental care during a two-day Healthy Smiles event.

• SCF student and Health Occupations Students of America Club Chapter member Laura Zhen placed first in Behavioral Health at the club’s annual International Conference in Houston, Texas. 

• Five former SCF Manatees baseball players were selected during the 2024 MLB draft, including Brandon Clarke, Boston Red Sox; Jalen Hairston, Cincinnati Reds; Christian Gordon and Owen Ayers, Chicago Cubs; and Gavin Adams, Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Dual enrollment junior student Zachary Keshish, who’s just 16 years old, won first place for his “Bored” artwork in the Congressional Art Competition, and will have his piece displayed for one year in Washington, D.C.

• SCF’s Communications and Government Relations team won two silver awards in the 39th annual Educational Advertising Awards competition. Silver recognitions, which were only bestowed to 278 institutions, went to the 2023 Annual Scholarship Luncheon fundraising video emphasizing the value of higher education and SCF’s new website, SCF.edu, which focuses on a guided user experience to enroll at the College.

This is but a small list of our numerous achievements. SCF is one of the most productive state colleges and serves as a model for the great 28 within the Florida College System. Last academic year, we graduated 250 nursing students and fifty healthcare professionals in physical and occupational therapy, radiography, and dental hygiene with 100% of the graduates passing their national licensure exams. Overall, SCF graduated 2,070 more students; many who are continuing their education to pursue a bachelor's degree.

As we close out the year and on behalf of the SCF College community, I’d like to thank you for your support. Our success is your success because at SCF, We’re Everyone’s College. 

For an ongoing reference of #SCFProud highlights, visit SCF.edu/SCF-Proud. 

Photo courtesy SCF: Winter 2024 SCF Nursing Graduates Honored at a Pinning Ceremony

As we approach 2025 with a renewed sense of community spirit, I’m looking back at a tremendous 2024 with Gulf Coast Community Foundation. This year has felt like a whirlwind – from celebrating my one-year anniversary in June, to navigating back-to-back hurricanes, elections and countless moments in between. Through it all, the resilience and strength of our region have shone brightly, inspiring hope as we step into the new year together.

Join me in reflecting on Gulf Coast’s impact this past year.

Rapid Response Initiative – Help When You Need It Most
Launched to support the region and our partners when a natural disaster impacts our service area, Gulf Coast’s Rapid Response Initiative deploys funds to the areas of greatest need as quickly as possible. I’m proud to share that together with our donors, we have awarded over $1 million to more than 40 nonprofit partners to support rapid response efforts.

The support our community received from across the nation during these difficult times was heartwarming to witness. Businesses, philanthropists and foundations around the country all rallied to support our region in our hurricane relief and recovery efforts. The Gulf Coast team worked tirelessly to ensure these funds reached those with the greatest need as quickly as possible.

It is both humbling and an honor to be a trusted partner for our community—not only in times of crisis but also in times of celebration. Together, we’ve demonstrated that grit and compassion empower us to overcome any challenge.

The Bay Match

Gulf Coast conducts a regional scan to identify community needs every other year. The environment is the only topic our community has identified as a priority in every scan. The Bay Park is not only transforming a 53-acre parking lot into a signature park open and accessible to all, but the park also serves a vital role in improving the water quality of our bay and providing natural habitats for wildlife. 

Our Board of Directors approved a $1 million grant that was doubled by anonymous Gulf Coast donors to make a total of $2 million in matching dollars available for the expansion of The Bay Park. This funding signifies our catalytic support to The Bay, a signature Florida park and notable economic driver. Phase One is complete and flourishing. I encourage you to visit this free and welcoming, open and accessible blue and green oasis with hundreds of no-cost programs offered year-round.

Looking to 2025

There is much to look forward to in the new year. In early 2025, we will celebrate the opening of Heroes’ Village, Sarasota’s first dedicated Veteran’s Housing complex for our country’s heroes. These 10 two-bedroom units in the City of Sarasota will provide long-awaited, supportive and affordable housing for veterans and their families. This catalytic collaboration includes St. Vincent de Paul CARES, a strong nonprofit partner offering veterans wraparound support services. Additionally, with other key community collaborators, we commissioned a study this year on affordable housing in our region. We will receive the final report with recommendations for what our city and county need to do to address the affordable housing crisis. Stay tuned. 

I look forward to an exciting new year, together with you.

Phillip P. Lanham is President and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.  

Photo courtesy Gulf Coast Community Foundation: Foundation staff.