College of cybersecurity, AI coming to USF
The University of South Florida announced plans Thursday to launch the first college of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in the state.
The college would offer undergraduate and graduate programs in addition to certifications and continuing education options. It would also bring together existing faculty at the university who research AI, cybersecurity and computing.
A USF news release said about 200 USF faculty members are already doing research in related subjects.
The release said the U.S. has seen “a five-fold increase in the demand for AI skills.” It also said last year the National Science Foundation awarded more than $800 million for AI-related research.
In 2020, the University of Florida announced a plan to incorporate AI into the curriculum of every graduating student after a $70 million gift.
A task force, including faculty and the provost, was assembled and plans to put out an initial report. University officials hopes to launch the college by fall 2025 and are still exploring what the structure may look like, and if a new dean will be needed.
Money for New College includes strings
New College of Florida is slated to receive tens of millions of dollars in a budget approved this month by the Legislature — but will face requirements tied to some of the money.
The proposed 2024-25 state budget, which needs approval from Gov. Ron DeSantis, includes $10 million for “operational enhancements” at the school.
President Richard Corcoran and the school’s Board of Trustees would determine the way the money is spent. But $5 million would have to go toward providing scholarships to students.
An additional $15 million would have to be spent for specific purposes laid out in the budget, with $10 million going to temporary student housing; $2 million to scholarships “to support student recruitment;” $2 million to “technology upgrades and improvements, academic coaches, and library resources;” and $1 million to improve campus security.
To receive the money, New College would have to submit a detailed business plan to the state university system’s Board of Governors that “describes the institution’s long-term student enrollment goals and how it will use the funding provided by the state to achieve these goals.”
The Board of Governors also would be required to submit quarterly “status reports” to the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee.
Cabinet tees up land deals for consideration
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet on Tuesday will consider a $122 million proposal to buy agricultural land in Southwest Florida and allow current owners to lease and manage the property.
The purchase, tied to a statewide wildlife corridor, is among five proposed conservation deals at a cost approaching $220 million. Among those are proposed deals in Seminole and Osceola totaling $47.15 million for 4,441 acres.
The state would pay $122 million to CDC Land Investments, Inc., Collier Land Holdings, Ltd., and Cow Bone Slough, LLLP for four parcels totaling 25,039 acres in what is known as the Caloosahatchee-Big Cypress Corridor in Hendry and Collier counties. CDC Land Investment, Collier Land Holdings and Cow Bone Slough would lease and manage the land.
Other conservation deals slated to go before DeSantis and the Cabinet on Tuesday include purchasing 1,342 acres in Polk County for $36.1 million; purchasing 1,361 acres in Seminole County for $34.5 million; purchasing a 3,080-acre conservation easement in Osceola County for $12.65 million; and purchasing a 5,269acre conservation easement in Marion County for $12.646 million.
Online betting opponents lose latest court fight
Opponents of online sports betting in Florida on Thursday lost their latest fight against a Seminole Tribe agreement with the state that permits the gambling.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the opponents had filed the wrong type of petition to challenge the compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The deal will rake in hundreds of millions of dollars from online sports betting and other forms of gambling for both the tribe and state government.
The decision was the latest setback for West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, which operate racetracks and poker rooms in Florida. They also are challenging the compact in federal court and have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case.
An attorney for the opponents didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The court’s ruling permits the opponents to file a motion for a rehearing on the case.
The two parimutuel firms say the compact signed by the governor and the tribe in 2021 gives the tribe a sports betting monopoly. They also argue that it creates a backdoor way out of a requirement, passed by voters in 2018 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution, that a citizens initiative is needed to expand casino gambling outside tribal land.
— Compiled from wire reports