On Friday, November 4, 2011, New College of Florida, the state’s honors college for the liberal arts and sciences, dedicated the plaza adjacent to its new Academic Center, which opened in the fall of 2011 at the corner of U.S. 41 and College Drive in Sarasota.
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| New College Academic Plaza Dedication 11.4.11 |
The newly-named Koski Plaza recognizes a generous gift of $1 million from Beverly Koski and her late husband, Robert, co-founder of Sun Hydraulics. The gift will be used to construct a bell tower in the section of the plaza adjacent to the Jane Bancroft Cook Library on Bay Shore Road. The rest of the gift will be used to fund a variety of academic priorities at New College, which is consistently ranked one of the top public liberal arts colleges in the country.
”Our campus architects recognized that we lacked a central meeting place on campus,“ recalled New College President Dr. Gordon E. ”Mike“ Michalson in his opening remarks. ”The Academic Center was the obvious place to create that focus for interaction between faculty and students. Today we celebrate the success of that idea. And in Beverly Koski’s gift, we also celebrate the tradition of giving by generous donors, which runs in the DNA of our institution, back to its private days.“
Beverly Koski, one of Sarasota’s leading philanthropists and community leaders, has been active at New College for much of its 50-year history, serving for many years as a leader of the New College Library Association (NCLA).
”New College is a special place,“ said Koski. ”It’s a place where students can come and design their own program under a mentor and the leadership of a fabulous staff. I am very proud to be a part of the New College tradition. It pleases me to think of the faculty, and students gathering in this plaza to discuss the topics of the day and the challenges before them.“
In the College’s early years, the Koskis made one of the first large gifts to the library, and the Koski Core Collection Fund continues to help acquire new books and resources, helping make the Cook Library one of Southwest Florida’s most important public-accessible research libraries. The College also worked closely in recent years with Robert Koski to host an annual meeting of engineering experts from around the globe.
Student government co-president Oliver Peckham connected campus enhancements with New College’s desire for constant self-improvement and newness, not stagnation.
”The creation of new spaces is a pure and reified representation of those ideas,“ stated Peckham. ”But these improvements, these spaces, do not manifest themselves spontaneously, nor do they spring into existence upon a certain number of students concentrating very hard on how much they desire and value the principle of newness. They come about because generous individuals take a look at those ideals, take a look at the incredible opportunities New College offers, and say: ÔI believe in that. I want to be a part of that.’ They put the ÔNew’ into New College.“
The ceremony also included remarks by Board Chair Bob Johnson, a faculty perspective given by Professor of French Language and Literature Jocelyn Van Tuyl, a student life perspective from Dean of Students Wendy Bashant and, from Dr. Robert Barylski, a retrospective from his years as dean of both New College and the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in the late 1970s and 1980s, when the two institutions shared a campus and New College was still part of USF.
Van Tuyl commented on the difference the new Academic Center has made in her interactions with faculty colleagues as well as students.
”I can see what is happening on a human level now,“ commented Van Tuyl, whose office had been located at the remote Caples campus. ”Faculty members pop in and out of each other’s doors, which creates true Ôcollegiality.’ And the convenient location means that my students are more inclined to stop by my office when they have questions or need help.“
The new Academic Center is New College’s most significant academic building constructed in nearly 20 years. The $11-million, masonry and stucco building houses classrooms and faculty offices, and includes state-of-the art teaching amenities in 2.5 stories. The classrooms, which double as hurricane shelters with a 140-mph wind load, feature enhanced wireless technology for students.
The Academic Center was recently awarded Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for a number of environmentally friendly features. The USGBC awards point values based on sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
Koski Plaza is also home to the Four Winds Sculpture, designed by nationally-known artist Bruce White. The sculpture was dedicated in April 2011 to former Senator Bob Johnson in recognition of his longtime advocacy on behalf of the College. The ”Four Winds“ is the College’s official emblem and represents the eternal search for truth and continuity.
The central plaza has been landscaped with Florida native plants and trees, and includes built-in benches and a sunken lawn. The plaza was designed by Renker Eich Parks (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and the landscape design was done by Graham-Booth Landscape Architecture (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Turner Tree & Landscape (Bradenton, Fla.) provided the landscaping material for the plaza and accomplished all of the plantings. The building’s architects are Moules & Polyzoides (Pasadena, Calif.).
The Academic Center and Koski Plaza are part of a plan envisioned by the architects to ”densify“ the campus around Bay Shore Road. This will eventually encompass new academic/classroom buildings on the north and south facing each other and a green quadrangle between them. These plans and several recent campus enhancements, which in addition to the Academic Center include five new residence halls opened in 2007, are all part of a Campus Master Plan adopted by New College’s Board of Trustees in 2006.
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| Lindsey Schuster |
Lindsey Schuster, Tax Supervisor, with the accounting firm of CS&L CPAs was a delegate to CPAmerica International’s 2011 Tax Conference recently held in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 2-4, 2011.
The meeting is an annual event sponsored by CPAmerica, which brings together partners from member firms across the United States for networking, member sharing and continuing professional education.
The agenda for the event included a variety of outside speakers and topics. These topics included, advanced S-corp, passive losses, estate and gift, updates on cases, rulings and procedures from 2011 and member sharing.
CS&L CPAs is an exclusive member CPAmerica, one the nation’s largest associations of independent accounting firms. Members share industry-specific knowledge, training programs, practice management techniques and best practices.
Kerkering, Barberio & Co., Certified Public Accountants, is pleased to announce that Eric Troyer and Chris Wailand have passed all four parts of the CPA exam to obtain the designation of Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Troyer graduated from York College in York, Nebraska, receiving his B.B.A. in Accounting. He began his career with Kerkering Barberio in 2004, and as an audit supervisor, his area of practice is audit and assurance services with a focus on the construction industry. Mr. Wailand graduated from Manatee Community College (now State College of Florida) with an A.A. in Independent Studies and from Florida Atlantic University with a B.B.A. in Accounting. Mr. Wailand began his career with Kerkering Barberio in 2006, and as a senior accountant, his areas of practice include audit and assurance services and litigation support services with a focus in forensic accounting and fraud examination.
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| Kevin Kavanagh |
Kevin Kavanagh has joined Bayshore Technologies as a Senior Technical Consultant. Kevin has a broad background in network engineering and network operations management. Kevin has 17 years experience in network technologies. Kevin has held positions at RR Donnelley, Acxiom, and Xeta Technologies. He holds certifications from Microsoft, Dell, Juniper, and CompTIA. His primary focus will be implementing network solutions and supporting Bayshore's growing customer base.
Junior Achievement Manatee/Sarasota, a local chapter of the world’s largest and fastest-growing non-profit economic education organization, today announced the appointment of two local business leaders to its 2012 Board of Directors. Laura Spencer is the chief financial officer of JCI Jones Chemicals, Sarasota, and David Hess is an audit partner with Bobbitt, Pittenger & Company.
”We are fortunate to have the leadership, vision and professional expertise of Laura Spencer and David Hess as we continue to increase the reach of our financial education programs to nearly 300 classrooms and 6,000 local students,“ said Maggie Haley, executive director of Junior Achievement Manatee/Sarasota.
Spencer previously was president and chief executive officer of Tervis Tumbler. She joined the company in 1997 as controller, and subsequently was promoted to the positions of chief financial officer and chief operating officer before taking the reins as chief executive officer in 2007. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
”I previously volunteered in the classroom for Junior Achievement and saw what an impact it had on the students,“ said Spencer. ”They were truly engaged in the class and really enjoyed learning about business. I am happy to be able to contribute as a board member with such a great organization.“
Hess has more than 27 years of public accounting experience, including eight years with an international accounting firm. He graduated from the University of South Florida, and has provided management advisory, computerized and manual accounting systems and internal control structuring for all types of for-profit and not-for-profit entities.
”I enjoyed my past involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Easter Seals,“ said Hess. ”When you get involved with children’s programs you feel like you are truly contributing to the community. I look forward to having that same experience with Junior Achievement.“ |
| John Schwan, RN |
”Ensuring that the air conditioning and heating system is up and running properly is the most important factor to consider for the winter-ready home,“ said Thom Rohde, service manager at Home-Tech. ”There’s no better time to check the status of your heater than before you need it.“
Home-Tech experts have the following maintenance suggestions that can improve your heating and cooling system’s efficiency, keep appliances running smoothly and prevent costly repairs:
1. Change your filter to ensure that utilities run efficiently this winter. A dirty filter makes your heating and cooling system work harder, which uses more energy. Replacing your filter every few months saves energy and also reduces dust around the home.
2. Reprogram your thermostat by turning it back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours a day. This can result in savings of approximately 10 percent on annual heating and cooling bills. If your thermostat is difficult to program, ask a Home-Tech expert to install a programmable thermostat that makes it easy to set specific temperatures automatically for different times of day.
3. Keep the warm air flowing freely in the house by reversing the switch on your ceiling fans. By setting the fans to operate in a clockwise direction, you push warm air, which collects near the ceiling, back down into the room.
4. Dirty coils and fans reduce the airflow through your heating and cooling system. Schedule a ”Clean and Check“ from a licensed Home-Tech technician to ensure proper maintenance. The call is complimentary for service agreement customers.
5. Be sure to turn on all appliances that you will need when family and friends visit for the holidays. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving morning to make sure your oven is functioning properly.
While preparing for a winter in Florida differs a bit from other parts of the country, the state faces at least a few days below 40 degrees every year. When residents are well-prepared, unnecessary costs and frustrations are avoided.
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