Flagler College ranks 10th on U.S. News list of Best Regional Colleges in the South

September 13, 2011

Flagler College ranked 10th in the south for Best Regional Colleges in U.S. News and World Report's new 2012 edition of "Best Colleges." The widely-used college guide includes rankings on more than 1,600 schools nationwide.

The guidebook will be available on newsstands Sept. 20.

"I am very pleased with our ranking by U.S. News and World Report," said Dr. William T. Abare, Jr., president of Flagler College. "It is a significant achievement for Flagler to be ranked among the top regional colleges in the south by this prestigious national publication."

The Best Regional Colleges category includes schools whose focus is almost entirely on the undergraduate experience and who offer a broad range of programs in the liberal arts, as well as fields such as business, nursing and education. The 371 colleges in the category draw heavily from nearby states and are divided into four regions.

The Best Colleges guide compares the quality of schools based on "indicators of excellence" such as freshman retention, graduation rates and the strength of the faculty. Colleges and universities are sorted into categories that the publication bases on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

In August, Flagler was also included in the Princeton Review's annual college guide, "Best 376 Colleges – 2012 Edition."

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Flagler College to Host Florida Humanities Council Documentary and Discussion on the Future of Florida

October 1, 2011

Flagler College will host a free screening of the documentary "Florida: Choosing the Future" on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Flagler College Auditorium. The half-hour film, sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council and Flagler, challenges viewers to grapple with tough decisions that will affect our state's future in government policy, business development, education and citizen involvement.

Following the film there will be a panel discussion by Florida leaders including two-term Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Jacksonville civic activist Philip Mobley, and former Department of Community Affairs Secretary Steve Seibert.

Iorio, who left office with an 87 percent approval rating, is now the Leader-in-Residence at the John H. Sykes College of Business at the University of Tampa. Mobley is chair of OneJax, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding and respect among people of different races. He also is on the of Hope Haven Children's Clinic and Family Center. Seibert, a Florida Humanities council board member, has a statewide reputation for helping resolve contentious environmental issues. He also is on the boards of the Fortune 500 crop nutrition company Mosaic, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes and the Friends of Florida State Parks.

The Flagler College Auditorium is located at 14 Granada St. in St. Augustine.

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Flagler College History Honor Society to Hold Talk About Sept. 11

September 9, 2011

The Phil Alpha Theta History Honor Society at Flagler College will host a faculty forum on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Monday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Flagler Room.

The forum is entitled, "Sept. 11: Did it really change everything?" It will be chaired by Dr. Brenda Kauffman, and panelists will include Dr. Jim Pickett, Dr. Jim Rowell, Dr. Art Vanden Houten, Dr. Hugh Marlowe and Dr. Felix Livingston.

The discussion is free and open to the public.

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Flagler College Art Professor Accepted into English Film and Video Festival

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (08/11/2011) -- Patrick Moser, Art and Design Department chair and associate professor of painting and drawing at Flagler College, recently had his short film, "Patty Goes," shown at the Fundada Artists' Film Festival (FAFF) in Wakefield, England. The festival is a film and video event run by artists intending to showcase the best in contemporary screen-based art.

The film, which features stop animation using 400 different paintings to tell the story of Patty – an homage to 1960s Bigfoot images – was created by Moser while on a faculty research sabbatical grant from Flagler.

"I'm really a painter, but I've been immersing myself in video and film. The curious thing about video art is it's not film," said Moser. "It's a way to experiment with contemporary screen-based art using video, computer programs and animation."

Moser was the only American artist chosen for the film festival.

"I found out about the Fundada Festival on the video site, Vimeo, and submitted it to be considered for acceptance," Moser said. "I never anticipated that it would be selected."

The films were screened in late July at Westgate Studios in Wakefield, England. Moser was unable to attend.

"I've been running an art camp here at Flagler all summer and wasn't able to get away," Moser said. "In the fall, I will be teaching a Video Art class using the skills I've learned during my sabbatical."

Moser received his M.F.A. from the University of Florida and teaches painting and drawing courses at Flagler.

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Flagler College Community Lecture Series to look at Yellow Journalism and the Spanish-American War

September 20, 2011

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series continues on Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. with a presentation by Dr. John Diviney, associate professor of Liberal Studies. His talk will be, "The Spanish-American War: You Furnish the Pictures and I'll Furnish the War."

"Yellow journalism was pervasive in the United States in the years preceding the war," said Diviney. "Hearst and Pulitzer both owned major newspapers in New York, and they were not averse to sensationalism. I'm looking at this culture and how it played into racial prejudices against blacks and Hispanics. These prejudices in large part fed the decision to go to war. The consequences on Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines were, of course, tremendous."

Diviney is a retired United States Army Major and has completed training missions in Panama, Colombia, Liberia and Buenos Aires. A decorated army veteran, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Widely published in academic and literary journals, Diviney teaches courses in Spanish and Hispanic literature, Latin American Studies and Latin American History.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for the semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge.

Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for reservations or more information.

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Flagler College and SCORE to host business planning workshop

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (08/15/2011)(readMedia)-- Flagler College is again partnering with SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business - to host a four-part planning workshop for small businesses. This will be the fourth time that SCORE has presented this highly successful workshop series.

All sessions will be held at Flagler College on Wednesday evenings Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost to participate in all four sessions is $99. Attendance at individual sessions is possible for $30 per session.

The workshop is designed both for those with an existing business who wish to grow their business, as well as those considering starting a new business. The SCORE counselors will address preparations for a professional business plan and options for obtaining the necessary financing.

The workshop will be in four parts: business concepts and data collection, marketing strategies, financial forecasting and completing the business plan. It is designed to help clients make a "go" or "no-go" decision for their business idea. Both homework and counseling are a part of the workshop process.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economic community, and our goal is to both help new entrepreneurs get started, as well as to help existing businesses grow," said Marty Cohen, a SCORE counselor.

To make reservations, please call (904) 460-1251, (904) 471-8891, or email shelmar826@bellsouth.net.

The four sessions that will be presented are:

Business Concepts and Data Collection - This session reviews the process of putting together a Feasibility Plan to determine if a business idea makes sense. This session covers the business idea or concept, the need met by the product or service, industry profile, competition, and target markets. The session also reviews the process of selecting a name, business structure, hiring/managing employees, and determining how and where your business will operate.

Marketing Strategies - This marketing segment reviews the proper positioning of a product or service to maximize its appeal in the marketplace. The session also identifies the features and benefits of a product or service; adapting them to their most appropriate markets using the "4 P's of marketing" to maximize the business opportunity.

Financial Forecasting - This session reviews building a financial model for a business including estimating start-up costs, forecasting sales units and prices, and estimating fixed and variable operating costs to allow the development of a cash flow and income projection, determine breakeven points, and investigate the impact of pricing decisions on a venture's profitability. The session also focuses on understanding accounting principles, general business records, taxes and management accounting.

Completing the Business Plan - This session covers financial statement analysis, accounting and bookkeeping systems, the "six C's of credit," banking relations, and sources of capital both traditional and non-traditional. The session also discusses how to use a business plan, either to secure financing, or as a guide to help one make decisions as one grows their business. The session concludes with a question and answer session with SCORE experts to address any remaining questions.

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Flagler College Theatre Arts to present tale of seduction and manipulation, 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'

October, 1, 2011

The Flagler College Theatre Arts Department kicks off its fall season on Oct. 21 with a six-show production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Christopher Hampton, presented by special arrangement with Samuel French.

This dramatic adaptation of the 1782 novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos features a tale of seduction set in aristocratic pre-revolution France. A classic drama, the play explores decadent sexuality, morality and manipulation.

In addition to the community performances, Flagler's production of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" will also be entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, a prestigious competition for college and university theater programs around the country. Two actors will also be selected to compete for the renowned Irene Ryan Acting Award. Last year, the Flagler Theatre Arts Department participated in the Kennedy Center competition with both "Antigone" and "Agnes of God," and five Flagler students were selected to compete for the Irene Ryan.

"Les Liaisons Dangereuses" will be performed Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. at the Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada St., St. Augustine. General admission tickets go on sale Oct. 17 for $15, cash or check only. This production is for mature audiences only and is not suitable for younger audiences. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, noon - 5 p.m.

In November, the Flagler College theatre arts department will present "Endgame" by Samuel Beckett, presented by special arrangement with Samuel French. For information on either play, call the theatre events line, 904-826-8600, or Andrea McCook, 904-819-6401. Also, visit www.flagler.edu/theatre.

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Flagler College wins two Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Awards

August 31, 2011

Flagler College's Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and Flagler College Magazine both recently won in the Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Awards. One of the awards recognized the school's 2011 Communication Week in a category for student public relations campaigns.

"We are extremely excited to win an Award of Distinction in the statewide Golden Image competition for the third consecutive year," said Assistant Professor of Communication Rosemary Tutt, APR, CPRC. "My congratulations goes to our PRSSA chapter who not only hosted an outstanding event, but took the reins to fulfill all the requirements for award submission."

Flagler College students Kayla Ward and Kayla Sullivan spearheaded the 2011 Communication Week award submission and attended the FPRA Awards Banquet on Aug. 9, 2011 to receive the award. Communication Week brings in speakers from the field of communication to classes and special talks.

"It was a really great networking opportunity for us to be around all of those public relations professionals," said Ward. "Kayla and I worked really hard to put together our application, so it is a real honor to have been able to accept it on behalf of the rest of PRSSA and Professor Tutt."

This is the third time PRSSA has won on the statewide level. They have also won several awards on the regional level.

Flagler College Magazine, the school's biannual alumni publication with a circulation of 20,500, also took an award of distinction in the magazine category. The magazine was the only publication in the state awarded in that category.

"A big part of the judging for these awards isn't just the look and the content, but also what your mission and goals are, and how well you accomplish them," said Brian Thompson, director of public information and the magazine's editor. "So it's rewarding that the judges feel we're not just an attractive publication, but that we're also achieving what we set out to do."

This is the first time the magazine has won on the statewide level.

The Golden Image Awards competition is conducted annually in Florida and its mission is to advance the development of public relations professionalism. It singles out exceptional public relations programs.

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Memoirist Robert Leleux to speak at Flagler College

September 22, 2011

On Oct. 13, Flagler College will host writer Robert Leleux, whose coming-of-age memoir, "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy," has been hailed as "wickedly funny and tender" by The Seattle Times. Leleux will read and sign books at the Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada Street, at 7 p.m. The presentation is part of a new college series, "Ideas and Images: Scholars and Artists in Residence."

Robert Leleux's essays and articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country, including the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, and the Utne Reader. He writes the "Tex in the City" column for the Texas Observer and the "History of Style" column for Lonny Magazine, where he is features editor. Leleux is the author of "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy," a comedy about the end of his teenage years and his parents' messy divorce. His newest book, "The Living End," will be published by St. Martin's Press in winter, 2012. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York City.

Critics have raved about "The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy." Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the book, "Head-tossing, high-strung comedy ..." "If David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs combined their talents, they might come up with something to match Robert Leleux's mesmerizing memoir," wrote BarrnesandNoble.com

"Ideas and Images: Scholars and Artists in Residence" is a new program at Flagler College. Throughout the academic season the college will feature an international composition of artists and authors, introducing a fresh and creative component to the greater St. Augustine community. Each event is free and open to the public. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for more information.

Upcoming presentations in the "Ideas and Images" series include:

Jan. 12, 2012 - Mark Ruwedel and Chris Balaschak - A Conversation Between the Artist and the Art HistorianFebruary 2, 2012 - Fiction Writer and Essayist John Domini

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Flagler SIFE wants to help Veterans Farm ‘Get on the Shelf’ of Walmart

March 6, 2012

Flagler College’s Students in Free Enterprise team is working on a project to change the lives of disabled combat vets by landing a veteran-made product on the shelves of every Walmart store.

SIFE has teamed up with Jacksonville’s Veterans Farm, an organization that helps disabled combat veterans get back into society through the use of horticulture therapy. The farm grows datil peppers and blueberries that carry the Veterans Farm label.

SIFE’s goal is to win Walmart’s “Get on the Shelf” contest. The competition lets the public vote on products not carried by Walmart. Three winners will be able to sell on Walmart.com, and the grand prize winner could end up on actual shelves of stores.

“Our mission is to win that Walmart competition,” said SIFE adviser Barry Sand. “If we do, it will bring jobs to war veterans all over the country.”

The farm teaches disabled combat veterans skills to help them overcome their physical and mental barriers while also getting jobs. It was started by Sgt. Adam Burke, an OIF/OEF combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient who was wounded in battle during a 15-month tour in Iraq.

“When I returned I noticed that many of my fellow veterans were finding it tougher coming home than leaving for combat,” Burke said. “With more and more vets returning home, the problem is only growing. With this in mind, I started Veterans Farm.”

Through a 6-month fellowship program, veterans learn how to grow organic fruits and vegetables that will provide them with the resources to go out and start their own farms, or to work for larger farming organizations.

The farm teamed with Keith Bailey, owner and CEO of Dr. Datil Food Products to produce the Veterans Farm Datil Salt, and Flagler students helped redesign the product’s labels, produced a commercial and developed a campaign to win Walmart’s “Get on the Shelf” competition.

Flagler SIFE is asking the public to support veterans by going online and voting for Veterans Farm. Voting for the contest is from March 7 through April 3. To view the video and vote, go to http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/4970/Veterans-Farm-Datil-Pepp.

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Memoirist and Fiction Writer Peter Trachtenberg to Speak at Flagler College Writers in Residence program

September 12, 2011

Nationally-renowned writer Peter Trachtenberg will visit Flagler College on Oct. 3 as the first event of the college's 2011-2012 Writers in Residence Program. Trachtenberg will give a public reading in the Gamache-Koger Room at 6 p.m.

Trachtenberg is the author of "The Book of Calamities: Five Questions About Suffering and Its Meaning" (Little, Brown 2008), a book that combines reportage, memoir and moral philosophy. The work won the 2009 Phi Beta Kappa Ralph Waldo Emerson Award for works that contribute significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.

"Trachtenberg ... rais[es] complex questions about justice, malice, compassion, blame, self-pity, personal responsibility, faith, and doubt ..." writes O: The Oprah Magazine. "The artistry and humor of his writing, the pain of his mercilessly self-punishing insights, the relentlessness of his guilty misanthropy ... all give Trachtenberg a solid claim to being a genuine American Dostoevsky," writes The Washington Post.

Trachtenberg's fiction, essays and reportage have appeared in The New Yorker, Harpers, Bomb, A Public Space, Bidoun, O: The Oprah Magazine and The New York Times Travel Magazine. He has performed his monologues at Dixon Place, PS 122 and The Kitchen, and broadcast commentaries on NPR's "All Things Considered."

The reading will be held in the Gamache-Koger Room at the Ringhaver Student Center at 50 Sevilla St. in St. Augustine. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters available upon request.

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Flagler kicks off Community Lecture Series with presentation on Civil War

August 16, 2011

The 2011-2012 season of the Flagler College Community Lecture Series will kick off on Tuesday, Sept. 6, with a presentation on "Friends of the Old Flag: Unionists in Civil War Florida" by Liberal Studies Assistant Professor Tracy Upchurch.

The lecture will take place at 10 a.m. in the college's Flagler Room in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel.

The presentation will explore the experiences of Southerners-particularly those in Northeast Florida-who did not support the Confederacy during the Civil War. Upchurch will examine ways class, geography and proximity to Union strongholds may have played a part in the development and strength of Union loyalties in our region.

"People remained loyal to the Union for different reasons," Upchurch said. "And it's important to ask why they made that decision, and to examine what their experiences were when they expressed their beliefs."

Upchurch received his Juris Doctorate from The University of Florida College of Law and his B.A. from Davidson College with a major in history. He is a former Florida state representative, a former mayor of the city of St. Augustine and a former St. Augustine city commissioner. Upchurch is well-known for his active public and civic service; he serves in an "of counsel" capacity to the law firm of Upchurch, Bailey and Upchurch and is a trustee and former chairman of Flagler Healthcare Systems Inc., the parent company of Flagler Hospital.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty.

Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 per semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 for reservations or more information.

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Flagler Forum speaker to address Washington's 'Colossal Mess'

September 15, 2011

The Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy continues with a presentation on Oct. 6 from former Scripps Howard News Service editor and writer Dan K. Thomasson. A 47-year veteran of Washington reporting, Thomasson will talk on "The 'Colossal Mess' in Washington."

Thomasson has appeared on "Face the Nation," "Good Morning America," "The Today Show," "Washington Week in Review" and C-Span as a commentator and reporter on national affairs. He is a retired vice president of the E. W. Scripps Co. and retired editor of Scripps Howard News Service. He writes a twice-weekly column syndicated by Scripps Howard.

During the 60s and 70s, Thomasson was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the nation's top investigative reporters, having covered every major scandal from Bobby Baker to Chappaquiddick to Watergate. He covered three presidential campaigns and every political convention from 1960 to 2004. In 1975, he authored a groundbreaking national exposé of fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid.

Thomasson has brought his long and decorated career in investigative reporting into the educational arena, having held positions at colleges and universities across the country. He has been editor-in-residence at West Point, Rhode Island University, William and Mary, Ohio University and the University of Hawaii. He was a presidential fellow at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a media fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford. He is also a member of the White House Correspondent's Association, the Gridiron Club of Washington (president 1992) and the National Press Club. He was named to the Washington Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993.

For more than 30 years, the Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy has invited nationally recognized journalists and commentators to St. Augustine to discuss issues of importance in regional, state and federal government.

All forums take place in the Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada St., at 7 p.m. Forums are free and open to the public, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters are provided. Call (904) 819-6400 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for more information.

The next Flagler Forum will be:

Nov. 3 - Margaret Talev, White House Correspondent, Bloomberg - "Hitting the Ceiling: The Economy and the 2012 Election"

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Screenwriter and producer Khris Baxter to speak at Flagler College

September 22, 2011

Screenwriter Khris Baxter will visit Flagler College in October to work with screenwriting students and deliver a presentation titled, "Don't Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story: Telling Compelling Stories in Non-Fiction Television." The presentation will be held in the Gamache-Koger Theater at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19. Baxter's visit is sponsored by the Flagler's English and Communication departments as part of the College's Writers in Residence Program.

Baxter is a screenwriter, producer, teacher and story consultant. He teaches screenwriting at The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Md., Gettysburg College, and the low-residency MFA at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. His body of work includes five optioned screenplays and one produced film. He is a member of the Virginia Film Office, where he is a judge for the annual Governor's Screenwriting Competition. He is also the founder of Baxter Baker & Associates, a consulting firm that engages the power of Hollywood story craft, helping clients share their passion, sell their ideas and win more business. Story Lab Partners, his newest company, produces fiction and nonfiction "Inside the Beltway" stories for film and television.

"I was in Khris Baxter's workshop at last year's Jacksonville Film Festival. His presentation was a wealth of information; it not only covered screenplay pitching, but also offered ideas that have informed how I now approach my writing and teaching my feature screenwriting class," said Lorraine Portman, Flagler screenwriting instructor. "I am thrilled he agreed to visit Flagler and work with our students. He is an excellent teacher with a wonderful body of work."

In addition to his evening workshop, Baxter will also spend two days visiting Flagler's screenwriting classes and providing guidance to students and faculty on the screenwriting business and effective pitching techniques.

Baxter's presentation will be held in the Gamache-Koger Theater at the Ringhaver Student Center, 50 Sevilla St., at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters available upon request. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for more information.

Upcoming events in the College's Writers in Residence Program include:

Nov. 10-12, 2011 - Florida Literary Arts Coalition Other Words ConferenceFeb. 8, 2012 - Poet Tim Seibels

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Flagler College History Honor Society to Hold Talk About Sept. 11

September 9, 2011

The Phil Alpha Theta History Honor Society at Flagler College will host a faculty forum on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Monday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Flagler Room.

The forum is entitled, "Sept. 11: Did it really change everything?" It will be chaired by Dr. Brenda Kauffman, and panelists will include Dr. Jim Pickett, Dr. Jim Rowell, Dr. Art Vanden Houten, Dr. Hugh Marlowe and Dr. Felix Livingston.

The discussion is free and open to the public.

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Flagler Forum speaker to address Washington's 'Colossal Mess'

September 15, 2011

The Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy continues with a presentation on Oct. 6 from former Scripps Howard News Service editor and writer Dan K. Thomasson. A 47-year veteran of Washington reporting, Thomasson will talk on "The 'Colossal Mess' in Washington."

Thomasson has appeared on "Face the Nation," "Good Morning America," "The Today Show," "Washington Week in Review" and C-Span as a commentator and reporter on national affairs. He is a retired vice president of the E. W. Scripps Co. and retired editor of Scripps Howard News Service. He writes a twice-weekly column syndicated by Scripps Howard.

During the 60s and 70s, Thomasson was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the nation's top investigative reporters, having covered every major scandal from Bobby Baker to Chappaquiddick to Watergate. He covered three presidential campaigns and every political convention from 1960 to 2004. In 1975, he authored a groundbreaking national exposé of fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid.

Thomasson has brought his long and decorated career in investigative reporting into the educational arena, having held positions at colleges and universities across the country. He has been editor-in-residence at West Point, Rhode Island University, William and Mary, Ohio University and the University of Hawaii. He was a presidential fellow at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a media fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford. He is also a member of the White House Correspondent's Association, the Gridiron Club of Washington (president 1992) and the National Press Club. He was named to the Washington Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993.

For more than 30 years, the Flagler College Forum on Government and Public Policy has invited nationally recognized journalists and commentators to St. Augustine to discuss issues of importance in regional, state and federal government.

All forums take place in the Flagler College Auditorium, 14 Granada St., at 7 p.m. Forums are free and open to the public, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters are provided. Call (904) 819-6400 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for more information.

The next Flagler Forum will be:

Nov. 3 - Margaret Talev, White House Correspondent, Bloomberg - "Hitting the Ceiling: The Economy and the 2012 Election"

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Flagler SIFE wants to help Veterans Farm ‘Get on the Shelf’ of Walmart

March 6, 2012

Flagler College’s Students in Free Enterprise team is working on a project to change the lives of disabled combat vets by landing a veteran-made product on the shelves of every Walmart store.

SIFE has teamed up with Jacksonville’s Veterans Farm, an organization that helps disabled combat veterans get back into society through the use of horticulture therapy. The farm grows datil peppers and blueberries that carry the Veterans Farm label.

SIFE’s goal is to win Walmart’s “Get on the Shelf” contest. The competition lets the public vote on products not carried by Walmart. Three winners will be able to sell on Walmart.com, and the grand prize winner could end up on actual shelves of stores.

“Our mission is to win that Walmart competition,” said SIFE adviser Barry Sand. “If we do, it will bring jobs to war veterans all over the country.”

The farm teaches disabled combat veterans skills to help them overcome their physical and mental barriers while also getting jobs. It was started by Sgt. Adam Burke, an OIF/OEF combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient who was wounded in battle during a 15-month tour in Iraq.

“When I returned I noticed that many of my fellow veterans were finding it tougher coming home than leaving for combat,” Burke said. “With more and more vets returning home, the problem is only growing. With this in mind, I started Veterans Farm.”

Through a 6-month fellowship program, veterans learn how to grow organic fruits and vegetables that will provide them with the resources to go out and start their own farms, or to work for larger farming organizations.

The farm teamed with Keith Bailey, owner and CEO of Dr. Datil Food Products to produce the Veterans Farm Datil Salt, and Flagler students helped redesign the product’s labels, produced a commercial and developed a campaign to win Walmart’s “Get on the Shelf” competition.

Flagler SIFE is asking the public to support veterans by going online and voting for Veterans Farm. Voting for the contest is from March 7 through April 3. To view the video and vote, go to http://www.getontheshelf.com/product/4970/Veterans-Farm-Datil-Pepp.

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Flagler College Community Lecture Series to look at Yellow Journalism and the Spanish-American War

September 20, 2011

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series continues on Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. with a presentation by Dr. John Diviney, associate professor of Liberal Studies. His talk will be, "The Spanish-American War: You Furnish the Pictures and I'll Furnish the War."

"Yellow journalism was pervasive in the United States in the years preceding the war," said Diviney. "Hearst and Pulitzer both owned major newspapers in New York, and they were not averse to sensationalism. I'm looking at this culture and how it played into racial prejudices against blacks and Hispanics. These prejudices in large part fed the decision to go to war. The consequences on Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines were, of course, tremendous."

Diviney is a retired United States Army Major and has completed training missions in Panama, Colombia, Liberia and Buenos Aires. A decorated army veteran, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Widely published in academic and literary journals, Diviney teaches courses in Spanish and Hispanic literature, Latin American Studies and Latin American History.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for the semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge.

Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for reservations or more information.

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Memoirist and Fiction Writer Peter Trachtenberg to Speak at Flagler College Writers in Residence program

September 12, 2011

Nationally-renowned writer Peter Trachtenberg will visit Flagler College on Oct. 3 as the first event of the college's 2011-2012 Writers in Residence Program. Trachtenberg will give a public reading in the Gamache-Koger Room at 6 p.m.

Trachtenberg is the author of "The Book of Calamities: Five Questions About Suffering and Its Meaning" (Little, Brown 2008), a book that combines reportage, memoir and moral philosophy. The work won the 2009 Phi Beta Kappa Ralph Waldo Emerson Award for works that contribute significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.

"Trachtenberg ... rais[es] complex questions about justice, malice, compassion, blame, self-pity, personal responsibility, faith, and doubt ..." writes O: The Oprah Magazine. "The artistry and humor of his writing, the pain of his mercilessly self-punishing insights, the relentlessness of his guilty misanthropy ... all give Trachtenberg a solid claim to being a genuine American Dostoevsky," writes The Washington Post.

Trachtenberg's fiction, essays and reportage have appeared in The New Yorker, Harpers, Bomb, A Public Space, Bidoun, O: The Oprah Magazine and The New York Times Travel Magazine. He has performed his monologues at Dixon Place, PS 122 and The Kitchen, and broadcast commentaries on NPR's "All Things Considered."

The reading will be held in the Gamache-Koger Room at the Ringhaver Student Center at 50 Sevilla St. in St. Augustine. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign language interpreters available upon request.

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Flagler College to Host Florida Humanities Council Documentary and Discussion on the Future of Florida

October 1, 2011

Flagler College will host a free screening of the documentary "Florida: Choosing the Future" on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Flagler College Auditorium. The half-hour film, sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council and Flagler, challenges viewers to grapple with tough decisions that will affect our state's future in government policy, business development, education and citizen involvement.

Following the film there will be a panel discussion by Florida leaders including two-term Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Jacksonville civic activist Philip Mobley, and former Department of Community Affairs Secretary Steve Seibert.

Iorio, who left office with an 87 percent approval rating, is now the Leader-in-Residence at the John H. Sykes College of Business at the University of Tampa. Mobley is chair of OneJax, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding and respect among people of different races. He also is on the of Hope Haven Children's Clinic and Family Center. Seibert, a Florida Humanities council board member, has a statewide reputation for helping resolve contentious environmental issues. He also is on the boards of the Fortune 500 crop nutrition company Mosaic, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes and the Friends of Florida State Parks.

The Flagler College Auditorium is located at 14 Granada St. in St. Augustine.

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