Stetson University has had a number of interesting stories in the news this month, including faculty interviews in the New York Times, Zee News in India, Tampa Bay Times and Lakeland Ledger. The Huffington Post featured Stetson students/alumni for making a difference in the world. And Lake Mary Life magazine featured the Metzger teens, with a beautiful cover shot from DeLand campus. Some of our Top Stories in March, so far, are:

• The Volusia County Council approved a $1.4 million ECHO grant that will go toward improvements at Spec Martin Stadium, where Stetson will play its football games, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported March 16. The story was picked up by the Orlando Business Journal.
• Religious Studies Professor Phillip Lucaswas interviewed about the history of spiritualism for a March 16 Hometown News story about Cassadaga.
• Students from five campus organizations set up emotionally moving displays to educate people on social injustices experienced around the world and to motivate action; the Silent Steps program was covered in the March 16 Daytona Beach News-Journal.
• The multimedia reading and performance by Stetson Poet Terri Witek and visual artist Cyriaco Lopes on March 15 – and their ongoing retrospective show in the HandArtCenter– was previewed March 14 in the “On Writing” blog in the Orlando Sentinel.
• Sand volleyball has officially begun its first season at Stetson, splitting its first home matches, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported March 15.
• Alumna Natalie Wearstler, managing editor of Jacksonville Magazine, authored a column, “Millennials, Baby Boomers both have place in economic recovery,” that features her Stetson education and graduation; the piece ran March 12. The story also was picked up by Smart Growth News.
• The March 4 New York Times quoted Law Professor Cynthia DeBose in the article, “In Age of Dual Incomes, Alimony Payers Prod States to Update Laws.” The article also ran in the March 4 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and multiple blogs.
• On March 9, the Huffington Post featured Stetson for its inclusion on Inside College’s listing of colleges and universities known for students/alumni who are making a difference in the world.
• Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden, a Stetson alumnus who is now the surviving highest-ranking U.S. Marine Corps officer of the Battle of Iwo Jima, is visiting Saipan on March 15, the Marianas Variety (inMicronesia) reported March 9. Snowden also served in theVietnam and Korean wars.
• Political Science Professor T. Wayne Bailey was quoted extensively in a March 9 Lakeland Ledger story about a Polk County School Board member’s business partnership with the school district. The story also ran March 10 in the Winter Haven News Chief.
• The March 7 Tampa Bay Times reported that Stetson Law alumna Judge Jackie Fulford ruled that Florida’s 2011 law requiring that members of the Florida Retirement System contribute three percent of their salaries to the pension fund unconstitutionally breached the contract with existing employees. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and ran in other outlets including the Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, The Seattle Times, and CNN Money.
• In a March 8 story on WCTV (ABC affiliate,Tallahassee,Fla.), student Rebecca True expressed support for a new “Parent Trigger” bill that would allow parents in a failing K-12 public school to approve a turnaround plan by majority vote.
• President Wendy Libby joined with the presidents of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Daytona State College for a panel discussion on the state of higher education, commenting on such subjects as the value of student-faculty interaction and the importance Stetson places on community engagement, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported March 7.
• The March 9 Tampa Bay Times quoted Law Professor Darryl Wilson in an article concerningHillsboroughCounty zoning restrictions.
• The inspiring story of teen siblings Arielle and Austin Metzger, who were homeless until recently, and how Stetson reached out to offer them a college education and mentoring by Bonner Scholars was featured in the March/April issue of Lake Mary Life magazine (story begins p. 58).
• Political Science and Russian Studies Professor Eugene Huskey was interviewed about Vladimir Putin’s chances in the elections, the likely consequences of his victory and the probable impact that the current polls would have on U.S.-Russia ties for Zee News inIndia on March 3.

Additional news coverage, including Other Stories in the News and Alumni in the News, can be found at: DeLand campus In the News and Law Faculty in the News.