Blind trusts, retirement planning top news

Stetson professors were interviewed by national and state media for a pair of articles on financial issues this week, as well as other significant issues. Top national and regional media placements include USA Today, Cincinnati Enquirer, Detroit Free Press, Orlando Sentinel, Fox Sports, SCOTUSblog, and Christian Science Monitor. Top stories for May 9-15, 2014, include:

  • Stuart Michelson, professor of finance and editor of Financial Services Review, was interviewed for a May 11 article in USA Today about financial planning for retirement. Additional coverage: WUSA-TV, KUSA-TV, Cincinnati Enquirer, Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press, Louisville Courier-Journal, AZCentral.com, The Tennessean, and more than a dozen other outlets nationwide.
  • T. Wayne Bailey, Ph.D., professor of political science, was interviewed for a May 14 Tampa Tribune article regarding a law suit that seeks to invalidate politicians’ use of blind trusts. Additional coverage: Naples Daily News, FindLaw.
  • An Orlando Sentinel editorial detailing Jameis Winston’s (FSU) “troubled saga” – including the theft of crab legs from Publix – mentioned that the FSU star football/baseball player would be at Stetson when the two teams meet for one game at Melching Field. The editorial went on to say that the late Mark Hollis, former trustee for Stetson, worked for Publix for nearly 60 years rising from bagger to president. Winston has been teased by fans of opposing teams — Stetson included – resulting in postings to social media that gets picked up by traditional media: Rays Radio WDAE, Sporting News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sun Sentinel, Fox Sports.
  • Law Professor Judith Scully spoke with the Christian Science Monitor for the May 7 story, “California court charts new path on life without parole for juveniles.”
  • Law Professor Peter Lake is quoted in the May 10 Chronicle of Higher Education article, “Virginia Military Institute Agrees to Step Up Protections Under Title IX.” Professor Lake is also quoted in the May 12 Vox, “Why colleges are so bad at handling sexual assault.”
  • Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy is quoted in the Friday, May 9, SCOTUSblog roundup regarding campaign finance jurisprudence being used as a corruption defense.

Other Stories in the News

  • Coverage in the Daytona Beach News-Journal on May 14 included mention of a project at Stetson in the state’s recently passed budget.
  • In a letter to the editor in the Monroe Courier, May 11, Chris Ferguson, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Psychology Department, points out several errors in an editorial by Rep. DebraLee Hovey regarding violent video games.
  • Julie Schmitt, Ph.D., associate professor of theater and director of theater arts, was quoted in a May 10 Hometown News article about the collegial relationship between Stetson and the Athens Theatre.
  • Phillip Lucas, Ph.D., professor of religious studies, was quoted in an Orlando Sentinel article May 10 regarding a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether prayer that invokes the name of Jesus is prohibited by the Constitution. Additional coverage: FindLaw, Big News Network.
  • Sport Balla picked up an article from GoHatters.com, “DiGirolamo Leaves a Legacy of Leadership,” about Katie DiGirolamo who graduated last weekend. Additional coverage: Atlantic-Sun Insider.
  • Mark Powell, Ph.D., assistant professor of English has won a Fulbright Scholarship Award, allowing him to teach at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia, according to the May 2014 New American Colleges & Universities newsletter.
  • Homeschooling Research Notes ran a review on May 9 of Richard G. Medlin’s, Ph.D., professor of psychology, research “Homeschooling and the Question of Socialization Revisited.”
  • Stetson is mentioned in a May 15 News-Press editorial about whether FGCU should start a football team.
  • Jamil Khader, Ph.D., professor of English, published an opinion piece in Al Jazeera on May 10 about vandalism by Jewish extremists on a mosque in Fureidis, Hefa, Israel. Additional coverage: DailyNewsEn.com.
  • Terry Farrell, Ph.D., professor of biology, was quoted in a May 9 Hometown News article about Stetson’s proposed aquatic center on Lake Beresford.
  • Stetson was mentioned in an article about a Volusia County student who won a scholarship from Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. The student and her mother visited Stetson, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, May 7.
  • Stetson was mentioned in a news release announcing Daniel Niclas, Ph.D., is a new vice president at ITRenew, a company that specializes in enterprise IT asset disposition services. Niclas, a former assistant professor of biochemistry, is will lead the company’s enterprise software division, according to KCTV and dozens of other media outlets on May 13.
  • Stetson was briefly mentioned in a May 8 Daytona Beach News-Journal article on DeLand’s new recreation center and park amenities.
  • Law Professor Charles Rose spoke with 970 WFLA Radio for a May 9 story about the insanity defense and the trial of Julie Schenecker, a Tampa mother accused of killing her two children.
  • Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law Bruce Jacob spoke with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for the May 8 story, “Trials of parents accused of killing autistic girl could overlap.”
  • Law Professor and alumna Rebecca Morgan wrote the May 13 ElderLawProf Blog “HCBS-A Cost-effective method of providing care” and “How Old Do You Feel?” She also wrote the May 11 ElderLawProf Blog “A Caregiver for a Mother” and the May 12 ElderLawProf Blog, “NAELA annual meeting.”
  • The May 8 PRNewswire reports that Teaching Advocacy Skills will be hosted May 20-22 at Stetson Law in Gulfport, Fla. The news ran nationally across the wire.
  • The May 9 Destin Log reported that Stetson Law student, moot court team member and Destin resident Kayla Cash helped her team advance to the national finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition.

Alumni in the News

  • Erica Schnell, director of business development at the Ice House and Crushed Ice Events in Louisville, is launching a wine tasting class, “Straight from the Bottle.” Schnell is a member of the Thirsty Girl network, according to Louisiville.com, May 8.
  • Cynthia Perrick Ramirez is the new executive director for the Futures Foundation, a nonprofit, direct-funding organization founded by area business leaders in 1985 to support Volusia County public schools.
  • Shane Cadden is interviewed in a May 14 article on Student Affairs – the First Years. The blog post, Value Yourself, is a Q & A in which he mentions being very involved with student affairs as an undergraduate student.
  • The May 12 Herald-Tribune reports that Law alumnus Stephen Mathew Whyte has joined Kirk Pinkerton P.A. as a shareholder.
  • The May 9 World News reports that Law alumna Diane J. Harrison has been nominated as director and secretary with her company, according to an article about Top to Bottom Pressure Washing, Inc.
  • According to the May 13 BizWireExpress, the ABA is honoring Law alumnus and Hall of Fame inductee Chris Searcy with its Pursuit of Justice Award, which recognizes lawyers and judges who have shown outstanding merit and who excel in providing access to justice for all Americans.
  • The May 12 BizWireExpress reports that Law alumnus Jonathan C. Chane, shareholder with the West Palm Beach office of Greenberg Traurig, P.A., has received the 2014 Robert S. & Ceil N. Levy Young Leadership Award, presented annually by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County to two individuals under the age of 45 who demonstrate outstanding leadership within the Jewish Federation and community in general.
  • The May 9 PRLog reports that Law alumna Mary King, a tax attorney and frequent public speaker for civic organizations, has been accepted into the newest Dicks + Nanton Ultimate Celebrity Expert® Mastermind group, “The X-Group.”