Kheireddine elected BOT student rep

Moneer Kheireddine. ORACLE FILE PHOTO

Moneer Kheireddine, USF Tampa student body president, was unanimously elected to be the student representative on the USF Board of Trustees (BOT). The position includes representing the students from the USF System on the BOT and speaking up for the needs of the students regardless of what campus they belong to.

According to the meeting’s minutes, Kheireddine ran unopposed. Prior to the meeting, Kheireddine told The Oracle that being on the BOT would be a great privilege and that he wants to make sure all three of USF’s campuses feel equally represented.

 

Bright Futures gets brighter

 

During the past legislative session, representatives voted in favor of expanding the Bright Futures scholarships for the Florida Academic Scholars level to cover 100 percent of tuition. While the tuition rates for colleges and universities will remain the same, those who receive these benefits will have the cost of tuition and fees covered as well as having $300 a semester for books. 

Additionally, those who receive the top level of Bright Futures will receive coverage for summer, according to the Associated Press.

 

New budget provides funding

 

The Florida Legislature also passed a budget that would provide USF with over $411.9 million in funding. This budget includes $12 million for the advancement of a downtown health center. According to Provost Ralph Wilcox, funding will also be put toward enhancing graduate level education.

The budget still needs to be approved by Gov. Rick Scott.

“We’re very grateful and thankful for the state’s investments in the University of South Florida, but our students and our professors and our dedicated staff rightly earned that,” Wilcox said. “Not just in performance-based funding, but funding for world-class scholars. Again, the University of South Florida earned that.”