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UNIVERSITY PRESS FAU’S FINEST NEWS SOURCE JANUARY 6, 2015 | VOL. 16 # 9

All About The Money Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Jupiter, Davie

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Table of Contents

The Staff Editor-in-chief: Wesley Wright Managing Editor: Emily Bloch

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015

Florida Atlantic’s highestpaid employee could have made extra money this year if his team had won a few more games.

Story by Josue Simplice

2014 YEAR IN REVIEW SPECIAL ISSUE

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Associate Editor: Michelle Friswell Creative Director: Sabrina Martinez Print Photo Editor: Max Jackson

You don’t have much of a say where your tuition money goes. This year, it went to some peculiar causes, to my chagrin.

Web Editor: Mohammed F. Emran Web Photo Editor: Tim Murphy

Editorial by Wesley Wright

News Editor: Jillian Melero Asst. News Editor: Lynnette Cantos Features Editor: Emily Creighton

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Sports Editor: Josue Simplice Science Editor: Andrew Fraieli

Photo by Max Jackson

Copy Desk Chief: Cari Noelle Giard Asst. Copy Desk Chief: Reimy Benitez Business Manager: Ryan Murphy Advisers: Neil Santaniello Michael Koretzky Cover: Sabrina Martinez

777 Glades Road Student Union, Room 214 Boca Raton, FL 33431 561.297.2960

Nine months ago, two Owls made their way up to the highest level of professional football. See who they were and how much they are making now.

Story by Josue Simplice

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Photo by Ryan Murphy

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Photo by Max Jackson

FAU paid thousands for musical acts this year, only to receive mixed reviews from the student body.

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PUBLISHER FAU Student Government The opinions expressed by the UP are not necessarily those of the student body, Student Government or FAU.

Story by Emily Creighton Photo by Max Jackson

With their $16 million donation, the Schmidt family set in motion the process of building a long-awaited athletic facility for FAU.

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FAU Housing is raising rates to keep up with other public universities, so students are examining other options that may offer more for their money.

Story by Jillian Melero

Photo by Max Jackson

Story by Josue Simplice

January 6, 2015

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Editorial

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WESLEY WRIGHT While the past year was nowhere as tumultuous as 2013, it did have one motif: millions of dollars changed hands. Some was used productively, but the bulk of it didn’t go to causes that students could stand behind.

This school runs on funds that students provide. It should make sense, then, that student body input be considered when large-scale decisions are made.

Instead, the university is asking its consumers to deal with a whirlwind of changes.

Among them are nearly two dozen new advisers whose aim is to tell

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you what classes to take and when to take them, as well as a handful of has-been – albeit talented – artists for school concerts.

A $16-million donation from an FAU alum will help fund a brand new building meant to serve roughly 2 percent of our student body. Go figure.

Millions of dollars in student money were allocated inefficiently this calendar year. If that bothers you, or if you enjoy crisp photography, there is content in this issue that will pique your interest.

January 6, 2015

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Sports Story by Josue Simplice

Two more Owls in the NFL Two players were drafted this year — a first in the short history of FAU football. Now, they’ve made money and history at the same time.

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While his recovery from his second surgery prevented him from playing, coaches are high on him — he has the potential to become a starting cornerback in the NFL someday.

Johnson, another Miami native, amassed 195 tackles (30.5 for loss), 10.5 sacks, four pass deflections and four forced fumbles in his collegiate career. His play for the Bills has been primarily on special teams.

Currently, the Owls have three other players in the NFL: Washington Redskins’ running back Alfred Morris, Arizona Cardinals’ tight end Rob Housler and Carolina Panthers’ linebacker Adarius Glanton, who went undrafted last April.

Former FAU quarterback Rusty Smith is a free-agent and will retire this year to coach high school football. Smith was the first Owl to ever be drafted, and had brief stints with Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants.

FAU has a handful of players who may end up on an NFL roster at some point. If the program sees healthy development under head coach Charlie Partridge, there might just be an influx of Owls at the highest level of professional football soon.

Johnson signed a four-year $2.28 million contract.

His base salary is $570,933.

Best in the Class Here’s a list of every FAU player drafted into the NFL.

2010 2011 2012 2014 UPRESSONLINE.COM

Rusty Smith

Tennessee Titans

Sixth Round

176th overall

Rob Housler

Arizona Cardinals

Third Round

69th overall

Washington Redskins Sixth Round

173rd overall

Alfred Morris

Keith Reaser San Francisco 49ers Fifth Round 170th overall Randell Johnson Buffalo Bills Seventh Round 221st overall January 6, 2015

Photo by Ryan Murphy

Photo courtesy of FAU Athletics

Reaser signed a four-year $2.38 million contract.

His base salary is $596,200.

he most recent NFL draft — which took place in April of 2014 — saw two former Florida Atlantic University football players obtained. Cornerback Keith Reaser was taken in the fifth round (170th overall) by the San Francisco 49ers, and the Buffalo Bills selected linebacker Randell Johnson two rounds later (221st overall).

Having multiple players selected in the same draft is a feat never before seen in FAU football history. The Owls’ program is relatively young — they’ve produced just five NFL players since the inception of the football program 13 years ago in 2001 as a NCAA Division I-AA program under former coach Howard Schnellenberger.

During their time as Owls, Johnson and Reaser were important cogs of the defense.

Reaser, a Miami native, earned a reputation as a ball-hawking cornerback. He recorded 158 tackles, five interceptions, and one fumble recovery for his career. His senior season was cut short because of an ACL tear in October, just six games in.

Even so, his play and athletic ability drew attention from scouts. He ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash, which is fast even among players at his position.

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Falling Flat

Story by EmilyCreighton

FAU brought in an array of musical guests throughout 2014, but the lineup still lacked enough variety to please the diverse student body.

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hroughout 2014, Florida Atlantic brought several concerts to entertain the student body.

Artists ranged from pop-rock bands including All Time Low and We The Kings to rappers Jay Sean and T-Pain. All were met with mixed reviews from the student body.

“Albeit you can’t please everyone, it’s important to provide the variety at a diverse school like FAU,” senior Mario Sobrino said on Facebook.

In February, FAU’s Jupiter campus brought on a new event, OWLstock, which encouraged students to participate in arts and crafts while listening to music.

The musical line up consisted of We The Kings, a pop-rock band from Bradenton, Fla., who are best known for their 2007 platinum single “Check Yes Juliet.” Among other local musicians, The KillBillies, Fresh Catch and Break The Hero provided a mix of reggae, punk and rock.

Though the crowd stayed under a hundred members, the UP originally reported that overall, students were pleased with the variety in the musicians and enjoyed the laid – back environment the event provided.

According to the band’s contract, We The Kings’ performance cost $13,000.

In spring 2014, the Boca Raton campus brought students together for Freaker’s Ball, FAU’s annual hip-hop concert that was resurrected in 2013 after a threeyear hiatus.

This year’s concert featured Redman, Method Man, DJ Skribble and B.O.B. According to his contract, B.O.B.’s performance alone cost $60,000. Redman and Method Man’s performance cost $32,500, according to their contract.

There were complaints that the sets dragged on and that not all of the artists were relevant to current FAU students. Headliner B.O.B., known for songs including “Magic” and “Airplanes,” hadn’t had a chart-topping track since 2012.

Junior at the time Malika Hart told the UP she preferred Kendrick Lamar, who headlined the Freaker’s Ball in 2013, because he was “fresh and new.”

According to FAU’s Program Board who organized the event, last year’s Freakers Ball production cost approximately $90,000. For about the same price this year, FAU got more artists, but sacrificed popularity.

At the time of his performance, a remixed version of Lamar’s single “Bitch, Don’t Kill my Vibe” was released and went on to reach No. 28 on Billboard’s Top 100.

FAU continued the concert-

Break The Hero

preforms during OWLstock in Jupiter in February.

Photo by Sabrina Martinez

We The Kings lead singer Travis Clark banters with the audience at OWLstock.

Photo by Sabrina Martinez

Artists

Jay Sean Performs during Owl Prowl in October.

Photo Photoby byMohammed MohammedF.F.Emran Emran

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January 6, 2015

Photo by Anastasia Kouventko

Features

We The Kings The KillBillies Fresh Catch Break The Hero B.O.B. Redman Method Man DJ Skribble All Time Low The Supervillains The Attack T-Pain Jay Sean

s

filled year with the fall’s Bonfire.

The Supervillains, The Attack and headliners All Time Low entertained the Boca Raton crowd.

Students around campus seemed to generally be happier with the musical choice, and there was a turnout of about 3,500 students and visitors for the concert. The 2012 Bonfire hosted a crowd of 3,800 and in 2013, a 2,400 member audience.

Senior communications major Nicole Vega said she was excited to see All Time Low perform because they are “a little more mainstream, so they’re more relevant.”

The budget for the 2014 Bonfire was $45,000, according to Assistant Director of Student Involvement Mike Burdman.

Lastly, FAU brought in big-name rappers, Jay Sean and T-Pain, along with DJ Skribble for the Owl Prowl

concert during Homecoming.

T-Pain, whose last song to make it into the Billboard Top 10 was “5 O’Clock” featuring Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen in 2011, was paid $40,000 for the performance.

Students also had to pay $10 to attend, while non-students paid $50.

In October, Program Board Director Trevor Lewis — who helped spearhead putting the concert together — told the UP, “The ticket costs $50 for non-FAU students because we pay for the concert through tuition fees, so this will make it fair for our students, and it’s still a pretty good deal.”

FAU Media Relations was contacted for comment, but failed to reply to multiple emails from the UP.

Crowd at the Bonfire in August.

Photo by Mohammed F. Emran

Bassist Zack Merrick of All Time Low preforming at the 2014 Bonfire.

Photo by Sabrina Martinez

2014

Breaking it Down

How much did it cost FAU to bring these events to life and how many students came to jam out?

Concert

Crowd

Headliner Cost

OWLstock: We The Kings

Less than 100

$13,000

Freaker’s Ball: B.O.B, Method Man and Redman

––

$92,500

Bonfire: All Time Low

3,500

Owl Prowl: T-Pain

––

$45,000 $40,000

Redman performs at Freaker’s Ball in April.

Photo by Max Jackson

FAU Media Relations failed to reply to the UP’s public records request for numbers regarding the events above.

Sources: Scott Silversten, FAU Program Board, individual artist contracts, Mike Burdman

January 6, 2015

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Sports

Story by Josue Simplice Photos by Max Jackson

Missed Money Head football coach Charlie Partridge could have received extra money at the end of his first year, but because of the football team’s performance, he’s missing out.

A

$500,000 contract signed in December 2013 made head football coach Charlie Partridge the highest-paid Florida Atlantic University employee. Partridge should be feeling rich, but because of a dismal 3-9 season, he might be feeling worse than

most men who make six-figure salaries.

FAU football was expected to make improvements and become bowl-eligible this season, the first go-around for Partridge. Instead, the Owls regressed from the 6-6 mark that they reached in the

previous year.

They lost four games by five points or less. They surrendered 34.4 points per game, 110th in the nation. They led Middle Tennessee State for all but 23 seconds, only to lose.

Partridge missed out on at least $10,000 because of the team’s poor performance.

His contract incentives are as follows:

$10,000

$30,000

for both an appearance in a for winning the conference conference championship game championship and receiving a and at a large-bowl invitation. non-college football playoff bowl game invitation. The eventual Conference USA champions were the University of Marshall Thundering Herd.

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January 6, 2015

$50,000 for winning the conference championship and receiving a College Football Playoff game invitation. The expectation of a CFP invite may be unrealistic for a Conference USA program.

Despite being undefeated, Marshall was never in contention for any of the coveted playoff spots.

Continued on page 14

Sports Six wins would have made FAU eligible for an appearance in a bowl game. The only teams from C-USA to make bowl games were Rice, UTEP, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech and Marshall. They all had seven or more wins.

Marshall was not ranked in the Associated Press’ final Top 25 football rankings, but seven teams with three-loss records were. The

Thundering Herd played the Boca Bowl on Dec. 23.

Personal awards would have also brought Partridge extra funds.

Winning National Coach of the Year would net him a $25,000 bonus, and winning Conference Coach of the Year would net him $7,500.

Partridge reasonably missed out on at least $10,000, but he could have made $100,000 if his team

could have turned some of those close losses into wins.

The first year for Partridge was not a kind one, but since these incentives are still in play for each of the years that he is under contract, winning down the line may mean more money in the pocket of the Plantation, Fla. native.

FAU’s Richest Here’s a list of the highest paid employees at Florida Atlantic University.

Coach Partridge is the only non-academic figure represented.

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Head Football Coach, Charlie Partridge

$500,000

Dean of the College of Medicine, David Bjorkman

$463,726

Dean of the College of Business, Daniel Gropper

$296,000

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Gary Perry

$290,000

Executive Vice Dean of Clinical Biomedical Science, John Newcomer

$288,028

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News

Story by Josue Simplice Photo by Max Jackson

The Gift That Keeps on Giving A month ago, the Schmidt family made the biggest donation in FAU history. It’s far from their first act of generosity.

W

hile the Schmidt Family Foundation has been generous to FAU in the past, their newest gift to the school pales in comparison to their usual philanthropic ways.

The $16-million gift to build the 185,000-squarefoot Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence is currently known as the largest gift in FAU history, but when taken into account with the rising inflation rate, it becomes paltry. The donation, announced on Dec. 2, ranks second to last of the least amounts given to FAU. With the inflation rate factored in, the $15-million donation to the College of Medicine in 1996 becomes $22.58 million, and the $10 million to the College of Arts and Letters is $17 million in today’s economy. The donation with the highest rise is the $3 million which was used for scholarships and fellowships, which is about $18 million today .

The average inflation rate for the year 2014 was 1.7 percent.

A dollar in 1970 is worth $6.09 in today’s currency. The amounts vary with specific years depending on what the rate was.

To complete the construction of the facility, FAU needs between $45 to $50 million in total.

Even though this may not be the largest donation in FAU history, it is still greatly appreciated by the coaches,

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faculty and student-athletes.

The Tom Oxley Athletic Center has served the 21 sports offered at FAU since 2001.

Because of the sheer number of collegiate athletes at the school and limited space, it has caused scheduling conflicts for all sports programs at the school.

The construction of a new, larger facility could be a godsend for FAU athletes and coaches. The facility will feature a new locker room, weightlifting room, sports medicine center, an academic center and will work in conjunction with the other academic programs offered at FAU. The lack of an indoor football facility has hindered the football team from being able to practice when they would like to. South Florida weather has forced them to practice early in the morning to avoid afternoon showers. FAU would become the third school in the state, along with FSU and UCF, to house an indoor football facility.

This is just one of many important contributions by the Schmidt Family Foundation..

The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters was constructed in memory of Dorothy Schmidt for her contributions to FAU. Her husband Charles gave a gift of $10 million in 1991 to establish it.

The college consists of six buildings on the Boca Raton campus, includes a 538-seat theater-concert hall, a computer graphics

January 6, 2015

lab, a multimedia language instructional center and the Living Room Theaters—which opened in 2010.

She also established the Dorothy F. Schmidt Scholar Chair in the performing arts, the Joshua Logan Graduate theater scholarship and over 100 undergraduate scholarships.

The Schmidt Family Foundation donated $15 million after the death of Charles to construct the Charles E. Schmidt Biomedical Science Center. The center is a 90,000-square-foot facility, which houses classrooms, research laboratories and a graduate teaching center to educate future physicians and doctoral-level students.

It was renamed the College of Medicine on June 23, 2010 Dorothy Schmidt was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1982 by FAU. Her husband Charles founded the Tractor Supply Co., which is a nationwide farm implement retail chain and built a 27bank holding company he sold to Bank of America. He is the founder of the Schmidt Family Foundation. With this donation, the Schmidt Family Foundation has associated their name with what might be one of the most important buildings in FAU Athletics history.

Schmidt Donations Florida Atlantic has benefited greatly from the Schmidt family in the past decades. Pictured here are previous donations and their worth today.

Year

Donation

Inflation

Early 1970s

$3 million

$16.95 million

Two professorships and 80 scholarships

1991

$10 million

$17.34 million

College of Arts & Letters

1996

$15 million

$22.58 million

College of Medicine

2011

$2 million

$2.1 million

FAU Football Stadium

2014

$16 million

$16 million

Athletic Center

Result

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

January 6, 2015

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News

2015 Housing prices are going up, and FAU students are moving out.

In November, the Board of Trustees voted to raise rental rates for next year, despite competition from an ever-increasing off-campus housing market.

Two weeks prior to the vote, Student Government posted a digital survey to students from both the Boca and Jupiter campuses, asking them about their on and off-campus living experiences: Are students generally satisfied with the on or off campus living experience?

What are students top reason for living on or off campus?

Where do students choose to live off campus and what are the costs involved?

The survey’s conclusions found overall that Students are satisfied with on campus housing conditions but they are dissatisfied with the price.

Students believe that living on campus is a great experience but there are those who cannot have that experience due to its costs.

Students living off campus pay roughly $750 a month to live off campus individually (after splitting rent and other expenses)

Of the 742 students asked

52.4% live on campus 47.6% live off campus Of 739

54.1% of students said they would not recommend living on campus to a friend

389

students responded living on campus, and whether or not they’re coming back next year

34.7% responded no 119

students moving off-campus next year

60.7% said it is because it would be more cost effective

312

students living off campus, on why they live off campus 66% said it was more cost effective P.20

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O

n Nov. 18, FAU’s Board of Trustees voted to raise housing rental rates for the 2015-2016 academic year. The increase is estimated to generate approximately $1.8 million in new revenue. The decision has some students wondering if their housing dollar may be better spent elsewhere.

The proposal to raise rates was based upon recommendations given by Capstone On Campus Management, a housing management and consulting firm. It was presented to the board by Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Corey King and Capstone President Doug Brown.

According to Brown, Capstone’s focus groups list students’ top housing priorities as convenience, including distance to campus and short term, semester-friendly leasing options.

Speaking on behalf of the student government, Student Body President Michael Cepeda and Director of Government Relations Patrick Gober voiced concerns about the proposal, citing both the decrease in on-campus housing occupancy over the last several years and the increase in competitive, student friendly off-campus housing options. In addition to existing offcampus housing, FAU Housing and Residential life will also have to compete with upcoming housing developments such as University Park located on the developing 20th Street, slated to open in summer of 2015.

David Feder has been on the Board of Trustees since February 2005. Feder has held a 30-year career in hotel and resort management and holds a master’s degree in business administration from American University.

“We took a look at the comparables, offproperty housing, and let me just say, it’s not $750 a month when you take in all the considerations and the costs and the electricity and the utilities and all the stuff that goes into it.”

January 6, 2015

Continued on page 22

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News “If you ask anybody in this room — we all live in Boca — do you think it’s expensive to live here, we’re all going to say ‘yes it’s expensive to live here’ … The problem is you can’t be everything for everybody, we can’t expect every student to stay on premise, but we’ve got to have a legitimate occupancy and obviously, we’re satisfying a lot of our students,” said Feder.

Like Feder, many in favor of the proposal, including trustee Tom Workman, referred to the figures supplied by Capstone and Student Affairs, despite student sentiment as represented in the Student Government survey.

Even opponents of the proposal, such as trustee Paul Tanner, agreed that FAU’s housing rates were fair relative to the local market, saying “The data doesn’t say that we’re doing anything wrong, we are in the middle and the middle’s okay in this case.” Tanner is senior vice president of UBS and has served on the board since January of 2011.

“This isn’t a data driven issue, this is a perception driven issue ... The perception here is we don’t need to raise the rates, I don’t think we should raise rates. I think we should continue to let all these fixes get in place, so when we do raise rates, we can say we raised the rates for the right reason, because we fixed it, not ‘trust us, we’re going to fix it, and in the meantime we’re going to raise the rates,” said Tanner.

OFF CAMPUS PRICING COMPARISON We took the five most popular off-campus housing locations as listed by the Student Government survey and listed the costs of the least expensive units. The results are based upon web listings accurate as of Dec. 14, 2014.

Windwood

bed/bath: 2/2 size: 935 square feet rent: $1400 - $1450 per month distance from campus: 3 miles lease terms: short term leases available required move-in: equivalent 3 months rent, first, last, and damage deposit amenities including: in-unit laundry, pet friendly

Feder did concede that there was room for improving the on campus housing experience.

“It’s expensive, but if we’re going to deliver the product, the only issue I have really is with some of the old dorms, because again with pricing, marketing and satisfying the needs of our students — we have some dorms here that don’t do that.”

Ultimately, the board decided the convenience of on campus housing and the amenities offered by campus living warrant the price restructuring, and the rate increase was approved in a 7-to-5 vote.

When asked about improvements or renovations planned for the 2015-2016 school year, Dawn Howard, director of marketing and

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Vistazo

bed/bath: 3/4 size: 1,924 square feet rent: $2,250 - $2,275 per month distance from campus: 8.5 miles lease terms: short term leases available required move-in: first and last month’s rent amenities including: in-unit laundry, pet friendly

January 6, 2015

Gables Town Place

bed/bath: 1/1 size: 617 square feet rent: $1150 - 1400 per month distance from campus: 3 miles lease terms: flexible lease options available required move-in: varied by lease terms amenities including: pet friendly

Delray Verana

bed/bath: 1/1 size: 764 square feet rent: $1215 - $1485 per month distance from campus: 7.6 miles lease terms: short term leases available required move-in: deposit $300* varied per floor plan amenities including: in-unit laundry, pet friendly

Citation Club apartments

bed/bath: 1/1 size: 947 square feet rent: $1394 - $1629 per month distance from campus: 7 miles lease terms: short term leases available required move-in: $1000 deposit amenities including: in-unit laundry

communications for Student Affairs, said students can expect the installation of washers and dryers in Innovation Village Apartments North, 24 hour desk coverage in all residence halls, free laundry bundle, upgraded wireless coverage and increased mail service (packages on weekends)*.

When asked how FAU Housing and Residential Life plans to compete with ongoing off-campus housing development in the near future, Howard replied that they will be conducting student focus groups in spring 2015 to assess what over improvements could be made.

To stay up-to-date on more student friendly, offcampus housing options, students can check out fauoffcampus.com.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees will take place on Jan. 27. Meeting agendas and live web streams for all BOT meetings are available at fau.edu/bot.

FAU Boca campus housing prices Here are the rate increases for each of the student housing buildings on the Boca Raton campus.

FAU’s occupancy evaluation confirmed a decline from almost 92 percent in 2012, dropping to 88 percent in 2013, and 86 percent in 2014, yet estimates an increased occupancy of 90 percent for 2015.The repurposing of housing and streamlining of bed counts should account for some of the increase in occupancy numbers.

As part of Capstone’s nine strategy plan for 2015-2016, students can expect to see •University Village Apartment studio doubles converted into studio singles for grad students •Indian River Towers repurposed to house first and second year students •Installation of washers and dryers into IVA south.

*For more details on new dorm pricing visit fau.edu/housing/Housing_Rates/

January 6, 2015

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this Sunday, January 11!

St u dent s & Fac ult y:

JOIN US this Sunday at 9:30am or 11:00am for this powerful new teaching series and discover how taking key steps in your faith this January will kickstart your spiritual growth for the entire year to come!

The Power of One Step

F REE BOOK!

Attend this Sunday and receive a FREE copy of the book: Unshakable: Standing Strong When Things Go Wrong.

The Journey Church meets Sundays @ 9:30 or 11:00am

BOCA RATON HIGH SCHOOL GLADES RD. AND I-95

(Across from FAU, beside Whole Foods)

FAU

Exit 45

MEETS HERE

Glades Rd.

Boca Raton NW 15th Ave. Community BOCA 95 High School RATON W. Palmetto Park Rd. Deerfield Beach

CASUAL • CONTEMPORARY • CHRISTIAN

www.BocaJourney.com