The recipients are:

The two projects were chosen to help address significant community challenges that have national or global implications. They were chosen from five finalists of community-based projects.

provides educational classes to the 30,000 people incarcerated in Central Florida.

鈥淏y 2020, an estimated 65 percent of all jobs will require post-secondary education,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淏ut most prisoners in Florida have limited access to higher education despite the fact that statistical evidence overwhelmingly confirms that a college education reduces recidivism, increases employment opportunities, and strengthens communities.鈥�

Each year, 33,000 people are released from Florida prisons, and many settle in Central Florida.

鈥淎s the largest university in the state, 麻豆原创 is well-positioned to bring transformative education to those behind bars,鈥� Watson said.

Collectively Confronting and Resolving the Injustice of Human Trafficking is the product of 15 years of progress by campus and community partners to raise awareness of the problem. The situation has received some recent national and international attention, but the organizers of this project say the effort to combat trafficking is more important than ever.

鈥淢any people think that this happened years ago and don鈥檛 know or won鈥檛 accept that it鈥檚 going on today in our backyard,鈥� said Bersia, also co-director of the Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. 鈥淯nfortunately, Florida has the awful distinction of being a hotbed of slavery and trafficking.鈥�

The two project were selected because the initiative was 鈥渓ooking for comprehensive, multifaceted, interdisciplinary strategies that will create solutions for acute, complex community issues,鈥� said Lisa Guion Jones, associate provost for strategy and special assistant to the president. Nearly 800 faculty and staff members helped in the selection process.

The event, organized by the 麻豆原创 Global Perspectives Office, is part of the 2012-2013 theme of 鈥淭he Changing Face of Freedom in Today鈥檚 Turbulent Times.鈥� The event is free and open to the public.

Addison鈥檚 novel, 鈥淎 Walk Across the Sun,鈥� is a fictional account that portrays the horrors and ills of modern-day slavery. To research the global trade in human beings, he journeyed to India, Europe and Washington, D.C. He spent time with experts and activists, and went to the brothels of Mumbai to meet trafficking victims firsthand so that he might tell their stories.

鈥淚 am haunted by the truth of slavery, because I have seen it with my own eyes,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wrote A Walk Across the Sun to bring that truth alive for people like me, people who might prefer to believe that slavery is dead, or at least confined to dark alleys in the developing world.鈥�

In addition to the Global Perspectives Office, sponsors and partners include The India Center at 麻豆原创, The India Group, Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, 麻豆原创 Human Trafficking Awareness Program, 麻豆原创 Diplomacy Program, Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, CliftonLarsonAllen, Restoring Human Wellness at 麻豆原创, 麻豆原创 Women鈥檚 Studies Program, 麻豆原创 International Services Center, 麻豆原创 Political Science Department, 麻豆原创 LIFE, 麻豆原创 Book Festival 2013 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.

A wide variety of activities is envisioned for The India Center, including public presentations and other community outreach, an annual India forum, and scholarly and research activities. Anticipated activities also include exchanges of scholars and students with institutions in India, new courses and fellowships for 麻豆原创 students, a sister-university relationship in India and an expanded permanent India collection at the 麻豆原创 Library.

President John C. Hitt described the project as an ambitious undertaking that aims to enhance partnerships with the Indian community in Central Florida, the nation and throughout the world. 鈥淪uch connections are of key importance in light of India鈥檚 rise to global prominence and its position at the forefront of growth in many fields,鈥� he said.

Tony Waldrop, provost and executive vice president, said, 鈥淭he India Center will enhance the academic experience for our students by providing greater opportunities to develop a global cultural awareness.鈥�

John C. Bersia, special assistant to the president for Global Perspectives, led the effort to secure the major gift and develop the center concept, and he will serve with Political Science Professor Roger Handberg as interim co-chairs of the center.

鈥淲e have already demonstrated that we take India studies very seriously at 麻豆原创,鈥� Bersia said. 鈥淭he enthusiasm for our efforts is clear in the thousands of people 鈥� students, faculty, staff and community members 鈥� who have participated in our India-related programs. Now, we are ready to take on a larger role, that of helping to shape and define the field.鈥�

Handberg added that The India Center is a multidisciplinary undertaking that will 鈥渆quip students to deal with issues in national security, foreign policy, economics and culture at all levels of education 鈥� undergraduate, graduate and the community.鈥�

The center鈥檚 areas of emphasis will include politics, economics and business, technology and communication, culture and health care.

P.N. 鈥淰aidy鈥� Vaidyanathan, an assistant vice president for Research and Commercialization and a member of the advisory board for the new center, called it 鈥渁 welcome expansion of efforts at 麻豆原创 to educate students and the general public about the multifaceted cultural, educational and technological developments that are available through ties with India.鈥�

Deshpande said the center will bring immense benefits to the 麻豆原创 and Central Florida communities.

鈥淲e have worked hard to help build a strong foundation for India studies at 麻豆原创, and it is time to reach in new directions,鈥� he said.

For more information, go to .

Woodruff spoke at a President鈥檚 Focus on Excellence breakfast in downtown Orlando and also visited the Center for Emerging Media.

In a post on PBS鈥� 鈥淩undown鈥� blog, Woodruff called 麻豆原创 a 鈥渟tunning success story.鈥�

鈥淲ith a philosophy that encourages entrepreneurship, 麻豆原创 has helped students launch their own businesses immediately upon graduation, as well as partnered with industries to find jobs,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚ts president, Dr. John Hitt, believes in taking risks when he thinks they’re warranted: 鈥業 hire smart people and let them come to me with their ideas,鈥� he said. His decision to aim for state approval to launch the medical center and to take over a public television 鈥� operation — with very little turnaround time or funding — are just two examples.鈥�

Woodruff also noted some of the challenges that the university faces, including state budget cuts for 麻豆原创 and public television.

鈥淏ut meeting the leaders at this extraordinary school and seeing their “can-do” spirit up close gives one hope that not only will things eventually turn around, but that young people are developing the skills to see them through.鈥�

W麻豆原创 TV, a partnership between 麻豆原创 and Brevard Community College, broadcasts popular PBS programs and high-quality local shows to more than 3.5 million viewers. The station began broadcasting on July 1, just three months after WMFE announced it was ending its affiliation with PBS.

鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to say this community did not miss one second of PBS programming during the transition,鈥� Grant J. Heston, 麻豆原创鈥檚 associate vice president for Communications and Public Affairs, said at the Focus on Excellence breakfast last week.

Popular PBS Kids programming includes seven literacy series and 11 series on science, technology, engineering and math. Local shows that have premiered this fall include Metro Center Outlook with Diane Trees and Global Perspectives with Pulitzer Prize-winner John Bersia.

The channel — the primary PBS channel for nine Central Florida counties 鈥� is seeking to raise $1 million in community support this year.

Hitt encouraged viewers to share feedback about programming with W麻豆原创 TV. He also urged the community to consider investing in the station.

鈥淚 intentionally use the word 鈥榠nvesting鈥� because this is not a gift or a donation,鈥� he said. 鈥淵our investment makes it possible for everyone to enjoy all of what we love most about PBS.鈥�

To share feedback or invest in W麻豆原创 TV, go to .

A new partnership will bring 麻豆原创 students closer to international peace and security efforts.

The United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., will provide one of several instructors to 麻豆原创 to team teach a newly designed course in American foreign policy.

Retired Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas, director of 麻豆原创’s Diplomacy Program, plans to lead the course.

“We will have better access to informative reports and analyses from USIP for use in our programs and courses, as well as in our work with community partners such as middle and high schools,” John Bersia, special assistant to the president for Global Perspectives, said in a university news release.

Bersia, a university professor and former Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer at the Orlando Sentinel, was the key 麻豆原创 player in securing the partnership with the peace institute, a 25-year-old organization created by Congress.

“As we continue to develop cutting-edge ideas and policy analysis that contribute to understanding and managing conflict, and building peace, this partnership with the 麻豆原创 enables us to make such ideas accessible and relevant for students, teachers and scholars,” said Jeffrey Helsing, deputy director of domestic education and training programs for the institute.

Sibille Pritchard, president of the Global Connections Foundation and the namesake of a peace fellowship at 麻豆原创, said she has long wanted to see the university develop a peace studies program and the new partnership “sounds like a strong step in that direction.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking Friday at a State Department conference beamed live to the 麻豆原创, was asked about Iran’s efforts to make friends in Latin America, particularly with Venezuela and Bolivia. Mrs Clinton called that “a really bad idea” for those nations, pointing out that Iran is “the major supporter, exporter and promoter of terrorism in the world today.”

Which is all true. But it’s brutally frank – and refreshing – to hear from America’s top diplomat. The world has been far too patient with Iran’s sponsorship of terror, as well as its nuclear program.

Participation in the conference was a coup for 麻豆原创 and its Global Perspectives Office. 麻豆原创 was one of just three schools nationwide whose students took part. The other two were in New York and San Antonio.

Source: Orlando Sentinel, by Paul Owens, December, 11 2009 3:08 PM