Board of Governors Approves Florida SBDC Network’s Designation as a State of Florida Center - On Aug. 6, the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) approved the application of the Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) to be designated a State of Florida Center. This designation was established to delineate the centers that operate coordinated inter-institutional centers where research, service and teaching cross institutional lines. The statewide network of 35 SBDC centers hosted by six universities (including UWF), 11 Florida community/state colleges, chambers of commerce and other economic development organizations, met the BOG criteria. Funded in 1976 by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and hosted by UWF, the program successfully links the state’s education system with community outreach to aid in the development and education of Florida’s entrepreneurs and small business community.

7/15/08 HOMETOWN HEROES TEACH AT UWF REACHES A MILESTONE WITH ITS FIRST TEACHER HIRE PENSACOLA

Hometown Heroes Teach, a program designed to help wounded and disabled military veterans receive their Florida teacher certification, announced that one of its participants has been hired by Holley-Navarre Primary School as a first grade teacher for the upcoming school year. Stephanie Humes-Brown becomes the first Hometown Heroes Teach participant to be hired by the public school system.

Ms. Humes-Brown began the Hometown Heroes Teach program last July and will be finishing up her certification training within the next month. She served 20 years in the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 before retiring in 2006. During her military career, Ms. Humes-Brown spent one year in Kuwait and Iraq. She received her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma and is currently working toward her Master’s degree at the University of West Florida. “We are certainly proud of Ms. Brown and all she has accomplished. She will be a true role model to those children who are just beginning their education,” said Dr. William Maloy, founder of the Hometown Heroes Teach program.

Hometown Heroes Teach, a program at the University of West Florida is dedicated to helping wounded veterans and those military service members with service-connected disabilities continue their public service through careers in critically needed teaching fields. Participants in the program receive their certification training through TeacherReady, a nine-month online program offered at UWF.

For more information, contact Angelia Byers, project manager, at (850) 474-2798 or e-mail abyers@uwf.edu.

Florida Trend recently published an overview of economic development research at Florida universities. UWF was highlighted for its outreach activities at St. Michael's Cemetery in downtown Pensacola. View the article online (PDF).