Best of Florida Schools 2005

First Charley, then Frances, then Ivan, and then Jeanne. Florida’s colleges and universities have had a year to remember, but as always, the “Best of Florida Schools” issue proves that Florida students aren’t afraid to do their best. So after a hurricane-pummeled start (and no power at Oxendine Publishing for more than a week), we wondered if you guys would still be accomplishing the great things we’re accustomed to seeing from you. No worries—the wondering stopped right on cue, a week before deadline, when the normal avalanche of nominations began to arrive. And when you add all those nominations to the things we spend the year collecting—letters, flyers, press releases, and newspapers—we’ve got more than enough stuff to pack out this issue.

So pull up a chair and get ready to be inspired. Every year, we create the “best ‘Best of’ issue ever,” only to find that you hit a new high water mark yourselves the next year. For this 16th annual issue, we’ve got 109 general categories to share with you students, faculty, and administrators. Find out everything from who’s got the best on-campus eats to who’s made the most impact in their community. And since everybody’s got their own story to tell, be sure to check out our special two-page coverage on “Best Hurricane Responses.” You’ll be proud to see that the crises of the fall term only brought out the best in our state’s student leaders and college staff.

As tough as it is to narrow down the general categories, the hardest thing we do all year is pick the top student leaders. We’re proud to bring you this year’s top Student Governments and best campus newspapers. In a year when both SG leaders and student journalists used their skills to the max, it was a harder job than usual. But the University of Central Florida’s Knights jousted the competition out of the way this year, winning both the Best Newspaper and Best SG awards in the public category. However, their private and community college contemporaries weren’t far behind. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University soared in the private category, winning the top SG spot and coming in as runner-up with its newspaper. Finally, Miami Dade College—Wolfson made an equally impressive run this year, claiming the best community college SG and garnering the runner-up paper position.

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