ROLLINS COLLEGE

Non-profit partnership Orange County is teaming up with Rollins College in Winter Park to support Central Florida non-profits. (WFTV.com News Staff)WINTER PARK, Fla. — Orange County is teaming up with Rollins College in Winter Park to support Central Florida non-profits. Mayor Jerry Demings announced the partnership, which will focus on small and diverse non-profits based in Orange County, on Monday morning. READ: Rollins College Valedictorian with autism delivers inspiring ‘silent’ commencement speech“When we strengthen our non-profits, we strengthen our community,” Demings said. Orange County is funding it with $4 million collected from the American Rescue Plan.

A computer keyboard "unlocked my mind from its silent cage," Elizabeth Bonker told her fellow graduates. She urged them to serve others, citing Rollins College's most famous alum: Fred Rogers.

Elizabeth Bonker commencement speech The Valedictorian of the Rollins College graduating class of 2022 has a non-speaking form of autism, but that didn’t stop her from delivering an inspiring message to her fellow graduates. (Rollins College)WINTER PARK, Fla. — The Valedictorian of the Rollins College graduating class of 2022 has a non-speaking form of autism, but that didn’t stop her from delivering an inspiring message to her fellow graduates. On Sunday, Bonker received a degree in Social Innovation from the Rollins College of Liberal Arts. Be the Light: Elizabeth Bonker’s 2022 Commencement Address Rollins College valedictorian Elizabeth Bonker ’22, who is affected by non-speaking autism and communicates solely by typing, urges her fellow graduates to use their voices, serve others, and see the value in everyone they meet. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 Elizabeth Bonker commencement speech The Valedictorian of the Rollins College graduating class of 2022 has a non-speaking form of autism, but that didn’t stop her from delivering an inspiring message to her fellow graduates.

Orange County deputies responded to a 911 call in Orlando Monday evening only to find a deceased man and woman in what investigators believe may be a double murder-suicide.

Orlando police were investigating a death near the Orange County Clerk of Courts building Monday afternoon, according to the department.

Representation matters and for kids in wheelchairs, Hot Wheels is stepping up its game.

The nationwide shortage of baby formula continues to get worse.

Before the Rollins College of Liberal Arts Spring 2022 graduating class earned their diplomas, the graduates heard from a fellow classmate who used her unique voice to encourage them to move forward in life in service to others.

Becoming top of the class is a difficult feat and one of this semester's valedictorians at Rollins College is proving you can do anything you put your mind to.

They’re making a stink at Rollins College, but students from kids to adults are still making their way to the greenhouse to get a whiff.

The smell of rotting flesh will soon be filling the greenhouse on the Rollins College campus.

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Rollins College is expecting the blooming of two unique and stinky plants. The pair of endangered corpses plants are in the Rollins College greenhouse and could start blooming as soon as Monday. Officials said corpse plants are famous for being among the world’s largest plants and the most difficult to cultivate. WATCH: Orlando White Castle expanding with new space for pickup and delivery, 24-hour restaurant serviceOfficials said having two corpse plants bloom around the same time is almost unprecedented. Rollins College is sharing a livestream to watch one of the plant’s blooming progresses.

Once a year, a fox statue appears on the campus to signal classes have been canceled for a surprise day off.

FILE PHOTO: Fred Rogers, the host of the children's television series, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," rests his arms on a small trolley in this promotional portrait from the 1980's. FILE PHOTO: Fred Rogers, the host of the children's television series, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," rests his arms on a small trolley in this promotional portrait from the 1980's. WINTER PARK, Fla. — In honor of the late Fred Rogers’ birthday, Rollins College said it is resuming its popular Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood Walking Tour. Watch: Getting to Know Fred RogersVisitors will be able to see Mister Rogers memorabilia, artwork and a newly commissioned sculpture of the children’s television icon. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 Mister Rogers Statue A Mister Rogers Statue has been unveiled at Rollins College.

WINTER PARK, Fla. — A group of preschoolers in Winter Park took to their tricycles Friday morning for some fun and for a good cause. READ: Popular Vegas attraction AREA15 announces Orlando locationRollins College hosted its 15th annual Trike-a-Thon. The event raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Photos: Rollins College Trike-a-Thon brings smiles and support for St. Jude Children’s Research HospitalExpand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 Rollins College Trike-a-Thon brings smiles and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital“We think it’s very important to partner with St. Judes, not just because it’s a great national organization, but because it teaches our very youngest children to give back,” said Sharon Carnahan, executive director of Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center. READ: Pi Day 2022: 5 delectable deals for pie loversRollins College officials said that over the years, the event has raised more than $15,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

News 6 hears from Dr. Mary Conway Dato-On, the first female faculty president at the Crummer Graduate School of Business

A giant piece of African American history will make its mark on the Rollins College campus Thursday in the form of a statue.

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Rollins College is encouraging its students and staff to go out of their way to make another person’s day a little bit better on Thursday. The school will host its second annual Thaddeus & Polly Seymour Acts of Kindness Day, which coincides with the nationally recognized Random Acts of Kindness Day. School officials said the campus-wide day of service and kindness is designed to celebrate the legacy of Rollins’ 12th president, Thaddeus Seymour, and his wife, Polly, with a variety of opportunities for members of the Rollins community to volunteer and give back. READ: Skeeter mountain: Florida agency shares photo of 1 million mosquitoesIn its inaugural year, more than 250 members of the Rollins community participated in a variety of service events. READ: SeaWorld set to open new Ice Breaker coasterChannel 9 will have a crew on campus to document their efforts.

Rollins College radio station WPRK this week caps off this year's series of "WPRK Comes Alive" concerts — and celebrates their 69th birthday — with double-header of heavy local...

Mister Rogers Sculpture This undated photo provided by Rollins College shows a bronze sculpture of Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Fla. Rogers graduated from the central Florida school in 1951. Now he's best known for writing and appearing in 912 episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood." (Scott Cook/Rollins College via AP) (Scott Cook)ORLANDO, Fla. — Rollins College Department of Music will again host Mister Rogers: The Musician concert series this weekend to celebrate World Kindness Day on Saturday. Rogers graduated from Rollins College in 1951 with a degree in music composition and wrote several songs while at Rollins including an opera titled “Josephine the Long-Necked Giraffe,” which he wrote in French, according to Rollins College. READ: More Candlelight Processional celebrity narrators announced at EPCOT, ‘JOYFUL!’ returning this yearExpand Autoplay Image 1 of 7 Mister Rogers Statue A Mister Rogers Statue has been unveiled at Rollins College.

A little rain didn’t stop it from being a beautiful day at Rollins College in Florida this week as a bronze sculpture to beloved children’s TV host Mister Rogers was unveiled.

"My hope is that this piece will bring joy and inspiration to many people, just as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood did for generations," sculptor Paul Day says.

A statue of beloved children's television host Mr. Rogers was unveiled this week at Fred Rogers' original 'neighborhood': Rollins College in Winter Park.  The statue,...

, Fla. — It was a beautiful day at Rollins College Thursday as the school unveiled a statue honoring its famous alum, Fred McFeely Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers. Rogers graduated from Rollins College in 1951. The sculpture, titled “A Beautiful Day for a Neighbor,” was commissioned to honor Rogers’ legacy and was designed by British artist Paul Day, who is renowned for his public monuments. The finished piece is cast in bronze that stands over 7 feet tall and weighs more than 3,000 pounds. The statue is the fifth stop on the Mister Rogers Walking Tour.

After a two-year hiatus, Rollins College's live-music blowout Fox Fest is back, with a very in-demand headliner in the form of Orlando hip-hop collective seeyousoon....

Mister Rogers statue A 7-foot-tall, 3,000-pound statue of Mister Rogers, honoring beloved alumnus Fred McFeely Rogers, will be unveiled on campus on Oct. 29. (Rollins College)WINTER PARK, Fla. — Rollins College is welcoming back to campus this month a new neighbor with a familiar face. A 7-foot-tall, 3,000-pound statue of Mister Rogers, honoring beloved alumnus Fred McFeely Rogers, will be unveiled on campus on Oct. 29. >>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<“This inspirational sculpture will be a permanent reminder of the ideals and values modeled by Mister Rogers as he set out to make the world a better place,” said Rollins President Grant Cornwell. READ: Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mister Rogers,’ dead at 92The new sculpture is now the fifth stop on Rollins’ Mister Rogers Walking Tour, which will be available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning on Friday, Oct. 29 and running through Nov. 23.

Rollins College's plucky college radio station WPRK bring back their long-running (seriously, we're talking decades here) event series WPRK Comes Alive next month, with in-person...

One man with a truck and a pitchfork — that's how Charlie Pioli described O-Town Compost when he started the business a little more than a year and a half ago.

If an employee does not get the vaccine they would need to produce a negative COVID-19 test every week.

Rollins College's Cornell Fine Arts Museum is set to move to a new location in downtown Winter Park in September, expanding its exhibition and taking...

Kelly Salter’s decision to undergo knee replacement surgery was supposed to coincide with a scheduled layoff from her kitchen supervisor job at Rollins College.

Florida's COVID-19 vaccine eligibility is now open to all adults and for 16 and up with the Pfizer shots.

Orange County is providing Rollins College and UCF with enough doses to vaccinate 2,000 students daily.

Rollins College is set to begin vaccinating students this week as Florida’s vaccine age requirement expands to include anyone 16 and older.

The statue was designed by British artist Paul Day.Day is currently hard at work on the statue in France, with an anticipated completion timeline of May.Rogers' history with Rollins goes back many years. Rogers was a student there, graduating with a degree in music composition in 1951. Rogers met his future wife, Joanne, there. Even after his ascent to public television godhood with his iconicprogram, he was still a familiar face in the Rollins neighborhood, popping up on campus unannounced and disappearing just as quickly.Though Rogers passed away in year his presence still lingers at the school; Rogers' personal archives are the the Olin Library and a painted portrait of the man hangs in the Tiedtke Concert Hall.Over/under on-style pranks centered around the statue? Who can say …

click image Photo courtesy Rollins CollegeAnnie Russell Theatre - still standing! Rollins College has received a multimillion dollar grant for construction of a new theater and performing arts theater.The private, liberal arts college in Winter Park was the beneficiary of $3 million from the Florida Charities Foundation this week, with the money expressly earmarked for a new performing arts complex where the Fred Stone Theatre once stood.Though there is no construction timeline as of yet, preliminary planning is already underway with Orlando Business Journal reporting that Baker Barrios Architects Inc. is already working on designs. "Currently, we are finalizing the design of our costume shop and working on construction documents in anticipation of a bidding process as soon as those documents are complete," Kania toldThe historic Annie Russell Theatre, also on the Rollins campus, will not be impacted by this construction project.

John Held papers relating to Mail Art, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. John Held papers relating to Mail Art, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Kienle took the time to answer some questions Orlando Weekly posed to her about her personal experiences with mail art, taking a close look at a couple of pieces in the exhibition and if the mail art comeback is really happening. John Held papers relating to Mail Art, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. I personally have been making/receiving a lot more mail art, but I have also observed an explosion of exhibitions and articles on mail art since the pandemic began.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. As private colleges and universities set plans to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of a statewide association is raising concerns about liability protections and virus testing costs. That's why he is making a priority of trying to get private colleges and universities in a bill during the upcoming legislative session that would provide liability protections related to COVID-19. As liability concerns linger, all 30 colleges and universities that make up ICUF are preparing for faculty members and students to return to campus in August and September. Boyd said it is too costly to do universal testing, so institutions will be focused on targeted testing on campus and will encourage students and faculty to undergo testing for COVID-19. Ave Maria University, a Catholic university in Collier County, noted in its fall reopening plan that in addition to coaches and players, athletic department staff members will undergo COVID-19 testing.

WINTER PARK, Fla. Rollins College, a private university in Winter Park, plans to begin conducting on-campus classes this fall after closing its campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will also need to wear masks during class, which will be provided in a wellness kit from the college. For the 2020-21 academic year, classes for students in the College of Liberal Arts and the Hamilton Holt School begin Sept. 14. Should all students need to move to virtual learning due to the virus, the grant will be pro-rated and awarded to all students. To see the full plan for the fall semester from Rollins College, click here.

It’s a strange time: Some of us are now unemployed, furloughed or our professional lives are otherwise on hold as the world continues to battle COVID-19. Have you taken this opportunity to consider furthering your education?

LEESBURG City government is not the only entity that wants to change the look and the feel of the town. Under the plan, cars coming off 14th Street would enter the campus through a new, improved High Street entrance onto a green space and parking area. The church plans to demolish what it calls its A and B buildings on 13th Street. First Baptist also purchased South Pointe Baptist Church on U.S. Highway 27. City commissioners must vote to approve vacating 13th Street.

click to enlarge Photo via Rollins College/Rollins.eduCiting the World Health Organization's designation of coronavirus as a pandemic, Rollins College president Grant Cornwell notified the campus Thursday morning that all remaining classes this semester are moving online. "We have made the extraordinary decision to move to virtual, synchronous learning through the remainder of the semester," Cornwell wrote. "He noted professors should continue to teach their classes on the current schedule, but meeting online instead of in person. On-campus classes will end on Friday, and will move online after spring break, when classes resume on Monday, March 23. "We will make every effort to ensure that seniors graduate on time and all students continue to make progress towards their degrees."

click image Photo of artwork by Janine Antoni by Ian Abbott/FlickrWorks created by Janine Antoni's 'Lick and Lather' performances, made of chocolate and soap, require unique preservation methods. Contemporary art's affinity for nontraditional materials has often presented dilemmas for those tasked with the storage and installation of fragile works. What can museum professionals do to ensure the passage of our current cultural heritage on to future generations? click to enlarge Image via Cornell Fine Arts MuseumThursday, March 12 at 12:30 p.m. | Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park | 407-646-2526 | cfam.rollins.edu | free This story appears in the March 11, 2020, print issue of Orlando Weekly. Stay on top of Central Florida news and views with our weekly Headlines newsletter.

The former creative director of MFOL and mind behind the QR-coded Star-Spangled Banner design, Jammal Lemy, speaks at Rollins College this week about his experiences using artistic expression to propel social and political change. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas HighSchool grad says he tries to encourage civic engagement and activism in youth. The free event is part of a program of the Cornell Fine Arts Museum in partnership with For Freedoms for their current Cornell Fine Arts Museum exhibition, 2020: Action, Freedom, Patriotism.6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4 | Suntrust Auditorium, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park | 407-646-2526 | rollins.edu | freeConsider supporting local journalism. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press

Consider supporting local journalism. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Unlike many newspapers, ours is free and we'd like to keep it that way, because we believe, now more than ever, everyone deserves access to accurate, independent coverage of their community. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press

Rollins College radio station WPRK 91.5 FM is turning 67 next month and throwing a show to celebrate nearly seven decades of being the "best in basement radio" and a haven for independent and non-commercial music. The show looks to be free from the event page, but bring a few bucks to throw at the bands, if nothing else. Our small but mighty local team works tirelessly to bring you high-quality, uncensored news and cultural coverage of Central Florida. Unlike many newspapers, ours is free and we'd like to keep it that way, because we believe, now more than ever, everyone deserves access to accurate, independent coverage of their community. Whether it's a one-time acknowledgement of this article or an ongoing pledge, your support helps keep Orlandos true free press

WINTER PARK, Fla. - A Rollins College student took her first trip out of the country to help give the gift of hearing. Alli Wendel is a senior at Rollins College who has her own experience with hearing loss in her left ear. As a member of the Delta Zeta sorority, Wendel got involved with a mission to El Salvador lead by the Starkey Hearing Foundation through a fundraising drawing. "I met people who have had hearing loss since birth. She encouraged anyone interested in participating in a volunteer effort to contact the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Rollins College will celebrate its famed alumnus, Fred Rogers, commonly known as Mister Rogers, with a concert highlighting his work. "This concert has so much to offer," Dan Crozier, Rogers' nephew and a professor of music theory and composition, said. "Some people realize that he wrote music, but he actually composed all the music from the program. Rogers graduated in 1951 from Rollins College in Winter Park, where he received his musical training. "They loved Rollins," Crozier said.

click image Photo courtesy Acoqui/FacebookLocal indie promoters Ugly Orange are set to stage an eclectic evening of art-rock at Rollins College's tony Cornell Fine Arts Museum next week. And the whole is free. The lineup a mix of adventurous local sounds old and new features Acoqui, Tidepools and Greyson Charnock (Someday River). So if you've been meaning to check out the museum's current exhibition of 20th Century African American Art and just needed that extra kick in the posterior region, well, here you go.This evening of art music for art people happens at CFAM smack dab in the middle of Rollins College in Winter Park on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. This event is free.