Dr. Stacy Volnick is ready to lead FAU | Letters to the editor
Florida Atlantic University is extremely fortunate to have Dr. Stacy Volnick as its interim president. There could not be a better candidate to lead FAU’s future.
Dr. Volnick received her bachelor’s degree in communications and her master’s and doctorate degrees in education leadership at FAU and has more than 30 years of experience in higher education administration. Since 1991, she has grown with FAU.
As chief operations officer and vice president for administrative and operational units, she has served in numerous positions in financial and public affairs and as the university’s inspector general. Dr. Volnick is committed to enhancing the university experience for the FAU family and supporting the institution’s academic mission.
No one could be more prepared and experienced to step into leadership as FAU president. As the first generation college graduate in her family, she serves as a role model for others to achieve greatness and success in their lives.
As board members of the Advisory Council for the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and founders of the Feminist Fund Inc. at FAU, we are honored to support Dr. Volnick for president of Florida Atlantic University.
Sheila Jaffe, Delray Beach
Vouchers and numbers
As someone with a 45-year career in education who has written about this subject at length, I say it is Scott Kent of Step Up for Students who is wrong. He contradicts himself. First, he writes in a letter to the editor that 407,000 students were not “siphoned off,” then he agrees with Viewpoint writer June S. Neal and says, “407,000 students applied for and were found eligible to receive an education choice scholarship.”
Different words, same total.
If we add the 340,731 awarded vouchers Kent reports from both the FTC and FES-EO programs, and from the FES-UA program, 72,049, they total 412,780 — the increase from the 407,000 awards that both the governor’s office and Ms. Neal reported as of Aug. 18. All he did was categorize the awards to confuse us. That’s insulting to readers.
Perhaps he wanted us to forget the fine job June S. Neal did in reporting the truth behind the voucher program.
Arlene R. Ustin, Delray Beach
Cash bail’s hidden impact
A recent letter to the editor assailing the elimination of cash bail seemed to completely ignore its unconstitutional impact. It forces poor people merely accused of crimes to remain in jail for an interminable period while waiting for a court date, even though they have neither been tried nor convicted.
Sadly, the writer seem to miss the point that people in this country are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is a further degradation of the poorest among us.
The outrageous claim that cash bail deters crime is no more worthy than the claim of some that the death penalty or life imprisonment deters murders. It clearly does not. Nor does cash bail deter all manner of alleged petty crimes.
Harvey Starin, Boca Raton
Coco Gauff: A source of pride
Tennis champion Coco Gauff’s other grandmother is Dr. Deborah Wright, who is a retired educator with the School District of Palm Beach County.
Dr. Wright is also a Zeta Phi Beta sorority sister who spent many years volunteering with its Delray Beach chapter.
Zeta Phi Beta sorority was established in 1920 on the campus of Howard University and is the third oldest Greek letter historically Black organization for women, and its official colors are blue and white.
Dr. Wright raised a stellar athlete with her son, Corey Gauff, who played college basketball for Georgia State University.
The athleticism gene also passed to Corey’s daughter, tennis star Coco Gauff, who won the 2023 U.S. Open making her family, the Zetas and Delray Beach proud.
Lori J. Durante, Delray Beach