College partnership has big ambitions

A new partnership between local higher education institutions is starting slow, but college officials said Thursday during a Sarasota Tiger Bay discussion that they have big ambitions for the Cross College Alliance.
“Really, the vision is to establish our region as a center of excellence in higher education,” said Ringling Museum executive director Steven High, whose institution is part of Florida State University and includes academic programs.
High joined New College of Florida President Donal O’Shea and Ringling College of Art and Design President Larry Thompson at Tiger Bay to discuss the alliance, which launched under a different name last year and was rebranded in August.