It can sometimes be overlooked that the Sarasota County area is blessed with four diverse institutions of higher education. And those institutions are now cooperating in groundbreaking ways and making major strides in meeting the needs of businesses and the broader community. […] The four major institutions are Ringling College, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, New College of Florida and State College of Florida. In addition, there is the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (one of the top acting schools in the nation) and the Sarasota County Technical Institute.