USG NEWS:
www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/22335497/article-UWG-might-become-regional-university?instance=TG_home_story_offset
UWG might become regional university
by Staff Reports
The current draft of the University System of Georgia Policy of Institutional Function and Mission classifies the University of West Georgia as a regional University, the school announced Tuesday. UWG is currently is classified as a state university. This draft policy, discussed by the Board of Regents this month, has not yet been approved by vote. It will come before the board at a later meeting for approval.
www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/22335501/article-UWG-to-open-Barr-papers?instance=TG_home_story_offset
UWG to open Barr papers
by Winston Jones/Times-Georgian
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr will be in Carrollton May 15 to attend the official opening of his congressional papers at the University of West Georgia library. Barr, now 66, served four terms in Congress, from 1995 to 2003, representing the Seventh Congressional District. During his terms in office, he was a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, vice chairman of the Government Reform Committee and member of the Committees on Financial Services and Veterans Affairs. “One of his lasting legacies came from his activities on the Judiciary Committee in developing a case against President Bill Clinton for impeachable offenses,” said Suzanne Durham, head of special collections at the library. “More recently, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the legality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which Barr authored while in Congress.”
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2013/04/university-president-to-repay-school.html
University president to repay school for using bus for wedding
Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor
Georgia Regents University officials say President Ricardo Azziz plans to reimburse the school for using a state-owned bus to carry guests of a private wedding held at his home last weekend, reports The Augusta Chronicle. The newspaper reports that univer¬sity spokeswoman Christen Carter acknowledged the use of university resources, including the bus and GRU police officers for security at the wedding for Azziz’s niece, Breeanna Beckhamn and Brian Straessle.
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/04/23/2450616/leaders-interact-with-residents.html
Leaders talk about issues at FVSU’s legislative breakfast
By JENNA MINK
FORT VALLEY — In a section of Fort Valley State University’s Pettigrew Center sat some antique equipment, which many farmers have not used in decades. A hand-cranked corn sheller and antique pesticide sprayer were two of the aged instruments on display Tuesday at the Ham and Egg Legislative Breakfast and Georgia Agricultural Showcase. While farmers have replaced antique devices with high-tech machines, the agriculture industry faces challenges — most recently, federal funding issues. Legislators discussed those challenges, and others, at the 31st annual event, which allows residents to interact with elected leaders and their representatives. About 250 people attended. “This is extremely important,” said Kena Torbert, family life specialist for the cooperative extension program at Fort Valley State. “They’re able to speak with those legislators one-on-one and get some solid answers.”
www.gpb.org
http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/04/23/former-defense-chiefs-speak-on-threats#
Former Defense Chiefs Speak On Threats
By Jeanne Bonner
Four former GOP defense secretaries painted a pessimistic view of global security threats Tuesday. Speaking at Georgia Tech at a forum hosted by the Southern Center for International Studies, they said nuclear proliferation and cyber security are undermining American’s safety. During the round table conversation, the men agreed America’s influence in the world is waning. And they said they worry about Iran and North Korea building nuclear weapons. James Schlesinger was chief of defense under Presidents Nixon and Ford in the 1970’s. He said a new nuclear age is dawning.
Related article:
www.cbsatlanta.com
Former secretaries of defense talk shop at Georgia Tech
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/22054902/former-secretaries-of-defense-talk-shop-at-georgia-tech
GOOD NEWS:
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2013-04-23/sba-savannah-state-sign-agreement#.UXfkguCTpGN
SBA, Savannah State sign agreement
By MARY CARR MAYLE
As part of her two-day visit to Savannah, U.S. Small Business Administration District Director Terri Denison spoke Tuesday at Savannah State University, where she and university Provost Reynold Verret signed an agreement to work together to promote small business entrepreneurship. The Strategic Alliance Memorandum highlights the SBA’s continued commitment to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for historically black colleges and universities and to support minority-owned businesses, Denison said.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/local_news/CULINOLOGY-042413-hr#
College offers culinary partnership
By SARAH LUNDGREN
Since 2009, College of Coastal Georgia has made a transformation inside and out, changing its physical campus and academic rigor. Valerie Hepburn, president of the college since 2008, has overseen it all, including the introduction of four new buildings and the renovation of almost every other structure on the original campus. The only one left, Academic Commons South, is set to be renovated later this year. …Now, there’s something else for students to look forward to, especially culinary majors. The Brunswick college is joining hands with the University of Georgia in the area of food sciences.
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/04/23/2450625/waddell-barnes-among-recipients.html#storylink=cpy
Barnes to receive national award
By ANDY M. DRURY
…“We lost 3,900 trees,” said David Sims, assistant vice president for facilities at the college, now known as Middle Georgia State College. In the week that followed the Mother’s Day tornado that wiped out 90 percent of the college’s trees, Macon State officials and Dr. Waddell Barnes, a former chairman of the college’s foundation with a keen interest in botany, started planning for the rebirth of the college’s landscape. The Waddell Barnes Botanical Gardens — comprising the entire 418-acre Macon campus and the 70 acres on the Warner Robins campus — are coming back in a big way.
RESEARCH:
www.midtown.patch.com
http://midtown.patch.com/articles/midtown-alliance-and-georgia-tech-partner-on-innovation-district-initiative
Midtown Alliance and Georgia Tech Partner on Innovation District Initiative
Project seeks to create “live-work-play” lab centered around media technologies.
By Patch Staff
The Midtown Alliance recently announced a new partnership with Georgia Tech to expand and strengthen Midtown’s flourishing innovation district. The Midtown Alliance-Georgia Tech partnership will work with local thought leaders on strategies to further strengthen Midtown’s technology infrastructure, create commercial real estate opportunities for entrepreneurs and highlight the sizeable array of innovation assets, activities and success stories that are happening now.
www.mashable.com
http://mashable.com/2013/04/22/thad-starner-google-glass/
Wearable Computing Pioneer: How Google Glass Makes Life Better
Todd Wasserman
Long before it was a gleam in Sergey Brin’s eye, Thad Starner (Georgia Tech)was sporting a bulky, comparatively prehistoric version of what would ultimately become Google Glass. Starner introduced wearable computing to MIT in 1993; he now has two decades of experience in computer-aided perception. His accoutrements got the attention of Brin and Google co-founder Larry Page back in 1998, who later made him the technical lead manager on Glass.
www.popsci.com
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/brain-cells-will-control-power-plants-future
Brain Cells Will Control The Power Plants Of The Future
Living neurons are coming up with better solutions for electricity distribution than people can.
By Francie Diep
Talk about a mind meld. Researchers have hooked up living brain cells, grown in a petri dish, to a computer. The computer runs a simulation of a power plant and sends the neurons problems about electricity distribution. Scientists then take the solutions the brain cells come up with as possible equations for controlling the U.S. electrical grid in the future. (Actual solutions for controlling electricity around the U.S. wouldn’t use living neurons; they would just use computer code written after scientists studied what the neurons came up with.)… Venayagamoorthy and his colleagues, including engineers at Clemson and neuroscientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology, are trying to create new equations that will make the U.S. more energy efficient.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/smithsonian-joins-ultra-fast-broadband-network-for-universities-to-expand-in-online-education/2013/04/23/a5c3f044-ac26-11e2-9493-2ff3bf26c4b4_story.html
Smithsonian joins ultra-fast broadband network for universities to expand in online education
By Associated Press, Published: April 23
WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution is joining an ultra-fast broadband network built for U.S. universities to connect the world’s largest museum and research complex with hundreds of colleges and reach more people online. On Tuesday, officials announced the Smithsonian is partnering with the university-backed Internet2 network to help open its vast museum collections to students and researchers at more than 400 research universities and 66,000 other U.S. research and education partners. The Smithsonian has been working to digitize its 137 million objects but has said it will take years to make all of them available online… Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, a civil engineer by training, was familiar with Internet2 from his days as president of Georgia Tech. He said the Smithsonian is poised to do things online that are “almost unimaginable.
www.uk.reuters.com
http://uk.reuters.com/video/2013/04/22/robot-swarms-seen-as-guardians-against-f?videoId=242392959&videoChannel=78
Robot swarms seen as guardians against future threats (2:05)
Researchers at Georgia Tech in Atlanta are programming robots to work together. The scientists believe that in the future, robotic swarms could play an important role in assessing threats at high profile events like the Boston Marathon where two deadly bombs went off last week. Ben Gruber has more.
www.technewsdaily.com
http://www.technewsdaily.com/17840-swarm-robotics-future.html
Swarm Robots Get More Done
Robert Workman, TechNewsDaily Writer
At first, the small group of robots doesn’t appear to be doing much, simply shining lights down on a floor to the tune of Beethoven’s “Für Elise.” However, the fact they’re working cohesively, as a unit, could lead to something much larger. Magnus Egerstedt, a professor of electrical and computer engineering for Georgia Tech, has developed “swarm robotics” technology in which small units work together for problem-solving purposes, whether it’s performing a song, or grouping together in pursuit of another unit, as demonstrated in the video above.
www.irishtimes.com
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/robot-could-help-turtle-conservation-1.1369742
Robot could help turtle conservation
’Flipperbot’ mimics movement of loggerhead hatchlings
Dick Ahlstrom
Scientists have developed a robot that mimics the movements of a newborn sea turtle as it struggles across the sand towards water. They hope the “Flipperbot” may aid in turtle conservation by learning more about locomotion on complex and uneven surfaces. …Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and from Northwestern University hope to give the turtles a leg…or maybe a flipper…up by a detailed analysis of turtle locomotion using the Flipperbot. True to its name it doesn’t have wheels or legs to get about, just two flipper-like appendages.
STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/deal-signs-hope-bill/nXWb2/
Deal signs HOPE bill
By Laura Diamond
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thousands of students in Georgia’s technical colleges will again be eligible for the HOPE Grant under a bill Gov. Nathan Deal signed Wednesday. House Bill 372 reinstates the 2.0 grade-point average requirement for students in the Technical College System of Georgia. The lottery-funded award covers most tuition. Deal signed the bill during the system’s annual leadership conference. Educators applauded the change.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/globalhighered/expanding-global-landscape-mooc-platforms
Expanding global landscape of MOOC platforms
Kris Olds
In Brussels, yesterday, Androulla Vassiliou (European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth) announced that the “first pan-European” MOOC platform will be launched on 25 April 2013. …This multi-institutional European MOOC platform (available via www.OpenupEd.eu) is to be formally launched at the Open Universiteit in the Netherlands on Thursday 25 April (11:00-12:00 CET).
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/thoughts-“state-u-online”-0
Thoughts on “State U Online”
By Matt Reed
What would a fully integrated online state university system look like? Rachel Fishman’s new report for the New America Foundation, “State U Online,” offers some hints. It’s a wonderful read — check it out here — and what follows are just some thoughts that it triggered.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/law-policy-and-it/what-moocs-have-offer-liberal-arts
What MOOCs Have to Offer Liberal Arts
By Tracy Mitrano
A new form of education could revitalize a traditional form of education. …MOOCs (in their less literal form) have the potential to enhance that model. The more we can deploy the essential technology to connect faculty, students, classes and courses with people around the world the more enriched our learning will be.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/we-need-more-research-academic-tech-professionals
We Need (More) Research on Academic Tech Professionals
By Joshua Kim
Commenting on my post The Liberal Arts of Ed Tech, Brian Reid asked:
“What evidence is there that the number of people coming from a liberal arts background into educational technology is growing? Is this in absolute numbers, relative numbers, or both?” Good questions. I have no idea about the answers. Do you? Where would you start to get answers to these questions? EDUCAUSE? ECAR? The Sloan Consortium? Our own higher ed researchers?
www.blogs.wsj.com
http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/04/23/kevin-colleran-high-schools-and-colleges-should-include-entrepreneur-education/?KEYWORDS=%22Higher+Education%22
Kevin Colleran: High Schools and Colleges Should Include Entrepreneur Education
KEVIN COLLERAN: Without a doubt, yes, entrepreneurship should be its own undergraduate major. But I should note that my point of view is probably a bit biased, having graduated from Babson College in Boston, a school that is well known for its undergraduate entrepreneurship program so I clearly made my decision about this topic more than 15 years ago.That said, just because I do believe that an entrepreneurship degree should exist in colleges, I do not think that it’s a requirement for a person to get one in order to become a successful entrepreneur.
Education News
www.propublica.org
http://www.propublica.org/article/the-admission-arms-race-six-ways-colleges-can-game-their-numbers
The Admission Arms Race: Six Ways Colleges Game Their Numbers
by Marian Wang
As college-bound students weigh their options, they often look to the various statistics that universities trumpet — things like the high number of applications, high test scores, and low acceptance rate. But students may want to consider yet another piece of info: the ways in which schools can pump up their stats.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/24/diversity-plays-positive-and-negative-roles-university-kentucky-provost-search
Diverse Considerations
By Kevin Kiley
The three finalists announced last week for the University of Kentucky’s provost search have several things in common. All have impressive academic careers. All hold important administrative positions on their respective campuses. And all are likely to stand out in cabinet meetings if they are named provost. The University of Kentucky has come under scrutiny by local media in recent months for a lack of diversity in administrative ranks.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/24/more-institutions-cap-adjuncts-hours-anticipation-federal-guidelines
Tackling the Cap
By Carl Straumsheim
It started in November, as a few colleges announced new limits on adjunct hours, fearful that not doing so would result in the part-time instructors being covered by institutional health plans under the new federal health care law. At that time, some higher education lobbyists said the trend was limited. Today it’s clear the practice has spread.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/24/germany-bucks-global-trends-abolishing-tuition
Where Tuition is Free
By Elizabeth Redden
In Germany the great experiment with tuition fees is coming to an end. Seven of the 16 states introduced tuition fees after a federal court ruling in 2005 freed them to do so, but one by one they have undone them. The last two states to charge tuition fees, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, are expected to abolish them in the coming months, making Germany an outlier amid a global trend toward the introduction and increase of tuition fees.
www.nytimes.com
College Ends Free Tuition, and an Era
By ARIEL KAMINER
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, which is one of the last tuition-free colleges in the country but has been under severe financial strain, announced on Tuesday that for the first time in more than a century it will charge undergraduates to attend. The decision ends almost two years of roiling debate about an education that was long revered for being “free as air and water,” and stood as the school’s most distinguishing feature, insulating it until now from concerns about the rising cost of a college degree.
Related article:
www.insidehighered.com
Cooper Union, Free Since 1902, Will Charge Undergrads
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/24/cooper-union-free-1902-will-charge-undergrads
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/24/dartmouth-calls-classes-discuss-diversity-civility
Dartmouth Calls Off Classes to Discuss Diversity, Civility
Dartmouth College has called off classes for today to discuss the college’s “commitment to fostering debate that promotes respect for individuals, civil and engaged discourse, and the value of diverse opinions.” …The college’s decision follows a series of threats received by students online — some citing the students’ sexual orientation or race, college officials told the Associated Press.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
http://washingtonexaminer.com/nevada-quake-lab-has-new-4m-research-project/article/feed/2091989
Nevada quake lab has new $4M research project
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The University of Nevada’s world-renowned earthquake laboratory has launched a nearly $4 million research project aimed at making nonstructural parts of buildings more earthquake proof. Engineers at the school’s Large-Scale Structures Lab cranked up three 50-ton capacity shake tables on the Reno campus Monday to simulate a quake as part of the groundbreaking project funded by the National Science Foundation.