University System News

USG NEWS:
www.henryherald.com
http://www.henryherald.com/news/2013/jun/28/officials-preparing-state-archives-transfer/
Officials preparing for state archives transfer
By Curt Yeomans
MORROW — Christmas may not officially be in July, but Southern Crescent residents and history lovers everywhere will get a gift next month. In addition to moving to the University System of Georgia next month, the 95-year old Georgia Archives will add two days of operation to its weekly schedule. That means people will be able to use its resources four days a week.

www.georgiatrend.com
http://www.georgiatrend.com/July-2013/Come-Together-Right-Now/
COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW
How the University System of Georgia turned eight institutions into four
Jerry Grillo
Back when Shirley Strum Kenny was transforming the State University of New York at Stony Brook into one of the nation’s top research institutions, she learned a lesson about the virtues of patience from renowned architect John Belle, who was working on one of the many campus improvement projects she was responsible for during her 15 years as president. Belle had designed a spectacular new academic mall in the heart of the sprawling campus near the north shore of suburban Long Island. But he left one task unfinished, for a while – there were no designated paths crossing the spacious commons area. …In the six months she spent as interim president of Augusta State University, Kenny pondered Belle’s pa-tient design methods while ASU fitfully endured a whirl-wind, ambitious, often contentious consolidation with nearby Georgia Health Sciences University, in an effort to make the resulting Georgia Regents University (GRU) a top research institution, sort of like Stony Brook. “Of all the consolidations that were done, this is by far the most challenging and complex, but it could have the biggest payoff,” says Kenny, hired out of retirement to be, in essence, a temporary caretaker.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2013-06-28/board-regents-reaches-settlement-virginia-school-trademark-lawsuit
Board of Regents reaches settlement with Virginia school in trademark lawsuit
By Steve Crawford
Staff Writer
A private Virginia university has dropped its legal challenge to Augusta’s new state university name, officials said Friday. The Georgia Board of Regents have reached a settlement in the trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Regent University that allows the Board to use the name, Georgia Regents University, according to a statement from Georgia university system spokesman John Millsaps. The Virginia school filed its lawsuit in September after the Board’s decision was announced renaming the merged Georgia Health Sciences and Augusta State universities. “At the time the Board of Regents approved the name Georgia Regents University, it was our conclusion that we had the right to use the name. This agreement confirms this conclusion and allows each university to promote and protect its name and brand,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby.

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/06/29/2538768/rivers-steps-down-after-seven.html
Rivers steps down after seven years at FVSU’s helm
By JENNA MINK
FORT VALLEY — The college that sits just across the railroad tracks in this small town saved Larry Rivers’ life. That’s one reason, perhaps the biggest reason, why Rivers wanted to become president of the institution. Now, as his resignation becomes official Sunday, the former president of Fort Valley State University reflects on seven years of leadership, which have been marked by many accomplishments and some challenges.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-06-29/adams-made-enemies-leaves-lasting-academic-physical-legacy
Adams made enemies, but leaves lasting academic, physical legacy
By LEE SHEARER
Outgoing University of Georgia president Michael Adams has plenty of critics, detractors, even enemies as he leaves office today to make way for new UGA President Jere Morehead, who officially takes up the mantle on Monday. But history will judge Adams’ 16-year tenure kindly, said University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “Even his critics have to admit he made a very positive impact on the university,” said Huckaby, who was Adams’ senior vice president for finance and administration when Adams faced what was probably his most serious crisis.

Related articles:
www.ledger-enquirer.com
The survivor: President Michael Adams leaves UGA on his terms
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/06/29/2564391/the-survivor-president-michael.html

www.therepublic.com
University of Georgia President Michael Adams leaves office after 16-year tenure
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/bcac4c876ca34051b6df570be26763eb/GA–University-of-Georgia-President

www.onlineathens.com
Adams says academics will be his legacy as he leaves UGA top post
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-06-29/adams-says-academics-will-be-his-legacy-he-leaves-uga-top-post

www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/jun/29/preliminary-sacs-report-on-darton-unflattering/
Preliminary SACS report on Darton unflattering
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY, Ga. — Darton State College Vice President of Student Affairs Gary Barnette sat frowning behind his desk. His right hand was tapping lightly on a thick document, its pages festooned with yellow sticky notes. The document was an unflattering 65-page Southern Association of Colleges and Schools preliminary report from one of its reaccreditation committees. The report, written last month by an off-site review committee, is unavailable to the public, but The Albany Herald has obtained a copy. Accreditation by SACS is the lifeblood of a post-secondary institution and loss of accreditation would be devastating to a college. The report, however, is not overly alarming in that the college will have time to furnish more information and address specific concerns before a SACS team on-site visit in November.

GOOD NEWS:
www.midtown.patch.com
http://midtown.patch.com/groups/schools/p/5-ga-tech-graduate-students-selected-as-nasa-research-fellows
5 GA Tech Graduate Students Selected as NASA Research Fellows
The Midtown Atlanta school is the most widely represented institution in this year’s Space Technology Research Fellows program.
Posted by Hunt Archbold
Five Georgia Tech students have been selected to be part of NASA’s 2013 class of Space Technology Research Fellows, making Tech the most widely represented institution in the program. The program awards funding to graduate students whose research topics will “bolster America’s competitiveness in a knowledge-based, global technology economy while enabling our space exploration goals.” The Tech students are in company with 65 others from around the country, including students from some of Tech’s peer institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas—Austin, and Purdue University.

USG VALUE:
www.valdostatdailytimes.com
http://valdostadailytimes.com/schoolnews/x479819874/VSU-wraps-up-computer-science-workshop
VSU wraps up computer science workshop
Valdosta State University
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University hosted its second Google-funded computer science workshop for area school teachers June 17-20. The workshop, titled Valdosta Computes 2.0, is the only workshop in the state funded through Google as part of its Computer Science for High Schools (CS4HS) program. …Teachers learned basic concepts in computer science and were provided with several free online resources that they could use to educate students in the classroom. The workshop also included several hands-on activities.

RESEARCH:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-06-28/inflammation-may-be-key-obesity-related-disease
Inflammation may be key to obesity-related disease
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
If current trends continue, roughly 42 percent of the people in the U.S. will be obese by the year 2030, according to the Trust for America’s Health. As obesity rates climb to unprecedented levels, an equally dramatic increase in new cases of obesity-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and arthritis is expected. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia are testing new treatments they hope will one day stem the tide of obesity and the potentially life-threatening illnesses that accompany it.

www.m.chronicle.augusta.com
http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/your-business/2013-06-29/centers-innovation-strive-help-georgia-companies-be-more
Centers of Innovation strive to help Georgia companies be more successful
By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
When President Obama announced the creation of a national network of manufacturing-development hubs, Georgia had already been on that road for a decade. “Now, if we want to make the best products, we also have to invest in the best ideas,” Obama said during his State of the Union address in January. “… Now is the time to reach a level of research and development not seen since the height of the Space Race. We need to make those investments.” Last month, he released the details of a competition to create 15 applied-research clearinghouses and requested that Congress fund them with $1 billion. Georgia’s six industrial Centers of Innovation operate on a more modest budget of about $3 million yearly. Yet, they typically receive 4,000 contacts annually from new companies seeking information and assistance, and when the requests take more than a phone call to complete, they initiate an average of 60 projects each month where significant resources are involved. “There’s not a corner of the state that isn’t touched by what we’re doing,” said Mark Lytle, who oversaw the six centers until last month, when he became vice chancellor for economic development at the University System of Georgia. …Georgia Tech is researching the use of drones to replace helicopters used in law enforcement and agriculture. Brunswick is considering development of a spaceport.

www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/smart-bike-sharing-startup-is-looking-to-blaze-a-new-path-2013-6#ixzz2XkSUdkE1
Atlanta Startup Offers A Smarter, Cheaper Bike-Sharing Program
LYNNE GUEY
A group of graduate students wanted to implement bike-sharing at Georgia Tech, but all of the existing programs were too expensive. They decided to start their own. viaCycle, which launched in 2011, is a “smart bike-sharing” company that currently operates 100 bicycles in three cities: Atlanta (at Georgia Tech), Fairfax, Va., and Philadelphia.

www.aviationweek.com
http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckBlogId=Blog:7a78f54e-b3dd-4fa6-ae6e-dff2ffd7bdbb&plckPostId=Blog%3A7a78f54e-b3dd-4fa6-ae6e-dff2ffd7bdbbPost%3A5b75b309-671f-4047-81c4-48df8cb33571
Battery or Superconductor – FAA Picks Hybrid Winners
Posted by Graham Warwick
Hybrid-electric propulsion is the flavor of the month, and the FAA has picked the winners in a university competition to design a regional aircraft around the technology. Teams from Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Virginia tied for first place with different approaches to the challenge.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-06-30/new-laws-effect-today-include-possible-alcohol-sales-near-uga
New laws in effect today include possible alcohol sales near UGA
By WALTER JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA — The 116 laws taking effect today include letting local governments decide if grocery stores can sell alcohol near college campuses, new limits on worker’s compensation benefits, tougher restrictions on pain-management clinics and relaxed sentences for people convicted of non-violent crimes. July begins the state’s new fiscal year, and the start of a $19 billion spending blueprint that carries over 3 percent reductions for all agencies other than schools. It also makes a handy time for new laws to take effect.

Related article:
www.myajc.com
New laws restrict pain clinics, loosen home brew rules
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/new-laws-restrict-pain-clinics-loosen-home-brew-ru/nYYcW/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/new-era-for-georgia-archives/nYWwx/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
New era for Georgia Archives
BY KAYE LANNING MINCHEW
On Sept. 13 of last year, all who care about Georgia’s history were dismayed to learn that Secretary of State Brian Kemp would be closing the Georgia State Archives except by appointment. Kemp opted to take budget reductions mandated by the governor for his division entirely from the state archives. Cutting staff and limiting access to collections would save $750,000. Shockingly, our history was at risk of being lost or made inaccessible for less than $1 million dollars. People leaped into action. More than 17,000 signed an online petition. The Coalition to Preserve the Georgia Archives rallied local historical and genealogical societies. Many articles appeared in newspapers and magazines and on television and radio. …On Monday, the Georgia Archives, which first opened in 1919, will start anew with the official transfer to the Board of Regents.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/city-ink/2013-06-29/city-ink-if-not-money-then-what-did-change-hands
City Ink: If not money, then what did change hands in GRU name lawsuit?
By Sylvia Cooper
Columnist
Regent University in Virginia has dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against the Georgia Board of Regents over the name of Augusta’s Georgia Regents University, the University System of Georgia announced Friday. Lou Isakoff, the general counsel for Regent University, said he was prohibited by the court from speaking about the case, and Georgia university system spokesman John Millsaps said details weren’t available Friday. Millsaps said he did know one thing: “No money changed hands.” That can’t be true. Any-time lawyers are involved in anything, their hands get filled with money.

www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/story/printer/EDIT-SAT-062913
Sun sets for Hepburn, rises for new president
College of Coastal Georgia ended an era with the departure of college President Valerie Hepburn on Friday and will begin a new one with the official arrival on campus of new college President Gregory Aloia on Monday.
It is a time the community will look upon with some sadness, as it says goodbye to an individual whose can-do spirit has moved mountains. Former President Hepburn leaves to take a new position with the University System of Georgia and, on behalf of the community, we wish her well. It also is a time Brunswick and the Golden Isles is looking upon with some excitement, as a new president with an impressive background takes the reins of the future of College of Coastal Georgia. On behalf of the community, we say welcome to our home.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/07/01/many-roles-and-expectations-college-presidents-essay
The President’s Many Roles
By K. Johnson Bowles
A boxer, a minister, a police officer, a psychologist and a Nobel laureate walk into a university auditorium. The head of the faculty senate says, “What is this, some kind of joke? Where is our new president?” The head of the search committee replies, “No joke. We couldn’t find one person who could fit the leadership profile so we hire them all and we stayed in budget.” Joking aside, how can the role of today’s university president be best described? What is expected? What are the necessary characteristics? After a year studying the role of the presidency in higher education as an American Council on Education Fellow, I can say with certainty a president must be strong physically, emotionally and mentally.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2013-06-29/johnson-humanities-must-be-integral-part-education
Johnson: Humanities must be integral part of education
The recently released American Academy of Arts and Social Sciences report titled “The Heart of the Matter” has sparked a thoughtful debate about the significance of the humanities in our nation’s schools. There is alarm at the college level as fewer students than was the case 25 years ago are majoring in disciplines rooted in the humanities, such as English, literature, history, philosophy and the arts. Currently, humanities majors comprise roughly 7 percent of college graduates, which has raised concerns about our students losing ground in creativity and intellect. Those attributes appear to have been placed on the back burner as college graduates face a tough job market.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324637504578566333483406550.html
Illiberal Education and the ‘Heart of the Matter’
A new report on the humanities and social sciences misses a big reason they’re in trouble.
By PETER BERKOWITZ
‘The Heart of the Matter,” the just-released report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettably, however, the report’s failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/07/01/essay-need-focus-higher-ed-reforms-right-goals-not-just-quick-change#ixzz2Xmtpi4Dw
Innovation Exhaustion and a Path to Moving Forward
By Dan Greenstein
So many exciting and innovative efforts are under way to deliver the best educational value to as many students as possible. Since joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a year ago, I’ve spent considerable time talking to college presidents, chancellors, faculty members, grantees, and other partners. We continually learn from higher education leaders and use what they tell us to assess how we can support their creative and inspiring efforts. Their commitment to innovation is real and exciting. However, I’m also finding that some institutions are chasing innovation without exactly knowing why they are doing it, leading to a very clear rumbling of what I call “innovation exhaustion.”

www.economix.blogs.nytimes.com

The Return on College, Around the World
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
As my colleague Eduardo Porter wrote this week, there are major returns from going to college. This is true around the world, but it is especially true in the United States. According to a report released this week by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, across the developed world the average person who has graduated from college (either two-year or four-year) and has any earnings makes about 57 percent more than a counterpart with no more than a high school education. In the United States, the comparable earnings premium is 77 percent.

Education News
www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/22979784/article-Deal-defends-Common-Core-stance-during-West-Cobb-visit?instance=special_coverage_bullets_right_column
Deal defends Common Core stance during West Cobb visit
by Rachel Miller
Gov. Nathan Deal appeared before the West Cobb Business Association Tuesday where he defended his support for the Common Core educational standards. Deal told a crowd of more than 200 people at the Lost Mountain Baptist Church off of Dallas Highway that he wants to preserve the state’s sovereignty to address local issues, but he is not willing to throw out programs that are appropriate for Georgia.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/students-will-choose-career-pathways-this-fall/nYQyr/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Students will choose career pathways this fall
BY WAYNE WASHINGTON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
The state Department of Education has developed a series of courses connected to career pathways students will be required to choose this fall. Created with input from business and higher education officials in Georgia, the courses are supposed to help students determine what they want to do after high school and prepare them for that choice. Students will select “pathways” that lead to two- or four-year colleges, technical schools or directly to the workforce.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/01/federal-report-warns-aid-proposals-could-hurt-low-income-minority-students#ixzz2XmtATo5A
Exacerbating Inequality
By Doug Lederman
The last year has brought a cacophony of proposals for “fixing” the federal student financial aid system, with debates about the sequester and the size of the federal budget raging, the renewal of the Higher Education Act looming, and a well-financed effort by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation priming the pump. While the recommendations have been all over the map, many of them embrace, to varying degrees, the ideas that any changes made to federal aid programs should assume that there will be no new funds (given budget constraints) and that the programs should be increasingly aimed at students likely to remain in college and earn their degrees.

www.news-press.com
http://www.news-press.com/article/20130630/NEWS0104/306300038/100-percent-interest-rate-hike-worries-students?nclick_check=1
100 percent interest-rate hike worries students
Stafford loans will become pricier on Monday.
Written by Dave Breitenstein
Congress’ inaction soon could make a college education more expensive. If lawmakers don’t take action before Monday, which doesn’t appear likely, the interest rate on new subsidized Stafford loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. A U.S. Department of Education analysis estimated the higher rate would cost Florida students an additional $936 per loan, per year. Republicans and Democrats could agree to a plan after the deadline and lower the rate retroactively. Meanwhile, lobbying groups and education associations are up in arms.

Related article:
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54308/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=11d240be9cdb45eaba30485193a71b22&elqCampaignId=33#
Student Loan Rates Set to Double

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/01/court-ruling-may-help-gay-employees-partners-states-without-marriage-equity#ixzz2XmtK1SXm
Shift in Fight on Partner Benefits
By Scott Jaschik
A federal judge has ordered Michigan to stop enforcing a law that has barred community colleges and many other government agencies (though not universities) from providing any benefits to the same-sex partners of employees. While the ruling is only an injunction, Judge David Lawson used strong language in suggesting that he will soon throw out the law for good.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/01/wake-supreme-court-ruling-college-groups-issue-statement-diversity#ixzz2XmtdFEZ8
A Statement for Diversity
By Scott Jaschik
WASHINGTON — Thirty-seven college associations on Sunday issued a joint statement on the importance of diversity in American higher education. “A diverse student body enables all students to have the transformational experience of interacting with their peers who have varied perspectives and come from different backgrounds. These experiences, which are highly valued by employers because of their importance in the workplace, also prepare students with the skills they need to live in an interconnected world and to be more engaged citizens.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54312/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=11d240be9cdb45eaba30485193a71b22&elqCampaignId=33#
Educators Discuss Creating an Inclusive Environment for LGBTQ Students
by Lydia Lum
SAN FRANCISCO—While serving on a search committee for a new vice president for diversity and inclusion at Kent State University, Dr. Molly Merryman began inquiring about the absence of campus space set aside for gay and lesbian students. After all, students of color already had designated spaces and centers. Before long, a university official offered Merryman an unused room for an LGBTQ student center that was established in 2010. …Merryman’s remarks came last week during the annual summer institute, “Expanding the Circle: Creating an Inclusive Environment in Higher Education for LGBTQ Students and Studies.” Educators from more than 60 colleges and universities nationally attended the event, held at the California Institute of Integral Studies, a stand-alone graduate school offering comparative and cross-cultural studies in philosophy, cultural anthropology, health and other disciplines.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/07/01/watered-down-mooc-bill-becomes-law-florida
‘Watered Down’ MOOC Bill Becomes Law In Florida
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law last week to encourage the state’s K-12 and higher education systems to use massive open online courses, or MOOCs. The law has narrower scope than early versions of the bill but its critics remain deeply concerned. An earlier proposal could have allowed anyone to create and seek “Florida-accredited” status for courses that Florida’s public colleges and universities would have to granted credit for.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/01/kenyon-college-student-killed-egypt#ixzz2XmtTdsjY
Tragedy in Egypt
By Scott Jaschik
Andrew Pochter, a Kenyon College student, was killed Friday while observing a protest in Alexandria, Egypt. The stabbing death of the idealistic student, who was on a summer internship in which he was teaching English to children, has shaken many at Kenyon and drawn attention to safety issues facing American students in Egypt. He was reportedly watching, but not participating in, a protest when he was attacked. On Friday, the U.S. State Department urged Americans to “defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest.”

www.nytimes.com

U.S. Student Killed in Egypt Protest Was Drawn to a Region in Upheaval
By RAVI SOMAIYA and ERIN BANCO
The American student who was killed in Egypt on Friday during street protests in Alexandria was an idealist, an Arabist and a linguist, drawn to the Middle East despite — or perhaps even because of — its political unrest, friends said. The American, Andrew Pochter, 21, a student at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, was exuberant when he departed for Egypt on May 28 for a three-month visit, said a friend, Zoe Lyon. The prospect of being in a country riven by political and religious conflict seemed to hold no fears for him, Ms. Lyon said. Like many other young people drawn to the world’s problems, she said, “he knew there was a possibility of trouble, but never thought that he could get caught up in it.” “I am not shocked he was at a protest,” she said.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54310/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=11d240be9cdb45eaba30485193a71b22&elqCampaignId=33#
Texas A&M Chancellor Review Held in Private, Records Not Made Public
by Associated Press
COLLEGE STATION, Texas—The Texas A&M University System chancellor’s annual review takes place behind closed doors and without written records made available to the public, according to a newspaper report. The Eagle newspaper in Bryan-College Station reported that John Sharp has received one evaluation since becoming the leader of the A&M system in 2011. Sharp met with 10 A&M regents in private. But the university system did not release any paperwork in response to an open records request by the newspaper. Officials at all six of Texas’ university systems said their chancellors are reviewed each year in closed meetings.

www.boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode-island/2013/06/29/ups-and-downs-retiring-ohio-state-president/M0QjfzgoZWNIJxHMUd9AmM/story.html
Ups and downs of retiring Ohio State president
By The Associated Press
Gordon Gee retires Monday after six years as Ohio State University’s president — his second stint at the university — and 32 years as a president of five major universities: West Virginia University, the University of Colorado, Ohio State, Brown and Vanderbilt. Some of the highlights and lowlights of his tenure:

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2013/06/30/crazy-ants-south/2446941/
‘Crazy ants’ invade Southern states, altering ecosystem
Lindsay Friedman, USA TODAY
America’s ecosystem is under siege as the “crazy ant” invades the South and displaces other species, including the fire ant. If you’re in Texas, Florida or other Southern states this summer, watch out for “crazy ants,” warns Edward LeBrun, a University of Texas research associate who studies the species. Also known to scientists as Nylanderia fulva, they’re called crazy because of their unpredictable movements and swarming populations. The bug is reddish-brown, about an eighth of an inch long and has a hankering for honey dew — with a side of electronics. The insects nest anywhere and are easily transported, but so far have mostly infested Texas and several Southern states after being inadvertently transported from South America by humans.