University System News
USG NEWS:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/2013-07-04/ocean-research-center-near-savannah-joins-uga
Ocean research center near Savannah joins with UGA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The state’s 46-year-old marine sciences research center near Savannah is now part of the University of Georgia. Campus officials say the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, founded in 1967, has completed a merger that places it under UGA’s administration. The 700-acre campus on Skidaway Island operated independently within the state University System for more than four decades. The Board of Regents ordered the merger in January as part of a system-wide effort to streamline operations. The merger officially took effect at the start of July.
Related article:
www.gpb.org
Skidaway-UGA Merger Complete
http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/07/04/skidaway-uga-merger-complete
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54397/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=55db773e59914d33837060372cbf4bbc&elqCampaignId=36
New Teaching Standards May Threaten HBCU Education Programs
by B. Denise Hawkins
Nearly 40 years ago, Savannah State University (then Savannah State College) had a large, thriving, nationally accredited school of education until a state of Georgia desegregation order required a swap. Considered “duplicated programs,” the plan called for historically Black Savannah State to exchange teacher education for business administration at the traditionally White Armstrong Atlantic University (then Armstrong State College). That was in 1979. By next fall, Savannah State expects to have a new school of education up and running. For the past three years, Dr. Elazer J. Barnette, the person responsible for its launch, has been securing full-time faculty and readying students eager to enroll in the STEM-based teacher preparation program that will offer biology and math with a concentration in secondary education. …But for now, says Barnette, ensuring that the school of education is ready in 2014 to meet the rigors of a new set of national standards for teacher preparation and accreditation is at the heart of his efforts.
www.jbhe.com
Fort Valley State University Names Its Next President
Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith was named the ninth president of Fort Valley State University, the historically Black educational institution in Georgia. He will take office on July 22.
www.times-herald.com
http://www.times-herald.com/local/581282-20130703_New-UWG-President-Starts-SQ
Marrero Starts New Job As West Georgia President
by CELIA SHORTT
Dr. Kyle Marrero started his job Monday as the new president of Carrollton-based University of West Georgia. “It’s been a great day,” said Marrero. Marrero comes to UWG following Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna’s 19 years as president of the university. “I’m following in the footsteps of an exceptional leader, visionary, and scholar: Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, Marrero said. “Dr. Sethna and the outstanding faculty and staff have achieved so much. These are indeed exciting times for UWG.”
www.peachpundit.com
http://www.peachpundit.com/2013/07/03/georgia-board-of-regents-settle-lawsuit-over-the-monument-to-themselves/
Georgia Board Of Regents Settle Lawsuit Over The Monument To Themselves
by NATHAN
The Georgia Board of Regents were sued in September last year over their decision to immortalize themselves by renaming the combined Augusta State University and Medical College of Georgia to Georgia Regents University. The only problem is, Pat Robertson wasn’t too keen on their new name since it was very similar to his own Regents University in Virginia. Good news for the Regents and their own university. A settlement has been reached and a statement issued by Chancellor Hank Huckaby praising the settlement.
USG VALUE:
www.times-herald.com
http://www.times-herald.com/closeup/574858-20130703HEALTHcamp-counselor-SQ
College Student Counselor At Special-Needs Camp
When University of West Georgia student Lindsey Crook volunteered to spend a week as a camp counselor for special needs youth, she had no idea what impact it would have on her own life. …Crook, who lives near Sharpsburg, said she will be returning next year for the full six weeks.
www.forsythnews.com
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/3/article/18920/
23 from Forsyth take part in Legion program
Offering serves as civics lesson
By Crystal Ledford
Several Forsyth County high school students recently spent a week getting a first-hand education about government. Fifteen boys and eight girls took part in the American Legion’s annual Boys State and Girls State programs June 9-15. Held each summer at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, the programs provide a weeklong, hands-on civics lesson to the students. …The students chosen to participate in both programs are rising seniors with a grade-point average of at least 3.0 who have shown strong leadership and community service skills.
RESEARCH:
www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/business/article_951aabac-e37b-11e2-bd48-0019bb30f31a.html
Economic report: Housing, job growth show steady gains
Winston Jones/Times-Georgian
The West Georgia region has experienced both positive and negative economic news over the past few months, with employment and housing continuing to show steady gains, according to a report released this week by the Center for Business and Economic Research at University of West Georgia.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/ugalife/adolescent-obesity-both-nature-and-nurture/article_2912b1cc-e473-11e2-95e8-0019bb30f31a.html
Adolescent obesity: Both nature and nurture
Laura James
Research shows that both genes and environmental factors contribute to the increased risk of obesity in adolescents. A study done by University of Georgia researchers Catherine O’Neal and Kandauda Wickrama in the Journal of Adolescent Health shows that community adversity is a big factor of obesity. The researchers looked at data from a 13-year period collected by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to determine genetic makeup and community risks.
www.atlantadailyworld.com
http://www.atlantadailyworld.com/201307037198/Featured/university-of-georgia-study-finds-low-civic-involvement-in-georgia
University of Georgia Study Finds Low Civic Involvement in Georgia
BY CHARLOTTE ROY, ADW MANAGING EDITOR
A new study that experts agree has “created a lot more questions than answers” says Georgia has one of the nation’s lowest levels of civic involvement in activities such as voting and volunteering. The University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government headed the project with several partner organizations to measure how much the state’s citizens participate in their communities.
Related article:
www.redandblack.com
Georgia civic participation low, Athens rises above the rest
http://www.redandblack.com/ugalife/georgia-civic-participation-low-athens-rises-above-the-rest/article_1536d59a-e36d-11e2-91d0-0019bb30f31a.html
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/story/printer/Friday-Editorial-7-5
Investment worthwhile for community leaders
If there is anything this community could use more of, its partnerships — partnerships between governments, the private sector and community in general. It makes carrying the load easier, lighter, and, more often than not, more efficient and worthwhile. Just recently, for example, the Glynn County Board of Education announced that College of Coastal Georgia will open its facilities to the school system’s night high school program. Up until now, classes in the nontraditional diploma track program have been held at Golden Isles Career Academy. That has posed somewhat of a transportation problem to young teens who might otherwise go down in the books as dropouts. Moving the program to the college might even ensure its longevity by allowing the school system to keep costs down.
www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/23052069/article-Common-Core-math-textbook-issue-continues-to-stir-discussion?instance=lead_story_left_column
Common Core math textbook issue continues to stir discussion
Don McKee
Concern about whether the Cobb school board should use Common Core textbooks or choose another option continues to stir discussion. Following is some of the feedback after this column ran comments from a “Concerned Educator in Cobb” emphasizing the need for an up-to-date mathematics textbook versus Chairman Randy Scamihorn’s focus on greater use of online resources. (Among other things, the educator suggested the school board go back to the classroom and give the lesson for the day.)
Education News
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/05/one-mooc-professor-wont-let-students-know-right-answers
No Right Answers
By Ry Rivard
Some students taking free classes from Coursera may never know the right answers.
A University of Michigan professor teaching one of the company’s massive open online courses, or MOOCs, told students this week he could not provide them with correct answers to questions they get wrong because doing so would reduce efficiency. The professor’s decision is prompting additional questions by critics of MOOCs about their ability to provide quality teaching.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/05/accreditor-votes-shut-down-san-franciscos-community-college-1-year
Mammoth 2-Year College to Lose Accreditation
By Paul Fain
City College of San Francisco will lose its accreditation in one year and be shut down, its regional accreditor announced on Wednesday, unless the college can prevail in a review or appeal process with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The two-year college, which enrolls 85,000 students, would be the largest institution ever to lose its accreditation. Without regional accreditation it would no longer receive state funding and would certainly close its doors.
Related article:
www.chronicle.com
City College of San Francisco Is Told It Will Lose Accreditation in 2014
http://chronicle.com/article/City-College-of-San-Francisco/140133/
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/05/colleges-consider-how-delay-employer-insurance-rule-will-impact-plans-cap-adjuncts
No Rush to Restore Adjunct Hours
By Colleen Flaherty
In many ways, the White House’s surprise announcement that it would delay the employer mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act by one year, until January 2015, is good news for colleges and universities struggling to figure out just who will be covered under the law. It gives institutions more time to decide how they’ll count adjunct instructors, whose credit hour-based schedules don’t fit neatly into the law’s existing metrics for qualifying for coverage. And while the announcement could lead to good news for adjuncts who have had their hours limited by colleges worried about the new provision taking effect, there was little celebration Wednesday.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/05/british-universities-see-parents-targets-admissions-and-fund-raising
Trying to Influence the Mums
British universities start to focus on parents — to recruit students and to solicit gifts.
By Chris Parr for Times Higher Education
In days past, parents in Britain were often uninterested bystanders when it came to decisions about where their children would go to university. Now they are so important that student recruitment advertising is targeting them directly. Online forum and social media network the Student Room has partnered with Mumsnet, the online forum for parents, to allow universities to aim advertising directly at parents and their children at the same time.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/07/05/u-california-abandons-large-hike-graduate-tuition
U. of California Abandons Large Hike in Graduate Tuition
The University of California has abandoned plans for large, widespread increases in graduate and professional school tuition, The Los Angeles Times reported. The original plan would have resulted in major increases for about 14,000 students. Now only about 800 students, primarily in nursing, will be affected.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/07/05/education-department-stands-firm-plus-criteria
Education Department Stands Firm on PLUS Criteria
WASHINGTON — After protests from historically black colleges that new underwriting standards for Parent PLUS loans have hurt their institutions, the Education Department has told colleges it will simplify the appeals process for students who are denied loans but stands by its new criteria.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54389/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=55db773e59914d33837060372cbf4bbc&elqCampaignId=36
Study: Black-White Achievement Gap Has ‘Political Foundations’
by Ronald Roach
In a newly-published political science journal article, a Baylor University professor and a Notre Dame graduate student report that state policymaker attention to teacher quality tends to be highly responsive to low high school graduation rates among White students, but not so in reaction to low graduation rates among African-American students. In addition, the study seeks to uncover “a possible mechanism behind this unequal responsiveness by examining the factors that motivate White public opinion about education reform and [finds] racial influences there as well.” …The researchers claim that, since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision, education inequality persists even under U.S. education reform.
Related article:
www.jbhe.com
Inaction by Policymakers Adds to the Black-White Educational Achievement Gap
Inaction by Policymakers Adds to the Black-White Educational Achievement Gap