University System News

USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-archives-looks-ahead-as-it-expands-hours-s/nY5QM/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Georgia Archives looks ahead as it expands hours, staff
BY KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
On the doorstep to being closed less than a year ago, the Georgia Archives celebrated a milestone this month when for the first time it began operations under the University System of Georgia. But while the management change has brought some immediate relief — including a three-position hiring spree after several years of layoffs and plans to extend hours beginning Wednesday — the depository for the state’s official government records now faces a broader challenge:

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/07/28/2579287/new-fvsu-president-takes-the-helm.html
New FVSU president takes the helm
By JENNA MINK — jmink@macon.com
FORT VALLEY — Some would describe Ivelaw Griffith as a workaholic. At least, that’s how the new president of Fort Valley State University describes himself. It’s one reason for his success in higher education, including his recent appointment as the university’s president. …His initial goals for FVSU include increasing enrollment and setting the stage for program innovation and budget efficiency.

Related articles:
www.41nbc.com
FVSU New President Unveils ‘Global Concept’ on First Day in Office
http://www.41nbc.com/news/local-news/25659-fvsu-new-president-unveils-global-concept-on-first-day-in-office

www.13wmaz.com
Fort Valley State University Welcomes New President
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/239971/153/Fort-Valley-State-University-Welcomes–New-President

GOOD NEWS:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2013/07/georgia-gwinnett-college-to-begin.html
Georgia Gwinnett College to begin nursing program
Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor
The Georgia Board of Nursing has approved the development of a degree program in nursing at Georgia Gwinnett College.
The school announced the board’s approval on Thursday, reports the Gwinnett Daily Post. The program previously was approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, the paper said.

www.dailyreportonline.com
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1202612307033&kw=GSU%20Law%20Ready%20To%20Break%20Ground&et=editorial&bu=Daily%20Report&cn=20130725&src=EMC-Email&pt=Morning%20News&slreturn=20130629100803
New GSU Law School Ready To Break Ground
$82.5 million building will be state-of-the-art, offer room to adapt to changes in legal education, says dean
By Meredith Hobbs
Georgia State University has set a date, Sept. 12, to break ground for its long-anticipated new law school building, said the dean of GSU’s College of Law, Steven Kaminshine. The state-of-the-art building responds to the rapidly changing field of legal education, Kaminshine said, with a design that promotes collaborative and experiential learning and makes the law school more of a community center.

www.13wmaz.com
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=238705
FVSU to Hold Information Session to Recruit Military Veterans
Austin Lewis
Fort Valley State University is looking give veterans a hand when it comes to higher education. The school is holding an information session to talk about financial aid, academic opportunities, and even study tips for military veterans looking to hit the books again.

USG VALUE:
www.times-herald.com
http://www.times-herald.com/business/2010728-SBDC-customer-experience
New Program Focuses On Customer Experience
by CLAY NEELY
The Georgia Small Business Development Center is introducing a new program in hopes of helping small businesses to combat the common problem of poor customer experiences. …The SBDC is a Public Service & Outreach Unit of The University of Georgia and whose mission is to enhance the economic well-being of Georgians by providing a wide range of educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Their numerous chapters include The University of West Georgia, Georgia State University, Clayton State University, The University of Georgia, Valdosta State University and Georgia Southern University.

www.lilburn.patch.com
http://lilburn.patch.com/groups/schools/p/georgia-gwinnett-college-collaborates-with-lilburns-kosovo-efforts
Georgia Gwinnett College Collaborates with Lilburn’s Kosovo Efforts
Georgia Gwinnett College hopes to keep the international relationship going strong.
Posted by Joy L. Woodson
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is collaborating with a new Sister Cities effort between Lilburn and City of Suhareka in Kosovo. Recently, GGC hosted a meeting between representatives from Lilburn and Suhareka to discuss how the college can be involved. Sister Cities International is program that focuses on the exchange of culture through “citizen diplomacy.”

RESEARCH:
www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/news/article_4d6ec434-f71f-11e2-89de-001a4bcf6878.html
Rise in labor force increases Carroll unemployment rate
Winston Jones/Times-Georgian
Carroll County’s jobless rate climbed back into double digits during June, likely due to summer layoffs and college graduates flooding the job market, according to a University of West Georgia economics professor. …“It’s not surprising to see the rate bounce up this time of year, but it’s disappointing, because with a stronger economy, we would have absorbed these people coming into the labor force,” said Dr. Joey Smith, director of the UWG Center for Business and Economic Research. “Our county residents are not finding jobs as quickly as they did in the past.”

www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-were-all-going-to-be-using-wearable-technology-2013-7#ixzz2aQh5Bylt
How We’re All Going To Be Using Wearable Technology
MONTY MUNFORD, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
This week Motorola Mobility (aka Google) announced that it would be hiring a Director for Wearable Technology, following the company’s announcement earlier this year that it was ‘profoundly interested in wearables’. The firm even unveiled a ‘tattoo’ that was electronically authenticated. …Motorola is just part of the new wave of portable technology that goes way beyond tattoos and mobiles. There are large research groups involved in this field including Georgia Tech, MIT, ETH Zurich, University of Oregon, Carnegie Mellon University, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung and the aforesaid Google.

www.zdnet.com
http://www.zdnet.com/towards-a-blended-reality-interview-with-augmented-reality-pioneer-thad-sterner-7000018627/
Towards a Blended Reality: Interview with augmented reality pioneer Thad Sterner
Summary: Technologies such as Google Glass and 3D printers are beginning to bend and blend our experience of physical and digital realities…
By Tom Foremski
I’ve been thinking about a recent conversation with Matthew Greeley, CEO of BrightIdea. He had a great take on 3D printers. He pointed out that when the time between thinking something up, and then physically having it – shrinks towards nothing – as with future 3D printers, our reality becomes less distinguishable from living in a digital reality, the Singularity. …I found an interview (above) of Nikola Danaylov talking with Thad Starner, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and technical lead for Google Glass. He coined the term “augmented reality” and is a pioneer in wearable computing.

www.slashdot.org
http://slashdot.org/topic/datacenter/building-superfast-networks-by-stopping-light/
Building Superfast Networks by Stopping Light
by Kevin Fogarty
Researchers in Germany have set a new record in a process that could make it possible to not only build super-powerful quantum computers, but to connect them to high-speed, high-capacity quantum networks. Quantum computers store data based on the quantum state of individual atoms, which is a great way to move data through circuitry within one processor or motherboard… Earlier this year, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology stopped a beam of light for 16 seconds, though they admitted that it could only be possible to build quantum information networks spanning continents if they could store light for timespans measured in minutes rather than seconds.

www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/07/beltlines-public-safety-upgrades-first-suggested-in-2007-report-from-georgia-tech/
BeltLine’s public safety upgrades first suggested in 2007 report from Tech’s Center for Quality Growth
Posted in David Pendered
Atlanta’s response to crime along the Atlanta BeltLine is unfolding almost exactly as recommended in a health impact assessment completed in 2007 by a research team guided by Georgia Tech professor Catherine Ross. The city has formed a police team to patrol BeltLine’s greenspaces; worked with Trees Atlanta to trim vegetation; improved lighting; and installed markers to help users identify their location. All the efforts address this one statement in Ross’ report: “Users might avoid the BeltLine if it is perceived as being ‘unsafe,’ …”

www.npr.org
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=206563273
Scientists Collect Water Near Site Of Blown Well
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO (AP) — Scientists from several universities are working to learn whether a gas well that blew wild last week off the Louisiana coast is polluting the Gulf of Mexico. Joseph Montoya, a biology professor with Georgia Tech, was performing tests aboard a vessel near the site of the 2010 BP oil spill when the Hercules 265 well blew Tuesday and caught fire. All 44 people on the rig were evacuated and not hurt.

Related article:
www.sfgate.com
Scientists collect water near site of blown well
http://www.sfgate.com/news/texas/article/Scientists-collect-water-near-site-of-blown-well-4692887.php

www.onlineathensc.om
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-07-26/game-demonstrates-different-georgia-tax-rates
Game demonstrates different Georgia tax rates
By WALTER C. JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA — Advocates for repealing the state income tax hope to convince others with an online game unveiled recently. Players on www.TaxReformTheGame.com can manipulate the various Georgia taxes to see which mix they favor for getting the same amount of revenue into state coffers. Of course, many will favor lower revenue, but there is no component to allow them to decide where the government should cut spending. Its focus is ending the income tax and broadening the sales tax. “This is designed to educate a large number of legislators and to get many, many people talking about it,” said Christine Ries, an economics professor at Georgia Tech who created the game.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.jacksonville.com
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2013-07-27/story/savannah-aerospace-supplier-hot-spot
Savannah: Aerospace supplier hot spot
By Adam Van Brimmer
SAVANNAH, GA. | The Lowcountry coastline has become as popular with aircraft manufacturers as sunbathers and retirees.
Stretching from Boeing’s 4-year-old Dreamliner plant in Charleston, S.C., south to Gulfstream’s facilities in Savannah and Brunswick and on to Brazilian firm Embraer’s new military fighter production center in Jacksonville, the coast can claim aerospace capital of the South status. And Savannah Economic Development Authority officials are intent on making Savannah the aerospace supplier capital of the corridor.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jul/29/location-location-location/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
For poor children, metro Atlanta holds lousy odds of success
Few long-time education watchers in Georgia will be surprised that children from poor families stand a better chance of attaining middle-class status in Seattle than metro Atlanta. Despite all the rhetoric, the state continues to downplay the importance of shoring up an education system that has never been first-rate. And it doesn’t look like that is about to change any time soon.

Education News
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/uncertainty-follows-decision-not-to-offer-common-c/nY424/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Uncertainty follows decision not to offer Common Core test
BY WAYNE WASHINGTON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Georgia education officials aren’t sure what tests students will take in 2014-2015 now that state leaders have rejected a new test tied to the controversial set of national education standards called Common Core. Citing cost concerns, Gov. Nathan Deal and Superintendent John Barge decided last week that Georgia students wouldn’t take a Common Core test being developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, a consortium of states that once included Georgia.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323971204578626472581362136.html
The New Student-Loan Math
The Senate plan keeps costs down for current students—but means future students could pay a whole lot more when rates go higher.
By KAREN BLUMENTHAL
Congress is close to tying student-loan interest rates to current market rates, which would reduce borrowing costs for college students this year—but could be costly to future scholars. Under the plan passed Wednesday by the Senate and still subject to approval by the House of Representatives, undergraduate students this coming school year would pay 3.86% interest on all federal Stafford loans.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/some-colleges-recruit-students-who-have-already-accepted-offers-elsewhere#ixzz2aQZZRVjq
The Hard (and Late) Sell
By Scott Jaschik
Students who earn good grades in high school, or who score well on standardized tests, get used to the barrage of pitches from colleges that want them to apply. But in theory, after May 1 of senior year, when the student has turned in a deposit to enroll at a specific college in the fall, the pitches should end.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Many-Faces-of-the-Freshman/140543/?cid=at
The Many Faces of the Freshman Seminar
Their unique topics make them both popular and flawed
By Dan Berrett
Richmond, Va.
Pick a problem related to learning in higher education and you will hear a common refrain: A seminar can fix it. Freshmen fail to come back for their sophomore year? A seminar, advocates say, can keep them engaged and enrolled. Study habits, writing, or critical-thinking skills not up to par? A seminar can bolster them. …Now, as concerns mount about academic rigor, colleges are increasingly turning to seminars.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/career-education-corp-expands-major-adaptive-learning-experiment#ixzz2aQZGbW4i
New Player in Adaptive Learning
By Paul Fain
Career Education Corp. has begun one of higher education’s broadest experiments with adaptive learning. Institutions in the for-profit chain have powered more than 300 online course sections with the emerging technology, and enrollments in those courses have topped 11,000 students. Broadly defined, adaptive learning is the use of data-driven tools to design coursework that responds to individual students’ abilities.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/settlement-favoring-transgender-student-has-implications-higher-ed#ixzz2aQZmGmP8
Equal Access at All Levels
By Allie Grasgreen
Last week’s settlement between the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights and a California school district may have been issued at the K-12 level, but the newly clear message that federal laws prohibit discrimination based on gender identity applies to colleges too, experts say.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/penn-state-announces-new-health-insurance-surcharges-smokers-others#ixzz2aQZ7Y6Uk
Do You Smoke? Pay $75 a Month
By Colleen Flaherty
First Pennsylvania State University made employees verify that their children were in fact their own and their marriages were real to continue receiving health care benefits. Next, it announced that employees who didn’t submit to a biometric screening by fall, and annually, would have to pay a $100 monthly insurance surcharge. So last week, when Penn State announced it was instituting a $75 monthly surcharge for smokers, and an additional $100 surcharge for coverage for spouses and domestic partners eligible for insurance through their own jobs, some faculty took it as proof that their benefits were under attack.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/29/u-california-board-regents-adopts-new-measure-academic-freedom#ixzz2aQZPSCwv
The Right to Speak Out
By Scott Jaschik
The right of faculty members to speak out on matters affecting their colleges and universities has long been viewed as central to the way academic freedom and shared governance are supposed to work in American higher education. The University of California Board of Regents affirmed that right this month with an amendment to the system’s “Statement on the Professional Rights of Faculty.”

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Campus-Tours-Are-Revving-Up/140577/
The Campus Tour: No Longer Only a Stroll Around the Grounds
In the name of comfort and saving time, some colleges are putting visitors on wheels
By Eric Hoover
People complain when their feet get sore, the University of North Texas has learned. For years, when visitors were asked what they disliked about the campus tour, the resounding answer was: all that walking. Parents didn’t like trekking around in the heat, and they weren’t too keen on the cold either. There had to be a better way, North Texas officials decided, to show off their 884-acre campus. …Now the tour has two parts: Guests walk through the heart of the campus, and a tram takes them around the perimeter, stopping several times along the way.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Researchers-Get-Lessons-in/140573/
Researchers Get Lessons in Transparency From Medical Industry
By Paul Basken
For years, doctors and academic researchers have complained about the medical industry’s hiding and manipulation of data from human medical trials, with harmful and even deadly consequences for untold numbers of patients worldwide. …Now, some major companies are starting to turn it around. The medical-technology company Medtronic just paid university scientists to review all records of its human testing of Infuse, a bone-growth protein.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54882/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=6b57908a81604e10b2ef15436d8c85d1&elqCampaignId=33#
Black Women Willing to Participate in Medical Research, Survey Finds
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
New insights could be gained about health issues that affect Black women if researchers actively sought out more Black women to participate in medical studies. That’s one of the conclusions being drawn from a new survey being released today by the Mayo Clinic that suggests Black women are willing to participate in medical research, but many are not being asked to.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/07/29/nc-ends-raises-teachers-masters-degrees
N.C. Ends Raises for Teachers With Master’s Degrees
Legislation signed into law Friday would end the practice in North Carolina of awarding raises to public school teachers who earn master’s degrees, The Wall Street Journal reported.