University System News
USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/ghana-president-visits-kennesaw-state-university/nbBxY/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Ghana president visits Kennesaw State University
By Wayne Washington – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama addressed students, faculty and staff at Kennesaw State University Monday, the first such visit by a sitting head of state in the school’s 50-year history. Before an audience of 600 at KSU’s Bailey and Family Performance Center, Mahama said economic and political conditions are improving in Africa. … The Ghanaian president was in the United States to address the United Nations’ General Assembly and flew to Georgia at the invitation of KSU President Daniel Papp.
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/lifestyles/october-is-georgia-archives-month/nZzKK/
October is Georgia Archives Month
By Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.
For the AJC
October has been proclaimed Georgia Archives Month by Gov. Nathan Deal. The observance, which spotlights the various archives, special collections and libraries around the state, is sponsored by the Society of Georgia Archivists. … Georgia State University archives
The Georgia Archives Lunch and Learn program for Oct. 11 will feature the staff of Georgia State University’s Archives and Special Collections discussing the school’s valuable and expanding collection.
www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/53696/
Sanders contributes to 2 GSU art collections
Her work, another she owns add to namesake department
By Al Hackle
Behind her, the dancing Cherokee boy that Betty Foy Sanders painted about 40 years ago appeared to be in constant motion, as was she, during Saturday’s unveiling. Sanders, 87, sat in a wheelchair but explained that this was her first time using it, at a doctor’s insistence, for a public ceremony that might have kept her on her feet. In front of faculty of the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, surrounded by the collection that also bears her name, she used a strong voice and active hands to talk about her continuing contributions, direct and indirect, to art at Georgia Southern University.
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/hometown-hero-professors-shows-that-architecture-i/nZ94H/
Hometown Hero: Professors shows that architecture is more than buildings
By Bill Hendrick – For the AJC
The Confederate soldiers who occupied what’s now the hills and valleys of the manicured Georgia Tech campus could never have dreamed that 150 years later their forts, camps and footpaths would be studied by students in one of Laura Hollengreen’s architecture classes. Her students didn’t know at first that she would have them build a Civil War exhibit called “Surface and Depth” that has filled Tech’s Clough gallery since Aug. 19 and will stay up through Oct. 18.
www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/09/award-winning-architecture-from-around-world-vastly-different-from-atlantas-icons/
Award-winning architecture from around world vastly different from Atlanta’s iconic
By David Pendered
Georgia Tech has opened an exhibit that offers an alternative perspective to the spectacular architecture that’s so popular among metro Atlanta’s civic leaders. The structures shown in the exhibit whisper, “less is more.” In Atlanta, it sometimes seems that “’more’ is not enough,” as the word “iconic” is attached to future projects ranging from retrofitted bridges over the Downtown Connector to the Falcons stadium.
www.11alive.com
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/308221/40/Guess-whos-getting-your-money–A-list-of-the-highest-paid-public-officials
Highest paid public officials in Georgia
Rebecca Lindstrom
You can spin the wheel in the game of life, but to land on this list of top money makers, choose your career wisely. There’s sports. We all know college coaches score financial touchdowns. Mark Richt, the head football coach for UGA reportedly made $2.8 million in 2012. Paul Johnson, the head football coach for Georgia Tech made $2.4 million. … So we called, wrote and searched government at every level to find out who was really getting your tax dollars. Almost everyone on the top 100 highest paid public officials, even after you take out sports coaches, are part of the Georgia’s University system.
GOOD NEWS:
www.theatlantic.com
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/georgia-state-improved-its-graduation-rate-by-22-points-in-10-years/279909/
Georgia State Improved Its Graduation Rate by 22 Points in 10 Years
How? Largely by finding inexpensive ways to help struggling students.
Sophie Quinton
Georgia State has boosted its graduation rate by 22 points over the past decade, even though state spending per student has shrunk and the student population has grown poorer and more diverse. The university has found low-cost ways to give students more one-on-one attention, ranging from age-old peer tutoring programs to new data analysis.
www.georgiatrend.com
http://www.georgiatrend.com/October-2013/2013-Forty-Under-Forty/
2013 Forty Under Forty
Edited By Susan Percy
For the 17th year, Georgia Trend presents a group of 40 outstanding Georgians under the age of 40. The honorees represent business, government, politics, nonprofits, science, conservation and education. …Austin Dickson, 33, Executive Director, Literacy Action, Atlanta: Since he took charge of Georgia’s oldest and largest nonprofit provider of adult basic education last fall, Dickson has increased revenues by 53 percent while helping students age 16 and up learn reading, writing and mathemetics. …Dickson, who holds master’s degrees from Emory, Georgia Tech and The University of Edinburgh, also teaches philosophy at Clayton State, with a practical bent. … Todd McDevitt, 38, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Director of Stem Cell Engineering Center, Georgia Tech,
USG VALUE:
www.northfulton.com
http://www.northfulton.com/Articles-EDUCATION-c-2013-09-30-200809.114126-sub-Local-students-accepted-to-Advanced-Academy-of-Georgia.html
Local students accepted to Advanced Academy of Georgia
by Staff Reports
CARROLLTON, Ga. – Four local high school students were recently accepted to the Advanced Academy of Georgia located on the campus of the University of West Georgia. … The Advanced Academy of Georgia is a residential, early entrance to college program at UWG for highly gifted and motivated high school students. The program was the first of its kind in Georgia.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-09-30/sea-grant-uga-help-communities-plan-future
Sea Grant, UGA help communities plan for future
By UGA News Service
Georgia Sea Grant, a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, and North Carolina Sea Grant are launching a project to help St. Marys and Hyde County, N.C., plan for sea level rise, increased coastal flooding and intensified storm surges.
www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/53682/
Expanding in downtown
GSU City Campus to open ‘fab lab’
By Al Hackle
If all goes as planned, in about a year downtown Statesboro should be home to a “fab lab” where cutting-edge technology such as 3-D printing will help birth not just new businesses, but new ideas. The fab lab and innovation incubator are core features of Georgia Southern University’s expansion of its City Campus. This summer, the university, the city of Statesboro, the GSU Research and Service Foundation and the Statesboro Arts Council together applied for a $1 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant for renovations to City Campus and Entrepreneur Zone buildings.
RESEARCH:
www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/sep/28/congressional-staffers-tour-uga-tifton-campus/
Congressional staffers tour UGA Tifton campus
By Chris Beckham
TIFTON — A group of representatives from key Washington offices toured the University of Georgia Tifton campus recently to hear firsthand from College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ top scientists about research being conducted and exciting possibilities that lie ahead.
www.nbcnews.com
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/more-human-human-people-prefer-robots-look-them-8C11299331
More human than human: People prefer robots that look like them
Nidhi Subbaraman NBC News
…But if you didn’t know anything about them, your first inclination may be to trust androids that appear human more — based on looks alone. So says a new study that adds to mounting evidence that humans are superficial and judgmental creatures, quick to draw conclusions about the abilities of robots based heavily on how human the machines look. At Georgia Tech, two group of adults — 32 men and women between 18 and 23, and 32 between the age of 75 and 85 — were asked to pick the kind of face they’d most prefer on a hypothetical robotic companion. Four of the options included famous androids: Nexi, Kobian, Pearl and Nao. Four were images of regular people, and the last four options were cyborg mashups dreamed up in Photoshop.
www.todaysengineer.org
http://www.todaysengineer.org/2013/Sep/wtd.asp
Tech News Digest
Compiled By IEEE-USA Staff
The following is a roundup of technology-related news and notable developments with a focus on electrical engineering, computing and information technology and allied fields reported during August 2013. Items are excerpted from news releases generated by universities, government agencies and other research institutions… Signature Capture Device Uses Tiny LEDs Created with Piezo-Phototronic Effect. Using thousands of nanometer-scale wires, researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a sensor device that converts mechanical pressure – from a signature or a fingerprint – directly into light signals that can be captured and processed optically.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2013/09/30/ut-researcher-gets-66m-to-study.html
UT researcher gets $6.6M to study heart disease cure
Chad Swiatecki
Staff Writer- Austin Business Journal
University of Texas professor Michael Sacks has received a $6.6 million grant from the National Institute of Health to conduct research into the functioning of the heart’s mitral valves and how they can be better repaired during surgery. Sacks is the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Simulation and it’s hoped that his computer modeling will lead to longer-lasting fixes for malfunctioning mitral valves, which regulates blood flow from the heart’s left atrium. Positive results would mean fewer complications for the 40,000 Americans who have a valve replaced or repaired each year. The five-year research project will be conducted with faculty from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2013/09/30/varentec-raises-8-million-gates-khosla.html
Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures invest $8 million in Varentec Corp.
Steven E.F. Brown
Web Editor- San Francisco Business Times
Smart grid technology company Varentec Corp. raised $8 million in its second round of venture funding. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) founder Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures gave the money. San Jose-based Varentec has also gotten money from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as from ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. It doesn’t list a CEO on its website, but is led by Deepak Divan, its president and chief technology officer, who started the business with Andrew Dillon and Mehrdad Hamadani. Divan is a former electrical and computer engineering professor from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.politifact.com
http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2013/oct/01/georgia-gun-owners/group-blames-deal-bill-defeat/
The Truth-O-Meter Says:
Group blames Deal for bill defeat
Mostly False
Gov. Nathan Deal has typically received high marks from gun advocacy groups, so we were surprised by a flier one group put together that accused him of derailing pro-gun legislation earlier this year. “Nathan Deal killed pro-gun bills in 2013. Will he do it again in 2014?” the flier read with a photo of the governor. … The fliers were paid for by Georgia Gun Owners, which describes itself on its website as “the ONLY no-compromise, no-sell out grassroots gun organization in the State of Georgia.”
www.tablet.ovliesoftware.com
http://tablet.olivesoftware.com/Olive/Tablet/AtlantaJournalConstitution/SharedArticle.aspx?href=AJC%2F2013%2F09%2F30&id=Ar00104
What a shutdown means for Georgia
Thousands brace for disruptions.
By James Salzer and Daniel Malloy
If the federal government partially shuts down at midnight Tuesday, Tom Scott will be forced to stay home on furlough or come into work unsure when his next paycheck will arrive. “We’re not too happy about it,” said Scott, an engineer technician at Robins Air Force Base. “We are always being put in as a bargaining chip. You have people in D.C. who can’t get their act together. We’re just collateral damage.” Scott is one of more than 77,000 executive branch civilian workers in Georgia who are bracing for severe disruptions in a shutdown, which will have ripple effects for many Georgians.
Related articles:
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Federal government shutdown: Who gets paid, who doesn’t and what’s going to close
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/09/30/2719313/government-shutdown-who-gets.html
www.macon.com
Middle Georgia to feel effects of shutdown
http://www.macon.com/2013/09/30/2694030/government-shutdown-would-affect.html
www.onlineathens.com
Federal shutdown won’t be felt much in Athens, unless it drags
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-09-30/federal-shutdown-wont-be-felt-much-athens-unless-it-drags
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/09/new-report-georgias-economic-future-depends-on-education-now-more-than-ever/
Georgia’s economic future depends on education — now more than ever
By Guest Columnist STEVE DOLINGER, president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
There is a crisis in the South that threatens the region’s economic viability and competitiveness. According to a recent study conducted by Georgetown University, many parts of the South (including Georgia) are trapped in an economic cycle known as the low-wage/low-skill equilibrium. Under this equilibrium, high-skill, high-wage industry lacks the incentive to locate in the region, and incentives for workers to pursue postsecondary education and training are weakened.
www.georgiatrend.com
http://www.georgiatrend.com/October-2013/Economy-Getting-Schooled/
Economy: Getting Schooled
Jeffrey Humphreys
In January, the University System of Georgia created four consolidated institutions from eight existing colleges and universities: Georgia Regents University was created from Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities; Middle Georgia State College was created from Macon State and Middle Georgia colleges; South Georgia State College was created from Waycross and South Georgia colleges; and the University of North Georgia was created from Gainesville State College and North Georgia College & State University. A guiding principle behind the consolidation is to enhance regional economic development.
www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com
Healthcare Where You Are
by Sara Marberry
I love my iPhone. I really do. But I don’t think it’s going to replace my physician. Or his office. What’s astounding, though, is that there are now more than 40,000 health apps that exist across multiple platforms. Many of these apps are simply things like calorie counters or workout logs, but about half of them are related to the healthcare profession, a disease state, or specialty… Every day you can read about something new being developed. Like the Remotoscope—an attachment developed by Georgia Tech and Emory University that clips onto the iPhone and turns it into an otoscope to stick in your ear.
Education News
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/01/study-finds-small-differences-application-costs-can-have-big-impact#ixzz2gTWNJG6I
$6 Can Make a Difference
By Scott Jaschik
In an era when sticker price at some colleges tops $60,000, it may seem odd to think that $6 could make a difference in students’ decisions about the institutions to which they apply. But $6 could in fact make all the difference, suggests a study released Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research (abstract available here).
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Student-Loan-Default-Rates/142009/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Student-Loan Default Rates Continue Steady Climb
By Andy Thomason
Washington
The percentage of borrowers who defaulted on their federal student loans within two years of starting repayment has increased for the sixth year in a row, while the rate for defaults measured over a three-year period rose by a similar amount, according to figures released on Monday by the U.S. Department of Education.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/01/consumer-bureau-issues-initial-findings-college-debit-card-deals#ixzz2gTW2vOGN
Warning on Debit Card Dangers
By Michael Stratford
WASHINGTON — The arrangements between colleges and financial institutions that provide debit cards and checking accounts to students may mirror some of the problems that previously arose with private student loan kickbacks and predatory credit card marketing on campuses, U.S. consumer protection officials said Monday.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/01/study-finds-math-and-science-exposure-has-significant-impact-intent-study-stem#ixzz2gTWUQEtQ
Why Students Study STEM
By Megan Rogers
Exposure to math and science has a bigger impact on students’ intent to major in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field than does math achievement, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Educational Research Journal.
www.ccnewsnow.com
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/young-black-and-latino-men-are-in-fact-going-to-college/?utm_campaign=1001ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ce6fda97708e470e942d1b4a4ea94a6e&elqCampaignId=92
Young Black and Latino Men Are, in Fact, Going to College
Source: The Atlantic
…In his research on achievement by black males in higher education, University of Pennsylvania Prof. Shaun Harper–director of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education–didn’t try to answer why their college failure rate is so high. Instead, he set out to see what could be learned from the students who were succeeding. As a follow-up to that work, Harper has focused on young men poised to make the leap into higher education.
www.ccnewsnow.com
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/improving-hispanics-college-success-rate/?utm_campaign=1001ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ce6fda97708e470e942d1b4a4ea94a6e&elqCampaignId=92
Improving Hispanics college success rate
Source: Miami Herald
Here’s some eye-opening math as college students settle into their courses: 30 million Americans are enrolled in higher education. Thirteen million of these students are enrolled in a community college, and 2.3 million of these community college students are Latinos. Recent Census data show that Latino college enrollments are surging. Unfortunately, back-to-school time means that many of these students are renewing their annual struggle to stay in school.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/01/u-florida-races-create-online-campus-jan-1-opening-date-approaches#ixzz2gTVnpIYt
How to Build a University in 7 Months
By Carl Straumsheim
When Florida Governor Rick Scott on April 22 signed Senate Bill 1076, he tasked a “preeminent state research university to establish an institute for online learning” that would “offer high-quality, fully online baccalaureate degree programs” by January 2014. A few weeks later, the Florida Board of Governors granted the University of Florida that designation.
www.nation.time.com
Education
What Colleges Will Teach in 2025
America must resolve the conflict between knowledge and know-how
By Jon Meacham
Reports on what supposedly educated Americans know—and more sensationally, don’t know—come along fairly regularly, each more depressing than the last. … According to data gathered by the Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, half of employers say they have trouble finding qualified recent college graduates to hire. Everybody has an opinion about what matters most.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/NIH-Invites-Research-on-Gun/141997/?cid=at
NIH Invites New Research on Violence, With Focus on Guns
By Paul Basken
In the political arena, little seems to have changed in response to last year’s killing of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Connecticut. Congress refused to toughen background checks for gun buyers, and states passing more-restrictive laws were outnumbered by those going the other direction.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Corruption-in-Higher-Education/142013/?cid=at
Corruption in Higher Education Appears to Be on the Rise Globally, Report Says
By Aisha Labi
Corruption in higher education is nothing new, probably existing since the first college opened its doors. But as more people around the world seek college degrees, there’s evidence that bribes for grades, admissions fraud, and other corrupt practices are on the rise.
www.theatlantic.com
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/americas-wasteful-higher-education-spending-in-a-chart/280130/
America’s Wasteful Higher Education Spending, In a Chart
We spend more of our economy on higher education than almost any other developed country, and achieve some of the worst results.
Jordan Weissmann
How badly do Americans overspend on college? Look at it this way: We devote more of our economy to postsecondary education than any other developed country (except South Korea, with whom we’re tied), according to a new report by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. But we’re rated near the bottom of the 20 countries included by college spending “efficiency”—or, degrees earned per percentage point of GDP spent.*
www.blogs.edweek.org
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2013/10/the_shutdown_and_education_you.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
The Shutdown and Education: Your Cheat Sheet
By Alyson Klein
So it’s happened: Congress was unable to reach agreement on temporary spending plan to keep the government open—and the U.S. Department of Education and other government agencies are on partial shutdown. It’s the first time this has happened since the Clinton administration, back in 1995 and 1996. While that means a much quieter day at 400 Maryland Ave, most schools and school districts aren’t going to be immediately affected by a short-term shutdown. A longer-term shutdown, however, could cause more headaches. See our preview here of the Education Department’s shutdown plan.