University System News
USG NEWS:
www.northjersey.com
http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/229916791_Finalist_named_for_Middle_Georgia_State_president.html
Finalist named for Middle Georgia State president
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA (AP) — A finalist has been named for president of Middle Georgia State College in Macon. University system officials announced Wednesday that Christopher Blake, president of Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the sole finalist for the position. If selected by the Board of Regents, Blake would take the helm of the college formed earlier this year by the consolidation of Macon State and Middle Georgia colleges. John B. Black had been serving as interim president.
www.13wmaz.com
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/251609/175/MGSC-Presidential-Finalist-Named
MGSC Presidential Finalist Named
Jacqueline Harnevious
A Middle Georgia State College president finalist has been named. Georgia Board of Regents and the University System of Georgia officials announced their finalist choice: Christopher Blake, according to a release.
www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/oct/30/kimberly-ballard-washington-named-interim/
Kimberly Ballard-Washington is named as Everette Freeman’s interim replacement at Albany State University
Staff Reports
ALBANY — University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Hank Huckaby has named Kimberly Ballard-Washington to serve as interim president at Albany State University. Ballard-Washington is assistant vice chancellor for Legal Affairs for the USG and assistant secretary to the Board of Regents. Ballard-Washington will assume the interim presidency on Nov. 1, following the departure of current president Everette J. Freeman, who has been named president of the Community College of Denver in Denver, Colo. This will be a temporary appointment until a determination can be reached regarding an individual to serve as interim over a longer time period.
www.mysouthwestga.com
http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=965158#.UnKC7Ch5iCY
Interim President named for Albany State
by FOX 31 News Team
ALBANY, GA — The University System of Georgia has issued the following press release on the new interim president of Albany State University:
University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Hank Huckaby has named Kimberly Ballard-Washington to serve as interim president at Albany State University. Ballard-Washington is assistant vice chancellor for Legal Affairs for the USG and assistant secretary to the Board of Regents.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/10/31/who-applied-georgia-techs-new-masters-program
Who Applied to Georgia Tech’s New Master’s Program?
The Georgia Institute of Technology has in 20 days received almost 1,000 more applications for its low-cost online master’s degree than it does in a year for its residential program, according to data released by the university.
www.cacm.acm.org
http://cacm.acm.org/news/169236-first-of-its-kind-online-masters-draws-wave-of-applicants/fulltext
First-of-Its-Kind Online Master’s Draws Wave of Applicants
By The Wall Street Journal
Since implementing a new low-cost online master’s program in computer science based on massively open online course (MOOC) technology, Georgia Tech has received almost twice as many applications for the program in the past three weeks as its residential program receives in a year. Unlike most MOOCs, the course is not offered for free, with applicants paying about $6,600 to participate, compared with approximately $44,000 for residential students. The number of U.S.-resident applicants for the Georgia Tech program also was 14 times higher than those for the residential class.
Related articles:
www.allthingsd.com
http://allthingsd.com/20131030/first-of-its-kind-online-masters-draws-wave-of-applicants/
First-of-Its-Kind Online Master’s Draws Wave of Applicants
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304470504579166112833252206
First-of-Its-Kind Online Master’s Draws Wave of Applicants
www.forest-blade.com
http://www.forest-blade.com/news/community/article_e3948674-3a7c-11e3-829f-0019bb2963f4.html
Nashville music producer/songwriter Trey Bruce to speak at EGSC
Trey Bruce, Nashville music producer, songwriter, and performer, will speak at East Georgia State College on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 11 a.m. in the Gambrell Auditorium. Sponsored by the EGSC Vision Series, a privately funded initiative that seeks to bring programs of cultural and intellectual enrichment to East Georgia State College and its constituency, the hour-long presentation is free and open to the community.
RESEARCH:
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-10-30/black-gill-disease-threatens-georgia-shrimp#.UnJWiih5iCa
Black gill disease threatens Georgia shrimp
By Mary Landers
…Research from pond-raised shrimp indicates black gill has many causes, including bacteria, fungus, lack of nutrients, an overdose of copper or too much sediment. None of those are implicated in Georgia wild shrimp. Instead, the culprit is a single-celled parasite called a ciliate. Too small to detect with the naked eye, ciliates are about 100 times bigger than bacteria, making them easy to see with a microscope. When infected with ciliates, shrimp fight back by encrusting the parasites inside the gills. “They’re putting it in prison,” said Marc Frischer professor at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. The dark tissue of that encrustation gives the disease its name.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/editorials/2013-10-31/all-right-things?v=1383180859
All the right things
UGA’s new president appears to be a good fit for state of Georgia
By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
What would you do if a state suddenly handed you the reins of one of the nation’s great universities? Well, if you were doing it right, you’d probably do it much like Jere Morehead is. The University of Georgia’s former provost and senior vice president for academic affairs – and a UGA alum – was put in the president’s saddle July 1. And he’s already making his presence felt around the state. Speaking at an Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday, President Morehead seemed to say all the right things. He talked up the school – particularly its 94 percent retention rate and all-time-high 83 percent graduation rate. He lauded the Augusta area’s contribution – including 738 current UGA students and 5,000 alumni. And while noting existing partnerships between UGA and Augusta, he promised to focus UGA and its high-powered faculty even more on helping the entire state’s economic development efforts.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Grants-on-CVs-Trust-but/142667/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Grants on CVs: Trust but Verify
By Karen M. Markin
The job candidate lists millions of dollars’ worth of research awards on his CV. The search committee is duly impressed and marvels at his grant-writing success. But has anyone on the committee dug just a little deeper, checking on what role the candidate actually played on those grants? The candidate may have received just a small portion of the money and played a minor role in writing and carrying out the grant. He may even have been a graduate student, receiving only a small portion of a larger award that went to a research center.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/the-problem-with-bill-gatess-vision/41963?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
The Problem With Bill Gates’s Vision
By Rob Jenkins
The Microsoft magnate-cum-philanthropist Bill Gates made waves in the community-college world a few weeks ago when he suggested that two-year colleges should use more MOOCs. Most of us who actually teach community-college students understand that, while there may be a place for MOOCs in the curriculum, relying on them too heavily would be a mistake. (I wrote about this extensively in “A Massively Bad Idea,” and I won’t reiterate those arguments here.) But the notion of MOOCs as some sort of educational panacea dovetails neatly with Gates’s constant championing of online learning and what seems to be his overall vision for higher education.
Education News
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/57153/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=2f51f222e5834080953f379f5b24b050&elqCampaignId=62
Education Department Seeks Input on New Ratings System for Schools
by Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Education Department on Wednesday asked for the public’s help to develop a new ratings system for America’s colleges and universities.
It announced a series of public forums next month in California, Virginia, Iowa and Louisiana, with the goal of having a draft system ready by next fall. By 2018, the plan is to tie some financial aid to schools based on performance using the system. The ratings system, sought by President Barack Obama, is designed to provide students with more information about schools and help rein in the rising cost of college and make institutions of higher learning more accountable in areas such as graduation rates.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/31/duncan-lays-out-rough-timeline-developing-college-ratings-system
Duncan’s Timeline on Ratings Plan
By Michael Stratford
The Obama administration expects to have a first draft of its college rating system by this spring, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday. After soliciting public input at town hall discussions and hearings at college campuses across the country this fall, the department will convene a “technical symposium” early next year to discuss ratings methodology before releasing a preliminary version for public comment at some point in the spring, Duncan said. The administration’s goal is to implement the ratings system in the 2014-15 academic year and eventually persuade Congress to link federal student aid funding to the ratings system.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/31/study-finds-phds-who-write-interdisciplinary-dissertations-earn-less
Interdisciplinary Penalty
By Scott Jaschik
Everyone, it seems, loves the idea of scholars interdisciplinary work. But does academe reward those — particular young scholars — who actually do it? A new study, based on data from all people who earned Ph.D.s in 2010, suggests the opposite. In the year after earning their doctorates, those in the cohort who did interdisciplinary dissertations earned, on average, $1,700 less than those who completed dissertations in a single field.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Path-From-India-to-US/142581/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
From India to the College Presidency
By Seth Zweifler
As a young boy, in India, Pradeep K. Khosla was told by his parents that he could become one of two things when he grew up: an engineer or a doctor. Mr. Khosla came to the United States in 1982 to study electrical and computer engineering as a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University. After earning a doctorate, he climbed the ranks of American academe, becoming a tenured professor, department head, and dean at Carnegie Mellon, and, last year, chancellor of the University of California at San Diego. …Since then much has changed. Mr. Khosla is now among a small but growing cohort of academics of Indian descent who have risen to the presidential ranks in American higher education.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Fixing-a-Gender-Pay-Gap-Can/142705/?cid=at
Fixing a Gender Pay Gap Can Lead to Faculty Discord
By Audrey Williams June
Institutions that discover widespread pay disparities by gender, with female professors earning less than their male counterparts, and then try to remedy the gap can find themselves mired in a process that is fraught with tension and results in faculty discord. Most recently some professors at Western Michigan University clashed with the institution’s provost over the issue as up to 300 tenured female professors awaited a promised pay increase meant to put their salaries on a more equal footing with those of their male colleagues. At other institutions that have dealt with pay disparities, such as the University of Texas at Austin, discord has not been a problem, but limits on money have curtailed efforts to narrow the divide.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/obama-to-nominate-venture-fund-chief-as-top-higher-education-official/68463?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Obama to Nominate Venture-Fund Chief as Top Higher-Education Official
President Obama will nominate Ted Mitchell, chief executive of a nonprofit educational-venture fund and a former president of Occidental College, as the Education Department’s top higher-education official, the White House has announced. The news confirms recent speculation regarding Mr. Mitchell’s nomination.