University System News
CONSOLIDATION:
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/06/secret-merger-now-public-meets-opposition-georgia#ixzz2jrw4kulG
Merging Into Controversy
By Ry Rivard
Georgia higher education officials are pushing to merge Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University – and students at Southern Poly are pushing back.
The merger, the fifth public college consolidation in Georgia since 2012, was announced Friday, to the surprise of many on both campuses. …Now, Southern Poly students and alumni accuse the Georgia system’s 19-member Board of Regents of “deceit and bottom line economics” that could ruin their institution, which specializes in engineering, technology and architecture. The combined institution will be called Kennesaw State University.
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/landmark-southern-polytechnic-globe-knocked-off-it/nbjnF/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_homepage
Landmark Southern Polytechnic globe knocked off its base
By Mike Morris and John Spink
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Police at Southern Polytechnic State University Wednesday were trying to determine whether students unhappy about the recently announced merger of SPSU and Kennesaw State University toppled an important campus landmark overnight. The 10-foot diameter stainless steel globe outside the Joe Mack Wilson Student Center was knocked off its base and onto its side around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Jim Cooper, assistant vice president of university communications.
USG NEWS:
www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/nov/05/state-senators-to-hold-educational-summit-at/
State senators to hold educational summit at Darton State
State Sens. Freddie Powell Sims, Lindsey Tippins, John Crosby and Dean Burke will hold an educational summit on Thursday, to discuss the educational challenges facing southwest Georgia.
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — State Sens. Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson,) Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta,) John Crosby (R-Tifton,) and Dean Burke (R-Bainbridge,) will hold an educational summit on Thursday, to discuss the educational challenges facing Southwest Georgia. The summit, entitled The Future of Public Education in Southwest Georgia: The Role of Parents, Students, Schools, Community, and the State, will be held at Darton State College Auditorium.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-11-05/uga-preparing-investiture-ceremony-new-leader
UGA preparing investiture ceremony for new leader
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The University of Georgia is preparing an investiture ceremony for its 22nd president, Jere Morehead. UGA officials said in a statement Monday that the ceremony is Nov. 19 and will include remarks from Gov. Nathan Deal, University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby, University System of Georgia Board of Regents Chair William NeSmith and others.
USG VALUE:
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/11/05/2757532/as-macon-homeless-center-nears.html
At Macon homeless center, GCSU students help run free clinic
By Jenna Mink
Johnny Carter sits on the white, padded table, a stethoscope pressed to his chest and a grin plastered on his face. A nurse has left the room and will return with some news. This is not the most pleasant situation for most people — many dread visiting the health clinic. Still, Carter is grinning. He is thrilled to be here. After all, he knows where he would be if this service were not available. …January 2013 was the official opening for the center’s health clinic, which is run by faculty and students in Georgia College & State University’s Family Nurse Practitioner master’s program. At the clinic, patients receive checkups, medical advice, referrals and prescriptions. All services are free and geared toward Middle Georgia’s homeless population.
GOOD NEWS:
www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/54740/
$1.1M grant to help expand City Campus
Special to the Herald
Plans for an unused downtown building, further expansion of another and an oversized check will all be unveiled Thursday at a special downtown Statesboro event highlighting economic development. Local, state and national leaders will be on hand as Georgia Southern University and the city of Statesboro officially announce Thursday that they have been jointly awarded a grant of nearly $1.1 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to expand the university’s City Campus on East Main Street to help entrepreneurs design, build and send their products into the marketplace while creating new jobs.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-11-05/uga-launches-22-million-interdisciplinary-faculty-hiring-initiative
UGA launches $2.2 million interdisciplinary faculty hiring initiative
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
Sixteen new faculty positions at the University of Georgia have been created through an interdisciplinary hiring initiative designed to enhance teaching, service and research in fields that are of emerging statewide and global significance. “I am very pleased that we are able to announce these interdisciplinary faculty hirings,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “These new faculty will address some of Georgia’s most challenging issues by reaching across traditional academic boundaries.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-11-05/uga-launch-creativity-and-innovation-certificate-program-spring
UGA to launch creativity and innovation certificate program in spring
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
The University of Georgia is launching a new graduate-level Interdisciplinary Certificate in Creativity and Innovation program in spring 2014. The program aims to offer graduate students an advantage when applying for jobs in the workforce. This certificate improves and documents creative potential–something employers say they are looking for.
RESEARCH:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-11-05/minority-teachers-reduce-african-american-teen-pregnancy-rates
Minority teachers reduce African-American teen pregnancy rates
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
Nationwide, 34 percent of girls get pregnant at least once before age 20, according to a study for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. In Georgia, 86 out of every 1,000 African-American girls age 15-19 and 58 of 1,000 white teens become pregnant. According to new research from the University of Georgia, increasing minority teachers can improve these health outcomes.
www.nypost.com
http://nypost.com/2013/11/04/monitoring-gadget-aids-in-independence-and-connectivity/
Monitoring gadget aids in independence and connectivity
By Joseph GallivanNovember 4, 2013 | 8:22pm
Keeping tabs on a spouse or child can be as easy as giving them the latest smartphone disguised as a gift. But tracking an independent-minded senior is a bit harder. No one wants to be a “helicopter parent” to their parent, but someone has to check that they haven’t fallen over or gone off their meds. Enter a gadget called Lively that is so simple, even a diehard AOL subscriber can install it. In fact, it doesn’t even require an Internet connection… At Georgia Tech, researchers used just a single sensor on a bathroom door to count the number of times it was opened. They found that with a 20 percent swing up or down, there was a 70 percent probability that a person had a significant health issue. “In our research, we found we all have pretty distinct patterns — particularly this demographic.
www.healthimaging.com
http://www.healthimaging.com/topics/health-it/generalizable-system-necessary-cds-systems’-success
Generalizable system necessary for CDS systems’ success
Anna Steere
A generalizable system that can be applied to multiple cancer endpoints and validated using large multibatch datasets is necessary for the success of clinical decision support systems (CDSS), reported a review published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. Aimed at informing pathologists and informaticians with limited understanding of the key aspects of whole-slide imaging (WSI) analysis, the review was written by Sonal Kothari of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and colleagues.
www.geekwire.com
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/meet-wally-lowpower-wireless-sensor-network-detects-water-leaks-mold/
Meet Wally: This $299 low-power sensor network detects water leaks and mold
by John Cook
Worried about toxic mold or pesky water leaks in your home? Never fear, Wally is here. That’s the new consumer brand from SNUPI Technologies, the latest startup effort from Seattle serial entrepreneur Jeremy Jaech. We’ve written in the past about SNUPI, which is backed by the likes of Madrona Venture Group, Radar Partners and others. But this marks the first time we’ve gotten a chance to see the system, and learn more about the consumer offering, which is available for pre-order for $299. Additional sensors cost $35, and the system is expected to ship in the Spring of 2014… Jaech has partnered with some of the top minds at the University of Washington on SNUPI, including professors Shwetak Patel and Matt Reynolds, as well as doctoral student Gabe Cohn. It is operating with an exclusive license from the the Georgia Institute of Technology and the UW, where Jaech sits on the board of regents.
www.nsf.gov
http://nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=129524&org=NSF
Students practice hands-on STEM activities to define problems and determine solutions
Project encourages students to use creativity, contextualization and sophisticated equipment to make STEM courses come alive
In Georgia, young students often feel disconnected from the real world when studying math and science, a perception that poses serious challenges to the state’s future economic and workforce development, according to a series of forums held in Georgia between 2006 and 2008. But a new initiative just outside Atlanta–a partnership between the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Griffin-Spalding County School system, and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)–is trying to change this.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2013/11/cousins-rethinks-strategy-for-american.html?page=all
Cousins rethinks strategy for its American Cancer Society Building
Douglas Sams
Commercial Real Estate Editor-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Cousins Properties Inc. is rethinking the future of the American Cancer Society Building. What it decides to do with the building — on the eastern edge of Centennial Olympic Park — might say even more about overall investment and leasing activity in Atlanta’s urban core. Last year, Cousins tested the idea of making the American Cancer Society Building one of the largest multitenant data centers in the Southeast. In a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts, CEO Larry Gellerstedt said the idea didn’t work as well as the company hoped. He added that Cousins is carrying out a “value analysis” of the nearly 1-million-square-foot building to study “whether or not it’s a long-term hold.”… Houston-based Boxer Property, owner of the 17-story Hurt Building — once best-known as a home for nonprofits — is talking to Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center about offering space to startups.
www.lj.ibraryjournal.com
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/11/academic-libraries/despite-differences-university-libraries-and-presses-partner-more-often/#_
Despite Differences, University Libraries and Presses Partner More Often
By Ian Chant
When Purdue University Press was brought under the wing of the university’s library in 2009, it was a marriage of necessity, brought on by the flagging financial fortunes of the press. Since being absorbed into the library in 2009, the press has moved from reporting to library administrators to participating in planning with them, said Dean of Libraries James Mullins at a recent conference sponsored by education non-profit Ithaka… While BioOne provided capital, marketing and general coordination for the project, Dartmouth staffers have taken point on developing and hosting for Elementa, which is built on the PLOS digital platform and hosted on Dartmouth’s servers. The library is also helping to manage editorial workflow for the new journal, in collaboration with editors from the University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
www.technicianonline.com
http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_da711b98-46a2-11e3-ba94-0019bb30f31a.html
Researchers use crowd-funding for projects
Estefania Castro-Vazques, Correspondent
As federal grants become scarcer, researchers across the country are turning to a new source for funding. Crowd-funding is a technique used to gather funds by asking for small amounts of money from several sources rather than gathering a large sum from one source alone, and for some researchers, it is the answer to the funding problems caused by the sequester. Crowd-funding at Georgia Tech has become such a major tool to generate funds for research that one of its university employees, Allison Mercer, created a website for it, according to the Georgia Tech news center. The website is peer-reviewed, so donors know the money will be used “exactly as described,” Mercer said.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2013/11/05/whos-tops-on-twitter-in-georgia.html?page=all
Who’s tops on Twitter in Georgia
David Allison
Editor-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Shares of short messaging service Twitter Inc. are expected to begin trading Nov. 7. The much-awaited initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange could raise $2 billion. Twitter, which lets users post 140-character messages called “tweets”to other Twitter users, or “followers,” is a important marketing and communications tool for many companies and organizations. Following is a list of 100-plus Georgia organizations and individuals with some of the largest followings on Twitter, ranked as of Nov. 4/Nov. 5… 57. Georga Tech Sports @GTAthletics 26,019… 59. Georgia Tech @georgiatech 24,527… 113. Stephen Fleming @StephenFleming 5,374
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.thefiscaltimes.com
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/11/04/Free-Online-Courses-Face-Watershed-Moment
Why the MOOC Movement Is Now
Massive open online courses face a watershed moment.
By RACHELLE DEJONG, Minding the Campus
As Georgia Tech gears up for its new MOOC-like master’s degree program slated to launch this spring, The Wall Street Journal reports that applications from would-be students are dramatically outpacing fall ’13 applications to Georgia Tech’s residential program. Offered jointly by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Udacity, with financial support and “advice” from AT&T, the two-year, wholly online master’s degree program in computer science parallels Georgia Tech’s well-regarded campus-based program. Proponents say this watershed initiative could spur further innovation. Because the courses aren’t open to everyone, they aren’t truly MOOCs (massive open online courses). Perhaps we should dub them “MOCs.”
www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/francine-toder-phd/entrepreneurs-focus-on-seniors_b_4194884.html
Entrepreneurs Focus on Seniors: Aging 2.0 Collaboration at Stanford
Francine Toder, Ph.D.
Whenever a top university joins with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and technologists, you know the alliance is important. The Aging 2.0 conference at Stanford University took place on September 24th. As an attendee, I wasn’t sure what to expect as aging hasn’t attracted much attention from Silicon Valley entrepreneurial players until fairly recently. After all, cutting edge research and investment money haven’t tended to migrate to those of us 50 and older.
www.ccnewsnow.com
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/vision-and-mission-at-community-colleges/?utm_campaign=1106ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=821dd2d81f1d45c78aa117fa86034819&elqCampaignId=120
Vision and Mission at Community Colleges
Source: Robert Shireman, in Huffington Post
For the past quarter century I have been one of those policy wonks trying to figure out how to judge whether a college is doing a good job. People who work at colleges, especially the faculty, tend to be annoyed by those of us who ask about effectiveness, because it seems like it should be obvious. The instructors have earned their bona fides in their disciplines. They have succeeded in attracting students. What more do I need to know? Nowhere are the instructors more annoyed by the question than at community colleges, which tend to enroll the neediest of populations with the fewest resources.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/editorials/2013-11-06/theyre-giving-out-hope?v=1383698058
They’re giving out hope
Resource fair delivers dignity to locals in need
By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
Our homeless and destitute brethren on the streets are in need of most everything – including many things that go far beyond food, clothing and shelter. …That’s what makes last week’s “Stand Down for Homelessness” resource fair at the Salvation Army on Greene Street so beautiful and profound. The now-annual event affords the homeless and down-and-out in Augusta an array of free services such as haircuts and dental exams, food and other services, provided by nine area agencies. It’s a win not just for those in need of a little caring and attention, but for those offering it: The resource fair gives hairstyling students from Augusta Technical College, for instance, a chance to ply their prospective professions.
Education News
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/05/can-colleges-build-students-cultural-capital-and-should-they#ixzz2jlerdzUk
Building Students’ ‘Cultural Capital’
By Doug Lederman
PITTSBURGH — Students who are the first in their families to attend college face a set of disadvantages in terms of college enrollment, persistence and graduation — a vexing problem, to be sure, since virtually nothing can be done retroactively to change their demographic realities. But are there attributes that commonly flow from being a first-generation college student that colleges can address?
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/05/frostburg-state-us-freshman-choice-program-lets-students-start-degrees-online#ixzz2jlfhxwre
One There, Seven Here
By Carl Straumsheim
Frostburg State University will this spring give new students the option of starting their degree online. The Freshman Choice Program, meant to persuade students to study for four years at the university, makes its case by letting students stay at home a semester longer. Unlike other colleges that have used online platforms as a method to rapidly scale their size, Frostburg State’s Freshman Choice Program, being piloted next spring, comes with some specific self-imposed limitations. While online, the program is ultimately intended to benefit — and generate — residential students.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/06/researchers-cast-doubt-about-early-warning-systems-effect-retention#ixzz2jrwEMQkv
Mixed Signals
By Carl Straumsheim
Purdue University has for years touted the ability of its early-warning system Signals to improve student retention, but a series of blog entries analyzing the institution’s claims has not found a causal connection between students who use the system and their tendency to stick with their studies.
www.learning.blogs.nytimes.com
Is It an Unaffordable Luxury to Major in the Humanities in College?
By KATHERINE SCHULTEN
In “As Interest Fades in the Humanities, Colleges Worry,” Tamar Lewin writes about how, since the recession, there has been a profound shift toward viewing college education as a vocational training ground:
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/05/u-chicago-grad-students-who-are-breast-feeding-want-place-pump#ixzz2jlfYmy2f
A Room of One’s Own
By Colleen Flaherty
Some graduate students at the University of Chicago who are breastfeeding mothers and away from their babies during the day want a private place to use a breast pump on the central campus. So far they’ve been referred to a list of lactation stations elsewhere on campus, communal family areas and bathrooms. The grad students say all they want is a modest space that is not a bathroom. They need to lock the door for privacy and would like a small refrigerator. So far, they say, the university hasn’t been able to meet their request, allegedly citing their status as students – not employees – as a reason.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/As-Deferred-Maintenance-Piles/142833/?cid=at
As Deferred Maintenance Piles Up, Colleges Face Hard Choices
‘There is not going to be enough money to fix everything’
By Scott Carlson
It’s no secret that many college campuses are in rough shape, and on some you don’t need a maintenance worker’s eye to see the problems: outdated windows, cracking and spalling masonry, leaking roofs, and—legendary on some Northern campuses—underground heating lines that reveal their location by the steam emanating from grassy patches on the quad. That’s money literally drifting away. In recent years, however, the problem seems to have gotten worse, according to a new report.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/05/impact-2013-elections-higher-education#ixzz2jrwMKLxY
Election 2013
By Scott Jaschik
Colleges in several states celebrated big wins in voter passage of bond and tax referenda on Tuesday. Off-year elections can be difficult ones in which to bring measures to the ballot as anti-tax activists are sometimes the most motivated to vote. But colleges did consistently well Tuesday, with community colleges winning bond votes for new facilities.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/06/higher-one-agrees-15-million-settlement-resolve-charges-over-fees#ixzz2jrwYJYgD
Higher One Nears Settlement
By Michael Stratford
Higher One, the large but often controversial provider of debit cards on college campuses, has reached a preliminary agreement to pay $15 million to settle claims that its fees and marketing practices were predatory, the company announced Tuesday. The settlement, if finalized and approved by a court, would resolve a handful of class-action lawsuits filed in 2012 against Higher One by a dozen students at colleges across the country.
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304470504579164122110690860
Funding Dries Up for Medical Startups
Companies Are Squeezed by Venture-Capital Drought
By JOSEPH WALKER CONNECT
The medical-device industry, struggling to adapt to a thriftier health-care system, is getting squeezed by a venture-capital drought. Investment in the medical-device and equipment industry is on pace to fall to $2.14 billion this year, down more than 40% from 2007 and the sharpest drop among the top five industry recipients of venture funding, according to an analysis of data compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/players/ambiguous-twitter-monitoring-leaves-athletic-departments-open-to-embarrassment/33861?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
Ambiguous Twitter Monitoring Leaves Athletic Departments Open to Embarrassment
By Brad Wolverton
The call came at 6 a.m. “Take that s*** off Twitter,” said the position coach. “What the hell are you thinking?” The scene, recounted in a new study by two social-media researchers, is an apt description of how some athletic departments handle players’ faux pas on social-media sites. In some cases, the study found, colleges are more likely to spend time monitoring their players’ comments and waiting for them to slip up than educating them about potential problems.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/57272/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=e4783d0a4c834bc18b6a3f52d0acb107&elqCampaignId=62
NewSchools CEO Ted Mitchell Advocates for Nontraditional Forms of Education
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
When NewSchools Venture Fund CEO Ted Mitchell spoke about what he would do if he had a magic wand to transform public education, he said he would change the way students are assessed and the way teachers teach. “My wand would wave over the current structuring of the progress that kids make through school, and I would make it all based on the mastery of concepts and courses, not on seat time or quarters or semesters,” Mitchell said at a 2010 Google forum titled “Innovation in Education: The Next Generation of Education Entrepreneurship.” …These are the views of a venture capitalist who is set to become the next undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education, pending confirmation in the U.S. Senate.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/universities-foster-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-federal-report-says/48059?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
Universities Foster Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Federal Report Says
By Hannah Winston
A study by the U.S. Department of Commerce has found that universities around the country promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration among students, faculty members, and industries across multiple sectors. On Tuesday the department released a report on its findings, “The Innovative and Entrepreneurial University: Higher Education, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Focus.”