University System News
CONSOLIDATION:
http://www.macon.com/2013/12/08/2822756/middle-georgia-state-receives.html
Middle Georgia State receives good accreditation results
Middle Georgia State College got positive results from its first review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, meaning the college received tentative accreditation, according to a news release.
The results will be official after SACS’ board of trustees takes up the matter at its June 2014 meeting, the news release said. “This is a significant moment for our new institution,” interim President John Black said in the release. “It puts us firmly on the road toward becoming a state university.”
USG NEWS:
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/12/08/2822755/new-fvsu-president-implements.html
New FVSU president implements plan to conquer challenges
BY JENNA MINK
It’s been four months since Ivelaw Griffith took the helm of Fort Valley State University, and he has encountered his share of obstacles. There are retention and graduation issues, financial challenges and a decline in enrollment. While historically black colleges and universities across the nation face similar problems, Griffith argues those issues are not necessarily limited to HBCUs but are plaguing many colleges across the country. Still, the new president has a strategy, and he said he has already begun implementing that plan. “These issues are not unique to HBCUs … grappling with leadership challenges and enrollment challenges, those are across the board issues,” he said.
www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2013/dec/07/darton-seeks-funds-for-steinway-pianos/
DArton State College seeks $1 million for 21 Steinways
Staff Reports
ALBANY – Darton State College Foundation and Claire Fox Hillard, director of performing arts, have announced an All-Steinway Piano Initiative, a $1 million fund-raising program that aims to provide the music department with 21 Steinway pianos for practice and performance. The initiative will give students and faculty the best equipment possible and demonstrates the college’s continued commitment to excellence. In order to be classified as an All-Steinway School, 95 percent of the college’s piano inventory must be Steinway & Sons.
www.usatodayeducate.com
http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/pulse/fun-stress-relief-solutions-unveiled-on-campuses-as-finals-begin
Fun stress relief solutions unveiled on campuses as finals begin
By Cat Zakrzewski
USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent
If you are currently a college student, chances are you may be procrastinating on a final paper or cramming a few more hours of studying in before an exam by reading this piece. Finals are stressful time for everyone, but colleges across the country have unique ways of helping students deal with that stress. At Brown University, students migrating to the library for reading period participate in the “Naked Donut Run.” A group of participants delivers donuts to various libraries and campus buildings. As part of the 30-year-old tradition, they disrobe upon entering the buildings. The Brown Daily Herald reported campus police get a kick out of the school tradition… Georgia Tech’s students don’t just scream one night before finals start, they scream every night. On Wednesday, Georgia students “closed the semester with a bang” at One Night Stand. The school hosted the annual all-night sporting event where students can play games and enjoy free food before finals begin.
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2013-12-08/protesters-accuse-ga-university-animal-cruelty?utm_source=Morris%20Digital%20Works&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AfternoonUpdate%3ALatestNewsfromSavannahnow.com#.UqXUTyjGEeU
Protesters accuse Georgia university of animal cruelty
By The Augusta Chronicle
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Nearly 100 demonstrators and their dogs gathered in Augusta to protest Georgia Regents University using dogs to test dental implants. The Augusta Chronicle reports protesters walked from the Augusta Judicial Center to the university’s College of Dental Medicine Saturday to speak out against dogs being used in the program.
www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/24174707-Immigrant-students-seek-Georgia-s-in-state-tuition-rates
Immigrant students seek Georgia’s in-state tuition rates
by Kate Brumback
DECATUR — A judge said Thursday that he needs more information and time to decide the case of a group of young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children and want the Georgia university system to grant them in-state tuition. The roughly three dozen young immigrants have been granted temporary permission to stay in the U.S. under an Obama administration policy introduced last year. They filed a lawsuit in August asking a judge to instruct the university system’s Board of Regents to allow them to qualify for in-state tuition.
www.blogs.seattletimes.com
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/educationlab/2013/12/06/daily-round-up-uw-president-criticizes-get-immigrants-sue-georgia-universities/
Daily round-up: UW president criticizes GET, immigrants sue Georgia universities
Posted by Caitlin Moran
Undocumented immigrants sue to attend college in Georgia (Georgia Public Broadcasting): A legal case began Thursday in DeKalb County Superior Court concerning the University System of Georgia’s policy of barring undocumented students from some schools and requiring them to pay out-of-state tuition at others.
www.clatl.com
http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2013/12/05/judge-pauses-dreamers-suit-for-in-state-college-tuition
Judge pauses Dreamers’ suit for in-state college tuition
Posted by Maggie Lee
A DeKalb County judge is set to decide in 60 days if his courtroom is the right place to decide if young Georgians who have gone to school here, but until very recently lacked any legal status, could be eligible for in-state college tuition fees. Right now, so-called “Dreamers” like Yovany Diaz must pay out-of-state tuition, according to the policy of the Georgia Board of Regents, which runs the state’s public universities. It denies in-state tuition to anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or legal resident. And for that matter, bans the undocumented from Georgia’s most selective public universities.
USG VALUE:
www.dailyherald.com
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20131206/submitted/712069866/
Harper president named to White House committee on manufacturing jobs
By Submitted by Harper College
Harper College President Ken Ender has been named to a White House committee working to solve the shortage of skilled workers for the manufacturing industry. Ender joined other members of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0” for an inaugural meeting this week in Washington… Other members of the committee include the CEOs of Northrop Grumman, Caterpillar, Honeywell, Siemens, Dow and Alcoa, as well as the presidents and chancellors of Georgia Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Akron, University of California at Berkeley and University of Michigan.
GOOD NEWS:
www.dailyreportonline.com
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1202631267405&kw=Experiential%20Learning%20Gets%20Official%20at%20GSU%20Law%20School&et=editorial&bu=Daily%20Report&cn=20131209&src=EMC-Email&pt=Morning%20News&slreturn=20131109101246
Experiential Learning Gets Official at GSU Law School
Lisa Bliss is named school’s first director of experiential education, will coordinate hands-on legal training offerings
By Meredith Hobbs
In a sign of the times, Georgia State University College of Law has made clinical law professor Lisa Bliss its first director of experiential education. Experiential learning is the biggest buzz-phrase in legal education as law schools respond to the demand from both law firms and students to produce graduates with hands-on experience who can quickly start earning their keep. Law schools are augmenting the century-old Socratic case method with hands-on skills training in an effort to help their graduates find employment in a bleak legal job market.
RESEARCH:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/health/2013-12-07/uga-study-produce-sometimes-better-frozen-fresh
UGA study: Produce sometimes better frozen than fresh
By MERRITT MELANCON
A recent University of Georgia study of Americans’ groceries showed that fresh may not always be the best choice, at least not in terms of delivering the vitamins and minerals that families expect from their veggies. Ronald Pegg, associate professor of food science and technology at UGA, led the study. His team looked at the selected vitamin and mineral content of eight fruits and vegetables — blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, green beans, corn, spinach, cauliflower and green peas. …“The vitamins and nutrients in fruits and vegetables degrade over time, and we found that frozen fruits and vegetables may offer more nutrition than fresh when storage is taken into account,” Pegg said.
www.livescience.com
http://www.livescience.com/41766-physics-of-movement-crab-lab-nsf-bts.html
‘CRAB Lab’ Sheds Light on Navigating Tricky Terrain
Jacqueline Conciatore, NSF
This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Physicist Daniel Goldman and his fellow researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology shed light on a relatively unexplored subject — how organisms such as sea turtles and lizards move on (or within) sand. If you’ve ever struggled to walk with even a modicum of grace on a soft, sandy beach, you may appreciate the question. The answers that Goldman’s “CRAB lab” (Complex Rheology and Biomechanics Laboratory) uncovers — with the help of living animals and biologically inspired robots — deepen our understanding not only of animal survival, evolution and ecology, but also, potentially, the evolution of complex life forms on Earth. The lab’s research also assists the design and engineering of robots that must traverse unstable, uneven terrain — those used in search and rescue operations at disaster sites, for example.
www.csmonitor.com
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/1207/Can-US-solar-energy-compete-with-Germany-s-low-prices
Can US solar energy compete with Germany’s low prices?
The growth of the US solar energy industry is impressive, Calhoun and Morris write, but so-called ‘soft costs’ keep solar prices high in the US, compared to countries like Germany, a champion of solar development.
By Koben Calhoun and Jesse Morris
A recent Deutsche Bank report projects global newly installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity will reach 50 GW annually in 2014, a roughly 50-percent increase over anticipated new installed capacity during 2013. Germany’s been the longtime undisputed champion of solar deployment, with 35.2 GW of installed capacity as of November 1, though the installation pace lead has shifted in 2013 to Japan. But the U.S. is accelerating—and is expected to install 4.4 GW of solar this year, about the same absolute amount as the Japanese and more than the Germans. RMI, in partnership with Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), launched a PV installation labor data collection and analysis effort under the SIMPLE BoS project, which culminated today in the release of Reducing Solar PV Soft Costs: A Focus on Installation Labor.
www.busienssinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-generate-controversy-2013-12
Companies Need To Generate The Right Amount Of Controversy
As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Extend the aphorism, and there is no such thing as bad controversy — especially if that controversy causes conversation. By that thinking, any buzz-generating event, even if wrapped around something less than wholesome, should be a positive for a company or brand looking to get some attention. But Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger says that’s not the case. Instead, he has found that there is a limit to how much conversation can be generated by a modest amount of controversy. Increase the controversy, however, and the volume of conversation goes down — exactly the opposite of what a good brand manager wants… Berger and Zoey Chen, a marketing doctoral student at the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology, discuss these findings in the paper, “When, Why, and How Controversy Causes Conversation,” published in the October edition of the Journal of Consumer Research.
www.roboticsbusinessreview.com
http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/article/par_systems_acquires_elements_of_camotion_inc
PaR Systems Acquires Elements of CAMotion Inc.
Both materials handling specialists are looking forward to the partnership
By RBR Staff
Minnesota-based PaR Systems has acquired major assets from CAMotion and CAMotion Cranes, known as innovators in robotic materials handling. The acquisition will bring a suite of products and leading edge technologies that will add to existing solutions and capabilities in the material handling and crane technologies employed by PaR’s Marine, Aerospace, Industrial and Hazardous Environment businesses which enable PaR to add dramatic value for clients. PaR Systems specializes in material handling, aerospace manufacturing, automation, and robotics which will be supplemented by CAMotion’s Cartesian robotic technology for pick-and-place systems, palletizing and de-palletizing machines and advanced crane motion controls. CAMotion’s history of innovation and close partnership with Georgia Tech—resulting in wider commercial markets for complex manufacturing and warehouse operations—will add to PaR Systems’ market opportunities in the company’s continued growth.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Leadership-Award-Honors-4/143517/
Leadership Award Honors 4 Presidents’ Commitment to Access
By Lindsay Ellis
Four university presidents were recognized by the Carnegie Corporation on Monday for promoting enrollment accessibility at their institutions and improving town-gown relations through community service, teaching, and medicine. The corporation’s Academic Leadership Award gives $500,000 to each winning institution, to be used in accordance with its president’s priorities. The winning presidents are: Richard H. Brodhead of Duke University, Michael M. Crow of Arizona State University, John L. Hennessy of Stanford University, and Beverly Daniel Tatum of Spelman College… More than half of Spelman students qualify for Pell Grants, a figure that was about 30 percent when Ms. Tatum took the helm, in July 2002. …She has focused on leading black women to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields—from 1997 to 2006, Spelman College saw 150 women pursue Ph.D.’s in STEM fields, a figure larger than the combination of female black STEM graduates from the Georgia Institute of Technology,
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/opinion-columns/2013-12-07/animal-lovers-deserve-truth-gru-dental-implant-testing?v=1386455615
Animal lovers deserve the truth on GRU dental implant testing
By Christopher Cutler, Ph.D.and Mark Hamrick, Ph.D.
Guest Columnists
As both dog lovers and researchers, we want to respond to the misrepresentations about research at Georgia Regents University raised by the Humane Society of the United States.
AS A UNIVERSITY, we’re committed to research that improves lives. A recent video released by the HSUS attempted to discredit research into a new antimicrobial coating for dental implants that could help prevent dangerous infections in the gums and bones of the mouth. While we were not directly involved in the research, we are nonetheless familiar with the details of the study because of our roles at GRU. We have seen firsthand that the research conducted at GRU is humane, responsible and highly regulated.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/06/uc-system-president-napolitano-deeply-skeptical-about-educations-college-rating-system/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss
UC system president Napolitano ‘deeply skeptical’ about Education’s college rating system
Janet Napolitano, who was President Obama’s Homeland Security secretary before being named president of the University of California system this past summer, said Friday that she was “deeply skeptical” of a plan by the administration to rate colleges according to specific criteria because it is too hard to develop meaningful data points. Napolitano, who was secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013, told Washington Post reporters and editors that she had not yet had a chance to talk to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about his plan and has until now been reluctant to voice a public opinion.
Education News
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/researchers-push-mooc-conversation-beyond-tsunami-metaphors/48911
Researchers Push MOOC Conversation Beyond ‘Tsunami’ Metaphors
By Steve Kolowich
Arlington, Tex. — Dozens of higher-education researchers convened here last week, in the midst of a snowstorm, to talk about a tsunami. Massive open online courses have been a hot topic at higher-education conferences for about two years. But the objective of the MOOC Research Initiative Conference, which brought together dozens of researchers from universities involved in MOOCs, was to move beyond the hype and try to begin sorting out what, exactly, the courses might mean for various parts of higher education.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-12-06/facing-wave-retirements-colleges-need-new-leaders-uva-president-says
Facing wave of retirements, colleges need new leaders, UVa president says
By LEE SHEARER
Colleges and universities need to train a whole new generation of faculty leaders, University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan told a University of Georgia audience on Friday. U.S. higher education is at a “generational turning point,” said Sullivan, who expects about half the faculty members at Virginia to retire within the next seven to 10 years. The same demographic reality faces other universities, Sullivan told a nearly full house in the UGA Chapel. Universities will need new leaders during the big change, which comes at the same time universities face a “watershed moment” due to such pressures as declining state support and new technology, she said.