University System News
2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.gpb.org
http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/03/13/house-and-senate-at-odds-over-key-bills
House And Senate At Odds Over Key Bills
By Jeanne Bonner
ATLANTA — We told you Thursday that the pace of business at the State Capitol had quickened. That’s especially true in the scramble to push through controversial measures.
Lawmakers are grafting parts of those bills onto other pieces of legislation that would otherwise not draw much opposition. …With such shenanigans, it can be difficult to parse the status of the major pieces of legislation. But your GPB News Now correspondent will do her best. Most of the session’s major bills have passed one chamber, and some have passed both chambers. But since they’ve been amended, the measures need to be reconciled before heading to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature. “They’re in limbo,” said Tom Crawford edits the Georgia Report, an online political digest. “Start with the budget and work your way down.”
USG VALUE:
www.forest-blade.com
http://www.forest-blade.com/news/education/article_c1228786-a88a-11e3-bc28-0019bb2963f4.html
Candace J. Canady Memorial 5K and Fun Run held at EGSC
The Candace J. Canady Memorial 5K and Fun Run were held on the campus of East Georgia State College on February 22. The run supports a scholarship that was established by Randy and Robin Canady in memory of their daughter, Candace, who passed away much too soon from injuries from an auto accident. The full story regarding the scholarship and how to apply can be found at www.canadyscholarship.org. The scholarships are available for high school students only.
www.forest-blade.com
http://www.forest-blade.com/news/education/article_69414144-a88d-11e3-bcab-0019bb2963f4.html
Eames gives gift to EGSC students
A travel fund has been established at East Georgia State College by Charles Eames to aid students with the cost of gasoline needed to travel to and from school. Eames is providing two gas cards monthly to be given away in a random drawing of all EGSC Swainsboro students that do not live on campus. Eames, from Waycross, was a former resident of Jefferson County and has generously included East Georgia State College in his philanthropy.
USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/georgia-debuts-a-google-enabled-website-for-the-st/nfCQz/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Georgia debuts a Google-enabled website for the state’s natural resources
BY KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Georgia outdoors enthusiasts who’ve wished for one-touch access to the state’s treasure trove of public hunting maps, offshore fishing reefs and trailheads had better hold on to their binoculars: A new mobile-enabled website debuting Friday from the state’s Department of Natural Resources could forever alter how state agencies interact with the public. It is the first of its kind in Georgia and possibly even the nation, a prototype built with the help of Google. Nearly two years in the making, it has taken information buried on more than 60 different webpages within the agency’s five divisions and combined them into a one-stop site: GeorgiaOutdoorMap.com. …The site essentially showcases a collaboration between Google, DNR and Georgia State University. Or, in so many words, the corporate sector, public sector and the academic world, with each providing something the other needed: technological know-how, reams of data and labor.
www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2014/03/aha-after-renee-glover-no-new-initiatives-provide-land-for-falcons-parking-lot/
AHA after Renee Glover: No new initiatives for residents; but provide land for Falcons parking lot
By David Pendered
The Atlanta Housing Authority proposes no new initiatives in the first forward-looking report it has prepared for HUD since former CEO Renee Glover left last year following a public two-year dispute with Mayor Kasim Reed. The report does say AHA intends to provide the Falcons with land near the new stadium for a surface parking lot. This site is part of the now-demolished housing project, Herndon Homes… “During the first quarter of FY 2014, AHA anticipates it will consummate the sale, for fair market value, of the Roosevelt House site to Georgia Tech, as well as the sale of a 3.9-acre site, originally planned for retail development as part of the Villages of Carver, to Fulton County for the construction of a regional library. Because negotiations are ongoing, these sales are not included in this budget.”
RESEARCH:
www.hpcwire.com
Is the ECC Performance Price Worth it for GPUs?
Nicole Hemsoth
One of several elements that separates high performance computing GPUs from their gaming and graphics brethren is the addition of ECC codes, which target critical bit-flip errors in memory, which can lead to invalid results or system problems. While ECC is often deemed a necessary component for confirming the viability of simulation results, it does come with a performance price. According to a team of researchers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory, enabling ECC cuts the size of the system available by 10% because of the amount of memory consumed by the error correction codes… However, the team took the question of ECC usefulness across large XSEDE systems, including Keeneland at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a smaller production cluster at Los Alamos, and on Dante at SDSC, which is equipped with GPUs of the gaming variety (so without any ECC).
www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ga-tech-helps-amputee-drum-again-new-technology/nfCRK/
Ga. Tech helps amputee drum again with new technology
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech scientists have come up with something you have to see and hear to believe. It’s a stylish “third arm.” Channel 2’s Diana Davis reports its giving a musician who lost his arm in an accident a second chance. It may sound like lots of jazz trios. Until you hear and see the rolls from the combo’s drummer. He’s no cyborg, but in a way, 24-year-old drummer and amputee Jason Barnes has a third arm. His prosthetic was developed by Ga. Tech researchers with a grant from the National Science Foundation.
www.machinedesign.com
http://machinedesign.com/semiconductor/researchers-design-and-build-fastest-silicon-chip
Researchers design and build fastest silicon chip
Stephen Mraz | Machine Design
Electrical engineers at Georgia Institute of Technology have determined a transistor designed and built at IHP-Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics in Germany is the fastest silicon-based transistor chip. The silicon-germanium device was clocked at 798 GHz, 200 GHz faster than the previous record holder. There is one caveat, however: The device’s top speed was measured at cryogenic temperatures (–428°K). But researchers are confident a room-temperature record is not far off for an advanced version of this chip. In the meantime, the transistor should be useful for space applications where temperatures can be extremely low. Researchers are also sure a silicon-germanium transistor will soon break the terahertz (THz) barrier.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-13/bat-disease-discovered-north-georgia
Bat disease discovered in north Georgia
By LEE SHEARER
A killing disease that’s devastating bat populations is now working its way east and south through Georgia. Wildlife biologists early last year confirmed the presence of white-nose syndrome for the first time in Georgia bats. That was in far northwest Georgia. Now biologists with the state Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia and the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have found it in northeast Georgia, DNR announced this week.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.gwinnettforum.com
http://www.gwinnettforum.com/2014issues/14.0314.htm#elliott
ELLIOTT BRACK’S PERSPECTIVE
When has the General Assembly passed significant legislation?
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher
Put on your thinking cap. Think hard. Can you remember a single significant action that has been accomplished by the Georgia Legislature during its current term? Oh, granted, the General Assembly meets each year to pass a budget (which would work better on a two-year cycle). And it has other functions to pass enabling legislation to keep the doors swinging at the State Capitol. But how often does the Legislature actually get something essentially worthwhile or significant done? We maintain not too often. A few significant years come to mind. In 1946, the Legislature passed a bill to allow 18-year-old people to vote, the first state to do so. …When Zell Miller was governor, he got through the Legislature the idea of a Lottery, allowing Georgia to be the first state to offer a Hope Scholarship for all high school grads. This was a major accomplishment. You can think of other key bills through a few legislatures. But it is not often that the state enacts a significant new wrinkle to how it governs.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2014-03-13/nesbit-update-use-coal-uga
Nesbit: Update on use of coal at UGA
By RYAN NESBIT
Ryan Nesbit is interim vice president for finance and administration at the University of Georgia.
I appreciate the opportunity to update the community on the progress the University of Georgia is making in investigating options to replace the University’s single coal-fired boiler.
This boiler, which is used sparingly to provide supplemental steam and heat during the coldest months of the year, is 48 years old and is nearing the end of its useful life. Because it most likely will need to be replaced within the next decade, the university has been proactively exploring possible replacement steam- generation technologies utilizing a variety of fuel sources, including biomass and natural gas.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/03/14/systems-help-public-higher-education-better-serve-students-and-states-essay#ixzz2vwPhDGyB
Collaboration, Not Competition
By Nancy L. Zimpher
Nancy L. Zimpher is chancellor of the State University of New York system.
We’ve got plenty of data to support the value of a college degree, but the value of higher education systems — in contrast to single institutions both private and public — more often lies in the eye of the beholder. That is certainly the case in “Are Systems Bad for Flagships?” – a recent essay in this space arguing that state-operated systems are harmful to “the health of public flagship universities and to the states and regions they serve.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304250204579431002568739162
Book Review: ‘Degrees of Inequality,’ by Suzanne Mettler
As government subsidizes more buyers of education, universities have every reason to move tuition incrementally upward.
By BARTON SWAIM
Scores of books have been written about the American university in the past few years—many highly critical of the “higher education sector,” as it’s frighteningly known. Some of these books are concerned primarily with cultural matters, others with the philosophical aims of education itself. In essence, though, all address the same question: Why is higher education such a terrible bargain? (I prefer the word “bargain” to “investment”: Paying for college is a good “investment” only in the sense that buying a car is—in most circumstances, not having one makes life much more difficult.)
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/labeling-education-can
Labeling the education can
The Hays Daily News
“It costs more to put the label on the can than to put the tomatoes in it.” It was 1953. I was 7 when I heard this. Half of our neighbors were farmers who grew the crops. Others worked at the canning company. It was true. But it didn’t sound right then. And it doesn’t sound right now.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/how-wichita-state-turning-more-faculty-research-marketable-products
How Wichita State is turning more faculty research into marketable products
Wichita Business Journal
Wichita State University, like many universities, has worked for a long time to bring faculty discoveries into the commercial marketplace, such as by licensing inventions to private companies. But it’s happening more often lately, now that “accelerating the discovery, creation and transfer of new knowledge” is a part of the university’s strategic plan.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/how-one-university-created-brand-less
How one university created a brand for less
The EvoLLLution
Before the advent of online learning, branding was not as important. Many colleges had a kind of geographic monopoly for specific programs. College X had the only nursing program; College Y was the only Catholic school in town; and College Z had the only weekend program. But with online learning there came increased competition from colleges far away. It suddenly became important for a college to have a brand to differentiate it from its competition.
www.politico.com
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/big-business-takes-on-tea-party-over-common-core-104662.html
Big business takes on tea party over Common Core
By STEPHANIE SIMON
Tea party activists have been waging war for months against the Common Core academic standards. Now, in a coordinated show of muscle, Big Business is fighting back — and notching wins. The urgent effort stems from a sense among supporters that this is a make-or-break moment for the Common Core, which is under siege all over the country. A coalition including the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch a national advertising blitz Sunday targeted at Republicans skeptical about the standards. Spots promoting the Common Core will air on Fox News and other conservative outlets.
Education News
www.41nbc.com
http://www.41nbc.com/news/local-news/32463-cgtc-making-multi-million-dollar-economic-impact
CGTC Making Multi-Million Dollar Economic Impact
Written by Elaine Rackley
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Central Georgia Technical College is making a major impact in Middle Georgia, according to a recent study done by the University of Georgia. The Selig Center for Economic Growth Terry College of Business at the UGA conducted the economic impact study. It showed the partnership between businesses and the college led to an economic impact of more than 90 million dollars.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61193/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ecb144e862624a969c68c8f6497a3916&elqCampaignId=173
Blacks, Latinos Projected to Lead Growth in U.S. Higher Education Enrollments
By Ronald Roach
By 2022, the proportion of Blacks and Latinos enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions will reach 33.8 percent of all enrolled students, up from 30.1 percent in 2011, according to the U.S. Education Department. Underlying this projected 12.3 percent jump in Black and Latino presence in American colleges and universities will be high school graduation rate increases as well as a higher education enrollment surge by Black and Latino students expected to outpace by more than three times the rate of enrollment increases by Whites and Asian Americans between 2011 and 2022.
www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP2ee00192f07d4fc49d17f100c8445431.html?KEYWORDS=%22Higher+Education%22
College offers to pay students to take year off
Associated Press
MEDFORD, Mass. — A new program at Tufts University hopes to remove the financial barriers keeping cash-strapped students from taking a year off after high school to travel or volunteer, offering an opportunity now typically only available to more affluent students to explore different communities and challenge their comfort zones before starting college.
This “gap year” program launching this fall will pay for housing, airfare and even visa fees, which can often add up to $30,000 or more.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/quickwire-there-may-be-fewer-online-programs-than-you-think/51163?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
QuickWire: There May Be Fewer Online Programs Than You Think
by Lawrence Biemiller
A new report on online education finds “noise in the data” that institutions send to the U.S. Department of Education about their offerings. While 3,311 institutions say they have online programs, the report says, the actual number is more like 1,243—in part because the definition of “online” is “overly ambiguous and broad,” and in part because an institution that has multiple campuses can count each as having online programs, even if the institution in fact has only a single online offering available to all its students.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/14/director-u-florida-online-resigns#ixzz2vwAeEV5F
Two-Month Tenure
By Carl Straumsheim
The University of Florida finds itself without an administrator to head its online degree-granting arm, UF Online, after its director resigned after two months on the job. Elizabeth D. “Betty” Phillips, former executive vice president and provost of Arizona State University, joined Florida in January in time for a launch that capped a mad dash to to get UF Online up and running for its first 500 students. Her resignation was announced in administrative memo Wednesday night, and the news was first reported by The Gainesville Sun.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/regents-stand-behind-new-teacher-certification-exam
Regents stand behind new teacher certification exam
LOHUD The Journal News
College education departments, students and United University Professions, which represents SUNY faculty, have raised concerns about the education Teacher Performance Assessment, or edTPA, which is being used for the first time this year to certify teachers in New York. In a statement Thursday, state Education Commissioner John King said he and the Board of Regents’ higher education committee were still supporting the exam, which is meant to increase standards for potential teachers.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/university-michigan-alter-employee-retirement-benefits-2015
University of Michigan to alter employee retirement benefits in 2015
MLive
The University of Michigan will change its retirement benefits in 2015. The school is limiting what types of income are eligible for annual retirement contributions, which are up to 10 percent of employee salaries.
www.edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/13/26google.h33.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
Google Under Fire for Data-Mining Student Email Messages
By Benjamin Herold
As part of a potentially explosive lawsuit making its way through federal court, giant online-services provider Google has acknowledged scanning the contents of millions of email messages sent and received by student users of the company’s Apps for Education tool suite for schools. In the suit, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company also faces accusations from plaintiffs that it went further, crossing a “creepy line” by using information gleaned from the scans to build “surreptitious” profiles of Apps for Education users that could be used for such purposes as targeted advertising.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Sophisticated-Mobile-Apps-Are/145151/?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
Sophisticated Mobile Apps Are Reshaping Campus Safety
By Megan O’Neil
Underage drinking. Cars parked illegally. Threatening social situations. The nature of the real-time alerts that started rolling in to Virginia Commonwealth University’s police dispatch center this past fall—sometimes as many as five a day—surprised campus-safety officials. …But not only are he and his colleagues now fielding such tips, they are also receiving details that can prove critical to a response, including exact GPS locations, physical descriptions, and photographs of license plates. The conduit is LiveSafe, a mobile application that was adopted by the university in August and has been downloaded 4,200 times.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/sacs-launch-investigation-louisiana-college
SACS to launch investigation of Louisiana College
The Town Talk
SACS’ decision comes in the wake of allegations that LC officials had submitted documents that contained forged signatures and other consistencies to the accrediting agency as it was considering whether to remove the school from warning status in 2011-12. “Obviously it’s something of concern to us, and we will investigate,” Michael Johnson, senior vice president and chief of staff at SACS, told The Town Talk on Tuesday.
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/martin-university-put-probation-accrediting-agency
Martin University put on probation by accrediting agency
Indy Star
In its decision, the North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission said the university set modest goals to improve low retention and graduation rates without identifying the causes or strategies to address them. The commission also cited concerns over Martin University remaining in a “financially precarious position,” particularly after fall enrollment came in far under projections, causing a $600,000 shortfall and a round of layoffs.
www.capeandislands.org
http://capeandislands.org/post/pew-study-many-technophiles-also-love-libraries
Pew Study: Many Technophiles Also Love Libraries
By Lynn Neary
You might think that in a world of Google and Wikipedia, people who love technology wouldn’t care much about the musty old local public library. But, according to a new report by the Pew Research Internet Project, you’d be wrong. Pew has been studying the changing role of libraries in America in the digital age. Its first report, published in January 2013, looked at how libraries are trying to refocus services to meet the needs of tech-savvy patrons. The second report examined what people expect from libraries now and in the future.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/14/house-subcommittee-approves-bill-would-cut-nsf-social-science-research#ixzz2vwALWuth
Battle Over NSF Begins
Michael Stratford
WASHINGTON — A House of Representatives subcommittee on Wednesday advanced legislation that would keep total funding targets for the National Science Foundation at roughly their current levels but would slash the agency’s budget for social and behavioral science research. The panel approved a bill that would authorize a $7.28 billion overall budget for the NSF in the 2015 fiscal year that begins this October, which represents a 1.5 percent increase from its current level.The proposal, in a departure from the most recent authorizations of the NSF, also seeks to set funding targets for each individual directorate within the agency.
Related article:
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/House-GOP-Allows-Some/145315/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
House GOP Allows Some Compromise in Bid to Focus NSF on Economic Value