University System News

2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/budget-passes-with-a-last-minute-surprise/nfGFL/
Budget passes, with a last-minute surprise
By James Salzer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With primaries two months away, the House and Senate gave final approval Tuesday to an election-friendly budget that gives a little something to pretty much everyone. Including, at the last minute, the Atlanta Falcons. The spending plan for fiscal 2015 — which begins July 1 — pours more than $300 million extra into schools to eliminate furloughs, lengthen the school year and, if there’s money left over, give teachers pay raises. Some state employees will also get merit raises. The budget pumps more than $800 million into construction projects, with the bulk of the money going to new schools, college buildings, libraries and the Savannah harbor deepening project.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/03/lawmakers-send-15-budget-to-governor.html
Lawmakers send ’15 budget to governor
Dave Williams
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The General Assembly gave final approval to a $20.8 billion state budget Tuesday, concluding action on lawmakers’ only constitutional duty on the next-to-last day of the 2014 legislative session. The Georgia House of Representatives passed the budget covering state spending for the coming fiscal year 174-2. The state Senate followed suit about an hour later 51-5.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/major-gun-bill-passes-georgia-senate/nfGLm/
Major gun bill passes Georgia Senate
By Kristina Torres
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A sweeping gun bill passed the Georgia Senate late Tuesday, but it’s not the one the House wanted. The changes to House Bill 60 made on the Senate floor seemed aimed at pulling the House into a conference committee, in which three members from each chamber will try to negotiate a final compromise before this year’s legislative session ends Thursday.

Related articles:
www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=272618
Ga. Senate backs expansion of right to carry guns

www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/georgia/ga-senate-backs-expansion-of-right-to-carry-guns/nfGMf/
Ga. Senate backs expansion of right to carry guns

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/final-passage-for-bill-extending-college-tax-exemp/nfF5q/
Final passage for bill extending college tax exemption to private developers
By Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would extend a property tax exemption to private companies when they take over operations of University System of Georgia dorms and parking areas. The 44-7 vote met the two-thirds requirement for final passage of House Bill 788. The tax exemption is a key part of the University System’s privatization plan that could help wipe almost $4 billion in debt off its books. Under the plan, the system would retain ownership of the buildings and land, but the selected companies would operate and maintain the facilities according to leases that could run as long as 65 years.

Relate article:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/03/regents-privatization-bill-clears-general-assembly.html
Regents privatization bill clears General Assembly

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/final-passage-for-home-school-bill-easing-hope-sta/nfF5X/
Final passage for home school bill easing HOPE standard
By Kristina Torres
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Home school students could see lower test score requirements for receiving Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship under a bill given final passage Tuesday by the state Senate. House Bill 810 would drop the standardized college admissions tests score requirement for these students from scoring in the 85th percentile to the 80th percentile. That would mean an SAT score of 1780 instead of 1850 (out of a possible 2400), according to the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Joyce Chandler, R-Grayson. The ACT score requirement would drop from a 26 to a 25 (out of a possible 36).

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/legislative-briefs/nfGHn/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Legislative briefs
BY FROM STAFF REPORTS
Private operation of dorms clears Legislature
The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would extend a property tax exemption to private companies when they take over operations of University System of Georgia dorms and parking areas. The 44-7 vote met the two-thirds requirement for final passage of House Bill 788. The tax exemption is a key part of the University System’s privatization plan that could help wipe almost $4 billion in debt off its books. Under the plan, the system would retain ownership of the buildings and land, but the selected companies would operate and maintain the facilities according to leases that could run as long as 65 years.
Home school HOPE bill on way to governor
Home school students could see lower test score requirements for receiving Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship under a bill given final passage Tuesday by the state Senate. House Bill 810 would drop the standardized college admissions tests score requirement for these students from scoring in the 85th percentile to the 80th percentile.

USG NEWS:
www.members.jacksonville.com
http://members.jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2014-03-18/story/tobacco-banned-oct-1-all-georgia-university-system-campuses
Tobacco banned Oct. 1 on all Georgia University System campuses
By Lee Shearer
Athens Banner-Herald
Tobacco use will be banned on Georgia public college campuses starting Oct. 1. The state Board of Regents voted unanimously for the ban with little discussion during a Tuesday meeting in Atlanta. “I’ve gotten no negative feedback and several calls supporting this,” said Regents Chairman Philip Wilheit.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-board-of-regents-approves-tobacco-ban-for-un/nfF2j/
Georgia Regents give initial approval to campus tobacco ban; final vote expected Wednesday
By Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Board of Regents, meeting as a full committee, on Tuesday unanimously approved a tobacco ban for all 31 public colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia. The board will take a final vote on the ban Wednesday.

Related articles:
www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=272619
Georgia university system to vote on smoking ban

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/administration/smoking-ban-recommended-by-board-of-regents-committee-vote-set/article_ab8a46bc-aed8-11e3-9faf-0017a43b2370.html
Smoking ban recommended by Board of Regents committee, vote set for Wednesday

www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2014-03-18/regents-approve-tobacco-ban-georgia-campuses#.UymW3ygrseV
Regents approve tobacco ban on Georgia campuses

www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-03-18/armstrong-exepected-get-ok-drop-atlantic#.UymbrCgrseW
Armstrong exepected to get OK to drop ‘Atlantic’
By Lee Shearer
ATLANTA — Armstrong Atlantic State University seemed likely to get permission to drop the “Atlantic” from its name after a state Board of Regents committee meeting Tuesday.
Founded as Armstrong Junior College in 1935, the Savannah university had “Atlantic” added to its name in 1996 as the board of regents sought to give each school a geographic identifier, Armstrong president Linda Bleicken told members of the regents’ Organization and Law Committee. Students, the Savannah business community and others associated with the college overwhelmingly want to drop “Atlantic,” she said.

www.nytimes.com

What Color Is Your Online Adult Course?
By JOHN F. WASIK
As part of the latest wave of online learning platforms, Massive Online Open Courses (Moocs) have gone viral. They can be useful for certain students, although those interested in changing or enhancing their careers should consider their more intensive sister, distance learning … While you can view the free course materials in Udacity, the service will charge a fee, which varies by course. None of the courses are for credit, except for a program sponsored in partnership with Georgia Tech, which offers a master’s degree in computer science.

www.knoxnews.com
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2014/mar/18/hacker-schools-offer-students-a-different-path/
Hacker schools offer students a different path to tech jobs
By David Markiewicz, McClatchy Tribune
Aaron Groch had a bachelor’s degree in English and was already writing for the Web when he went back to school to study computer programming. But Groch said after two years of computer science at Georgia State, he dropped out because he felt he wasn’t learning to write code fast enough, the skill he needed to land a better job. The Atlantan then turned to an alternative that was billed as quicker, cheaper and effective. He went to hacker school, not a place where you devise ways to crack Defense Department security but where people learn code in a hurry and don’t have to take anthropology. In eight weeks at Tech Talent South in Atlanta, he had the skills he wanted. Then he got an internship at a local Web developer.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-03-18/freedom-university-starts-spring-semester-sunday-continues-mission-teach
Freedom University starts spring semester Sunday, continues mission to teach undocumented students
By ANDRE GALLANT
Activists seeking in-state tuition for undocumented immigrant students at Georgia’s state universities don’t see their fight ending anytime soon. So their now four-year-long “continuous act of civil disobedience,” Freedom University, won’t close its doors either. The university is a free school for undocumented students, who are not allowed admittance to the state’s top universities and must pay out-of-state tuition to all others.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-18/uga-conference-look-cybersecurity-law-and-policy-issues
UGA Conference to look at cybersecurity law and policy issues
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
Experts from the executive branch, Capitol Hill, the corporate sector and academia will gather to discuss international cybersecurity law and policy issues at the “Cybersecurity and National Defense: Building a Public-Private Partnership Conference” to be held March 31 at 9 a.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall on the University of Georgia Campus. Organized by the UGA School of Law’s Dean Rusk Center for International Law and Policy, the conference is free, but registration is required. Co-sponsored by UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs, specific topics to be addressed include national security risks that cyber issues present both to the public and private sectors and potential collaboration between government and the corporate world to minimize cyber threats.

www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/t-stolen-georgia-tech-tower/nfF9D/
‘T’ stolen from Georgia Tech tower
ATLANTA — It’s hard to spell Georgia Tech without a “T”, but right now there’s one missing from the iconic campus tower. School officials confirmed to Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday afternoon that someone stole a large “T” from the top of Tech Tower. A school spokesman said Tuesday afternoon administrators were aware the letter is missing. The school tweeted, “Defacing campus property isn’t a tradition we’re proud of.” By Tuesday evening the “T” had been recovered and a student apprehended.

CONSOLIDATION:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-03-18/south-georgia-state-president-updates-regents-consolidation
South Georgia State president updates Regents on consolidation
By LEE SHEARER
Merging Waycross College and South Georgia College into a new college posed unexpected challenges, and opposition among community leaders has been replaced by support, according to the merged colleges’ president. “The cultural divide can be wide and deep for both internal and external constituencies,” said Virginia Carson, president of South Georgia State College, which has campuses in Douglas and Waycross and “instructional units” at Georgia Southwestern State College in Americus and Valdosta State College. The process of choosing a new name for 1-year-old South Georgia State was divisive, and so was choosing a new mascot to replace the two at Waycross and Douglas, she told the state Board of Regents on Tuesday.

RESEARCH:
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/science_health/uga-continue-research-of-harmful-chemicals-with-epa-grant/article_82f3f8ac-ae0a-11e3-93f2-0017a43b2370.html
UGA continue research of harmful chemicals with EPA grant
Rachel Brannon
The University of Georgia is one of four universities that will be a part of a $3 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund research to better understand how chemical interactions in the body may lead to altered brain development. Steven Stice, a professor in the animal and dairy science department at UGA, is the principal investigator for the grant. He said UGA is very excited at the opportunity this grant brings to conduct more research.

www.11alive.com
http://www.11alive.com/story/life/2014/03/19/onebusaway-marta-georgia-tech/6561331/
New app takes the guesswork out of riding MARTA
MARTA riders can track the arrival times of buses and trains using OneBusAway, a new app co-developed by an assistant professor at Georgia Tech.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303730804579439910357952516?KEYWORDS=%22Georgia+Institute%22&mg=reno64-wsj
Emotions: Bright Light vs. Dim Light
Bright Light Can Intensify a Person’s Positive and Negative Responses
By ANN LUKITS
Turning on the lights can affect how people make decisions, according to new research published online in the Journal of Consumer Psychology … Experiments at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta surgically induced glioblastoma tumors in lab rats with injections of approximately 500,000 glioblastoma cells per animal. A week later, a flexible tube called a tumor guide was inserted between the tumor and tumor-collector gel implanted in the space between the brain and skull. The gel contained an anticancer drug called cyclopamine.

www.mdtmag.com
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2014/03/photos-day-body-powered-devices
Photos of the Day: Body-Powered Devices
American Chemical Society
Zhong Lin Wang, Ph.D., and his team have set out to transform the way we look at mechanical energy. Conventional energy sources have so far relied on century-old science that requires scattered, costly power plants and a grid to distribute electricity far and wide. A couple of years ago, Wang’s team at the Georgia Institute of Technology was working on a miniature generator based on an energy phenomenon called the piezoelectric effect, which is electricity resulting from pressure.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/science-to-take-many-forms-even-molecular-at-festi/nfFLc/
Science to take many forms, even molecular, at festival
BY BO EMERSON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Prepare to be blinded with science. The first Atlanta Science Festival begins this week with more than 100 eye-boggling events occurring simultaneously over eight days throughout the city … Georgia Tech professor Gil Weinberg built a robot arm that allows Barnes to play drums two-handed again.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.theblacksheartimes.com
http://www.theblacksheartimes.com/articles/2014/03/19/opinion/doc53289f05cd872205038604.txt
CRAWFORD / Our state’s legislators are acting like a bunch of liberals
By Tom Crawford
The Georgia General Assembly has rightly earned a reputation for being one of America’s most conservative legislative bodies. When Republicans outnumber Democrats by two-to-one in the state Senate and House of Representatives, you wouldn’t expect otherwise. You would still be surprised at some of the bills that were seriously considered during this year’s session. A number of these measures were actually very liberal in their methods and goals.

www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2014/03/saving-the-fox-showed-the-value-of-preserving-atlantas-past-a-lesson-we-must-remember/
SaportaReport
Saving the Fox Theatre showed the value of preserving Atlanta’s history – a lesson we must never forget
By Maria Saporta
Forty years ago, Atlanta faced its biggest preservation battle in its history. The telephone company — Southern Bell — wanted to build a new headquarters building on the site of the Fox Theatre … And so Atlanta’s preservation movement was born with passionate “Save the Fox” movement that began at the grassroots with students from Georgia Tech and other young activists to progressive business leaders who worked behind the scenes to come up with a solution that saved the Fox and permitted Southern Bell to build its tower next door.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/how-fix-higher-education
How to fix higher education
Reuters
America’s elite higher education institutions are the envy of the world. Foreign students flock to the oldest and wealthiest U.S. research universities to take advantage of resources that are unparalleled, thanks to the deep pockets of many centuries’ worth of captains of industry. Yet when we consider the post-secondary institutions that educate the typical American high school grad, we see a very different picture.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/identifying-true-cost-college
Identifying the true cost of college
LeavenworthTimes.com
One of the challenges of working in higher education these days is separating fact from fiction concerning the cost of a college education. First, for full disclosure, in case you haven’t noticed, I work at a private, non-profit university. I have several years of experience in public education, but most of my professional life has been spent in private education.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Cost-Control-Lesson-From-an/145321/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
A Cost-Control Lesson From an Unlikely Source
By Raynard S. Kington
In the struggle to find ways to reduce the costs of a college education, one of the greatest challenges has been understanding the drivers of costs and their value in terms of quality and outcomes. Leaders in higher education—those of us in the middle of the cost debates and the ones most able to take direct action at our institutions—must push harder for better data and analysis on costs, quality, and, ultimately, student outcomes. One way to begin teasing apart the nuances of the cost issue may come from the world of health care.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/striking-public-university
Striking for the public university
Truthout
Earlier this year, hundreds of faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago canceled their classes and went on strike. In the first faculty walkout in UIC history, they picketed the campus for two days. What could professors possibly have to complain about? Nearly everything. And it might not be what you think.

Education News
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/19/sallie-mae-says-its-loan-servicing-outperforms-national-average
Sallie Mae Says Its Loan Servicing Outperforms National Average
Sallie Mae, under scrutiny from consumer advocates and several lawmakers for how it manages payments for federal student loan borrowers, released new data Tuesday touting the performance of those loans. The company said that 9.3 percent of the federal direct loans it services were enrolled in an income-based repayment plan at the end of 2013, compared with the previously-released 7.7 percent national rate for all such loans. In addition, Sallie Mae said that the federal loans it serviced were less likely to be in forbearance, comparing the company’s 9.4 percent rate of forbearance with the 11.1 percent rate for all federal direct loan borrowers.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/affordability-tops-annual-hopes-and-worries-survey-of-applicants/37727
Affordability Tops Annual ‘Hopes and Worries’ Survey of Applicants
Concerns about paying for college reached an all-time high among respondents to a survey released by Princeton Review Inc. on Tuesday, but 100 percent of them said a college degree would be “worth it.” In the 2014 “College Hopes and Worries Survey,” 89 percent of respondents reported that financial aid would be “very necessary” to pay college expenses. Among those respondents, 65 percent said it would be “extremely necessary.”

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/19/new-arizona-scholarship-program-aimed-asset-building-low-income-students
Low-Income Asset-Building
By Michael Stratford
Much of the discussion about low-income students in Washington has centered on getting those students access to larger federal grants and loans, convincing them to apply for aid, or even persuading them to think about pursuing higher education in the first place. Far less attention has been paid to giving families incentives to put away more of their own money for college through designated savings accounts — an approach proponents say makes students more invested in their education and therefore more likely to graduate.

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/18/mich-considers-pay-it-forward-tuition-plan/6585687/
Mich. tuition plan would pay it forward
David Jesse, Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — The latest, greatest idea for making a college education affordable sounds simple enough — students can attend school for free. But there’s a catch. In return for free tuition, students have to agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income for a specified number of years to a special fund that would pay other students’ college bills.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/19/lost-credits-hold-back-transfer-students-study-finds
Starting All Over Again
By Paul Fain
Students are much less likely to earn a four-year degree if they first enroll at a community college. A key reason, according to a newly released study, is lost credits in the transfer process. The research also dumps cold water on several other explanations for why many community college students fail to eventually complete bachelor’s degrees, such as assumptions about lowered expectations, a vocational focus or inadequate academic rigor during their time at two-year colleges.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/many-adults-falling-short-degrees
Many adults falling short of degrees
The New York Times
Two and a half years ago, Kristine Rose enrolled full time at Mount Holyoke College and crammed her belongings into a 12-foot-square room. nShe arrived on the campus in South Hadley, Mass., as a Frances Perkins scholar, a program established more than 30 years ago for women beyond traditional college age who sought an undergraduate degree. All bring previously earned college credit; Ms. Rose transferred in 57 of the 128 credits required for graduation.

www.nytimes.com

A Degree Where Techie Meets Business Smarts
By ELIZABETH OLSON
DANIEL BRISKER, who graduated in 2009 with an undergraduate degree in biology, likes his job at MedImmune, a Maryland biotechnology company, where he grows and harvests cell cultures, but he also wanted to enhance his professional credentials. So he went back to school for a professional science master’s degree — what some are calling a science M.B.A., a degree combining science knowledge with business skills. …“Increasingly students are seeking degrees that prepare them for success in a wide range of professional settings,” said Debra W. Stewart, the council’s president. Employers, she said, place a premium on master’s degrees in what are collectively known as STEM disciplines, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Curricular-Clashes/145385/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
In Curricular Clashes, Completion Can Vie With Quality
By Dan Berrett
The movement to expand the number of people enrolling in and graduating from college—known as the completion agenda—often raises concerns from faculty members who say the rush to move more students through college will lead to the lowering of academic standards.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/19/wrong-email-sent-parents-rejected-applicants
Wrong Email Sent to Parents of Rejected Applicants
Goucher College sent the parents of 60 rejected applicants the email that was supposed to be sent to parents of admitted applicants, confusing many of the families, The Baltimore Sun reported. Human error was responsible for the emails saying that the applicants’ “offer of admission was mailed today, but I wanted to let you know the good news now, so that your family can celebrate tonight.”

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/For-Future-College-Chiefs-a/145383/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
For Future College Chiefs, a Challenge to Balance Change and Consensus
By Jack Stripling
Washington
Future college presidents will have to rapidly reinvent the institutions they lead while still respecting the often time-consuming process of building consensus across the campus, a panel of leadership experts gathered at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies said on Tuesday. Finding administrators who can pull off such a balancing act, panelists said, is a pressing challenge that colleges may not be fully prepared to meet.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61258/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=0fb2068359324c73a79393db559e8428&elqCampaignId=173
Female Presidents in Higher Ed Pay Price for Breaking Mold
by Lekan Oguntoyinbo
It’s a question most university chief executives must answer at least once during the height of winter: Do we keep the doors open or closed on a blustery and bitterly cold school day? The answer to that question rarely makes national news. But when Dr. Phyllis Wise, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign opted to keep the doors open despite painfully frigid temperatures earlier this year, Wise, an Asian American, was blasted on social media by students tweeting profane laden racist and sexist rants. …Wise could not be reached for comment. But the avalanche of offensive comments raised questions about the challenges faced by women and, specifically, women of color who hold leadership positions at the nation’s colleges when they make unpopular decisions.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/university-louisville-pays-3-administrators-double-retirement-silence
University of Louisville pays 3 administrators double retirement for silence
The Courier-Journal
The University of Louisville last year paid three officials close to President James Ramsey twice as much to take early retirement as other administrators, so they would keep quiet about sensitive information the university did not want them to disclose.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/19/settle-suit-tiaa-cref-agrees-pay-195-million
To Settle Suit, TIAA-CREF Agrees to Pay $19.5 Million
TIAA-CREF has agreed to pay more than $19.5 million after allegations that it illegally skimmed money from account holders. Several college instructors accused TIAA-CREF of keeping money their accounts earned between the time the instructors tried to transfer or withdrawal money and the time TIAA-CREF completed the transaction.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/19/consortiums-and-collaboration-abound-small-college-sector
Our Powers Combined
By Carl Straumsheim
In the face of mounting financial challenges, some small colleges are hoping that — together — they can be as innovative in the online education space as the big guys. The Council of Independent Colleges and the Teagle Foundation, which supports undergraduate education in arts and sciences, are among some of the organizations pushing for a liberal arts approach to online or hybrid education through recent initiatives that invite small colleges to work together and learn from one another.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61267/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=0fb2068359324c73a79393db559e8428&elqCampaignId=173
Calif. Democrats Scrap Higher Ed Affirmative Action Amendment
by Fenit Nirappil, Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. ― Bowing to pressure from within their party, Democrats in the legislature on Monday abandoned an attempt to repeal California’s voter-approved ban on affirmative action in the state’s higher education system. Assembly Speaker John Perez said he does not have enough support to place the constitutional amendment before voters in November. Instead, he said lawmakers will form a task force to study the issue of access to higher education.

Related article:
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/california-affirmative-action-revival-bill-dead
California affirmative action revival bill is dead

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/nyit-establishing-medical-school-arkansas-state-university
NYIT establishing medical school at Arkansas State University
Long Island Business News
To help train more doctors in a state starved for physicians, The New York Institute of Technology Board of Trustees has approved establishing a college of osteopathic medicine at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. NYIT and Arkansas State, whose board approved the move in February, plan to seek approvals from higher education and medical accrediting bodies.

www.gainesville.com
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20140318/ARTICLES/140319575
Research parks like Progress Park part of Florida economy’s lifeblood
By Jeff Schweers
Staff writer
In a lab at the University of Florida Sid Martin Biotech Incubator in Alachua, Tiara King peers into a microscope to study nematodes while her co-workers view Pasteuria spores and conduct quality-control experiments on the microscopic critters. “I came down here for this job specifically,” said King, a plant pathologist from Virginia hired 2½ years ago to manage the Pasteuria Bioscience Syngenta Lab at Sid Martin. “I wouldn’t be in Florida otherwise.” For King, this is her dream job, “a fairy tale with a lot of work.” Hundreds of people with advanced degrees in science, engineering and other disciplines — like King — have migrated to North Central Florida, lured by the high-tech job magnet in Progress Park, 14 miles north of UF’s main campus. …Florida has more research parks than any other state in the U.S., with 20,000 people commuting to one each day. Those research parks play a huge role in Florida’s innovative economy, creating local jobs and bringing new products to market on a national and global scale.

www.nytimes.com

Billionaires With Big Ideas Are Privatizing American Science
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Last April, President Obama assembled some of the nation’s most august scientific dignitaries in the East Room of the White House. Joking that his grades in physics made him a dubious candidate for “scientist in chief,” he spoke of using technological innovation “to grow our economy” and unveiled “the next great American project”: a $100 million initiative to probe the mysteries of the human brain. Along the way, he invoked the government’s leading role in a history of scientific glories, from putting a man on the moon to creating the Internet. The Brain initiative, as he described it, would be a continuation of that grand tradition, an ambitious rebuttal to deep cuts in federal financing for scientific research.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/university-wisconsin-madison-reaches-35k-animal-welfare-violation-settlement
University of Wisconsin-Madison reaches $35k animal welfare violation settlement
wausaudailyherald.com
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has paid a $35,000 fine to settle about half-a-dozen animal research violations, including burning a cat and euthanizing a dog without notifying the supervising veterinarian. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the university 44 citations between 2007 and 2013 but apparently has given up pursuing 37 of them, UW Research Animal Resources Director Eric Sandgren said. The agency sent the university a letter on Feb. 3 offering to settle the remaining violations for $35,286, about half of the $70,000 in fines the institution could have faced. Sandgren said UW officials signed the deal on Feb. 18.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/aclu-fighting-college-funding-cuts-over-assigned-reading
ACLU fighting college funding cuts over assigned reading
WISTV.com
The American Civil Liberties Union is fighting funding cuts to the College Of Charleston and University of South Carolina Upstate over assigned reading. The ACLU, along with other organizations have sent a letter asking state senators to reinstate funding. The house approved cutting $52,000 from the College of Charleston and $17,142 from USC Upstate that was to be used on reading programs for incoming students.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/leaders-higher-education-call-immigration-reform
Leaders in higher education call for immigration reform
The National Law Review
As the immigration reform debate endures in the House of Representatives, leaders in higher education are continuing their call for improvements to the nation’s immigration system.