University System News

2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/what-bills-made-the-cut-in-georgias-2014-legislati/nfJKj/
What bills made the cut in Georgia’s 2014 legislative session?
By Aaron Gould Sheinin and Kristina Torres
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawmakers’ 40 days are up. The 2014 legislative session ended Thursday with the gavel banging at midnight in the House and Senate chambers signaling death for dozens of bills. But dozens more received final passage and are on their way to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk to become law or get sent to the scrap heap until January. Among the major items that passed Thursday was a gun bill that made sweeping changes to the state’s weapons laws. …Here is a comprehensive look at what passed and what failed this year:

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/general-assembly/2014-03-23/21-billion-state-budget-aims-have-little-something-everyone
$21 billion state budget aims to have a little something for everyone
By WALTER C. JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA | As Georgia lawmakers arrived home from the 2014 legislative session that ended at midnight Thursday, many were bringing the bacon with them from Atlanta.
The $21 billion budget the General Assembly passed for the fiscal year starting July 1 has something for everyone thanks to significant increases in tax collections and improving emergency reserves.

www.nytimes.com

Amid Wave of Pro-Gun Legislation, Georgia Proposes Sweeping Law
By HERBERT BUCHSBAUM
ATLANTA — Pro- and anti-gun forces do not agree on much, but they do agree on the breathtaking sweep of the Georgia legislation allowing guns in bars, schools, restaurants, churches and airports that is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Nathan Deal. Americans for Responsible Solutions, founded by Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was critically wounded in a mass shooting in 2011, calls it “the most extreme gun bill in America” and the “guns everywhere” legislation. The National Rifle Association, which lobbied for the bill, calls it “the most comprehensive pro-gun” bill in recent state history, and described the vote at the Capitol on Thursday as “a historic victory for the Second Amendment.”

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/session-over-georgia-lawmakers-head-into-primary-e/nfJJ2/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Session over, Georgia lawmakers head into primary elections
BY AARON GOULD SHEININ AND KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Gee, think there’s an election this year? Georgia lawmakers finished their 2014 session Thursday with more than enough campaign material to fill constituents’ mailboxes, inboxes and empty lawns. Now, less than two months stand between them and primary elections, with everyone from the governor to the speaker of the House to veteran senators facing challengers on May 20. Broaden gun rights in Georgia? Check. Pledge pay raises for teachers? Check. Block as much of Obamacare as possible? Check. Measures on medical marijuana, privatizing the state’s child welfare system and autism insurance for young children? They all failed.

USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/whats-up-with-that-university-system-tobacco-ban/nfHgj/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
What’s up with that university system tobacco ban?
BY MOLLY BLOOM – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
ATHENS — Cigarette in hand, Cat Stinson sat in front of a no-smoking sign on a covered walkway on the University of Georgia campus discussing the university system’s new tobacco ban with friends. “It’s a hindrance to us because we’re all over 18 and this is what we do in order to decrease stress,” she said this past week. “Do you have a lighter?” This week, the state Board of Regents approved a new University System of Georgia policy banning tobacco use on the campuses of its 31 institutions. The ban includes all forms of tobacco products — cigarettes, cigars, chew, dip, hookahs, cigarillos, etc. — as well as e-cigarettes.

www.savnnahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2014-03-21/armstrong-gets-ok-offer-new-economics-degree#.UzG9EigrseU
Armstrong gets OK to offer new economics degree
By Mary Carr Mayle
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents, meeting in Atlanta Wednesday, approved Armstrong Atlantic State University’s request to offer a new Bachelor of Science degree in business economics beginning this fall. Armstrong President Linda M. Bleicken said the university was “delighted” with the decision. “This degree provides a blend of business competencies with much-needed communications and leadership capabilities demanded by today’s employers,” Bleicken said Thursday.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-21/uga-school-law-launches-master-study-law
UGA School of Law launches Master in the Study of Law
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
This fall, the University of Georgia School of Law will begin offering a new graduate level degree for professionals and recent graduates seeking to increase their knowledge of law relevant to their career or academic discipline.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2014-03-21/grius-azziz-bows-out-texas-job-search?v=1395415214
GRU’s Azziz bows out of Texas job search
Staff
Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz said this afternoon he will not pursue a job at a Texas university. “While I am appreciative to the University of Texas System for their consideration in the search for an inaugural president of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, I have decided not to pursue the opportunity further,” he said in a statement issued by GRU.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-21/altering-arch-accessibility-conflicts-federal-act-says-uga
Altering Arch for accessibility conflicts with federal act, says UGA
By LEE SHEARER
The University of Georgia won’t change its Broad Street Arch to make it accessible to people with mobility disabilities. Earlier this month, a trio of students with such disabilities gathered thousands of signatures on a petition asking that UGA change the steps and area around the arch so that students, alumni and others with disabilities that prevent them from going up or down steps could participate in the UGA tradition of alumni walking through the arch. But UGA officials say now that altering the arch or its surroundings would conflict with the National Historical Preservation Act, which “requires the university to consider whether alterations can be made without threatening the historical significance of the site,” according to a statement the university released Friday.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/health/2014-03-21/athens-medical-students-celebrate-first-match-day
Athens medical students celebrate first Match Day
By APRIL BURKHART
Future doctors excitedly counted down the seconds to noon Friday when they learned where the next phase of their training would take place in a rite of passage called Match Day.
But the medical students at Athens’ Georgia Regents University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership campus had more to celebrate than learning where they would serve their residencies. It was Match Day for the first graduating class of medical students educated at the school off Prince Avenue.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/cops-uga-professor-asked-student-for-happy-drug/nfKBW/
Cops: UGA professor asked student for ‘happy’ drug
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A University of Georgia psychology professor has been accused of asking a student to get him a prescription drug while on a spring break trip. The professor, Charles Lance, surrendered to authorities Friday morning, his attorney said, and was released later in the day from the Athens-Clarke County Jail. Arrest warrants had been issued charging Lance with three counts of possession of prescription drugs not in a proper container and one count of attempting to obtain dangerous drugs through fraudulent means.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2014/mar/22/ggc-police-uses-tools-8212-canine-and-otherwise/
GGC police uses tools, canine and otherwise, to keep students safe
…By chocolate Lab standards, Ginger is small. Her badge hangs from a collar and takes up a healthy portion of her chest. She turns 4 years old next month, and she is adorable. “She’s one of the best things we’ve got going,” Georgia Gwinnett College Police Chief Terry Schneider said. When Schneider was hired in 2008, he was the Lawrenceville college’s only police officer. The school held its inaugural commencement ceremony that year, graduating just 17 students. A few things have changed. By 2011, GGC had nearly 8,000 students and three fully stocked, on-campus residence halls. The police department quickly realized the not-totally-unexpected ramifications: outsiders saw the school, its students and its “new” police department as easy marks. Reports of drug activity started coming in. “With a commuter college, at 10 o’clock or 11 o’clock at night, you can lock the doors, turn on the alarms and go home,” Schneider said. “With a resident college, you’re here 24/7/365. And that’s how our police department operates. We’re always here.” It was time for the department to crack down. That began with Ginger.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/immigrants-without-legal-status-in-us-sue-georgia-/nfKCT/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Immigrants without legal status in U.S. sue Georgia for in-state tuition
BY JANEL DAVIS AND JEREMY REDMON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Rigoberto Rivera grew up in Georgia, he graduated from Roswell High School and he and his parents are paying state income taxes. Now he wants to go to college and study criminal justice in his home state. But he said he can’t afford it because Georgia won’t let him pay its in-state tuition rate, which is several thousand dollars below the out-of-state rate. The reason: Rivera was illegally brought here from Mexico as a child and doesn’t have legal status in the U.S. like a citizen or a green card holder would. Rivera and 38 other immigrants like him are now suing the state, arguing it is not following its own tuition policy. At the center of the lawsuit is a controversial Obama administration program that has granted people including those 39 a temporary reprieve from deportation. The federal government says people granted that benefit are legally present in the U.S. Being in the U.S. legally is what Georgia’s in-state tuition policy requires.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/administration/pell-grant-gives-extra-cushion-for-uga-students/article_cfd95880-b06a-11e3-8fc0-0017a43b2370.html
Pell Grant gives extra cushion for UGA students
Stephen Mays
March brings another season aside from spring — tax season. It’s time for students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA gives students access to federal grants and scholarships, loans and work-study programs. At the University of Georgia, 88.8 percent of the federal grants and scholarships given to students during the 2012-2013 academic year was the Federal Pell Grant, according to the 2013 Fact Book. Being a grant, there is a chance for students to obtain money directly, if any funds are left over after being paid toward his or her account balance. But for Raven Blocker, that has never happened. “I’ve yet to have any of my money roll over and into my pocket,” Blocker said. “With the HOPE Scholarship being cut so much and that extra money for books and student fees gone, the Pell Grant barely puts a dent in what’s left over.”

GOOD NEWS:
www.gpb.org
http://www.gpb.org/blogs/georgia-works/2014/03/24/two-georgia-schools-tops-in-online-masters-program
Two Georgia Schools Tops in Online Master’s Program
By Chip Rogers
The online education website Business-management-degree.net released their Top 20 Online Master’s of Business Management Degree Programs. Two Georgia schools were recently included in the Top 20 list for their high-quality online master’s degree programs in business management and administration: Georgia College and State University and the University of West Georgia.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-24/uga-terry-college-professor-rick-watson-named-regents-professor
UGA Terry College professor Rick Watson named Regents Professor
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
Rick Watson, the J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, has been named a Regents Professor effective July 1. Regents Professorships are awarded by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents to distinguished faculty whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace setting.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/uga-professors-awarded-for-undergrad-teaching-excellence/article_0c0542ba-b06b-11e3-8702-0017a43b2370.html
UGA professors awarded for undergrad teaching excellence
Leighton Rowell
The University of Georgia’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost gave three professor’s its highest early career teaching honor Feb. 24.
The award, the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching was established in 1988 and given out annually. The 2014 recipients include Maria Navarro, associate professor of agricultural leadership, education and communication in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Anthony Madonna, assistant professor of political science in the School of Public and International Affairs; and John Schramski, associate professor in the College of Engineering.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/administration/uga-professor-to-be-inducted-as-a-fellow-of-the/article_f6c4da14-b06a-11e3-a15e-0017a43b2370.html
UGA professor to be inducted as a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition
Leighton Rowell
Lynn Bailey, department head and professor of foods and nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia, was named a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition. …Induction as a Fellow of the ASN is not the only national award Bailey has won during her prolific career, almost 35 years of which she spent at the University of Florida. Since completing her Ph.D. at Purdue University in 1975, Bailey has received numerous awards including the Agnes Higgins Award in the area of fetal and maternal medicine, the ASN’s Centrum Award in Nutrition for scientists who have made significant contributions to the area of human nutrition through human research and the USDA National Award for Superior Service for research accomplishments and publications.

RESEARCH:
www.savannahnow,com
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2014-03-21/georgia-southern-launches-research-partnership-irish-university#.UzG9DCgrseU
Georgia Southern launches research partnership with Irish university
By Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern University and the Waterford Institute of Technology, along with the Georgia Historical Society and the John F. Kennedy Trustin New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, have formed what they call the Wexford-Savannah Axis research partnership.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-21/uga-undergraduates-present-research-annual-curo-symposium
UGA undergraduates to present research at annual CURO Symposium
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
More than 250 University of Georgia undergraduate students will present original research projects and creative works at the annual spring symposium hosted by UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities. The two-day event, which is open to the public, will be held on March 31 and April 1 at the Classic Center in downtown Athens. Since its inception in 1999, the CURO Symposium has provided a public space for students from all academic disciplines to share their research with their peers, the UGA research community and others.

www.wabe.drupal.pubvlcbroadcasting.net
http://wabe.drupal.publicbroadcasting.net/post/maybe-superhuman-robotic-prosthetic-drumming-georgia-tech
“Maybe Superhuman” – Robotic Prosthetic Drumming at Georgia Tech
By MYKE JOHNS
Here’s a story of technology helping a musician overcome adversity. When Jason Barnes lost his right arm in 2012, that might have been the end of his drumming career. But Professor Gil Weinberg at Georgia Tech’s Center for Musical Technology has built Jason a robotic arm. Now, he can not only play the drums again, but the prosthesis will collaborate with him while he does.

www.huffingtonpost.ca
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/21/amputee-drummer-uses-robo_n_5008401.html
Amputee Drummer Uses Robot Arm: ‘Metal Drummers Might Be Jealous’
By Jason MacNeil
Drummer Jason Barnes has a big gig at the Atlanta Science Festival on March 22. It’s even bigger considering he’s had to practice for it with his new robotic arm. According to New Scientist, Barnes lost the lower portion of his right arm in 2012 due to an electric shock after cleaning a vent hood in a restaurant. However, the tragic injury didn’t deter the musician, resulting in a basic drumming device using springs and a brace he would attach to his right arm. After enrolling in the Atlanta Institute of Music and Media, Barnes met drum instructor Eric Sanders who put him in touch with Gil Weinberg, an engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology who had previously created robots to play music. Weinberg and a group attempted to create a robotic arm for Barnes.

www.techradar.com
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/future-tech/how-wearables-became-the-key-tech-trend-of-2014-1231194
How wearables became the key tech trend of 2014
IN DEPTH Many people have become inseparable from their technology, so what’s the next step for tech you can wear?
By Ben Stinson
Wearables are now a huge trend – as we saw this week with the announcement of Android Wear. At Mobile World Congress recently we saw wearable technology from many of the big players, including Samsung’s Gear smartwatches and Sony’s SmartBand and Core life-tracker. But there were a host of other devices on show from less well-known brands, such as Huawei’s TalkBand. The focus in the current wearable market is clearly on wrist-mounted devices, whether they are smartwatches, fitness bands, or a combination of the two. The future of wearables isn’t limited entirely to our wrists however. There are plenty more places on your person that manufacturers are keen to exploit with their latest piece of desirable tech… Back in 2008, TechRadar reported on miniature mechanical power plants being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology.

www.mainstreet.com
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/money/investing/stock-tip-website-beats-wall-street-analysts
Stock Tip Website Beats Wall Street Analysts
By Hal M. Bundrick
Your best stock advice may come from a chatty stock tip website rather than a knowledgeable, Wall Street analyst. That’s the conclusion drawn from a recent study conducted by a four-member team of researchers from City University of Hong Kong, Purdue and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The study extracted stock opinions from Seeking Alpha, a popular investment-related social media Website that publishes user-generated content. Over the course of their 2005 through 2012 sample period, 6,500 articles and 180,000 comments were written regarding more than 7,000 companies.

www.yahoo.com
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/want-to-get-more-likes-and-comments-on-instagram-show-80202758134.html
Want to Get More Likes and Comments on Instagram? Show Your Face
Alyssa Bereznak
Tech Columnist
Finally, scientific proof that no one wants to see that Instagram of your dinner. Well, the majority of people, at least. A new study led by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Yahoo Labs (disclosure: we are also owned by Yahoo. What’s up, Yahoo Labs?) found that Instagram photos with a face in them are 38 percent more likely to be liked and 32 percent more likely to spur conversation than images without a face.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/03/25/the-gun-law-specifics-cops-cant-stop-suspects-for-unlawful-carrying/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
Gun law specifics: Cops can’t stop suspects for unlawful carrying
The content of HB 60, the omnibus gun bill passed by the Legislature last Thursday, is finally available online and in hard copy at the state Capitol. …Two areas are likely to spark some controversy. First, there’s a requirement that holders of concealed weapons permits must have that license on their persons when they carry. Which is immediately followed by the caveat that cops aren’t allowed to stop anyone solely to check for that permit:

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/jay-bookman/2014/mar/25/guided-tour-nations-most-extreme-gun-bill/
Jay Bookman
A guided tour of ‘nation’s most extreme gun bill’
It has taken five days for members of the Georgia Legislature to discover what changes in state gun law they actually voted to approve in the last final, confusing hours of the 2014 General Assembly, which ended Thursday. That’s how long it has taken legislative employees to compile the flurry of paperwork — the amendments to the amendments to the substitute bill, etc. — and post the actual language of House Bill 60 for all to see. So let’s take a little tour through the bill, so we can better appreciate the handiwork of those elected to govern us:

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2014/03/23/3006739/editorial-more-disappointment.html?sp=/99/203//
EDITORIAL: More disappointment than accomplishment
The 2014 Georgia General Assembly may go down as one of the least productive in history. That’s quite a statement considering the already low expectations for the lawmaking body in an election year. …The Senate did have enough time to pass a sweeping gun bill that, if the governor signs it, will permit those with carry permits to take their weapons almost anywhere, from school grounds to government buildings to bars and churches. The bill grants authority — and the responsibility — to school systems to designate teachers who pack, meaning those instructors will carry weapons. Few systems will take the lawmakers up on that ability and for very good reasons. Along with those authorizations comes legal liability. Funny, while lawmakers often decry the ever-increasing burden on schools to deal with social issues, they pile another, this time defense, onto teachers’ shoulders.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2014-03-23/jones-legislative-session-sets-stage-political-season
Jones: Legislative session sets stage for political season
ATLANTA — The 2014 legislative session that ended Thursday night has now become campaign fodder. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, laid out the script for his GOP colleagues moments after the final gavel fell. “We are looking forward to building more jobs in Georgia,” he told reporters. “We are putting money back in our part of the port of Savannah, unlike the federal government, because we want to put Georgians to work. We put money into public education, the biggest investment we’ve made in years. We invested in higher education so that these kids will have outstanding universities and technical colleges to go to,” he said.

www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24798343/article-The-best-and-worst-of-bills-in-this-year-s-General-Assembly-?instance=lead_story_left_column
The best and worse of bills in this year’s General Assembly
By Don McKee
Kudos to state Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) and Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-west Cobb) for getting the job done on putting common sense into Georgia’s zero tolerance law. They led the way on House Bill 826, which gives school administrators authority to cut some slack for students who unintentionally bring weapons to school. The bill, which zipped through the House 170-0 and the Senate 44-2, still says school policy on possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon is expulsion for a minimum of one year. But it adds, “provided, however, that a hearing officer, tribunal, panel, administrator, superintendent or local board of education shall have the authority to modify such expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis.” The law also provides schools the authority to place students “in an alternative educational setting” in such cases. That’s a long overdue change from Georgia’s zero tolerance law that mandated felony charges against students with weapons at school even if the violations were unintentional.

www.gwinnettforum.com
http://www.gwinnettforum.com/2014issues/14.0325.htm#elliott
ELLIOTT BRACK’S PERSPECTIVE
Accomplishing little, so why does the legislature meet every year?
By ELLIOTT BRACK
Editor and publisher
MARCH 25, 2014 — There’s an exhilaration abounding throughout Georgia today. Hurrah, hurrah, the Georgia General Assembly is no longer in session. You can relax a little more this week. Almost as on cue, the Legislature again got little done. They confused some issues, angered a lot of people, scurried home quickly because of the early elections this year, and in general, accomplished little. But you can bet they did two things: they collected their pay, and put in more time toward their pensions. A compilation of what the lawmakers did this year was presented in the Sunday Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The one-page list showed only on three items did the Legislature accomplish significant changes, good or bad. But the list also had other items asking if there was “significant change?’ on 12 other items that passed, the answer was ‘No.” In other words, the proposal was tweaked, modified, and re-worded, but in effect, there was little change. All this makes you wonder why the Legislature took these items up.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/kyle-wingfield/2014/mar/24/georgias-legislators-need-better-plan-going-forwar/
Kyle Wingfield
Georgia’s legislators need a better plan going forward
“Plan beats no plan.”
That line is attributed to former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as an admonition to his colleagues during the 2008-09 financial crisis to be prepared to act however the circumstances might change. It applies just as well to sessions of our General Assembly — the one just-ended, and the next one to come.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/forget-common-core-we-need-common-ethics/nfH22/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Forget Common Core; we need Common Ethics.
BY AL MEYERS
I was gearing up to write a scathing piece that lambasted Georgia legislators for their reckless disregard for students and educators and their blind loyalty to a Jeffersonian, state-controlled philosophy. I was going to refer readers to the folly that took place in Georgia over the past few weeks, with the state Senate teeing up a disastrous bill, Senate Bill 167, that would have set Georgia’s reform efforts back at least a decade, voided any standards conceived out-of-state, and put to rest any chances of cloud-based education and digital learning being implemented in Georgia’s schools. When the author of the bill cannot cite specific examples of inappropriate standards, it is easy to conclude that this was reckless and a breach of a politician’s fiduciary responsibilities. Enough said there; at least common sense prevailed, and the bill was effectively killed by the House.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/25/four-years-race-top-feds-acclaim-resulting-wave-re/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Four years into Race to the Top, feds acclaim the resulting ‘wave of reform’
Race to the Top is hitting a four-year anniversary, spurring the White House to release this update: In the four years since the Obama Administration announced its first Race to the Top grants, the President’s signature education initiative has helped spark a wave of reform across the country, according to the attached report released today by the White House and Department of Education. As the four-year anniversary of those grants approaches this week, “Setting the Pace” finds that the President’s education reform agenda has helped raise standards for students, better support teachers and school leaders, and turn around low-performing schools.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/25/we-need-common-core-ethics-students-today/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
The UGA football player arrests: We need a common core of ethics for students
AlMeyers is an Atlanta entrepreneur and author of ReinventED Solutions, a blog about innovation in public education. Meyers is also the founder of TEDxPeachtree and co-founder of the Atlanta Music Project.
By Al Meyers
I was gearing up to write a scathing piece that lambasted Georgia legislators for their reckless disregard for students and educators and their blind loyalty to a Jeffersonian, state-controlled philosophy. I was going to refer readers to the folly that took place in Georgia over the past few weeks, with the state Senate teeing up a disastrous bill, Senate Bill 167, that would have set Georgia’s reform efforts back at least a decade, voided any standards conceived out-of-state, and put to rest any chances of cloud-based education and digital learning being implemented in Georgia’s schools.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/riding-tide-moocs
Riding the Tide of MOOCs
By Andrys Onsman
There are a number of reasons put forward as to why MOOCS will continue to grow apace, ranging from seeing MOOCs as a brand-building exercise to the suggestion that running a MOOC will improve the on-campus courses. Recently, Karl Ulrich, vice-dean of innovation at Wharton (University of Pennsylvania’s Business School) came up with two interesting statistics from some of their MOOCs. First the initial enrolment of one was more than 130,000 students. Second, more than 40% of people enrolling in another already held masters, professional or doctoral degrees. This, he says, gave him the feeling that a lot of the people who enroll in MOOCs are adults who want to know something specific.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/when-secession-moves-north
When Secession Moves North
By Matt Reed
Several state university campuses in Pennsylvania are trying to secede from the state system, in order to avoid exactly the kind of bill currently being considered in New Jersey for its public colleges. When I think of secession movements in America, I usually think of the South. But the idea is moving North, and not without reason. The Northeast is having a rough go of it this year, and not only because of The Winter That Wouldn’t Die.

Education News
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61335/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=1edb25ec78e44a54b6e288c46d3db2c7&elqCampaignId=173
Deborah Delisle Defends Obama Administration’s Education Policy Agenda
New Rochelle, NY– During a recent talk at the College of New Rochelle, a top official at the U.S. Department of Education assailed two of the most entrenched ideas about what ails America’s public schools. In her double-barreled attack last week at an event hosted by the Lower Hudson Council of Administrative Women in Education, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah S. Delisle dismissed the notion of an “achievement gap” and said it’s too simplistic to think that merely adopting “best practices” will improve educational outcomes at low-performing schools. “I’m on a one-woman crusade to dismantle the concept of ‘best practices,’” Delisle said. “I say this because we think we have found the Holy Grail; people move [best practices] to a school district right next door and it doesn’t work.”

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/24/opposition-mounts-proposed-cuts-fulbright#ixzz2wso2cS4X
‘Save Fulbright’
By Elizabeth Redden
Advocates for international exchange have organized to protest what they describe as an “unprecedented” $30.5 million cut to the Fulbright program included in President Obama’s proposed budget. While the proposed budget, released earlier this month, includes an overall 1.6 percent increase in funding for the U.S. State Department’s international educational and cultural exchange programs, it cuts funding for the flagship Fulbright program by 13 percent, from $234.7 to $204.2 million. At the same time, the proposed $577.9 million exchanges budget includes funding for three new programs:

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/National-Data-Signal-College/145535/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
National Data Signal College Success for Veterans
By Libby Sander
Veterans who used the GI Bill to go to college at some point from 2002 to 2010 appear to have graduated at rates comparable to their nonveteran peers, attended mostly public institutions, and may have taken slightly longer to complete their degrees, according to a new report. The Million Records Project, a collaboration among Student Veterans of America, the National Student Clearinghouse, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, was released on Monday. It is believed to be the first national analysis of post-9/11-era veterans who used their federal education benefits to enroll in college.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/24/fight-over-layoffs-university-southern-maine-boils-over
Exiled in Maine
By Ry Rivard
Anger over faculty layoffs at the University of Southern Maine boiled over Friday when about 100 people, led by students, protested outside the provost’s office, trying to prevent and protest meetings he scheduled to tell professors they were losing their jobs. The cuts were recently announced and are part of a broader attempt to restructure the 6,000-student university in Portland. The university is trying to shed 30 faculty jobs through layoffs and retirements.

www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/student-alleged-to-have-ricin-had-been-reported-to-georgetown/2014/03/22/3c646522-b20e-11e3-95e8-39bef8e9a48b_story.html
Student alleged to have ricin had been reported to Georgetown
By Rachel Sadon, Published: March 22 E-mail the writer
A Georgetown University student who was charged Friday with possessing the biological toxin ricin made aggressive comments online toward another student earlier this year, according to a recent Georgetown graduate who said she alerted the school’s administration to the messages and believed the second student might be in danger. Daniel Milzman, 19, is facing federal charges for allegedly making the deadly toxin and keeping it in his dorm room, according to court papers. Federal authorities did not indicate why he made the ricin, but the graduate’s comments show that there were efforts to have the university look into his behavior weeks before he was taken into custody last week.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Two-Worlds-One-Problem/145479/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Two Worlds, One Problem
Colleges and the military face heavy criticism for their responses to sexual assault. Can they find a new approach?
By Libby Sander
Colleges and the military have a problem in common. Reports of sexual assaults and inadequate responses have roiled campuses and the armed services alike during the past two years, pushing college presidents and military brass into an unwelcome spotlight. Congress, federal agencies, the White House, and victims of assault are calling not only for new, more-effective policies, but also for a broad change in institutional culture. Both higher education and the military are backbones of society, with vital missions that include the development of young people. Now both face growing expectations that they heal a deeply rooted social ill. The call to chancellors and generals: Do better by the students and service members in your charge. Fix this problem.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/24/michelle-obama-speaks-importance-study-abroad
Michelle Obama Speaks on Importance of Study Abroad
First Lady Michelle Obama, on a trip to China, spoke Saturday at Stanford University’s center at Peking University about the value of study abroad. “Studying abroad isn’t just a fun way to spend a semester; it is quickly becoming the key to success in our global economy,” Obama said. “Because getting ahead in today’s workplaces isn’t just about getting good grades or test scores in school, which are important. It’s also about having real experience with the world beyond your borders –- experience with languages, cultures and societies very different from your own.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/24/poll-most-americans-oppose-pay-college-athletes
Poll: Most Americans Oppose Pay for College Athletes
Only 33 percent of the public favors paying college athletes anything more than the scholarships they receive, according to a new ABC News-Washington Post poll; 64 percent oppose the idea.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/24/duncan-says-coaches’-pay-should-be-tied-academics
Duncan Says Coaches’ Pay Should Be Tied To Academics
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Sunday that college coaches and athletics directors should be paid based on how well their players are performing in the classroom.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Duncan said he was concerned that too many athletes make money for their university but don’t end up earning degrees.