University System News

2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/as-crossover-day-approaches-the-status-of-bills-in/nd3dW/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
As Crossover Day approaches, the status of bills in state House, Senate
BY AARON GOULD SHEININ AND KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
For state legislation to have a realistic chance of passing, it must clear either the House or Senate by the end of the 30th day of the 40-day legislative session. Day 30, or “Crossover Day,” is scheduled to be Monday. Here’s where some of the most watched and debated bills in this year’s session stand. A list of major bills that have already “crossed over” from one chamber to the other appears at the end. …K-12 education/Higher education

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/crossover-day-action-begins-in-the-house/nd4qk/
Crossover Day action begins in the House
By Chris Joyner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Members of the Georgia House have begun what promises to be a long day of debating and voting on bills. Monday marks the 30th day of the 40-day legislative session known as “Crossover Day,” so called because it is the day bills must pass at least one chamber and “cross over” to the other or be lost for the rest of the session. House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, gaveled the session to order a few minutes after 10 a.m. “Day 30,” he said dryly. “Time to get to work.” The House began the day with 17 bills on its debate calendar, but many more likely will be added as lawmakers push to get their bills heard before midnight.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2014-03-02/several-issues-lawmakers-crossover-day?v=1393805690
Several issues before lawmakers on Crossover Day
Christina A. Cassidy – Augusta Chronicle
Monday marks a key deadline as bills must pass either the House or Senate to remain active for the last 10 days of the session. Known as Crossover Day, it marks the 30th day of the 40-day session. Major bills like the budget and foster care reform have already cleared this hurdle so they will not be on the agenda. However, a number of other bills including medical marijuana and civil forfeiture reform, must be dealt with by the end of Monday or they are considered dead for the rest of the session. There are some exceptions, when language from a bill shows up in the last few days as a part of another bill that already passed one chamber. That is considered unlikely, however, for major policy proposals. The following is a rundown of key issues to watch on Monday.

Related article:
www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=271864
Several issues before lawmakers on Crossover Day

www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/news/article_1fed7b80-a1b1-11e3-ba92-001a4bcf6878.html
In the trenches of Common Core fight
Haisten Willis/Times-Georgian
The fight over Common Core standards in education — an effort of 47 states to create national education standards that some have demonized as a “national curriculum” — wages on in Georgia. But if you ask one Villa Rica City Council member, the only choice should be to reject them. Leslie McPherson defeated Rusty Dean for the Ward 3 council seat last fall and took office in January. Heavily involved in the tea party, McPherson and her husband signed an anti-Common Core letter sent to Gov. Nathan Deal twice, once as citizens and once as a representatives of the Carroll County Tea Party. “Why are we giving away our authority for the education of our children here in Georgia?” she said. “Why give that to unelected officials, private trade organizations in Washington, people who stand to make money off of our children?”
The Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 167 on Tuesday by a vote of 34-16.

USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/ksu-pulls-artwork-on-sensitive-subject/nd3kD/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
KSU pulls artwork on sensitive subject
BY DAVID WICKERT – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Sensitivity over race in a state with a history of lynchings collided with artistic expression this week at Kennesaw State University, and the concerns about race apparently won out.
KSU officials ordered the removal of a piece of artwork from an exhibit at the university’s new Zuckerman Museum of Art, set to open Saturday. The artwork included some text from a 19th century letter by Georgia novelist Corra Harris justifying a lynching. A statement released by KSU Friday called the museum’s opening a milestone for the university. According to the statement, the rejected artwork, artist Ruth Stanford’s “A Walk in the Valley,” was not suitable for the opening.

Related articles:
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/03/kennesaw-state-orders-museum-remove-are-racist-past-woman-whose-land-was-given#ixzz2uuQA9s5x
Censoring Art and History

www.clatl.com
http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2014/02/28/artwork-censored-from-zuckerman-museum-opening#.UxEIFK3g7TM.email
Artwork censored from Zuckerman Museum opening

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/u-s-office-of-civil-rights-visits-uga-for-title/article_54615f1a-a19f-11e3-893b-0017a43b2370.html
U.S. Office of Civil Rights visits UGA for Title VI compliance review
Daniel Funke @dpfunke | 0 comments
The Office of Civil Rights within the United States Department of Education is visiting the University of Georgia through Wednesday to interview students, faculty and staff about the atmosphere of acceptance on campus. OCR is the civil rights enforcement agent of the Department of Education and is in the process of conducting regional compliance reviews at colleges across the country. “OCR has initiated a compliance review to examine the university’s policies, procedures and practices as they relate to harassment on the basis of race, color or national origin,” Jim Bradshaw, an employee in the U.S. Department of Education press office, told The Red & Black in an email.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2014-02-28/civil-rights-suit-filed-against-gru-police-officer-tasing-case
Civil rights suit filed against GRU police officer in tasing case
By Sandy Hodson
Staff Writer
An Augusta man repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by a Georgia Regents University police officer filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court. Named as defendants in Frederick Gibbons’ suit are GRU Officer Wesley Martin and the other officers involved in his 2012 arrest, Martin’s supervisors and the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. Martin, who testified that he has stunned about two dozen people in his 2½ years as a GRU officer, shot and wounded a man on campus last weekend, saying it was in self-defense. According to Gibbons’ suit, Martin’s actions were in retaliation for a 2010 complaint Gibbons filed against him.

USG VALUE:
www.forsythnews.com
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/3/article/22738/
UNG holding town hall meeting Thursday
By Crystal Ledford
CUMMING — The public is invited to provide input on plans for the future of the University of North Georgia. Representatives from the university — which includes a campus on Aquatic Circle in Cumming, as well as sites in Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County — are presenting a series of community town hall meetings as part of a strategic planning process. …In a statement, UNG President Bonita C. Jacobs described the community meetings as a vital part of the college’s planning process. “Our university has a major impact on the economy, work force and culture of this region, and we need to be both responsive and proactive in meeting the needs of the state, this region and the country,” she said.

GOOD NEWS:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-02/paper-uga-ecologists-wins-inaugural-award-royal-society-protection-birds
Paper by UGA ecologists wins inaugural award from Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
The authors of a University of Georgia study on global conservation funding have received an inaugural Conservation Science Award from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Lead author Anthony Waldron, a former postdoctoral associate at the UGA Odum School of Ecology now at Oxford University, accepted the award on behalf of his co-authors at a ceremony on Feb. 26 at the Royal Society in London that marked the launch of the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science. The study, which appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2013, collated information on biodiversity conservation funding worldwide and modeled the distribution of funding to show which countries have major conservation finance shortfalls. …David Gibbons, head of the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, presented the award for a paper of great conservation importance to Waldron.

RESEARCH:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-03-02/scientists-use-underwater-robots-excite-students-about-science
Scientists use underwater robots to excite students about science
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
Can underwater robots catch the imagination of middle and high school students and spark an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics? Researchers and educators from the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Marine Extension think so. They are creating an education program focused on autonomous underwater vehicles, also called gliders or underwater robots. The program, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” will capitalize on Skidaway Institute’s expertise with AUVs and MAREX’s extensive history of marine education. …”Our program will develop the next generation of AUV outreach programs by combining cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research with educational activities and strong STEM components.” This coastal intuition will provide a foundation for us to start an innovative, hands-on approach to STEM activities.” …The program is being funded through a joint grant from Skidaway Institute, UGA Public Service and Outreach, and the UGA President’s Venture Fund. The UGA President’s Venture Fund is intended to assist with significant funding challenges or opportunities.

www.edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/02/26/22computer_ep.h33.html
Computer Science: Not Just an Elective Anymore
By Liana Heitin
Computer science education is getting something of a fresh look from state and local policymakers, with many starting to push new measures to broaden K-12 students’ access to the subject. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia now have policies in place that allow computer science to count as a mathematics or science credit, rather than as an elective, in high schools—and that number is on the rise. Wisconsin, Alabama, and Maryland have adopted such policies since December, and Idaho has a legislative measure awaiting final action… Barbara J. Ericson, the director of computing outreach and a senior research scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, examined the same data and found stark inequities in the racial and gender profiles of test-takers.

www.nytimes.com

The Rolling Robot Will Connect You Now
By ANNE EISENBERG
A few years ago, the introduction of remote-controlled robots on wheels brought a new dimension to Internet video chats, keeping the conversation going as people moved from room to room. But their costliness has made them a rarity in real life. Now that is changing, and the robots are becoming inexpensive enough that they may soon have many practical uses… Wendy A. Rogers, a professor and director of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory, which does research on human-robot interaction at the Georgia Institute of Technology, says the robots may prove to be welcome additions in the lives of the elderly. “In our research, older adults have been very open to having a robot in their homes,” she said. “I’m not saying that some people won’t see them as callous or invasive,” she added. “But in my experience, older adults have been far more receptive to the idea than stereotypes might lead you to believe.”

www.nbcnews.com
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/slap-flu-patch-new-vaccine-would-skip-needle-n40726
Slap on a Flu Patch? New Vaccine Would Skip the Needle
BY MAGGIE FOX
A new patch could let people ditch needles and give themselves the flu vaccine — opening the possibility of getting your annual flu immunization in the mail instead of at the doctor’s office. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed the patch and found it works well when people give it to themselves. People were able to use the device correctly with little instruction and said they liked it a whole lot better than a flu shot. “Our dream is that each year there would be flu vaccine patches available in stores or sent by mail for people to self-administer,” said Mark Prausnitz, a professor of biomolecular engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “People could take them home and apply them to the whole family. We want to get more people vaccinated, and we want to relieve health care professionals from the burden of giving these millions of vaccinations.”

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/02/28/google-glass-developers-saving-lives/5710577/
Google Glass: Freaky, geeky tech toy aims to save lives
Marco della Cava, USA TODAY
Walk around this tech capital and you’ll spot someone wearing Google Glass, a device that spawns everything from envy to eye-rolling as debates rage over the wearable computer’s pros (hands-free tool) and cons (distracting privacy invader). But don’t smirk too fast: One of those early adopters could wind up saving your life. Around the country, coding-capable fans of the device are quietly taking it upon themselves to leverage Glass’s futuristic properties for good… “Things are getting interesting,” says Thad Starner (Georgia Tech), Google’s technical lead on Glass, which is expected to go on sale commercially this year. It’s now in the hands of tens of thousands of folks who purchased the $1,500 device after writing a successful pitch to Google.

www.medicaldevicedaily.com
http://www.medicaldevicedaily.com/servlet/com.accumedia.web.Dispatcher?next=bioWorldHeadlines_article&forceid=85674
Georgia Tech researchers develop real-time heart-imaging microchip
By Omar Ford
Staff Writer
A new catheter-based device that is under development by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; Atlanta) could provide forward-looking, real-time three dimensional imaging from inside the heart, coronary arteries and peripheral blood vessels. According to researchers the device, which provides volumetric imaging, could better guide surgeons working in the delicate spaces of the heart. The single chip device combines capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays with front-end CMOS electronics technology to provide three-dimensional intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intracardiac echography (ICE) images. The dual-ring array includes 56 ultrasound transmit elements and 48 receive elements. When assembled, the donut-shaped array is just 1.5 millimeters in diameter, with a 430-micron center hole to accommodate a guide wire.

www.the-scientist.com
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/39239/title/A-CRISPR-Fore-Cas-t/
A CRISPR Fore-Cas-t
A newcomer’s guide to the hottest gene-editing tool on the block
By Carina Storrs
A decade, ago, when researchers started to unravel the function of a system called CRISPR (clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats), which is found in bacteria and archaea, they had little inkling that it would lead to a tool that has taken the world of gene editing by storm. In the past year and a half, the method has quickly become the go-to technique for mutating and editing DNA across the animal kingdom: it works in pretty much every cell type tested so far, from human and mouse to zebrafish and fruit fly. It is so easy that not one but two research groups capitalized on CRISPR to individually mutate almost every gene in human cells (Science, 343:80-84, 2014; Science, 343:84-87, 2014)… Instead of gene inactivation, you can use the method to correct a gene. Gang Bao, a professor of biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is working to correct the destructive single-nucleotide mutation that people with sickle cell anemia have in both copies of the beta-globin gene. Bao’s team is making double nicks in the gene using Cas9 nickase and a gRNA pair.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2014-03-02/another-snowstorm-possible-month?v=1393743037
March snowstorm looming?
By Sharon Dowdy
Morris News Service
A snowstorm, followed by a few sunny days and then another snow and ice storm – this is a summary of the weather conditions in Georgia since late January. But a University of Georgia climatologist says don’t be surprised if the polar vortex sends another snowstorm and a late frost before spring officially arrives. The polar vortex is a large pocket of low pressure and cold, strong, upper-level winds that normally sits over the polar region during the winter season. “Usually it sits on top of the globe like a hat, but this year it has slid forward over the U.S.,” said Pam Knox, an agricultural climatologist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. …This unpredictability could cause havoc for Georgia farmers and gardeners this spring, she added. For instance, if Georgia fruit trees begin to flower and a late frost hits the state, the fate of peach, blueberry and other fruit crops will be threatened. “That could really decimate the fruit crop this year,” Knox said.

www.13wmaz.com
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/health/2014/02/26/football-helmet-ratings/5834547/
Experts disagree with football helmet ratings
Katelyn M Heck, WMAZ
In 2011, Virginia Tech researchers came up with a 5-star scale to rate a helmet’s safety. 13WMAZ sent open records requests to central Georgia high schools to see what helmets were being used and where they fit in Virginia Tech’s rankings. About a third of all central Georgia schools use 4-star helmets, while roughly a quarter outfit their players with 3-star helmets. …”For a concussion, we don’t really have that threshold yet. We don’t really understand all of the kinematics, all of the motions inside the head. Unfortunately, those inter-cranial kinematics, the helmets in the wrong place. We’d love to have the helmet between the brain and the inside of the skull, but it’s on the outside of the skull,” says Halstead.
Because of that and a few other reasons, NOCSAE released a statement arguing against the use of the Virginia Tech scale. …Bud Cooper, athletic training professor and researcher at The University of Georgia says even with the school’s large budget, “The university would not choose to purchase a helmet based on its 5-star rating system, because that is very new research that really hasn’t been completely substantiated.” He says the best concussion prevention happens before a player ever steps on the field. “Number one, they need to make sure their helmets are NOCSAE certified, because that is the certification that we recognize.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/science_health/professor-s-research-poses-solution-to-bee-disappearance/article_5a291048-a18e-11e3-9a14-0017a43b2370.html
Professor’s research poses solution to bee disappearance
Brittini Ray
Honeybees prove to be more significant to humans than one might think, says a researcher at the University of Georgia. Entomology professor and honeybee expert Keith Delaplane was inducted into the Excellent Order of the British Empire for his research in honeybees’ genetics and their disappearance. …Delaplane’s research focused on the natural remedies produced by honeybees to fight against colony collapse disorder.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/28/universities-unveil-programs-targeting-specific-segments-mba-student-market#ixzz2uuR8tmFu
Myriad MBAs
By Carl Straumsheim
Corporate training and certificates, a $10,000 price tag or an intensive cohort experience — how best can universities attract adult learners looking to advance their careers? In the rapidly expanding market of M.B.A. programs, the answer may be all of the above. M.B.A. programs may seem like a good fit for an all-online mode of distribution, since they often attract working professionals whose job commitments interfere with in-person education. The subject matter, however, presents a challenge — especially teaching softer skills such as organizational behavior — as does the use of group work not only to educate students, but to create cohorts within business schools… If the price point seems familiar, it may be because Benedictine has paid attention to institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology and its sub-$10,000 online master’s degree in computer science.

www.forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peggydrexler/2014/02/27/navigating-the-perils-of-office-gossip/
Navigating The Perils Of Office Gossip
Peggy Drexler, Contributor
It is almost certain that deep in our past, a group of Mesolithic humans stood around a fresh kill, talking about someone who wasn’t holding up his end of the hunting and gathering. Jump ahead 15,000 years, and we’re still at it. Office gossip is alive, flowing freely and – depending on your point of view – as natural as casual conversation or a pathogen infecting morale, productivity and even health… Being cautious with gossip is common sense, but the lure of being in the loop is seductive. Stepping out of that loop is a difficult call because gossip is the standard currency of human connection. A research team from at the University of Amsterdam found that 90 percent of total office conversation qualifies as gossip. Research at the Georgia Institute of Technology concluded that gossip makes up 15 percent of office e-mail.

www.georgiatrend.com
http://www.georgiatrend.com/March-2014/Turning-The-Corner/
TURNING THE CORNER
Commercial real estate is finally coming back – just not at full speed, and with market changes on the horizon.
Ed Lightsey
As 2013 was winding down, Atlanta was emerging from the Great Recession, bringing with it the city’s long-slumbering commercial real estate sector. At the end of 2013’s second quarter, Atlanta’s nearly 144 million square feet of office space was showing a 21.5 percent vacancy rate, but submarkets like Buckhead and the Central Perimeter were doing better… “The design of an office building goes to one aspect,” says Volkan Alkanoglu, assistant professor and graduate director at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture and a founding principal in the Atlanta firm of Alkanoglu Design, which has assisted in the design of office buildings in New York and London. “And that is productivity of employees.”

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/more-staff-payouts-for-georgia-lottery/nd3f3/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
More staff payouts for Georgia Lottery
BY JAMES SALZER AND KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Georgia Lottery executives received big raises again last year, unlike the state’s employees and teachers who saw the same old stagnant pay. Former lottery President Margaret DeFrancisco received $142,475 for “unused leave” when she retired in mid-November 2012, according to lottery records requested by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. …Among other findings: In 2012, the first year state law curtailed widespread bonuses for lottery employees, the 10 highest-paid lottery employees below DeFrancisco received raises in their base pay. The same thing happened in 2013. Bonuses were down, but all 10 below the lottery president saw their base pay rise. More than half of the 10 ended up making more money in 2013, despite the significantly lower bonuses. Six of the lottery’s top executives saw boosts in base pay last year of more than $10,000. The payouts surprised some members of the General Assembly, which has raised questions about salaries and bonuses at the lottery at a time when legislators had to slash the state’s HOPE scholarship program, which is paid out of ticket sales. They have also had to deny state employees and teachers cost-of-living raises since the start of the Great Recession.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/03/01/episcopal-bishops-come-out-against-gun-bill/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
Episcopal bishops come out against gun bill
The Episcopal bishops of Atlanta and Georgia, the right Revs. Robert C. Wright of Atlanta and Scott Anson Benhase of Georgia, respectively, have sent out a letter in opposition to HB 875, a measure passed by the House and now in the Senate, which would expand the places where licensed concealed weapons could be carried – including in houses of worship. The letter terms the bill as a “mistake.” A few paragraphs:

www.politics.blog.ajc.com
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/03/03/1621/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
Legislative tip sheet: Here comes Day 30
Today, Day 30, is one of the busiest days at the Georgia Legislature, since it is the deadline in most cases for legislation to clear one chamber or the other. It will be a marathon day and night of arm-twisting, lobbying and horse trading. The House and Senate will start at 10 a.m. and could go until midnight. The Senate calendar includes a bill that would ban the state employees’ insurance program and the federal health insurance exchange from paying for abortions. In the House, the big question is which bills will be added to an already long, but not terribly controversial list. …Moral Mondays protestors will try to make the most of much larger audience with a rally at 4. And, if all that wasn’t enough, Monday will also mark the start of qualifying. Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to be among the first to sign up to run for re-election.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/i-am-not-going-to-college-by-choice/nd23T/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
I am not going to college by choice
BY HAEGAN ALTIZER
As a high school senior, I get the same question all the time: “Where do you plan to attend college?” It’s a not a surprising question to ask a high school student, especially one who has done well in school. My response, on the other hand, surprises a lot of people. I explain that I don’t have any immediate plans to attend college, leaving people a little confused or even upset. …Clearly, my family values education. So do I, but it is important to recognize that college is not the only form of post-secondary education. …For me, one of the biggest reasons not to go to college immediately is that I can always go back. College will always be there, and I can go get a degree when I’m ready to; it just doesn’t have to happen right now. The main reason for me to hold off on college is that there are other things I would rather do. When or if I go to college is something I plan to approach with the same drive and dedication as I do with everything else. To go while I have other ambitions would be to rob myself of the full experience and would result in a less thorough education.

www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-v-hurley/why-public-colleges-cost-_b_4875813.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Why Public Colleges Cost More
Richard V.Hurley
President, University of Mary Washington
The term return on investment is now part of the higher ed lexicon — parents who will be paying for students’ college educations use the term, as do educators and administrators who seek to give good value for the price of attendance. Most of the discussion of ROI that I have seen focuses on the “return” part of the equation, with parents asking what kinds of jobs, pay and careers will be available to students when they graduate. But just as important is the “investment” end of the equation. Here America’s public institutions have historically led the way, offering quality education at prices lower than the privates. But the latest trend sees public universities losing their pricing advantage as their sticker prices keep rising.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/continuing-dialogue-discrimination
Continuing a dialogue on discrimination
The University of New Hampshire
Education is the primary reason why all students attend the University of New Hampshire, but there are certain topics that students cannot become educated on simply by sitting in classrooms. Many important topics are touched upon in discussions in classes, but continuing them outside of class is just as important, if not even more so. Over the past month, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and many University of New Hampshire students have launched a discussion outside of the classroom, using social media to voice their experiences about “being a minority” at UNH, sharing candid pieces of daily life as minority students at the 92 percent white university.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Diversity-Gap-at-Michigan/145057/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en
In Diversity Gap at Michigan Flagship, Signs of a Lost Public Mission
By Scott Kurashige
From the earliest teach-ins against the Vietnam War to demonstrations for black-studies programs, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor has historically served as a bellwether of campus movements to democratize our society. Recent student protests against racism and a hostile campus climate have again placed Michigan at the center of debates about the waning of student diversity at the country’s elite public universities.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/higher-education-matters-missouri
Higher education matters for Missouri
The Examiner
For more than 30 years, the business world was my home. I was fortunate enough to have a seat at the leadership table for large, complex organizations like IBM, leading thousands of employees through times of significant change and revolutionary business practices. That experience is one of the reasons I was hired to be the 23rd president of the University of Missouri System. With more than 75,000 students on four campuses, plus our Extension and health-care system, we ourselves are a large, complex organization.

www.economix.blogs.nytimes.com

Why College Supply Matters
By EDUARDO PORTER
Most of the debate over America’s stagnant college graduation rates focuses on things that affect demand, like college affordability and the availability of financial aid. We ponder whether high school graduates are prepared for a college education. There is a missing link in the analysis, however: supply.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Level-the-Playing-Field/145037/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en
How to Level the Playing Field for Women in Science
The ‘baby penalty’ in academe could be eased with four key reforms
By Mary Ann Mason
The good news: Many more women than ever before are completing Ph.D.’s in the sciences. Back in 2000, when I was appointed the first female dean of the graduate division at the University of California at Berkeley, I was delighted to learn that about half of the incoming doctoral students in the biological sciences—and more than 30 percent in heavily male fields like chemistry and engineering—were women. However, I also noticed that in most of the science departments where young women were eagerly enrolling, very few of the faculty members were female.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/For-College-Presidents-the/145035/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en
For College Presidents, the Interview Never Ends
By Irene Kovala
When you do research on candidates running for public office, you seek to learn their positions and promises. And later, when you’re deciding whether they should keep their jobs, you compare what they have done against that election-year rhetoric. The same holds true in other leadership posts, including the one I hold: community-college president. To ensure that an institution is making progress toward its goals, candidates for positions like this must do more than interview well at the outset; they must engage in what I call the “everlasting interview” and be forever accountable to the college’s students, faculty members, administration, and community.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/02/yikes-new-yik-yak-app-brings-threats-disruptions-s/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Yikes. New anonymous Yik Yak app brings threats, disruptions to schools
I thought this cautionary letter from Susan Opferman, principal of Webb Bridge Middle School in Fulton County, was worth sharing:
Dear Parents:
What is it? I am writing to make you aware of a potentially inflammatory app that some students have downloaded and are using. It is called Yik Yak. I am writing to you to ensure you are aware of the app, and I am also asking for your help. … Yik Yak is a mobile app. The user installs it on their smartphone. This is a free app. How does it work?
Yik Yak users may send comments anonymously. Those who see the comments don’t have to have an account; they only have to be logged on. The app uses location services to bring comments to a user’s feed from other users nearby. What’s the problem with it? If used inappropriately, Yik Yak posts can be especially vicious and hurtful, since there is no way to trace their source, and can be disseminated widely.

Education News
www.articles.philly.com
http://articles.philly.com/2014-03-02/news/47828200_1_new-school-year-school-day-medical-school
New app where user is anonymous stirs concerns
By Rita Giordano, Inquirer Staff Writer
The call went out two Thursdays ago, tweeting its way around the hallways of Moorestown High School: Everyone download Yik Yak. The reference was to a new social-media application growing in popularity elsewhere in the country but still largely unknown here. Its allure? For one thing, it’s anonymous… In November, the friends rolled out Yik Yak at their alma mater and soon moved to other Southern schools, such as the University of Virginia, University of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/From-Public-Good-to-Private/145061/
From Public Good to Private Good
How Higher Education Got to a Tipping Point
By Sara Hebel
Americans are losing the will to pay for their public colleges. They still view a higher education as essential for their personal prospects, for getting a good job and achieving financial security. But they don’t want states spending more of their money or raising their taxes to sustain the campuses that educate the majority of the nation’s students. Once embraced as a collective good, a public higher education is increasingly viewed—and paid for—as a private one.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/An-Era-of-Neglect/145045/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en
An Era of Neglect
How public colleges were crowded out, beaten up, and failed to fight back
A tale of erosion, seen through six people in the trenches.
By Karin Fischer and Jack Stripling
It happened so slowly that no one really noticed at first. That’s the way erosion works. It is a gradual decay. But somewhere along the line, over the past three decades or so, the deterioration of support for public higher education became hard to miss. Appropriations tanked. Tuition soared. College leaders embraced gloomy rhetoric about broken partnerships with the very people who had built these institutions from the ground up. Now we have come to a precipice.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/25-Years-of-Declining-State/144973/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en
25 Years of Declining State Support for Public Colleges
Explore how state and federal support has declined as a share of overall revenue—putting a greater burden on students—at more than 600 four-year public colleges and universities since 1987.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Equalizers-No-More/144999/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en
Equalizers No More
Politics thwart colleges’ role in upward mobility
By Suzanne Mettler
The American system of higher education is in crisis. Over the past 30 years, it has gone from facilitating upward mobility to exacerbating social inequality. College-going, once associated with opportunity, now engenders something that increasingly resembles a caste system: It takes Americans who grew up in different social strata and widens the divisions among them. The consequences are vast, including differences among graduates in employment rates and lifetime earnings, in health, and in civic engagement.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/HBCU-Leaders-Seek-Inclusion-in/145073/
HBCU Leaders Seek Inclusion in White House Plans for Needy, Minority Students
By Eric Kelderman
Washington
President Obama last week announced a new initiative to help black boys and young men overcome obstacles to success in school and life. He spoke from a White House dais lined with foundation and corporate leaders. Leaders of some historically black colleges who are deeply engaged in the issue now wonder how much they will be included in that effort.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Officials-Pay-at-Public/145023/
Officials’ Pay at Public Colleges Rises Faster Than at Private Ones
By Benjamin Mueller
The median base salary of senior administrators at American public universities rose by 2.5 percent in the 2014 fiscal year, a rate slightly higher than that at private universities, according to a report being released this week that’s based on a survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The report marked the first time in four years that the rate of salary growth for administrators at public colleges outpaced that of their peers at private ones.

Related article:
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/03/survey-administrators-higher-ed-see-24-increase-base-salary#ixzz2uuQKigaP
Public Salary Recovery

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61001/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=eb866651f475455ca7ff797977594e35&elqCampaignId=173
NYU Professor Says American Education a “Hoax”
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
INDIANAPOLIS ― American education has been besieged by an onslaught of “hoaxes” that threaten to undermine traditional public schools and demoralize teachers. That’s the message that New York University research and education professor Diane Ravitch delivered over the weekend to kick off the annual conference of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. In a far-reaching speech in which she lambasted a variety of players on the educational landscape — from self-styled education “reformers” to Teach for America to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan — Ravitch said American schoolchildren are being shortchanged by an inordinate emphasis on testing.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579415022664472930?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304585004579415022664472930.html&fpid=2,7,121,122,201,401,641,1009
Student Loans Entice Borrowers More for Cash Than a Degree
Low-Cost Debt Proves a Draw for Some Caught Up in Weak Job Market
By JOSH MITCHELL
Some Americans caught in the weak job market are lining up for federal student aid, not for education that boosts their employment prospects but for the chance to take out low-cost loans, sometimes with little intention of getting a degree.

www.indystar.com
http://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2014/02/25/new-poll-colleges-not-preparing-students-for-job-success/5808083/
New poll: Colleges not preparing students for job success
By Brandon Busteed and Jamie Merisotis
When Americans think of higher education, they tend to think of the name of a college or university — maybe a top name, or maybe just the name of the institution they attended — as what matters most. But many employers say that when it comes to hiring the top talent, it’s what you know, not where you go. According to new data in the annual Gallup/Lumina Foundation poll, most business leaders find a candidate’s skills to be much more important in making hiring decisions than where the candidate went to college or his or her area of academic study. Just 9 percent reported that a candidate’s alma mater is a major factor, and only 28 percent say the candidate’s college major is a very important factor, while 84 percent said that knowledge in the field is critical in the hiring process.

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/26/campus-career-centers-take-center-stage/5257141/
Colleges ramp up career guidance for students
Mary Beth Marklein, USA TODAY
There’s a new priority on campus, one that’s echoing at colleges coast to coast. Under growing pressure to demonstrate the return on investment of a college education, many schools are boosting their attention to jobs and careers.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/60998/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=eb866651f475455ca7ff797977594e35&elqCampaignId=173
West Virginia University Committee Endorses Gee as Full-Time President
by John Raby, Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. ― A West Virginia University search committee on Friday did an about-face and endorsed interim President E. Gordon Gee for the job permanently. The committee made the recommendation during an emergency meeting in Morgantown and now goes to the WVU Board of Governors. It comes seven months after Gee retired from The Ohio State University after his critical remarks about Roman Catholics and Southeastern Conference schools were made public.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/university-leaders-skeptical-lowering-governors-proposed-cap
University leaders skeptical of lowering governor’s proposed cap
MLive Media Group
Presidents of four Michigan universities—including Grand Valley State and Ferris State—were noncommittal Thursday when asked in a state hearing whether they would accept capping tuition increases at 2.6 percent instead of 3.2 percent. Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed higher education budget would require Michigan’s 15 public universities to limit tuition increases to 3.2 percent—two times the rate of inflation—to receive full funding.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/rice-university-hits-record-freshman-applications
Rice University hits record with freshman applications
The Houston Chronicle
Students who applied to Rice University should prepare for disappointment: A record 17,715 students are vying for 945 seats in this fall’s freshman class. That puts the acceptance rate at just 5 percent

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/usda-give-central-state-university-students-scholarships
USDA to give Central State University students scholarships
Cleveland Sun News
Students interested in attending Central State University and students enrolled in the university are now eligible for scholarships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would cover the entire cost of their education if they study food, agriculture or natural resource sciences. The university in Wilberforce was given “land grant” status this year in the farm bill passed by Congress.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/portland-state-students-faculty-support-union-contract-negotiations
Portland State students, faculty support union in contract negotiations
Oregon Live
Monday, March 3, 2014
Hundreds of students and faculty members marched around the student union at Portland State University to support the union in contract negotiations with the administration.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/columbia-university-halts-academic-credit-internship
Columbia University halts academic credit for internship
Newsweek
In an attempt to pressure employers to pay interns in accordance with Labor Department guidelines, Columbia University will no longer offer its undergraduates registration credits in exchange for internship experience. The policy takes effect immediately, though the school says it will consider exceptions for students who have already signed on for internships that expect them to be receiving “R” credits, which don’t count towards graduation.

www.nytimes.com

Helping Foreign Students Thrive on U.S. Campuses
By KARIN FISCHER | THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
WASHINGTON — In recent years, the discussion on international students in the United States has largely been about how to best recruit talented students from overseas. That may be changing. Now that foreign students are on American campuses in large numbers, the conversation is shifting from recruitment strategies to questions about serving their needs.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/03/new-initiative-aims-double-number-americans-studying-abroad#ixzz2uuCKWTkm
‘Generation Study Abroad’
By Elizabeth Redden
More than 150 U.S. colleges have pledged to increase their study abroad participation rates as part of a new national initiative, Generation Study Abroad, being spearheaded by the Institute of International Education. The initiative has the exceedingly ambitious aim of doubling American study abroad enrollment, to about 600,000, by the end of the decade. According to IIE data, just under 10 percent of American undergraduates currently study abroad during the course of their degrees.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/gender-equity-lawsuit-settlement-will-cost-quinnipiac-university-millions
Gender equity lawsuit settlement will cost Quinnipiac University millions
New Haven Register
A gender equity lawsuit settlement has forced Quinnipiac University to dish out millions of dollars to support women’s athletics. A consent decree shows the university is required to spend at least $5 million to improve the permanent athletic facilities, other than its TD Bank Sports Center, which are used by women sports teams.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/purdue-university-removes-‘god’-plaque
Purdue University removes ‘God’ from plaque
Fox News
Purdue University, which once defended the right of a private speaker to blaspheme Jesus, has banned an alumni donor from using the word “God” on a plaque because it might offend someone. Dr. Michael McCracken and his wife made a $12,500 pledge to the university’s school of mechanical engineering. In return, Purdue, a large public university in Indiana, offered the McCrackens the opportunity to name a small conference room in a lab building. They were also invited to supply language for a plaque that would be installed in the room.

www.floridatrend.com
http://www.floridatrend.com/article/16849/university-research-parks-in-florida
University Research Parks in Florida
As critical components of an innovation economy, Florida’s university research parks help develop advanced technologies into commercial products. Further developing these research parks would produce high-wage jobs, diversify the economy, and keep graduates of Florida universities in our state. Florida is home to more university research parks than any other state in the nation.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/03/college-ratings-proposal-already-leading-one-university-change-admissions-standards#ixzz2uuCT3cWB
Ratings Strategy With a Cost?
By Michael Stratford
Of all the criticism leveled at the Obama administration’s plan to rate colleges, perhaps the most widespread critique is that a ratings system will harm disadvantaged students’ access to higher education. It’s a theme that permeated the Education Department’s public hearings on the ratings proposal last fall as well as the hundreds of pages of comments officials have received about the plan.