University System News

USG NEWS:
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2014/05/22/3111187/staton-resigns-from-senate-accepts.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Staton resigns from Senate, accepts job with University System of Georgia
BY LINDA S. MORRIS
Sen. Cecil Staton announced Thursday his resignation from the Georgia Senate, effective May 31. Staton’s resignation is prompted by his acceptance of the position of vice chancellor for extended education with the University System of Georgia, according to a news release. Staton, R-Macon, announced in February he intended to retire from his office at the end of this term. His position with university system will begin June 1.

Related articles:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/05/staton-leaves-legislature-for-university-system.html
Staton leaves legislature for university system

www.13wmaz.com
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/22/cecil-staton-new-role-university-system/9468821/
Staton tapped for new role with University System

www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/25152379/article-SPSU-vice-president-to-lead-school-into-merger?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
SPSU vice president to lead school into merger
by Emily Boorstein
MARIETTA — A face familiar to Southern Polytechnic State University will lead the school through its merger with Kennesaw State. Ron Koger, SPSU’s vice president for student and enrollment services, will take over as interim president July 1 after the departure of President Lisa Rossbacher, who is leaving SPSU to assume the presidency of Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. Koger, who has been at SPSU since 1997, was announced as Rossbacher’s successor by University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby on Thursday.

Related articles:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2014/05/koger-to-lead-spsu-through-kennesaw-state-merger.html
Koger to lead SPSU through Kennesaw State merger

www.wsav.com
http://www.wsav.com/story/25595895/interim-president-named-for-southern-polytechnic
Interim president named for Southern Polytechnic

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2014/05/college-radio-stationsacross-u-s-to-air-wras.html
College radio stations to air WRAS tribute in push to save programming
Carla Caldwell, Morning Edition Editor
The organization College Radio Day has issued a statement of support for Georgia State University radio stadium WRAS 88-88.5 and is inviting college stations across the country to air a one-hour public affairs show on June 2 to celebrate the station’s legacy. The statement and invitation are part of the push to save student-generated daytime programming at WRAS.

GOOD NEWS:
www.johndruckenmiller.com
http://johndruckenmiller.com/georgia-highlands-gets-ok-for-bachelors-degree-in-dental-hygiene/
Georgia Highlands gets OK for bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene
by hometownheadlines
Dr. Renva Watterson, interim president of Georgia Highlands College, announced today that the Board of Regents has approved a new Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene to be offered at GHC. Beginning Summer 2015, students who have earned an associate’s degree from an accredited dental hygiene program and hold an unrestricted license to practice dental hygiene in the United States may be admitted to the GHC program.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2014-05-23/uga-gets-1m-gift-promote-alcohol-education
UGA gets $1M gift to promote alcohol education
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Ga.— The University of Georgia has received $1 million to promote alcohol education on campus. The school says the money will help the University Health Center teach students about responsible decision-making about alcohol and drugs. The gift will support the health center’s John Fontaine Jr. Center for Alcohol Awareness and Education, which provides a range of prevention, intervention and recovery support services.

Related article:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2014/05/22/uga-gets-1m-for-alcohol-education.html
UGA gets $1M for alcohol education

RESEARCH:
www.cnet.com
http://www.cnet.com/news/origami-unfolds-a-new-world-of-shape-shifting-electronics/
Origami unfolds a new world of shape-shifting electronics
Researchers are using the geometry of paper folding to come up with futuristic antennas that can retract and compress.
by Nick Statt
… The art of origami, he says, is the key to unlocking whole new conceptual modes of thought for scientists. While folding smartphones into your jacket pocket like the front page of a newspaper is still a futurist fantasy, electronics that compress and change shape are now possible if designed the right way. They’re currently in development, aided by Japan’s centuries-old paper-folding techniques, an art form that spread worldwide around the mid-1900s. Now Georgakopoulos is part of a joint research team spanning Georgia Tech University and FIU that is working on origami-influenced antennas. The team has a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Origami Design for Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation.

www.in.reutersc.om
http://in.reuters.com/video/2014/05/20/reef-fish-lose-brain-power-as-oceans-aci?videoId=313030017&videoChannel=117460
Reef fish lose brain power as oceans acidify (2:11)
May 20 – Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say reef fish are likely to suffer from cognitive decline as they adapt to higher levels of CO2 in the water over the next century.

www.universityherald.com
http://www.universityherald.com/articles/9516/20140521/methane-bacteria-mars-methanogens-organism-earth-arkansas.htm
Methane-Producing Bacteria Could Survive on Mars, Study
By Stephen Adkins, UniversityHerald Reporter
Researchers said that the organisms are non-photosynthetic and can grow without oxygen and nutrients, capable of surviving in sub-surface environments. Methanogens are prominently found in wetlands including swamps, marshes, gut of cattle, termites and other herbivores, and dead and decaying matter among others. They use hydrogen (energy source) and carbon dioxide (carbon source) to metabolise, and produce methane gas… A 2014 Georgia Institute of Technology study found evidence of salt water on the surface of Mars. Researchers suspect water to contain ferric sulfate, a common mineral on the Red Planet. “In HiRISE images, we see them forming, elongating and then fading over time,” researcher Lujendra Ojha said. “That’s why they’re called seasonal – they form and flow when the temperature is right.”

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/05/23/aerospace-flourishes-in-the-south.html?page=all
Aerospace flourishes in the South
Low-key industry growing rapidly, adding thousands of high-paying jobs
Amy Wenk
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The aerospace industry is taking off in the South as more high-tech businesses relocate or expand from states such as Washington and California. Aerospace companies are attracted by the region’s lower wages, cheaper land, non-union workers and state incentives — a trend that follows the carmakers’ shift to the South… Some of the nation’s leading research and development on drones is taking place at Georgia Tech. Middle Georgia State College is paving the way for developing the workforce. Plus, some of the early adopters (agriculture and public safety) are already in the state. It’s estimated that unmanned aircraft could bring more than $2 million in total economic impact to Georgia in the first five years of operation, Justice said.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/05/23/startup-lucena-taking-on-wall-street.html
startup Lucena taking on Wall Street
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Predictive analytics startup Lucena Research, armed with the imprimatur of one of Atlanta’s most prominent super angels, is using software to replace “quants” — the math wizards who are the engines of the financial investment industry. Lucena, a Georgia Tech spinoff, makes software that mines troves of financial and other predictive data to help investment professionals identify trading strategies and investing trends in order to reduce risk and increase returns. Lucena, co-founded by Tucker Balch, a Georgia Tech professor and former F-15 fighter pilot, has raised $2 million and is backed by Mosley Ventures. The venture firm, launched by veteran tech investor Sig Mosley, is raising a $30 million fund.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/05/23/startup-incubator-hypepotamus-to-shut-its-doors.html
Startup incubator Hypepotamus to shut its doors this summer
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Hypepotamus Inc., a roughly 3,000-square-foot co-working and tech startup incubator in Midtown Atlanta, will shut its doors this summer… Hypepotamus decided not to renew its lease at the Biltmore Hotel as several tech company hubs have emerged in the city in recent months, such as Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead and Ponce City Market in the Old Fourth Ward. Hypepotamus was PerfectPost’s first real home after the e-commerce marketing automation startup graduated from Georgia Tech accelerator FlashPoint, CEO Rob Kischuk said.“It gave us great access to hire Georgia Tech talent and was a much-needed gathering place in Midtown where founders learned from each other,” Kischuk said. “We met future employees, customers and mentors, and ran into so many serendipitous and helpful conversations from others in the Tech Square startup community.”

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/debt-costs-consume-growing-part-of-u-s-higher-ed-dollar-report-asserts/78301?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Debt Costs Consume Growing Part of U.S. Higher-Ed Dollar, Report Asserts
by Chronicle Staff
Report: “Borrowing Against the Future: The Hidden Costs of Financing U.S. Higher Education”
Organization: The Center for Culture, Organization, and Politics of the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment
Summary: As state appropriations for higher education have declined, the average cost of tuition and fees has escalated. Students are borrowing more to pay for their education, and colleges are borrowing more to finance capital projects to stay ahead in the amenities arms race.

www.aaup,org
http://www.aaup.org/article/why-stem-students-need-gender-studies#.U39K-SgRseX
Why STEM Students Need Gender Studies
Gender studies scholarship and practice contribute to student development and to faculty networking.
By Carol Colatrella (Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College)
Recent university budget reductions and debates about improving efficiencies in higher education have encouraged speculation about the relative values of different disciplines. Critics argue that the humanities and social sciences are less valuable than science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields because they do not generate the same levels of external research funding, donations, and municipal investment. Those who attempt to assign value to particular fields weigh initial salaries for graduates, the availability of jobs, and the need for employees with scientific and technical knowledge and skills, deeming fields without clearly defined career paths less worthy of public support.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real_talk/2014/05/when-startups-arent-startups-anymore.html?page=all
When startups aren’t startups anymore.
Mark Elliot
Attorney with Troutman Sanders LLP-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Atlanta is growing the support for the infancy stage of companies. Incubators for high-technology companies at Georgia Tech; at Midtown’s (soon to be closing, because there is so much of this type of space now available in Atlanta) Hypepotamus; and at Buckhead’s relatively new, relatively large Atlanta Tech Village, help support the period of growth in a startup’s life from a desk in a garage to people working together in a functional business environment… Atlanta is growing the support for the infancy stage of companies. Incubators for high-technology companies at Georgia Tech; at Midtown’s (soon to be closing, because there is so much of this type of space now available in Atlanta) Hypepotamus; and at Buckhead’s relatively new, relatively large Atlanta Tech Village, help support the period of growth in a startup’s life from a desk in a garage to people working together in a functional business environment.

Education News
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/city-church-top-bidder-to-buy-morris-brown-for-146/nf59d/
City, church top bidder to buy Morris Brown for $14.6 million
By Katie Leslie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The City of Atlanta is the top bidder to buy Morris Brown College out of bankruptcy with an offer of $14.6 million, city officials announced late Thursday. Atlanta partnered with Friendship Baptist Church, one of two historically black churches to sell in the wake of the future Atlanta Falcons stadium, to place a bid on the embattled property. Under the proposal, the city — through its economic development agency Invest Atlanta — will spend $10.625 million and Friendship will contribute $4 million, according to Mayor Kasim Reed spokeswoman Melissa Mullinax. The Morris Brown Bankruptcy Creditors Committee has confirmed the city as the highest bidder, she said.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/harvard-u-will-loosen-subject-test-requirement/38399
Harvard U. Will Loosen Subject-Test Requirement
Harvard University will no longer require all applicants for undergraduate admission to submit scores from SAT subject tests, according to an email sent last week to the institution’s alumni interviewers. In the May 14 message, William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, wrote that Harvard would soon change how it describes its testing requirements. “While we normally require two SAT subject tests,” he wrote, the new language will say, “you may apply without them if the cost of taking the tests represents a financial hardship or if you prefer to have your application considered without them.”

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/HouseSenate-Bills-Seek/146771/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
House and Senate Bills Seek Student Protections on College Debit Cards
By Lee Gardner
Washington
More than 60 Democratic members of both chambers of Congress are cosponsors of legislation, introduced on Thursday, that aims to protect students from exploitation by the banking industry. The legislation, known in the Senate as the Protecting Aid for Students Act and in the House as the Curbing Abusive Marketing Practices With University Student Debit Cards Act, arrives just days after a panel of negotiators appointed by the U.S. Education Department failed to reach agreement on new regulations for business arrangements between colleges and banks regarding student accounts and institution-affiliated debit cards.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Pushed-by-Lawmakers-U-of/146767/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Pushed by Lawmakers, U. of Florida Dives Into Online Education
By Megan O’Neil
A little more than a year after Florida lawmakers committed $35-million to the University of Florida to create a reduced-cost, online-only baccalaureate program, university officials say they are taking stock of the inaugural semester while preparing for the second.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/european-students-and-employers-seek-more-web-development-moocs/52887?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
European Students and Employers Seek More Web-Development MOOCs
by Danya Perez-Hernandez
Students, education providers, and employers call massive open online courses one of the best ways to learn web-development skills, according to a report released on Thursday by the European Commission. The report, which drew on a survey of about 3,000 people, including 731 students, said that only one student in four was not familiar with MOOCs and that about 64 percent of the respondents had taken such courses. Web-development courses appeared to be in high demand but were not always easy to find online.

www.slate.com
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/05/22/the_number_of_mbas_has_risen_dramatically_over_past_few_decades.html?wpisrc=burger_bar
Will MBAs Keep Ruling the World?
By Laura Montini
MBAs are taking over. Or, at least, they’ve come to represent the largest percentage of master’s degrees earned today. That’s what Vox concluded after analyzing U.S. Department of Education data from the past 40 years. In a recent post, Vox used a series of charts to document the rise of the MBA and other master’s degrees since 1971. The charts show that a business degree has always been popular, second only to a degree in education until at least 2002. However, business degrees have steadily claimed a greater percentage of the total number of master’s degrees each decade.

www.jbhe.com
http://www.jbhe.com/2014/05/a-record-number-of-black-first-year-students-to-enter-harvard-this-fall/
A Record Number of Black First-Year Students to Enter Harvard This Fall
Harvard University announced that the number of Black students in its entering class this fall will be the largest in university history. A total of 177 Black students have accepted the university’s offer of admission to the Class of 2018.

www.jbhe.com
http://www.jbhe.com/2014/05/assessing-the-effort-to-bolster-the-academic-achievement-of-black-males/
Assessing the Effort to Bolster the Academic Achievement of Black Males
A new report from the Open Society Foundations and the Foundation Center examines the many efforts currently underway to bolster the academic achievement of Black males. The study finds that philanthropic support for programs to enhance Black male achievement reached $40 million in 2011, up from $29 million in 2010. Between 2008 and 2011, more than 190 foundations made nearly 900 grants to more than 400 organizations directly relating to Black male achievement.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/05/23/study-links-debt-black-graduation-rates#sthash.0WAHkIY7.dpbs
Study Links Debt to Black Graduation Rates
New research from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana finds that family debt can be a negative factor in determining whether students will graduate. But the study — by Min Zhan, a social work professor, and Deirdre Lanesskog, a doctoral student — found that the negative impact was far more powerful for black students.

www.jbhe.com
http://www.jbhe.com/2014/05/new-program-provides-significant-aid-for-minority-ph-d-students-in-stem-fields/
New Program Provides Significant Aid for Minority Ph.D. Students in STEM Fields
The University of Iowa is embarking on a new program to increase the number of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students in STEM fields. Using a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 24 minority students will receive $40,000 scholarships over the next three years. The University of Iowa will provide an additional $10,000 to the 24 students.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/23/new-book-stem-workforce-needs-and-international-competitiveness-finds-no-evidence#sthash.hBNFBQ1d.dpbs
‘Falling Behind?’
By Elizabeth Redden
The U.S. isn’t producing enough highly skilled graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to meet the country’s workforce needs. To remain competitive in an increasingly globalized world the U.S. needs to step up its own production of STEM graduates and amend its immigration policies to better recruit the best and the brightest from abroad. … Michael S. Teitelbaum’s recent book Falling Behind?: Boom, Bust & the Global Race for Scientific Talent (Princeton University Press) calls into question the conventional notion that the U.S. is falling behind in the production of talented STEM graduates.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/05/23/startups-want-help-employers-find-students-they-can-hire#sthash.w03d2Fko.dpbs
Have Job, Will Enroll
By Paul Fain
WASHINGTON — A growing number of startups want to play the matchmaker role between community colleges and employers. One of them, WorkAmerica, makes an unusual offer as part of their pitch: students get a legally binding job offer before they enroll at one of the company’s partner colleges.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/05/23/midland-u-president-quits-focus-senate-campaign#sthash.6EwfUHEn.dpbs
Midland U. President Quits to Focus on Senate Campaign
Ben Sasse, who recently won the Republican primary in Nebraska to run for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday that he is resigning as president, effective at the end of the calendar year.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Big-Name-Candidates-Cast-Long/146773/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Big-Name Candidates Cast Long Shadows Over Presidential Searches
By Sara Jerde
When a big name applies for a college presidency, that person’s presence can cast a shadow over the entire search. Candidates without household names shy away from going up against prominent figures out of a fear of being dwarfed by their well-known competitor, be it a politician or a former college-football coach. And when one person appears to have the inside track, the whole process can move so quickly that it raises concerns that a more-qualified candidate may not even have had enough time to apply. Those questions are currently being raised at Florida State University, where a search committee voted this week to interview a lone presidential candidate, State Sen. John Thrasher, a Republican and Florida State alumnus who is known as an ardent supporter of the university.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/64450/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=667ba7eade734ef7ad737697e13314be&elqCampaignId=173
S.C. State University Runs Out of Cash, Wants to Tap Loan
by Associated Press
ORANGEBURG, S.C. ― South Carolina State University wants to draw more than $1 million from an emergency loan to pay employees and cover debt payments, according to the school’s president. The school needs at least $1.2 million to make payroll and debt payments for June, President Thomas Elzey told The State newspaper on Tuesday. South Carolina State had hoped to have enough money to last through July 1, when the state’s new fiscal year starts, infusing the school with cash. But, after revising budget projections, S.C. State needs about $500,000 to pay salaries next week and another $700,000 for debt payments in June, Elzey said.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/05/23/higher-educations-capital-financing-costs#sthash.ZQ9B4ptB.dpbs
Higher Education’s Capital Financing Costs
Roughly 9 percent of the $511 billion spent in 2011 in the United States on higher education went to financing interest payments or to corporate profits, according to a new analysis from the Center for Culture, Organizations and Politics at the University of California at Berkeley. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) commissioned the report, which found that $45 billion in higher education spending that year was for interest on individual student loan debt or on colleges’ borrowing, or went to profits made by for-profit college companies.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/05/23/lawmakers-seek-block-gainful-employment-rules#sthash.OpIpAMbq.dpbs
Lawmakers Seek to Block Gainful Employment Rules
A bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers on Thursday called on their colleagues to insert a provision in the upcoming budget that would block the Obama administration’s efforts to more tightly regulate for-profit colleges.