USG RESEARCH
Researchers discover new method to reduce disease-causing inflammation
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-06-method-disease-causing-inflammation.html
MedicalXPress
June 1y6, 2014
By James Hataway
Researchers at the University of Georgia report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that an enzyme known as Tumor Progression Locus 2, or Tpl2, plays a key role in directing and regulating several important components of the body’s immune system. Their discovery may one day lead to new treatments for many common autoimmune diseases.
– see related story in the Athens Banner-Herald: http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-06-16/uga-researchers-discover-new-method-reduce-disease-causing-inflammation (subscription required)
UGA trash tracker a treasure
http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-06-16/uga-trash-tracker-treasure#.U6CppMaFy25
Savannah Morning News
June 16, 2014
By Mary Landers
Ranking right up there with Candy Crush and Instagram, a humble trash tracker developed at the University of Georgia was named among “Apps we can’t live without” at a recent Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.
EDITORIALS/OPINIONS/COLUMS/ESSAYS/BLOGS
Credit Gulfstream for gift that will keep on giving
http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2014-06-15/editorial-credit-gulfstream-gift-will-keep-giving#.U6Csd8aFy24
Savannah Morning News
June 15, 2014
Editorial Staff
Education isn’t just a job for educators. Employers have a major role to play, too. That’s why Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. should be applauded for its recent donation of a Gulfstream G100 aircraft and several other items to Savannah Technical College.
New Government Data Sheds Light on Online Learners
http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/articles/2014/06/12/new-government-data-sheds-light-on-online-learners
U.S. News & World Report
June 12, 2014
By Devon Haynie
Despite speculation that online education is rapidly changing the face of higher education, a new set of government data shows students might not be embracing virtual learning at the pace previously estimated. About 5.4 million students, or one in four, took at least one distance education course during the fall of 2012, according to data released earlier this month by the National Center for Education Statistics. While that may be a significant number of students, it’s 1.7 million fewer than reported previously in the annual Babson Survey Research Group survey, the former benchmark of online learning. And 74 percent of students were not enrolled in any distance education courses at all.
Why Refuse Koch Brother’s Gift – A Practical Perspective
http://diverseeducation.com/article/64901/
Diverse issues
June 16, 204
Opinion – by Marc Barnes
With all the debate about the recent $25 million gift from the Koch brothers to the United Negro College Fund, it’s interesting that there have been few, if any, opinions from those of us in the trenches—fundraising practitioners at UNCF institutions.
Starbucks offers college tuition but graduates might still be baristas
http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/jun/16/starbucks-college-tuition-graduates-baristas-jobs-degrees
The London Guardian
June 16, 2014
By Jana Kasperkevic
Just as rising college debt is becoming a national issue, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced an initiative to encourage employees to get a degree – but there’s no guarantee it will work.
A New College Model
The New York Times
June 16, 2014
By Joe Nocera
On Monday, Howard Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks, unveiled his company’s newest — and possibly most important — perquisite for its employees: a free college education. …Starbucks has long been a trailblazer in offering company benefits …What I hadn’t realized is the extent to which Arizona State is a trailblazer as well. … it is attempting nothing less than the reinvention of the university. … it offers some real hope that higher education can become, as it once was, a place that views its mission as educating everybody, not just the world’s elite.
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
In Deal with Starbucks, Arizona State U. Kicks in Substantial Aid
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Deal-With-Starbucks/147181/
Chronicle of HIgher Education
June 17, 2014
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Starbucks and Arizona State University unveiled more details about their new scholarship partnership on Monday—and in doing so corrected some misinformation that company officials had given in advance of the announcement. They also revealed the limits of the financial contribution Starbucks is making and gave a greater sense of the value of the discount ASU Online is providing.
Starbucks Offers Its Employees an Educational Break
http://diverseeducation.com/article/64898/
Diverse issues
June 16, 2014
By Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Like tea with honey, working at Starbucks has just gotten a little sweeter thanks to a new program that promises to pay employees’ college tuition during their junior and senior years. The company’s new College Achievement Program is being offered in collaboration with Arizona State University through the university’s online degree programs.
Starbucks workers eligible for free ASU degrees
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2014/06/15/starbucks-asu-degrees-free/10564549/
The Arizona Republic
June 16, 2014
By Luci Scott and Anne Ryman
Starbucks employees nationwide will be eligible for a free college education through Arizona State University’s online program beginning this fall. The new initiative, touted as the first of its kind, will allow many of Starbucks’ 135,000 workers to graduate debt free from ASU with no requirement to repay or stay on with the company. The funding will come from a partnership between ASU and Starbucks.
Program sets ambitious goal of free college tuition
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/17/college-for-free-finally/10609551/
USA Today
June 17, 2014
By Mary Beth Marklein
Starbucks’ announcement this week that it would pay tuition for some of its 135,000 employees to complete college reflects a broadening consensus that rising tuition and student loan debt is a growing problem for most Americans, not just the poorest. A coalition calling itself Redeeming America’s Promise announced a plan Tuesday to make tuition at a public university free for millions of U.S. high school students. Earlier this year, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced a plan to use state lottery proceeds to provide free tuition at community colleges for residents. Oregon’s legislature is considering a similar move.
Open Access and Inequity
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/17/new-book-says-community-colleges-should-tighten-their-admissions-policies#sthash.2lqOW1WO.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 17, 2014
By Paul Fain
The open-door admissions policies of community colleges and the national college completion “agenda” are contributing to an influx of unprepared students who have little chance of earning a degree, and who are likely to rack up crippling debt along the way. That’s the central argument of a newly released book, Community Colleges and the Access Effect: Why Open Admissions Suppresses Achievement (Palgrave Macmillan).
Financial-Aid Administrators to Scrutinize Student-Loan Servicers
http://chronicle.com/article/Financial-Aid-Administrators/147201/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 17, 2014
By Kelly Field
Student-loan servicers, which have been critized by consumer advocates and federal regulators alike, are facing scrutiny from a new group: financial-aid administrators. (subscription required)
Udacity Introduces “Nanodegree” Credentials
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/17/udacity-introduces-nanodegree-credentials#sthash.ynK8qAH1.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 17, 2014
The online education provider Udacity says it will soon offer career-focused “nanodegrees,” stackable credentials designed to be completed in no more than a year.
Group Criticizes Quality of Most Teacher Ed Programs
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/17/group-criticizes-quality-most-teacher-ed-programs#sthash.FSYJu3Nv.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 17, 2014
The National Council on Teacher Quality — a group whose evaluations of teacher education programs have been praised by some political leaders but whose methodology has been questioned by teacher educators — is out with a new set of rankings. While more programs are evaluated, relatively few meet the NCTQ’s standards.
Higher Ed, the Tea Party’s Unlikely Farm Team
http://chronicle.com/article/Higher-Ed-the-Tea-Party-s/147051/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 12, 2014
By Jack Stripling
College campuses may seem to be unlikely laboratories for producing viable Tea Party candidates, but this election season the record is surprisingly good.
Texas Tech University System named state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, as the new chancellor
http://www.caller.com/news/politics/texas-tech-university-system-named-state-sen-robert-duncan-rlubbock-as-the-new-chancellor_67452849
Corpus Christi Caller Times
June 12, 2014
By Matthew Walker
AUSTIN — The Texas Tech University System named state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, as the new chancellor Thursday. He will start July 7.
University of Wyoming seeks to collect student veterans data
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/university-of-wyoming-seeks-to-collect-student-veterans-data/article_295f2a4e-cb4c-5625-a03a-6103cebc1369.html
The Wyoming Star Tribune
June 12, 2014
By Bob Moen (Associated Press)
CHEYENNE — The University of Wyoming has about 600 students who served or are serving in the military, but it doesn’t know much about them. Unlike other classes of students, UW hasn’t tracked basic information on its student veterans, such as graduation rates, retention rates or average GPA. But that is changing thanks to an initiative started by the relatively new UW Veterans Services Center.
Middle East Conflict, U.S. Campuses
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/17/pro-palestinian-student-activism-heats-causing-campus-tensions#sthash.i4Wuh4rn.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 17, 2014
By Elizabeth Redden
It was an exceptionally busy academic year for pro-Palestinian student activism on campus. The American Studies Association’s December resolution to endorse the academic boycott of Israel got an extraordinary amount of ink, but arguably it was the students, not their professors, who led the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) push against Israel on campuses this year.
Still a Charity Case
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/17/charitable-giving-higher-education-restored-pre-recession-levels-report-indicates#sthash.vOYsxSnm.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 17, 2014
By Charlie Tyson
Americans are donating more money to higher education than they were before the recession, a comprehensive report on charitable giving suggests.
The report, which the Giving USA Foundation released Tuesday, indicates that Americans donated a record $52.07 billion to education in 2013. Adjusted for inflation, this figure marks a 7.4 percent increase over 2012. … Osili said the fraction of alumni who give to their alma maters “is at a historic low.” But the average size of gifts to colleges and universities has increased. In other words, fewer people are donating larger sums.
Washington budget shortfall could hit higher education hard
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/06/13/3018971/washington-budget-shortfall-could.html?sp=/99/177/&ihp=1
Tri-City Herald, Columbia, WA
June 13, 2014
By Ty Beaver
State officials are already expecting a shortfall in the next budget and higher education could take a big hit. …Community college and university officials have already been told, along with some other state agencies, to begin preparing budget requests that include as much as a 15 percent reduction ahead of Gov. Jay Inslee developing a proposed budget.
$25 million gift to fund new UW engineering institute
http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/uw-madison-college-of-engineering-gets-25-million-research-gift-b99291027z1-263311361.html
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
June 16, 2014
By Karen Herzog
A $25 million gift announced Monday will help the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering create a research institute — with 25 new faculty — that works across disciplines in one of the nation’s hottest and most competitive academic fields.
Clemson University officials hope S.C. Lawmakers restore money for farm programs
http://www.thestate.com/2014/06/12/3505340/clemson-university-officials-hope.html
Anderson Independent Mail via The State
June 12, 2014
By Kirk Brown
Clemson University officials will urge state lawmakers to restore $405,000 for six new positions in two agriculture programs that Gov. Nikki Haley vetoed Thursday.
STATE NEEDS/ISSUES
Fast track program launched for NWGA companies
http://www.coosavalleynews.com/np107402.htm
The Coosa Valley News
June 16, 2014
The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Division, in partnership with carpet industry leaders across Northwest Georgia, announced the start of a second cohort for the Fast Track Innovation Program. The 10-week training program, launched this past October with the Northwest Regional Commission and Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), provides On-the-Job training to maintenance technicians for employment in the industry. The program’s industry partners include Beaulieu Group, Engineered Floors LLC, IVC Group, J+J Flooring Group, Mohawk Industries and Shaw Industries Group, Inc.
Georgia aviation industry concerned about quality workers
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2014-06-16/georgia-aviation-industry-concerned-about-quality-workers#.U6CrX8aFy24
Savannah Morning News
June 16, 2014
By Walter Jones
ATLANTA — Georgia’s largest aerospace employers expressed concern Monday that not enough young people are entering the field to keep them on the industry’s forefront. …Dickson said policies should be in place to encourage students to study science, technology, engineering and math – the so-called STEM courses – so that aviation careers will be open to them.