USG e-Clips from June 30, 2014

USG NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional/georgia-regents-to-vote-on-same-sex-marriage-retir/ngT3K/
Georgia Regents to vote on same-sex marriage retirement benefits
By Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Board of Regents will consider Monday whether to recognize same-sex marriages for participants in a University System retirement plan. The vote, scheduled for a Monday meeting, would amend the Optional Retirement Plan to comply with federal tax rules. After a Supreme Court decision last year overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, the IRS issued new rules requiring recognition same-sex marriages in some qualified retirement plans. …Also Monday, the board will vote on a 5 percent salary increase for University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby.

Related article:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-06-27/georgia-regents-might-change-retirement-plan-recognize-same-sex-marriage
Georgia Regents might change retirement plan to recognize same-sex marriage
By Lee Shearer
The state Board of Regents might vote Monday on a policy change that would bring the system’s Optional Retirement Plan into compliance with new Internal Revenue Service rules on same-sex marriages.

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2014/06/28/3173627/middle-georgia-state-one-step.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1
Middle Georgia State one step closer to becoming university
BY JENNA MINK
It’s been nearly six months since Christopher Blake took the reins as the new president of Middle Georgia State College, and the school is now one step closer to becoming a university. As part of the requirements of the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, the college has outlined its official vision for getting there. A task force of faculty, staff and community members has established the goals and steps that will take the institution from Middle Georgia State College to university status.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/wras-to-pursue-option-for-student-programming-pres/ngTbY/#5c55cff4.3566685.735411
WRAS to pursue option for student programming, preserve GPB deal
By Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State University agreed Friday to pursue student-run, daytime music programming despite a deal giving control of its college radio station to powerhouse Georgia Public Broadcasting. The agreement came on the heels of a proposal made Wednesday by university alumni, who requested separate FM frequencies for GPB and the university’s student disc jockeys. Now, the university said it has hired engineers and other media consultants to pursue what’s officially called an “alternate translator frequency” for a daytime, student-run version of Album 88 — the station’s nickname.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-state-backs-student-music-effort-for-album/ngTZP/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1#ddcfbcb6.3566685.735414
WRAS in the hands of GPB despite Georgia State concessions
By Janel Davis and Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Completing a deal announced nearly two months ago, powerhouse Georgia Public Broadcasting will take control Sunday of Georgia State University’s student-led radio station, 88.5/WRAS-FM. Exactly what it will sound like is anyone’s guess. University officials pledged Friday to push for more daytime airtime for students who want to play music despite the station’s revamped “news and information” format. They additionally won more music programming hours for students over the weekend, despite a lingering bitterness over the university’s decision to keep students in the dark during initial negotiations.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/feed/news/wras-supporters-form-peaceful-protest/fd2L3/
WRAS supporters form peaceful protest
By: Ciara Frisbie
Supporters of WRAS 88.5 FM formed a peaceful protest outside of the station’s office at Georgia State on June 29. Hibaq Dougsiyeh, former assistant program director and DJ at WRAS, said the protest began at 2:30 p.m. in Hurt Park. This was in response to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) content being aired on the station’s analog channel on June 29. …No student leaders or DJs from WRAS were involved with the protesting according to Dougsiyeh. Among supporters were listeners and alumni.

www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=276589
150 years ago: The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, soldier’s letter describes battle
By The Associated Press
KENNESAW – The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain played out 150 years ago in the Civil War, a prelude to the Union’s eventual capture of Atlanta later in 1864 – and a letter from a Confederate soldier which describes the battle has been made public by the University of Georgia. … A letter recently donated to the libraries at the University of Georgia gives an eyewitness account of the battle. The letter is from Joseph Short to his wife, Nancy. It is part of the collection of William Joseph and Nancy Wallis Short family papers recently donated by Roger Rowell to UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

USG VALUE:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/training-exists-to-help-struggling-readers/ngNG7/
Training exists to help struggling readers
By Karen Huppertz
For the AJC
Imagine your surprise as a brand new teacher, beginning your career in a classroom of thirty or so little 6-year old sponges of learning desire. Your task is to teach the basics of reading and writing to prepare students for future learning. But you quickly realize your college education, the one designed to prepare you for the classroom, never specifically taught you how to teach a student to read. This was the case not long ago according to a number of teachers I’ve surveyed. Exciting change has occurred. At the University of Georgia, special education, early childhood education, and other education majors now have the opportunity to obtain graduate-level multi-sensory reading instruction training specifically shown to be effective for struggling readers. This training has been proven highly effective for those diagnosed as dyslexic. …UGA’s Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education is now offering master’s-level courses in multi-sensory reading instruction that explore the definition and identification of dyslexia, as well as training and videotaped practice using the evidence-based method.

GOOD NEWS:
www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/jun/28/first-local-education-summit-to-be-held-tuesday/
First local education summit to be held Tuesday at Monroe High School
Education leaders are seeking public input for ideas how to stem countny’s drop out rate
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — In a concerted effort to expand collaborative efforts of K-16 institutions in Albany and Dougherty County, the presidents of Albany State University, Darton State College, Albany Technical College and the Dougherty County School System superintendent, will host the first ever Albany-Dougherty County Education Summit from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, at the Monroe High School cafeteria. Representatives from the University of Georgia’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and Carl Vinson Institute of Government are facilitating the event, as well as a series of community listening sessions, focus groups, and interviews. The long-term goal is to develop collaborative sustainable solutions that lead to increased high school graduation rates and a more skilled labor force in Southwest Georgia.

www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2014-06-28/business-savannah-brief#.U7FoKygRseU
Business in Savannah in brief
Georgia Southern saves money with energy efficiency
STATESBORO — Georgia Southern University will save more than $350,000 over a five-year period by using light emitting diode (LED) bulbs instead of standard incandescent bulbs in eight housing complexes on campus. University officials said they partnered with Georgia Power through the company’s commercial energy efficiency program, an initiative to help companies reduce energy use and costs by offering rebates.

RESEARCH:
www.courier-journal.com
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/06/27/top-hot-spots-louisville/11505235/
‘Hot spots’ make mercury rise in Louisville
James Bruggers
Five relatively small areas, covering less than one half of 1 percent of the city’s surface area, are contributing an oversized share to Louisville’s extra urban heat, according to new research. General Electric’s Appliance Park leads Louisville’s first list of surface temperature “hot spots,” identified by the Urban Climate Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology as part of an urban heat study and mitigation plan under development this year. The Louisville International Airport and its UPS Worldport air-cargo hub ranked second, researchers found, followed by an approximate 30-block area of downtown, and Ford Motor Co.’s two local assembly plants. Together they account for an estimated 7 percent of Jefferson County’s “urban heat island,” sharing conditions such as dark roofing materials that absorb rather than reflect heat, a lot of asphalt or concrete, and not many shade trees.

www.forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertreiss/2014/06/30/visionary-cmo-series-1-panasonic-aflac-att-mobility/
Visionary CMO Series # 1: Panasonic, Aflac, AT&T Mobility
Robert Reiss
Contributor
Over the past few years the CMO role has elevated to be at the true center of organizational success. While continuing to focus on growth and brand integrity, CMOs are now adding to their arsenal the role of data scientist, utilizing predictive – and even behavioral – analytics to reinvent the customer experience and in fact drive strategic direction of enterprises. In an effort to connect you directly with the thinking of top CMOs, this article is the first in a series where I feature visionary CMOs. Below are direct quotes from a recent discussion I had with 3 top CMOs… David Christopher, AT&T Mobility: “We have a very strong view that mobile is reinventing every industry. And the reality is there’s not CEO or CMO on the planet who not trying to figure out how to harness mobile to their advantage. …In home security, we just entered into a new business called Digital Life to transform home security. In education we just entered a partnership with Georgia Tech to offer a Master’s in Computer Science based on MOOP technology for $7,000. And the bigger point here as I click up a level is that we view smart phones running on our network as the remote control for your life in home automation.

www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/higher-education-trends-2014-6#ixzz367l00gJ9
3 Trends Are About To Create A Higher-Education Earthquake
The Economist
The staid higher-education business is about to experience a welcome earthquake. From Oxford’s quads to Harvard Yard and many a steel and glass palace of higher education in between, exams are giving way to holidays. As students consider life after graduation, universities are facing questions about their own future… In the meantime, a second generation of MOOC is trying to mirror courses offered at traditional universities. Georgia Institute of Technology and Udacity have joined forces with AT&T, a telecoms firm, to create an online master’s degree in computing for $7,000, to run in parallel with a similar campus-based qualification that costs around $25,000. Mona Mourshead, who runs McKinsey’s education consultancy, sees a turning point. “If employers accept this on equal terms, the MOOC master’s degree will have taken off. Others will surely follow,” she says.

www.growingalabama.com
http://growingalabama.com/features/2014/06/robots-lending-hand-farm/
Robots Lending a Hand on the Farm
By Allison Floyd
One day, farm machines may work on their own to find and kill pests in the field, prune plants so that they produce more and pick delicate fruit that today can only be collected by human hands. One day, a farmer’s best laborer may be a robot. Researchers already are figuring out how to mechanize disease scouting and use robots to assist in the harvest – work that is major step toward creating robo-farmers… In Georgia, for example, the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech are bringing together the agriculture expertise of one school and the robotics research of another. The team is working to develop a robot that can scout for peanut diseases and – here’s the tricky part – collect a sample of a diseased leaf to bring back to a human farmer.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-receives-nsf-grant-for-engineering-physics-programs/article_d6fa1efa-fbf7-11e3-9e87-0017a43b2370.html
UGA receives $638,000 NSF grant for engineering, physics programs
Brad Mannion
The National Science Foundation’s efforts to support incoming students at the University of Georgia who have an interest in the fields of physics and engineering resulted with a $638,000 grant for the school. The grant will go toward approximately 20 scholarships for academically talented students with financial needs who plan to attend UGA in either field. UGA received the grant to create the Developing Excellence in Engineering and Physics, or DEEP, program.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-06-27/uga-awarded-315-million-improve-chronic-disease-management-workplace
UGA awarded $3.15 million to improve chronic disease management in the workplace
Researchers in the University of Georgia College of Public Health received a five-year, $3.15 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health aimed at improving opportunities for individuals to better manage their chronic illness in the workplace. Chronic diseases — such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer — are the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. These diseases can often be prevented or better managed with early detection, improved diet, exercise and interactions with health care professionals. Dual principal investigators leading the grant are Mark Wilson, associate dean and professor, and Matthew Lee Smith, assistant professor, both in the department of health promotion and behavior.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/variety/uga-app-marine-debris-tracker-helps-eliminate-waste/article_54fbe5cc-ffc7-11e3-b648-0017a43b2370.html
UGA app “Marine Debris Tracker” helps eliminate waste
Carly Ralston
Named one of Apple’s “apps we can’t live without,” Marine Debris Tracker is making headway and headlines. Focusing on maintaining a healthy environment, reporting debris and waste and lessening litter and marine debris, this app’s popularity has increased substantially since its launch in 2011. Jenna Jambeck, an assistant professor at UGA, helped to create and develop the app to spread awareness of marine debris.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/kyle-wingfield/2014/jun/30/georgias-higher-ed-finances-remain-better-most-sta/
Georgia’s higher-ed finances remain better than most states’
By Kyle Wingfield
Today we bring you Things Are Not As Bad As You’ve Heard, Higher Education Edition. State funding for Georgia’s colleges and universities is down, by 28 percent per student between 2008 and 2013. Tuition and fees are up; they almost doubled during those same five years. These facts, reported by a national association of state higher-ed officers, and trumpeted by election-year opponents of Gov. Nathan Deal, are not in dispute. Unfortunately, they aren’t in context, either.

www.politics.blog.ajc.com
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/06/30/board-of-regents-to-consider-same-sex-marriage-eligibility-in-retirement-plan/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
Board of Regents to consider same-sex marriage eligibility in retirement plan
By Daniel Malloy
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to deliver its verdict in the Hobby Lobby case, which weighs the religious rights of employers and the right of women to their choice of birth control. Whichever way it goes, the decision will soak up today’s media attention – and that’s just fine with the state Board of Regents, which today will consider whether to recognize same-sex marriages for participants in a University System retirement plan.

www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2014/06/societys-demand-for-big-data-creating-shortage-of-skilled-workers/
SaportaReport
Society’s demand for ‘big data’ creating shortage of skilled workers
By Guest Columnist JENNIFER PRIESTLEY, professor of applied statistics and data science, and director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Services, at Kennesaw State University
Big Data has created a big employment problem for metro Atlanta – there are simply too many jobs in data science and not enough people. And the gap between supply and demand is getting bigger. Universities in metro Atlanta are filling that void, helping both employers and those who want to obtain those jobs. A day does not go by that we don’t hear of, or read a news story related to, the topic of data. It seems that everyone is collecting data – everything from our Facebook posts to our energy consumption to the books we read… Georgia Tech has launched a Master of Science in Analytics, again with a strong connection with the local business community. Other emerging programs in analytics are offered by Emory University and the University of Georgia.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/jun/26/should-we-care-when-teachers-quit-or-are-there-ple/
Get Schooled with Maureen Donwey
Should we care when teachers quit or are there plenty of replacements waiting in the wings?
A former newspaper colleague and I discussed this column by teacher Josh Waldron. She noted journalists also earn very little and work many extra hours without compensation. And many hold second jobs or freelance to pay their bills. They do it, she said, because they love reporting and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. As a parent and a journalist, I hate to see good teachers give up on the profession. Below is a piece from an award-winning Virginia high school teacher on why he quit. So, if teachers love what they do, they have to accept low pay and long hours, as have journalists, she said. If they can’t accept them, there are many young teachers eager to step into a classroom, just as there are plenty of young journalists waiting for a chance. This is what I told my friend:

www.nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/upshot/americans-think-we-have-the-worlds-best-colleges-we-dont.html
Americans Think We Have the World’s Best Colleges. We Don’t.
Kevin Carey
Americans have a split vision of education. Conventional wisdom has long held that our K-12 schools are mediocre or worse, while our colleges and universities are world class. While policy wonks hotly debate K-12 reform ideas like vouchers and the Common Core state standards, higher education is largely left to its own devices. Many families are worried about how to get into and pay for increasingly expensive colleges. But the stellar quality of those institutions is assumed. Yet a recent multinational study of adult literacy and numeracy skills suggests that this view is wrong. America’s schools and colleges are actually far more alike than people believe — and not in a good way. The nation’s deep education problems, the data suggest, don’t magically disappear once students disappear behind ivy-covered walls.

www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/new-technology-is-turning-education-upside-down-2014-6
New Technology Is Turning Education Upside Down
The Economist
Higher education is one of the great successes of the welfare state.
What was once the privilege of a few has become a middle-class entitlement, thanks mainly to government support. Some 3.5m Americans and 5m Europeans will graduate this summer. In the emerging world universities are booming: China has added nearly 30m places in 20 years. Yet the business has changed little since Aristotle taught at the Athenian Lyceum: young students still gather at an appointed time and place to listen to the wisdom of scholars. Now a revolution has begun (see “The future of universities: The digital degree”), thanks to three forces: rising costs, changing demand and disruptive technology. The result will be the reinvention of the university.

www.cbssports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/24599919/obannon-judge-weighs-in-as-ncaa-trial-concludes
O’Bannon judge weighs in as NCAA trial concludes
Jon Solomon
National College Football Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. — On the final day of the Ed O’Bannon v. NCAA trial, it was U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken’s turn to weigh in heavily on the antitrust case. Wilken started by cautioning that what she was about to say would not indicate what her ruling would be regarding the NCAA’s restrictions against players being paid for use of their names, images and likenesses. That didn’t stop everyone — lawyers, media, observers — from parsing every word to determine meaning.

Education News
www.nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/06/27/us/ap-us-school-guns-georgia.html?ref=news&_r=0
Ga. Schools Resist Arming Teachers Despite New Law
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Georgia school leaders are turning down a new option to arm teachers, arguing that it doesn’t make kids any safer and creates more problems than state lawmakers intended to solve. A string of attacks at schools and colleges in California, Oregon and Washington state hasn’t swayed education officials who say bluntly that they don’t believe guns belong in schools.

www.spokesman.com
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jun/29/idaho-cus-gun-law-takes-effect-tuesday/
Idaho campus gun law takes effect Tuesday
Elizabeth Rudd Lewiston Tribune
University of Idaho professor Jack Sullivan feels he has a contractual obligation to maintain a safe and nurturing classroom – that’s why he plans to put on his syllabus that no firearms, concealed or otherwise, will be permitted in his classes. The biological sciences educator said he’s not sure if that’s legal, but it’s what he feels is right. …That’s the difference, he said, between the professors in classrooms and the legislators at the Statehouse who voted last session to approve the guns on campus law that goes into effect Tuesday. The law exempts retired law enforcement officers and people who have enhanced concealed-carry permits from regulations that prohibit firearms on college and university campuses. It came despite unanimous opposition from the presidents at the state’s institutions of higher education and the Idaho State Board of Education.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-06-25/scores-edge-school-crct-tests
Scores edge up on school CRCT tests
By Lee Shearer
Scores on the state’s 2014 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test showed some slight improvement compared to last year. Most Athens-area schools systems scored at near or above state averages on the tests, which are meant to measure student learning in five areas — reading, language arts, mathematics, science and social science.

www.newsok.com
http://newsok.com/flat-rate-tuition-coming-to-three-more-oklahoma-campuses/article/4983486
Flat-rate tuition coming to three more Oklahoma campuses
Under the flat-rate plan, undergraduate students at OSU who enroll in 12 to 18 hours will pay a flat rate per semester, based on 15 credit hours. OU began a flat-rate program last fall.
by Kathryn McNutt
Flat-rate tuition — initiated last year at the University of Oklahoma — will spread to three more state campuses this fall. The tuition plans for all 25 public colleges and universities were approved last week by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Under the flat-rate plan, undergraduate students who enroll in 12 to 18 hours will pay a flat rate per semester, based on 15 credit hours. At Oklahoma State University, they will pay tuition at the same rate charged this past year.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/new-research-points-to-gaps-in-student-loan-counseling/38665?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
New Research Points to Gaps in Student-Loan Counseling
By Beckie Supiano
Nashville — Each year a larger share of new graduates leave four-year colleges with student-loan debt, and the average balance of those who borrowed is higher, too. Student-loan default rates are on the rise. With those trends in motion, questions of how well students understand their debt have taken on new urgency. Students who borrow through the federal loan programs are required to go through entrance and exit loan counseling. But there hasn’t been much evidence on how well that system works. To help fill that hole, TG, a nonprofit organization that guaranteed loans in the discontinued federal bank-based program, has undertaken a four-part research study in consultation with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Two researchers at TG discussed the project at a session during the association’s annual conference here on Sunday.

www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/academics-call-for-guidelines-on-use-of-online-learners-data/2014194.article
Academics call for guidelines on use of online learners’ data
BY CHRIS PARR
Delegates at California convention produce framework on use of personal information
Guidelines to ensure the ethical use of data gathered from online learners need to be developed, to prevent the misuse of personal information, a group of academics has said.
Delegates at the Asilomar Convention for Learning Research in Higher Education, which took place in California earlier this month, have produced a framework to promote the appropriate use of both learners’ personal information, and any research based on their activity.

www.forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/27/white-high-school-drop-outs-are-as-likely-to-land-jobs-as-black-college-students/
White High School Drop-Outs Are As Likely To Land Jobs As Black College Students
Susan Adams
Forbes Staff
African-Americans college students are about as likely to get hired as whites who have dropped out of high school. So says a new report from a non-profit called Young Invincibles, which analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census and examined the effect race and education levels have on unemployment. “We were startled to see just how much more education young African-Americans must get in order to have the same chance at landing a job as their white peers,” said Rory O’Sullivan, deputy director of Young Invincibles, in a statement. While the report paints a bleak picture for African-American college student job seekers who are competing with poorly educated whites, it also offers some encouraging news for black students who stay in school and get their diplomas:

www.time.com
http://time.com/2907332/historically-black-colleges-increasingly-serve-white-students/
Historically Black Colleges Are Becoming More White
Sarah Butrymowicz
An average of one in four students at traditionally black schools in the U.S. is a different race than the one the college was intended to serve
When junior Brandon Kirby brought home an award from a national biomedical conference, it was a nice boost for his small college in a dying coal town in the heart of Appalachia.
It also seemed incongruous, given that the conference was for minorities, the college is historically black — and Kirby is white. So are 82 percent of the students at West Virginia’s Bluefield State College, which nonetheless qualifies for a share of the more than a quarter of a billion dollars a year in special funding the federal government set aside for historically black colleges and universities in 2011, the last year for which figures are available. …To survive, the universities have had to market themselves to all students.

www.therepublic.com
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ceb3faa1172d4632af5b69ea3be388ef/OH–Ohio-College-Accreditation
Historically black Ohio college at risk of losing accreditation amid money, enrollment trouble
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WILBERFORCE, Ohio — A small, historically black university in Ohio could lose its accreditation due to problems including low enrollment and financial deficits. The Higher Learning Commission sent a “show cause order” to Wilberforce University this past week requiring the school to show why its accreditation shouldn’t be withdrawn.Loss of accreditation could result in students lacking eligibility for federal financial aid and having problems transferring credits, according to the commission.

wwww.nypost.com
http://nypost.com/2014/06/29/higher-education-has-lower-returns-for-college-endowments/
Higher education has lower returns for college endowments
By Terry Keenan
Nearly two months after most US college students took their finals, the nation’s college and university endowments are closing the books on their fiscal year. For the most part, the men and women who manage higher education’s nest eggs get a C at best. When it comes to investing, summer school is in order. Although the final results won’t be in for several months, college endowments — especially those of the nation’s elite universities — have been sorely underperforming the stock market averages over the five-year period ending last June.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/At-Mellon-Signs-of-Change/147363/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
At Mellon, Signs of Change
The giant grant maker, known for its opacity, is studying its strategy for saving the humanities
By Jennifer Howard
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has a reputation for moving in mysterious ways. For 45 years, it has steadily handed out money—lots of it—to sustain the humanities and the performing arts. As times have gotten tougher, Mellon’s deep pockets have become increasingly important. The foundation tends to attract an unusual level of anxiety and interest, like a rich uncle whose quirks and whims keep poorer relations on their toes. Some observers worry that Mellon is too opaque in its operations and guarded about its intentions.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Scholar-of-the-Black/147423/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
A Scholar of the Black Experience Shapes Giving at Mellon
By Marc Parry
New York City
Many humanities scholars depend on money from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a $6-billion philanthropy named for one of the wealthiest people in human history. Most of them wouldn’t even notice Mellon’s headquarters. The private foundation occupies several linked townhomes on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, an intimate warren of narrow staircases, Persian-style rugs, and antique illustrations of academic life. The foundation’s giving is equally understated. In March 2013, when Earl Lewis became president of Mellon, one of the most important jobs in the humanities, the former Emory University provost took over an organization with no communications staff. …That’s changing. Mr. Lewis and his colleagues are reconsidering how Mellon presents itself to the world and positions itself in public debates.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/30/uclas-full-time-mba-program-turns-down-state-funding#sthash.TxBbPQSI.dpbs
Public to Private MBA at UCLA
By Ry Rivard
A small chunk of the University of California is set to break slightly away tomorrow and become “self-supporting,” as the state system begins a closely watched experiment that could be repeated. Following years of controversy, most of the University of California at Los Angeles’s Anderson School of Management will be giving up state funding in hopes of living off donations and likely higher tuitions. Critics deride the effort as “privatization,” a term to which the UCLA administration strongly objects and never uses.

www.sunherald.com
http://www.sunherald.com/2014/06/28/5674650/mississippi-universities-seek.html
Mississippi universities seek $76.3M budget increase
BY JEFF AMY
Associated Press
JACKSON — The College Board voted Friday to seek an additional $76.3 million in state funding for Mississippi’s eight public universities when the Legislature gathers next year to write the 2016 budget. That’s a 10.2 percent increase over the funding they will receive in the 2015 budget year. In the last two budgeting cycles, universities have asked for smaller increases, but have persuaded lawmakers to give them almost all of what they sought. …This year, though, universities decided to ask lawmakers for much more money, highlighting the desire to boost faculty salaries, shore up research units that suffered during the recession, cover increases in financial aid and expand the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The board couldn’t decide last week whether to ask lawmakers for an increase of $61.4 million or $84.8 million, the members finally decided to split the difference.

www.thenewsstar.com
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20140628/NEWS01/306280029/College-campus-budgets-more-stable?nclick_check=1
College campus budgets more stable
Written by Mike Hasten
BATON ROUGE — Higher education officials have found themselves in a position they haven’t been in for several years. Their budgets are 100 percent state general funds, so they’re not worrying about some building having to be sold or the state winning some lawsuit, and they get to keep whatever money they produce through tuition increases. University of Louisiana System President Sandra Woodley proclaimed it “the most successful legislative session our universities have seen in many years.” Barbara Goodson, deputy commissioner for finance and administration at the Board of Regents, said having a budget that is fully funded with real dollars instead of contingencies “simplifies the accounting process.”

www.kpbs.org
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/jun/28/gi-bill-funds-flow-profit-colleges-fail-state-aid-/
GI Bill Funds Flow To For-Profit Colleges That Fail State Aid Standards
Aaron Glantz, The Center for Investigative Reporting
Over the past five years, more than $600 million in college assistance for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has been spent on California schools so substandard that they have failed to qualify for state financial aid. As a result, the GI Bill — designed to help veterans live the American dream — is supporting for-profit companies that spend lavishly on marketing but can leave veterans with worthless degrees and few job prospects, The Center for Investigative Reporting found.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/30/corinthians-failure-could-cost-federal-government-12-billion#sthash.2K4KS7Oh.dpbs
Controlled Crash?
By Paul Fain
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education has until tomorrow to reach an agreement with Corinthian Colleges on a plan to sell or shut down the for-profit chain’s 107 campuses. If they fail, the federal government could lose more than $1.2 billion in discharged student loans.

www.diverseeducation.cin
http://diverseeducation.com/article/65238/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=02fc47d5b710437980bcfd1bd6680fcd&elqCampaignId=173
Indiana University to Offer Multiyear Scholarships
by Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ― Indiana University plans to immediately begin guaranteeing four-year scholarships to athletes and will agree not to reduce the amount of money students on partial scholarship receive year to year based on illness, injury or ability, athletic director Fred Glass said Friday. The changes are part of a plan announced by the school that Glass calls a “student-athlete bill of rights.” It will include significant financial support to former athletes who wish to return to finish their degrees and increased health care commitments, he said.

www.time.com
http://time.com/2934500/1-in-5%E2%80%82campus-sexual-assault-statistic/
1 in 5: Debating the Most Controversial Sexual Assault Statistic
Tessa Berenson
Does America really have a “rape culture”?
A conservative women’s group is trying to debunk the claim that one in five women is a victim of sexual assault in college. The startling one-in-five statistic has become a rallying cry for campus judicial reform and entered the public lexicon through widespread dissemination by the media and the Obama Administration. Obama created a White House task force on campus sexual assault earlier this year, and Congress is currently considering proposals to combat sexual violence on campus.

www.apps.washingtonpost.com
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/local/sex-offenses-on-us-college-campuses/1077/
Sex offenses on U.S. college campuses
This table shows the number of alleged forcible sex offenses on campus reported to security authorities at colleges and universities or to law enforcement, as well as the rate of reporting per thousand students. Schools are required to send the data to the federal government under a law known as the Clery Act. Where possible, statistics for schools with multiple campuses have been combined to show one set of numbers per school. The table includes four-year colleges and universities — public and private, non-profit — with at least 1,000 students enrolled in 2012.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/30/video-highlights-arizona-state-police-arrest-black-professor-critics-see-racial#ixzz367v3WIIQ
Black Professor Body-Slammed
By Scott Jaschik
A black Arizona State University professor who was arrested by campus police last month for assaulting a police officer is charging that her actions were self-defense and that she was racially profiled. And a newly released video has attracted more support for her position.

www.chornicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/How-One-Investment-Manager/147403/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
How One Investment Manager Gambled Away $13.1-Million of Her University’s Money
By Vimal Patel
Lured by promises of quick returns, a midlevel administrator at Ball State University gambled on a series of risky investments. Unchecked and undetected by others, the decisions made by the former director of cash and investments resulted in the loss of $13.1-million of the university’s money. How was Gale Prizevoits, the former director, who was earning $84,000 a year shortly before she was fired, able to sign off on questionable high-dollar contracts with no authorization from higher-level administrators? Why didn’t Ball State officials, as well as state and internal university auditors, catch the deals, which enabled a swindler to buy luxury cars and real estate with public funds?

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/30/new-details-fired-winthrop-president#sthash.9hmlQW4b.dpbs
New Details on Fired Winthrop President
New information is coming out about how Jamie Comstock Williamson, who was last week fired as president of Winthrop University, played a role in the hiring of her husband to a part-time position in government and external relations. The hiring of her husband appears to be one issue in the dismissal. When reports about her husband’s work for the university first surfaced, Williamson said that her chief of staff had hired him. …On Sunday, The Rock Hill Herald reported on emails it obtained through open records requests that showed Williamson, very shortly after being hired, sent her chief of staff a memo urging her husband’s hiring.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/30/questions-pay-departing-u-toledo-president#sthash.KvXHxsa5.dpbs
Questions on Pay for Departing U. of Toledo President
Faculty leaders are questioning why Lloyd Jacobs will be receiving $1.3 million in the three years after he leaves the University of Toledo presidency, The Toledo Blade reported.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/30/disclosure-legislation-prompts-2-hawaii-regents-quit#sthash.BilpjcRF.dpbs
Disclosure Legislation Prompts 2 Hawaii Regents to Quit
A bill passed by Hawaii legislators but not yet signed or vetoed by the governor has prompted two members to quit the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, the Associated Press reported. The regents said that they were not opposed to transparency or some financial reporting, but that the bill would make their personal financial information public in a way they found inappropriate.

www.fortune.com
http://fortune.com/2014/06/27/government-watchdog-u-s-slipping-in-nuclear-energy-innovation/
Government watchdog: U.S. slipping in nuclear energy innovation
by Mark Halper
The U.S. Department of Energy risks missing a deadline for a prototype “advanced reactor” while China, Russia make progress, the Government Accountability Office says.
The U.S. Department of Energy is stumbling in its obligation to build an advanced nuclear reactor, putting the country at risk of falling behind China, Russia and other nations in developing this vital low-carbon power technology, the government’s fiscal watchdog warned this week. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted in a report released on Monday that the DOE risks missing a deadline to complete a prototype by 2021, as mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.