UNIVERSITY SYSTEM NEWS
Georgia lands grant to keep college students on track
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/06/georgia-lands-grant-to-keep-college-students-on.html
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 4, 2014
The state will use a three-year, $1 million grant to help guide Georgia college students toward graduation without getting sidetracked by unnecessary courses, Gov. Nathan Deal announced Wednesday. Georgia was one of three states chosen to receive the money from the Lumina Foundation in partnership with Complete College America.
‘Campus carry’ supporters warn of confusion at Georgia colleges
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/campus-carry-supporters-warn-of-confusion-at-georg/ngFN5/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 5, 2014
By Janel Davis and Kristina Torres
Gun rights supporters who want to legally carry guns on Georgia’s college campuses warned Thursday of confusion whether they could do just that, despite being told no. (subscription required)
One Down, Many to Go
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/06/one-semester-students-satisfied-unfinished-georgia-tech-online-degree-program#sthash.N1w2cYF7.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
By Carl Straumsheim
Administrators at the Georgia Institute of Technology are optimistic but “not declaring victory” after one semester of its affordable online master’s degree program in computer science. While the program has been well-received by students, administrators are still striving to solve an equation that balances cost, academic quality and support services.
New data center adds to Midtown’s Technology Square
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/06/06/new-data-center-adds-to-midtown-s-technology.html
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 6, 2014
Long regarded as one of the premier examples of public-private partnership, Technology Square is getting ready for some major new additions that will bring together academic research, private development and startup entrepreneurship. Georgia Tech is planning to build a new High Performance Computing Center on top of the fiber optic corridor that runs through Midtown. (*Subscription required)
Brokers: Tech startups no riskier than other new firms
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/06/06/brokers-tech-startups-no-riskier-than-other-new.html
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 6, 2014
The tech industry has found Atlanta. “Atlanta is in the midst of a renaissance around tech startups and startups are growing at a rate faster than other major cities in the country due to Georgia Tech and the great quality of life,” said David Cummings, a veteran techpreneur and the founder of Atlanta Tech Village, a startup incubator. (*Subscription required)
Manufacturing on the rise in Savannah area
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/06/06/manufacturing-on-the-rise-in-savannah-area.html?page=all
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 6, 2014
When Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. expanded its Savannah-based corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility twice in four years, nearly doubling its workforce there from 5,000 to more than 9,000 employees, they knew they had what they needed to ensure success: a strong product, dedicated workforce and great location… “In a word: workforce. Savannah and the surrounding area have a tremendous workforce, and we have strong partnerships with the educational systems here, including the Technical College System of Georgia, Savannah Technical College, Altamaha Technical College, Georgia Southern University and Georgia Tech that help us ensure a well-trained and educated talent pool,” Flynn said. “ (*Subscription required)
Tech startup accelerator Flashpoint raises second $1M fund
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2014/06/tech-startup-accelerator-flashpoint-raises-second.html?page=all
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 4, 2014
… In the past three years, Flashpoint at Georgia Tech has helped seed three dozen startups who have collectively raised more than $65 million from blue-chip venture firms such as Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Andreessen Horowitz. … Accepted startups are offered work space at Tech Square and go through a “startup course.”
Invesco’s Martin Flanagan: Atlanta’s $787 billion man
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/06/06/invesco-s-martin-flanagan-atlanta-s-787-billion.html?page=all
Atlanta Business Chronicle
June 6, 2014
On June 3, Atlanta Business Chronicle sat down with CEO Martin L. Flanagan to talk about markets, investing and why the company’s home is Atlanta… Why does Invesco maintain its headquarters in Atlanta? It is a tremendous place to have a headquarters. … Again, around Atlanta you have Georgia Tech, Emory, Georgia State, University of Georgia and Kennesaw State, and we hire a lot of people from all of them. You fundamentally have a talent pool here. (*Subscription required)
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM RESEARCH
UGA, USDA-ARS developed turgrass takes center stage at World Cup
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2014-06-05/uga-usda-ars-developed-turfgrass-takes-center-stage-world-cup
Athens Banner Herald
June 5, 2014
TIFTON | When the world’s best soccer players make their way onto the world stage next week, chances are they’ll once again be playing on a University of Georgia-bred turfgrass.
Robots: Can we trust them with our privacy?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140605-the-greatest-threat-of-robots
BBC
June 5, 2014
… In an oft-cited 2007 study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology surveyed 30 owners of Roomba, the disk-shaped robotic vacuum cleaner, and found that the majority gave their robots names and a gender, with many even considering it as a member of the family as if it were a pet.
The Moral Implications of Robots that Kill
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140605-the-greatest-threat-of-robots
Business Insider
June 5, 2014
Lethal autonomous weapons — robots that can kill people without human intervention — aren’t yet on our battlefields, but the technology is right there. As you can imagine, the killer robot issue is one that raises a number of concerns in the arenas of wartime strategy, morality, and philosophy… While some experts want an outright ban, Ronald Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology pointed out that Pope Innocent II tried to ban the crossbow in 1139, and argued that it would be almost impossible to enforce such a ban. ”
EDITORIALS/OPINION/BLOGS
Georgians may get more bang for higher ed bucks
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/06/05/3138588/georgians-may-get-more-bang-for.html?sp=/99/178/
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Editorial
June 5, 2014
A million dollars is a lot of money, but not necessarily in the context of a state’s higher education budget. Yet Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia higher ed officials say a new $1 million grant can save Georgia students and taxpayers tens of millions, and maybe more. Talk about effective leveraging of an investment. The grant is funded by the Lumina Foundation in partnership with Complete College America (completecollege.org) a nonprofit established to improve college graduation rates.
Local angst over Georgia’s new concealed carry law bubbles up
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/06/05/local-angst-over-georgias-new-concealed-carry-law-bubbles-up/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
June 5, 2014
…HB 60, which expands the places where permitted owners can carry concealed, is also creating some angst in Macon, where authorities say they may have to allow weapons inside the city-owned Macon Centreplex and Macon City Auditorium. The new law says that government-owned venues that provide security don’t have to permit concealed weaponry, according to its author.
The Classroom as Arcade
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/06/06/technology-classroom-distraction-students-essay#sthash.HuPrgEbD.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
By Mary Flanagan
…Some people might say we should use technology for activities that “flip” the traditional lecture class. In line with this thinking, I have run hands-on activities one to two times a week with great success. During those activities, students are focused and use technology to further learning. But most days, there will come a time where faculty or guest speakers actually speak, or dialogue happens or provocative points are raised. It is then that students with technology-control issues immediately check out and check into Facebook or online games or shoe shopping.
Give students data to assess colleges’ value: Our view
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/06/04/college-ratings-obama-universities-editorials-debates/9984163/
USA Today
June 4, 2014
By the Editorial Board
When President Obama proposed a pilot program to reimburse doctors and hospitals based on the quality of care they provide, rather than the quantity, many of his supporters lauded the effort. But now that he is proposing something similar in higher education, some of his backers are crying foul.
Free Tuition a Debt Solution for Higher Education?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-l-breuder/free-tuition-a-debt-solution-student-loans_b_5446656.html
The Huffington Post
June 4, 2014
By Dr. Robert L. Breuder,
President, College of DuPage
Free tuition seems to be quite a hot topic in higher education as of late, and with good reason. With increasing tuition costs and fewer options for borrowing at fiscally responsible interest rates, states are feeling the burden of unpaid loans like never before. With student debt in the U.S. surpassing consumer credit debt for the first time in U.S. history, this $1.1 trillion dilemma has many states taking action to find a solution to the question: How can students obtain higher education, build a career and pay back their loans without it becoming a life-sentence?
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
Another College Merger in Georgia
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/06/another-college-merger-georgia#sthash.2Z4hWTx3.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
The governing board of the Technical College System of Georgia on Thursday voted to approve the proposed merger between Moultrie Technical College and Southwest Georgia Technical College.
One person killed, three others injured in shooting at Seattle Pacific University
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/06/05/shooting-at-seattle-pacific-university/?wpisrc=al_national
The Washington Post
June 5, 2014
By Mark Berman
One person was killed and three other people were shot Thursday afternoon when a gunman with a shotgun entered a building on the campus of Seattle Pacific University and opened fire, police said. When the gunman began reloading, a student who is a building monitor subdued the shooter with pepper spray, according to Capt. Chris Fowler of the Seattle Police Department. Other students then joined the monitor and held the shooter down, he said.
Another deadly shooting
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/06/shooter-kills-one-injures-others-seattle-pacific-u#sthash.ZaSRkLgf.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
By Scott Jaschik
Not even two full weeks after the murder of six University of California at Santa Barbara students, a man opened fire with a handgun in a building at Seattle Pacific University Thursday afternoon, killing one and injuring two others.
Why Colleges Are on the Hook for Sexual Assault
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Colleges-Are-on-the-Hook/146943/
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 6, 2014
When Congress passed the gender-equity law known as Title IX more than 40 years ago, no one expected it to make colleges responsible for handling sexual assault. …But the law is now being interpreted to require colleges to investigate and resolve students’ reports of rape, determining whether their classmates are responsible for assault and, if so, what the punishment should be. (*Subscription may be required)
With Elections Looming, Democrats Mobilize on Student Debt
http://chronicle.com/article/With-Elections-Looming/146947/
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 6, 2014
With the midterm elections only five months away, Democrats in Congress are turning their attention to an issue that’s likely to energize the party’s base: student debt. Next week, lawmakers plan to take up a bill that would allow borrowers to refinance existing student loans at the lower interest rates now available to new borrowers. (*Subscription may be required)
Colleges to give data on off-campus housing
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/03/spotlight/JQkKTGYuGlukVcCWFkN33H/story.html
The Boston Globe
June 4, 2014
By Jonathon Saltzman and Thomas Farragher
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Tuesday that more than 20 universities in Boston have largely agreed to disclose the addresses of students living off campus — a long-resisted step that he called critical to combatting chronic overcrowding that he said imperils student safety.
Fostering Gender Equity on STEM Faculties Is Not My Job, Some Officials Say
http://chronicle.com/article/Fostering-Gender-Equity-on/146949/
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 6, 2014
A new paper provides a glimpse of what administrators in the sciences think about increasing gender diversity among those who teach and do research in those fields. Most of the leaders see that goal as the responsibility of someone else—often, female professors. (*Subscription required)
President Obama to field college debt questions on Tumblr
http://news.yahoo.com/president-obama-to-field-college-debt-questions-on-tumblr-150123285.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons
Yahoo News
June 5, 2104
By Liz Goodwin
Mad about your college loans? You have a chance to take your frustrations straight to the president on Tuesday. President Barack Obama will take questions on Tumblr about college affordability and student debt in a discussion to be moderated by the site’s 27-year-old founder, David Karp, at the White House.
NIH Presses Journals to Focus on Reproducibility of Studies
http://chronicle.com/article/NIH-Presses-Journals-to-Focus/146951/
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 6, 2014
A group of leading medical-journal editors, convened by the National Institutes of Health, this week endorsed a set of guidelines intended to tackle the widespread problem of scientific findings that cannot be replicated.
College Graduates Struggle to Find Employment Worth a Degree
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-05/college-graduates-struggle-to-find-employment-worth-a-degree.html
Bloomberg News
June 5, 2014
By Janet Lorin and Jeanna Smalek
This year’s college graduates will have to be more creative to land a job they want. The unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 fell to 5.6 percent in 2013 from 6.4 percent at the recession’s peak in 2009. Among 22-year-old degree holders who found jobs in the past three years, more than half were in roles not requiring a college diploma, said John Schmitt, a labor economist for the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.
Scholars’ Bid to Criticize Israel’s Actions Is Rejected
The New York Times
June 5, 2014
A resolution critical of Israel failed to win approval from a leading scholarly group, the Modern Language Association, the group said on Wednesday, after an overwhelming majority of its members declined to vote. There have been several attempts within academic groups to criticize Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and the Modern Language Association would have been the most prestigious organization to do so. Smaller groups, like the American Studies Association, have called for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.
On Eve of Legal Battle, Leadership Questions Loom Over NCAA
http://chronicle.com/article/On-Eve-of-Legal-Battle/146929/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 4, 2014
Moments before President Obama was introduced at a White House summit on concussions last week, several guests were escorted into the East Room, where some 200 people had gathered. Among the honored guests was Mark Emmert, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, who took a seat near the front. A few minutes after Mr. Obama began speaking, he singled out the NCAA leader for a financial contribution the association plans to make toward research on head injuries.
Hunting the head of head hunters
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/06/florida-state-u-faculty-open-new-front-battle-over-presidential-searches#sthash.Jz5qVI4B.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
By Ry Rivard
Florida State University’s Faculty Senate is slamming one of higher ed’s top headhunters after the search tilted quickly to favor a well-connected politician. On Wednesday, the university’s Faculty Senate voted no confidence in R. William Funk, who is leading Florida State’s controversial search for a new president. Funk is head of Texas-based R. William Funk and Associates, which has placed presidents at some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious universities.
Evolving Act
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/06/06/act-unveils-changes-reporting-and-some-parts-its-test#sthash.SQE5FiCE.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
By Scott Jaschik
ACT is today unveiling a series of changes — most involving the addition of new scores — to its college admissions test. The changes to the test itself are relatively minor, such that ACT officials predict that a student taking the exam this year (under the current system) and next year (under the new one) might not notice the difference during the test itself. But the score report will have a series of additions to the 1-36 scores students now receive for each section (English, mathematics, reading and science) and as a composite score of those four.
Study: Grandparents Save for College for Grandchildren
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/06/06/study-grandparents-save-college-grandchildren#sthash.KJpS5YuK.dpbs
Inside Higher Education
June 6, 2014
More than half (53 percent) of grandparents are saving for their grandchildren’s college costs, or plan to start saving, according to research released Thursday by Fidelity. And 90 percent reported that, if asked, they would be likely to make a financial contribution to their grandchildren’s college costs.
OTHER NEWS
Georgia technology group asks for visa reforms
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-06-05/georgia-technology-group-asks-visa-reforms
Athens Banner Herald
June 5, 2014
By Associated Press
ATLANTA | A Georgia business group is calling on lawmakers to improve a federal visa program that lets companies temporarily hire specialty workers, especially in technology fields. The Technology Association of Georgia says a new report found caps on how many visas can be issued each year limits growth of computer-related jobs.