University System News

USG NEWS:
www.johndruckenmiller.com
http://johndruckenmiller.com/dr-donald-green-the-new-president-of-georgia-highlands-college-targets-growth-outreach/
Dr. Donald Green, the new president of Georgia Highlands College, targets growth, outreach
By Natalie Simms
A new era begins today at Georgia Highlands College as Dr. Donald Green begins his presidency at the institution. He’s ready to continue the work of growing the college to meet the needs of students and the community.

www.ireader.olivesoftware.com
http://ireader.olivesoftware.com/Olive/iReader/AtlantaJournal/SharedArticle.ashx?document=AJC%5C2014%5C09%5C08&article=Ar00104
HEALTH CARE LAW
State shuts down some insurance navigators
Lawmakers cut UGA’s 12 rural helpers ahead of open enrollment.
By Virginia Anderson For the AJC
A new state law forced the University of Georgia to shutter its health insurance navigator program that helped more than 33,000 Georgians — many of them from rural areas
— buy coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s online insurance marketplace. Passed by lawmakers in the spring, House Bill 943 bars any state government agency from running navigator programs, a key part of the health care law’s goal of helping millions of Americans get affordable insurance. The law allowed UGA to continue providing navigators until the $1.7 million in federal funding that the university received to run the program ran out. That money dried up Aug. 14.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/groups-get-33m-to-hire-health-insurance-navigators/nhJN4/#4736e58c.3566685.735485
Groups get $3.3M to hire health insurance navigators in Georgia
By Virginia Anderson – For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two nonprofits will receive roughly $3.3 million in grants to pay for health insurance navigators who will help Georgia consumers understand coverage options available through the Affordable Care Act’s online insurance marketplace, federal health officials announced Monday. Macon-based nonprofit Community Health Works, which formed an alliance of six regional cancer coalitions and other agencies, will receive more than $1.1 million to operate a navigator program. It will serve to replace the University of Georgia’s program, which was scuttled by state lawmakers in the spring. UGA’s program helped more than 33,000 Georgians choose marketplace coverage.
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/ben-carson-visit-to-valdosta-state-draws-protests-/nhGyL/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1#6c8fbe4f.3566685.735484
Ben Carson visit to Valdosta State draws protests, sells tickets
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The physician Ben Carson is known to many as a television commentator capable of sharp criticism. Now, his upcoming appearance at Valdosta State University is spurring similarly tough scrutiny from faculty members and students who say it is a political event and not the educational experience that’s being advertised. Some oppose Carson’s stances on social issues, such as gay marriage, while others question his credentials to deliver a speech outside his professional area of expertise. Still others are thrilled that he’s coming to VSU, which is now offering tickets to an overflow viewing area after regular tickets quickly sold out. VSU President William McKinney has no plans to “run” from the controversy and cancel the event.

GOOD NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/us-news-rankings-of-best-colleges-include-ga-schoo/nhJR6/
U.S. News rankings of best colleges include Ga. schools
By Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. News and World Report is out with its annual ranking of the nation’s best colleges. The 2015 rankings, released Tuesday, mark the magazine’s 30th edition of the popular report, and gives some Georgia colleges high marks. Emory ranked 21st among the top 100 public and private schools in the Best National Colleges category; Georgia Tech tied with Brandeis University for 35th, and the University of Georgia tied with five other colleges at 62nd. Emory’s six-year graduation rate was 91 percent; Georgia Tech’s was 82 percent; UGA’s 83 percent. Among public institutions, Georgia Tech ranked 7th on the list of top National Universities. UGA tied several other schools for 20th

www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/georgia/2-ga-organizations-given-workforce-training-grants/nhJXQ/
2 GA organizations given workforce training grants
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor say two Georgia organizations will receive worker training grant funding from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Officials say the University of Georgia and the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp. are being given about $214,000 in funding through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.

RESEARCH:
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-libraries-spends-pays-employees-less-than-other-research-universities/article_996db762-36ea-11e4-a219-001a4bcf6878.html
UGA Libraries spends, pays employees less than other research universities
Evelyn Andrews
The University of Georgia’s spending on its library system ranked No. 59 out of 115 institutions on a list released by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The list, which comprises of spending information for the 2012-2013 academic year, includes data for all the research libraries in North America that are members of the Association of Research Libraries.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Digital-History-Center-Strives/148657/
Digital History Center Strives to Connect With the Public
By Marc Parry
Books are the gold standard of historical scholarship. Claudio Saunt, a specialist in early American history, has published three of them. As a sort of epilogue to his latest book, however, the University of Georgia professor decided to try a different approach: What would happen if he distilled more than a century of American Indian history into an interactive digital map? The result was a lesson in the power of public history, and a case study for a profession grappling with how to encourage and evaluate digital experimentation.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/uga-to-take-part-in-sports-concussion-study/nhH6h/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1#ce96c8e6.3566685.735484
http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-09-08/researchers-release-red-dye-altmaha-river-tuesday#.VA4DTCjgYeU
Researchers to release red dye into Altmaha River Tuesday
By Savannah Morning News
With funding provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and logistical support from Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, researchers from Georgia Southern University will release 50 gallons of fluorescent red dye into the Altamaha River outflow on Tuesday. The plume of dye that results will be monitored visually and with instruments as it flows from the release point – just south of Wolf Island – along the Georgia coast and offshore.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-study-finds-exercise-decreases-fatigue/article_e403f54e-36e4-11e4-a2b5-001a4bcf6878.html
UGA study finds exercise decreases fatigue
Evelyn Andrews
A study conducted by University of Georgia researchers indicates exercise can actually combat fatigue. The study, which was featured in an article by The Washington Post, was co-authored by Patrick O’Connor, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and co-director of the UGA Exercise Psychology Laboratory.

www.businessweekly.co.uk
http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/academia-a-research/17476-research-sheds-light-on-molecular-process-of-evolution
RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON MOLECULAR PROCESS OF EVOLUTION
A study into a species of African fish has shed new light on the molecular process of evolution in all vertebrate species and gives a valuable insight into human biology and disease, according to The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC). The study, led by TGAC’s director of science Federica Di Palma and published in Nature, examines for the first time the molecular basis of adaption and evolution in vertebrates by sequencing the genomes of the fish species… The research paper was done in collaboration with scientists at the Broad Institute, Eawag Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Sciences and Georgia Institute of Technology, in addition to international scientists in the cichlid research community. Di Palma said: “This study shows how important it is to fund underpinning biology research in non-conventional model organisms. By learning how natural populations, such as fish, adapt and evolve under selective pressures, we can learn how these pressures affect humans in terms of health and disease.”

Editorial/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/sep/08/obamas-one-two-punch-education-his-wife-michelle-a/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Obama’s one-two punch on education: His wife Michelle and his buddy Arne in Atlanta today
President Obama sent his two strongest education emissaries to Atlanta today, First Lady Michelle Obama who urged students at Booker T. Washington High School to stay in school, work hard and go to college, and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who challenged Spelman and Morehouse students to consider careers in the classroom.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/sep/09/hope-legacy-lives-two-georgia-public-campuses-top-/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
The HOPE legacy lives on: Two Georgia public campuses in top 20
Despite the flaws of college rankings, we continue to pay attention to them, and none more than the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of nearly 1,800 higher education institutions around the country. The magazine released its 2015 rankings today. The impact of HOPE Scholarship on the higher ed landscape in Georgia can be seen in the presence of two colleges in the top 20 public campuses in the country. Georgia Tech lands spot No. 7, while the University of Georgia ties for 20th. HOPE flipped the college-going patterns of Georgia’s best high school students; while many once fled Georgia for college, they now stay in state because of the HOPE Scholarship.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/sep/09/teacher-georgia-senators-please-pass-bill-allow-me/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Teacher to Georgia senators: Please pass bill to allow me to refinance student loan
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a student loan bill introduced in May by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to help ease the college debt load crushing many young Americans. The Bank On Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act would enable federal and private student loan borrowers to refinance to rates set for first-time borrowers — 3.86% for Undergraduate Direct Loans, 5.41% for Graduate Loans, and 6.41% for PLUS Loans taken out by a student’s parents.

Education News
www.diverseeducatin.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/66772/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ba41e214876d4ac599db084905a7fba6&elqCampaignId=358
Colleges Urged to Take Advising of Underrepresented Students to Deeper Level
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
In order to help underrepresented students thrive in college, faculty and administrators must go beyond advising and instead teach students to master the “hidden curriculum” at their respective institutions.That is the argument that University of St. Thomas faculty mentoring consultant Buffy Smith made during a recent talk about helping low-income, minority and first-generation college students adjust to the cultural shifts that await them in the world of higher education.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Report-Highlights-3/148707/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Report Highlights 3 Universities’ Efforts to Help Disadvantaged Students Succeed
By Katherine Mangan
First-generation and minority students borrow far more for college and are much less likely to graduate, a problem that will worsen with demographic shifts. But three public universities have shown how, even in an era of declining state support for higher education, colleges can reverse those trends, according to a report being released on Tuesday by the Center for American Progress. All three—the University of California at Riverside, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of South Florida at Tampa—offer generous need-based scholarships as well as robust support services, including summer bridge programs and learning communities that allow freshmen to work in groups.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/09/demand-degrees-grows-many-fields-havent-required-them
Credential Creep Confirmed
By Doug Lederman
The broad public policy push for more Americans to get a higher education leans heavily on the idea that those without a college degree are up a creek, because so many jobs in today’s technology and information economy (and more in tomorrow’s) will require a credential. Many critics of higher education, in turn, complain that the “college completion” movement has been fed by (and feeds) credential inflation, with employers imposing a degree requirement for many jobs that never required one (and still don’t) simply because they can.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/09/new-data-virginia-agency-tracks-graduate-earnings-two-decades-later
The Long View on Wages
By Paul Fain
A Virginia state agency has released what is likely the first broad look at the mid-career earnings of college graduates, with a newly released report tracking wages at all degree levels for up to two decades after graduation.

www.abcnews.go.com
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/university-miami-president-shalala-retire-25350085
University of Miami President Shalala to Retire
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer
University of Miami President Donna Shalala plans to step down in 2015, ending a tenure in which she raised the school’s profile but also guided the athletic department through a controversial move to the Atlantic Coast Conference and a scandal involving a rogue former booster. Shalala, 73, told the school’s board of trustees of her decision Monday. She took over at Miami in 2001 after serving eight years as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Bill Clinton, with whom she remains close. Shalala’s goal was simple: She wanted to make Miami “the next great American university” and seemed to succeed in raising the school’s profile. Miami is now consistently ranked among the nation’s top 50 colleges and universities.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/09/09/university-email-accounts-sale-china
University Email Accounts for Sale in China
An email address from a prestigious university and access to its library and other services can now be yours for the low, low price of 16 cents! But wait — there’s more! The IT security company Palo Alto Networks last week found email accounts from 42 universities worldwide — 19 of them in the U.S. — for sale on Taobao, China’s version of eBay.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/09/new-york-times-introduces-new-index-colleges-commitment-low-income-students
Measuring What?
By Scott Jaschik
NEW YORK — The New York Times kicked off its higher education conference here Monday night by releasing what it called a “revolutionary college index” that ranks institutions that enroll students from low-income backgrounds. The rankings are derived from a formula based on the proportion of undergraduates who receive Pell Grants and the net price (what students actually pay as opposed to sticker price) paid by those with family incomes of $30,000 to $48,000. But the Times applied this formula only to institutions with a four-year graduation rate of at least 75 percent.

Related article:
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/in-new-york-times-ranking-elite-colleges-are-judged-on-economic-diversity/85615?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
In ‘New York Times’ Ranking, Elite Colleges Are Judged on Economic Diversity
By Andy Thomason
The New York Times’s hotly anticipated college ranking has one thing in common with the invitation-only conference at which it was unveiled on Monday night: It’s mostly private.
The ranking—produced by the Times’s data-centric explainer unit, The Upshot—sorts roughly 100 colleges by the economic diversity of their student bodies. But on the list are only three public institutions: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (ranking third), the University of Virginia (tied for 49th), and the College of William and Mary (97th).