USG e-clips from November 7, 2014

USG NEWS:
www.ledger-enquirer.com
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/27317500/csu-names-tom-hackett-as-interim-president
CSU names Tom Hackett as interim president
BY MARK RICE
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) – Dr. Tom Hackett has been named the interim president of Columbus State University on Thursday. University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby confirmed the announcement in a media release. Hackett is currently serving as the university’s provost and vice president of academic affairs. He will take the position on Jan. 1, 2015 when current university President Tim Mescon retires on Dec. 31.

Related articles:
www.wtva.com
http://www.wtva.com/content/news/alabama/story/Interim-leader-named-for-Columbus-State-University/CWBpbfIz-0i92ugWVB2TCg.cspx
Interim leader named for Columbus State University

www.pendletontimespost.com
http://www.pendletontimespost.com/view/story/5c0f4dd9040f41f6a0da5e4b6b445e28/GA–Columbus-State-President/#.VFz_6iivIeU
Columbus State University provost, former Ala. educator chosen as school’s interim president

www.myfoxal.com
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/27317500/csu-names-tom-hackett-as-interim-president
CSU names Tom Hackett as interim president

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/college/peterson-named-to-ncaa-board/nhz9Z/
Peterson named to NCAA board
Ken Sugiura, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech president G.P. “Bud” Peterson has will serve on the NCAA’s Division I board of directors, beginning his term in January. Peterson will be the ACC’s representative on the board, which is the NCAA’s legislative body for Division I. Peterson will replace Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch, who has served as the board’s chair. Peterson will join the board at a particularly momentous time, as the NCAA is dealing with issues such as increasing the value of athletic scholarships and athletes’ rights to their likenesses.

www.jbhe.com

Albany State University Honors Its Former President


Albany State University Honors Its Former President
Albany State University in Georgia has announced that it is renaming an academic building on campus to honor the institution’s sixth president Billy C. Black. The newly renamed Billy C. Black Building was constructed after a 1994 flood that destroyed or damaged several buildings on campus. Dr. Black was president of the university from 1981 to 1996 and planned the rebuilding of the university after it had received extensive damage in the flood.

www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/college-recognizes-national-roll-call-day/article_43836c8e-bed5-5261-8f16-552bfc9a82ac.html
College recognizes National Roll Call Day
By SARAH LUNDGREN
As the solemn notes of Michael Evers’ bagpipes carried across the campus of College of Coastal Georgia Thursday, students and guests gathered to be part of the college-sponsored tribute to National Roll Call Day. The annual event is a call to institutions and entire communities to honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country by reading their names out loud.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2014-11-06/mcg-students-address-house-panel-need-more-state-residencies
MCG students address House panel on need for more state residencies
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
Second-year Medical College of Georgia student Katherine Menezes has a little more time at Georgia Regents University to decide what kind of medicine she wants to practice, but she is leaning toward obstetrics and gynecology. Whether she would lean toward practicing in Georgia could depend on getting a residency to finish her training here, and whether she would end up in one of the state’s neediest rural areas could depend on loan programs. Menezes and a handful of MCG students and residents spoke Thursday to the Georgia House of Representatives Medical Education Study Committee about the importance of those residency positions, which the state is trying to increase to hang on to more of the doctors it educates in medical school.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/students-petition-for-greater-flexibility-in-observing-religious-holidays/article_475be8f8-645e-11e4-9cd1-001a4bcf6878.html
Students petition for greater flexibility in observing religious holidays
Mollie Simon
Inspired by the 2,010 individuals who signed a letter to University of Georgia President Jere Morehead about the overlap of the UGA Homecoming game with the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur this year, other religious minority groups on campus have recently penned a new, similar petition. “Regardless of whether we are a minority on campus, the underlying issue is freedom to practice religion while still attending major school events and furthering our academic success,” stated the letter written by Hindu, Muslim and Sikh students on campus. “The Jewish community admirably pointed out that Homecoming fell on the same day as Yom Kippur. Homecoming also fell on Eid Al-Hadha, and Muslim students at this school failed to receive recognition or consideration for Eid Al-Hadha.”

www.neighbornewspapers.com
http://www.neighbornewspapers.com/view/full_story/26049603/article-UPDATED–Perdue–Deal-win-as-Republicans-roll?instance=vinings
UPDATED: Perdue, Deal win as Republicans roll
by Everett Catts
With all results in, incumbent Republican Nathan Deal and Republican candidate David Perdue won in the governor’s and U.S. Senate races, respectively, statewide, with all 159 counties reporting and in Cobb County, with all 145 precincts reporting. … In the lone referendum, which asks, “Shall property owned by the University System of Georgia and utilized by providers of college and university student housing and other facilities continue to be exempt from taxation to keep costs affordable?” 73.7 percent of voters statewide said yes.

GOOD NEWS:
www.superscholar.org
ttp://www.superscholar.org/rankings/best-online-nursing-programs-2015/
Best Online Nursing Programs of 2015 (Undergraduate)
Our Smart Choice ranking of online undergraduate nursing schools is designed to help current and future nurses make a smart choice about where to begin or continue their nursing education.
The Value of an Accredited Online Nursing Degree
#3. Georgia College & State University Georgia College & State University is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia. The school has over 6,500 students enrolled. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools provides accreditation. The university offers three online nursing degrees – an RN to BSN, a DNP, and a MSN with a focus in Nurse Practitioner.

RESEARCH:
www.wrcbtv.com
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/27323491/ga-agency-studying-economic-impact-of-child-care
Ga. agency studying economic impact of child care
ATLANTA (AP) – State education officials say they’ve commissioned a study to gauge the economic impact of child care on Georgia’s economy. Officials from the Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning say the University of Georgia and Georgia State University are leading the study.

www.journalistsresource.org
http://journalistsresource.org/studies/politics/ads-public-opinion/trust-others-institutions-declining-america-data-underlying-cultural-shifts#
Americans’ declining trust in others, institutions: Data on underlying cultural shifts
As each U.S. election cycle rolls by, public life seems to grow more rancorous, frayed and fragmented, with the 2014 midterms being no exception. There is a palpable sense that something deeper is at work in America, some sea change in the underlying patterns of life, but is this valid? Income inequality and political polarization are frequently cited, but to what extent are those causes or effects? And what other metrics and factors are useful to analyze? …A 2014 study published in Psychological Science, “Declines in Trust in Others and Confidence in Institutions Among American Adults and Late Adolescents, 1972-2012,” analyzes data from the General Social Survey (GSS) of American adults, as well as the Monitoring the Future (MtF) survey of high school seniors. By using data from young respondents in the MtF, the researchers — Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State, and W. Keith Campbell and Nathan T. Carter of the University of Georgia — were able to examine not only overall decline in trust, but also generational and time-period effects.

www.gallup.com
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/179156/execs-don-discount-value-online-university-degree.aspx
Execs: Don’t Discount the Value of an Online University Degree
by Justin Heifetz
The Georgia Institute of Technology this year launched an online master’s degree program in computer science that doesn’t have to be distinguished as distance education on a graduate’s resume. For $6,600, a student can complete all of his or her degree requirements over the Internet. With student loan debt at an all-time high, this affordable option is a huge draw for Georgia Tech. State residents pursuing the same degree on campus paid $515 per credit hour for the current fall semester, compared with $134 per hour for those taking the online program. At $1,150 per credit hour, out-of-state tuition is more than eight times higher per hour than the distance education option. Here’s the question: If it costs dramatically less to get a master’s degree online than on campus, is the degree somehow less valuable to employers than a traditional degree? “A less expensive route to a degree is a great one to take, as long as you believe quality doesn’t suffer,” says Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup Education.

www.campustechnology.com
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/11/06/can-libraries-save-the-mooc.aspx
Can Libraries Save the MOOC?
As massive open online courses move toward version 2.0, libraries are in a unique position to guide and support the future of blended learning.
By Irene Gashurov, Curtis Kendrick
MOOCs are experiencing an existential crisis. They have demonstrated their capacity to spread learning beyond traditional populations and to make learning both less expensive and more efficient. On the other hand, MOOCs can suppress student engagement, compromise the educational mission with the profit motive, and raise hosts of unanswered questions about the integrity of data in the unpoliced realm of the Internet… In 2014, the Georgia Institute of Technology became the first university to offer a degree program entirely based on MOOCs: the Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMSCS), with courses provided by Coursera… Georgia Tech did not initially seek to draw on the expertise of its librarians. When the Institute began to discuss the potential of MOOCs in 2012, it gathered the campus community under its Mini Innovation Hubs Project.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/11/07/high-tech-manufacturers-thrive-in-county.html?page=all
High-tech manufacturers thrive in county
Randy Southerland, Contributing Writer
Manufacturing is making a comeback in America and Gwinnett County is a hot bed for companies that make things — especially the high-tech variety. Today’s advanced manufacturing bears little resemblance to its low-tech predecessor, especially the familiar textile plants that once doted the South and provided the bulk of jobs in many communities. For one thing, they require a much higher level of worker training and much of the work is done in clean rooms where you’d be hard put to find a speck of dust… “It’s a combination of Georgia Tech that had engineers that specialized in this type of microwave technology,” said Kent Leka, general manager of antenna systems for ViaSat. “That was part of the reason why the Atlanta area is one of the hubs I would say of the world in terms of expertise in antenna and microwave technology, as well as the servo mechanical systems that are required to point them accurately.”

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/11/07/designing-regional-innovation.html?page=all
Designing regional innovation
Atlanta Regional Commission: new thinking for a better metro area
Randy Southerland, Contributing Writer
If the Atlanta region is going to continue to grow and produce jobs, it must embrace and foster innovation at every level, according to local leaders and industry observers. “We live in a very complex world nowadays,” said Doug Hooker, executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). “We have a very complex economy and complex communities and it takes innovation to introduce new approaches.”… At one time the only business incubator in Atlanta was ATDC. More recently a host of others have sprung up. These include organizations such as Flashpoint at Georgia Tech, Atlanta Tech Village, Tech Square Labs and Switchyards, slated to open in 2015. Even outlying communities and cities have gotten into the act, creating incubators in places like Alpharetta, Athens and Carrollton.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/11/07/digital-marketer-huge-to-triple-atlanta-office.html?page=all
Digital marketer Huge to triple Atlanta office space
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Brooklyn-based digital agency Huge will triple its office footprint in Atlanta as it braces for growth. Huge employs about 100 in Atlanta and is owned by advertising conglomerate New York-based Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. Huge has leased nearly 16,000 square feet at Pershing Point Plaza in Midtown. The expanded office can accommodate up to 160 people, based on real estate industry estimates… Atlanta is evolving into an East Coast digital media hub thanks to infrastructure that includes Georgia Tech, a cluster of Fortune 500 brands and a globally connected airport.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/views/our-take-college-job-experience-sacrificed-for-gpa/article_a0d8da66-6469-11e4-ae06-001a4bcf6878.html
Our Take: College job experience sacrificed for GPA
The Georgia HOPE and Zell B. Miller scholarships have allowed students the ability to attend schools they would not otherwise be able to afford by covering a large portion of tuition costs. These scholarships celebrate incoming students’ academic achievements and encourage them to maintain their high GPAs throughout college. However, the balancing act between preserving a GPA above a 3.0 and gaining job experience causes several students to sacrifice one for the other.

www.forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2014/11/05/will-atlanta-become-a-hotbed-for-startups/
Will Atlanta Become A Hotbed For Startups?
GUEST POST WRITTEN BY
Bijan Khosravi
Angel investor
Atlanta’s ecosystem for early stage startups has exponentially improved in recent years. I myself came to Atlanta nearly 15 years ago looking for greener pastures when engineering talent in Silicon Valley was slim and I was fed up with inflated salaries and sky-high real estate costs. Within two months of moving to Atlanta, I had hired over 30 of the best engineers in the country. Two years later, my engineering team was 250 strong and Movaz Networks was fast on its way to becoming one of the most successful optical startups in the nation. It was official. Atlanta was my new home… The great talent pool has fueled tremendous early stage startup activity. One local incubator, Atlanta Technology Village, is at capacity with over 600 companies. They now have a waiting list for those they’d like to include in the future. Another incubator, Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) has helped its graduates collectively raise over $2 billion for their startups.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/11/07/administrators-should-work-faculty-assess-learning-right-way-essay
On Assessing Student Learning, Faculty Are Not the Enemy
By Jeffrey Alan Johnson
“Why do we have such trouble telling faculty what they are going to do?” said the self-identified administrator, hastening to add that he “still thinks of himself as part of the faculty.”
“They are our employees, after all. They should be doing what we tell them to do.” Across a vast number of models for assessment, strategic planning, and student services on display at last month’s IUPUI Assessment Institute, it was disturbingly clear that assessment professionals have identified “The Faculty” (beyond the lip service to #notallfaculty, always as a collective body) as the chief obstacle to successful implementation of campuswide assessment of student learning.

Education News
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Are-We-Forgiving-Too-Much/149883/
Are We Forgiving Too Much Student-Loan Debt?
By Max Lewontin
Back in 2007, Congress made a simple promise to student-loan borrowers: Stick with a public-service career for 10 years, making monthly payments along the way, and we’ll forgive the rest of your debt. Now, as the bill gets closer to coming due, a growing chorus of analysts and observers is asking: Was that the right promise to make?

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67816/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=187289b2176a486b9795d0c87f0efb40&elqCampaignId=415
Judge Seeks Firing of Iowa State Professor
by Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A judge has recommended the firing of an Iowa State University math professor, blasting his teaching style and lack of research and service after hearing the disciplinary case against him. Moulay Tidriri should be dismissed after years of feuding with superiors and student complaints about his teaching, Administrative Law Judge Carol Greta wrote in a 27-page decision obtained by The Associated Press.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/07/academic-freedom-question-unlv
(Non) Peer Review
By Kaitlin Mulhere
It’s not every day that a university president shares concerns with the public about a faculty study. And in Nevada, some are wondering whether doing so is appropriate, especially following complaints in private communications with business leaders. The issue is attracting attention after a local news station last week published emails from August between top-level administrators at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and casino executives, who criticized a study on a proposed margin tax. Two of the emails imply that donations to the university could be put in jeopardy because of the study.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/What-Harvard-Researchers-Found/149879/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
What Harvard Researchers Found Out When They Secretly Photographed Classrooms
By Rebecca Koenig
The methodology of the Harvard research that used secret cameras to study class attendance has concerned some faculty members. But putting aside the question of whether the methodology was ethical, what did the researchers learn about classroom-attendance patterns from their study, and what were the motives behind the experiment?

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/07/colleges-turn-athletics-directors-business-backgrounds-results-vary
What CEOs Don’t Know
By Jake New
When the University of Michigan chose David Brandon to be its athletics director in 2010, the university touted his experience as the chief executive officer of Domino’s Pizza. At the time, the university saw his understanding of how to run a multibillion-dollar company as a fitting background for running a big-time college sports program. As college sports have become increasingly big businesses, more institutions have made similar assessments and turned to outside business executives to run their programs – but it’s not yet clear that the shift in preferred skill sets is paying off.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/11/07/profit-groups-sue-block-gainful-employment-rules
For-Profit Groups Sue to Block Gainful Employment Rules
The for-profit sector’s primary trade group on Thursday filed suit in federal court to block gainful employment regulations, which the U.S. Department of Education unveiled last week. A federal judge in 2012 halted a previous attempt by the Obama administration to enact rules for vocational programs at for-profits, community colleges and other institutions. The judge said the department failed to establish its reasoning behind one of the metrics. However, the judge also ruled that the department was within its rights with the overarching thrust of the regulations.