University System News

USG NEWS:
www.northwestgeorgianews.com
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/ghc-president-tells-kiwanians-he-makes-job-preparation-a-priority/article_22a6e2ba-7f6b-11e4-8de2-3769a403e16a.html
GHC president tells Kiwanians he makes job preparation a priority
by Jeremy Stewart
Three months after becoming president of Georgia Highlands College, Donald Green is emphasizing building on the relationships that are readily available in the community. Green spoke about what has been going on behind the scenes at the public institution and what he hopes for its future during the regular meeting Monday of the Kiwanis Club of Rome. He said his open, informal approach to the faculty and students is something that is an extension of his professional philosophy.

www.daltondailycitizen.com
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/news/public-says-thanks-to-schwenn/article_1743fdec-81bc-11e4-9b3d-03c4606eb6e7.html
Public says thanks to Schwenn
by Chris Whitfield
John Schwenn said he has been too busy preparing for someone to take his place since announcing his retirement earlier this year to think about any idea of a legacy. “It has gone fast, and I have been so busy the last couple of months, I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it,” Schwenn said Thursday before a reception to honor his time as Dalton State College president. Schwenn is retiring effective at the end of this year. “The whole time — the nearly seven years I have been here — has shot by so fast,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like it has been that long at all.” But while Schwenn hasn’t given his legacy much thought, others in the community and around the college have.

www.wtoc.com
http://www.wtoc.com/story/27612391/armstrong-to-hold-start-now-start-strong-event-for-prospective-students
Armstrong to hold ‘Start Now, Start Strong’ event for prospective students
By Tedi Rountree
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – Armstrong State University is holding a “Start Now, Start Strong” event to get prospective students registered for a college education on Friday. This is a one-day registration event for students to apply, be admitted, and sign up for classes. It is specifically tailored to working professionals, though traditional students are also welcome.

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/12/12/kaiser-permanente-scouts-city-for-unit.html
Kaiser Permanente scouts city for unit
Douglas Sams and Ellie Hensley
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Health-care giant Kaiser Permanente is considering Atlanta for a major business unit. Kaiser Permanente has been touring Midtown Atlanta office buildings that could house the unit, which could include a focus on health IT, according to multiple commercial real estate executives. Kaiser Permanente confirmed its interest in Atlanta. …Anchoring a new building is a possibility for any company seeking that much office space, but the a two-year period to develop a tower may take too long for Kaiser Permanente’s timetable. A move to an Midtown building would also put Kaiser Permanente closer to the innovation district blossoming around Technology Square, anchored by Georgia Tech. The city is in the midst of an effort to draw high-paying jobs back to its urban core near colleges such as Georgia Tech, Emory and Georgia State University.

www.albanyherald.com
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/dec/11/southwest-georgia-hospitals-ranked-in-georgia/
Southwest Georgia hospitals ranked in Georgia Trend
Hospitals in Albany, Americus and Sylvester ranked among Top Hospitals
By Jennifer Parks
ALBANY — Three hospitals in the Phoebe Putney Health System have recently been named among the state’s top hospitals by “Georgia Trend” magazine. …PPMH, ranked No. 7 in teaching hospitals, is the hub of Georgia Regents University Medical College of Georgia’s first satellite medical campus – the Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus – for third- and fourth-year medical students. …PPMH partners with the University of Georgia’s Pharmacy School, which opened its Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus in Albany in 2011 to provide classroom and student laboratory space for the Doctor of Pharmacy program and the Graduate Certificate Residency Program in south Georgia.

www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=282844
UNG advises against travel to Ebola-affected locations
By Staff
DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) continues to actively monitor the ongoing Ebola virus situation and, ahead of the upcoming winter break, has issued an advisory to those considering travel to the West African countries affected by the outbreak.

www.wsav.com
http://www.wsav.com/story/27579677/local-universities-respond-after-nationwide-spotlight-on-sexual-assaults
Local Universities Respond After Nationwide Spotlight On Sexual Assaults
By Raquel Rodriguez, Reporter
SAVANNAH, GA – According to a White House report, one in five women is sexually assaulted in college. That figure is getting more attention after a recent Rolling Stones article about that crime. Officials at Armstrong State University and Georgia Southern University said they are using this spotlight to bring more awareness to the services they offer for victims. GSU freshman Kalie Evans said even though she went through required courses on campus to learn how to stay safe, she admits not everything stuck. “I know what to look out for, and know how not to get in trouble, but I don’t know what to do if it was me or one of my friends,” said Evans. GSU Counseling Center Director Dr. Jodi Caldwell said if you or someone you know becomes a victim the campus offers multiple services including sexual assault nurse examiners in the health services center. …Over at Armstrong State University, students can learn about sexual assaults through an online program which includes how to help if a victim comes to you. …Over at Savannah State University, the campus offers free sexual assault counseling and can put you in touch with student prevention groups.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/man-charged-with-sexual-battery-incidents-at-georg/njQ4p/
Man charged with sexual battery incidents at Georgia Tech
Jon Gargis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech police have arrested a man they say inappropriately touched two women on campus Monday evening. John Perry Smith, 43, was booked into the Fulton County Jail and is awaiting a bond hearing, Georgia Tech spokesman Matt Nagel said Thursday evening. Smith was booked on two misdemeanor charges of sexual battery.

GOOD NEWS:
www.mdjonline.com
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/26229309/article–I-feel-lucky–KSU-celebrates-25-000th-enrollment
‘I feel lucky’: KSU celebrates 25,000th enrollment
By Philip Clements
KENNESAW — In celebration of reaching the 25,000-student enrollment mark, Kennesaw State University President Dan Papp awarded the student who tipped the scale with a $2,500 tuition check on Thursday. Colton Teefy, a graduate of McEachern High School, enrolled at KSU in August with plans to study business. Teefy said when he enrolled, he had no idea he was the university’s 25,000th student. And until noon on Thursday, he didn’t know he would be receiving a check for $2,500 from the KSU Foundation to cover tuition costs for his second semester. “It feels great,” Teefy said. “I feel lucky.” During the university’s annual Chili ‘n’ Cheer event, Papp presented Teefy with a KSU “swag bag” — with KSU-themed hat, T-shirt, window decal, pen and rubber ball — and the oversized check for his prize of being student No. 25,000. …In Georgia, KSU is third in enrollment, with 25,714 full-time students, according to the Board of Regents’ fall 2014 semester enrollment report. University of Georgia ranks first with 35,197 students and Georgia State University is second with 32,556. …Now at 25,000 students on the verge of a merger with Southern Polytechnic State University, Papp said the consolidated university will have a student population between 32,000 and 33,000, possibly giving the school the second highest enrollment in the University System of Georgia.

www.noodls.com
http://www.noodls.com/viewNoodl/26239849/university-of-north-georgia/ung-recognized-for-efforts-to-reduce-textbook-costs
UNG recognized for efforts to reduce textbook costs
With three successful digital textbook projects and as many as 10 more on the horizon, the University of North Georgia (UNG) has been recognized as one of the state’s leaders in providing open educational resources for students. UNG has won an award for Innovation and Early Success in Textbook Transformation from Affordable Learning Georgia, a University System of Georgia (USG) initiative aimed at making college more affordable by encouraging the development of open-source, electronic textbooks. …In his budget presentation before state lawmakers in early 2014, USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby highlighted the UPNG-produced history textbook as an example of how the system is working to maintain student affordability and increase effectiveness and efficiency.

RESEARCH:
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-led-research-team-receives-grant-to-continue-investigation-of/article_6eaa713c-7fe7-11e4-91f2-67fb91732c66.html
UGA-led research team receives grant to continue investigation of BP oil spill effects
Gabe Cavallaro
One research team at the University of Georgia is looking into the long-term effect of the BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem. “When you add oil or gas to a system, how much can you add before you do really bad damage to the system?” said Samantha Joye, who is helping lead the team. “How much can it handle?” With a three-year, $18.8 million grant from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Joye, UGA Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences and a professor of marine sciences, and her team have three main areas of focus . They will investigate the long-term effects of the spill on corals, which are important economically as a fisheries habitat, and what mark the oil spill has left on the ecosystem, she said. About one-third of that money will go toward paying for the ships and remotely operated vehicles they need to do the research, but it’s still a very significant number, Joye said.

www.vendingmarketwatch.com
http://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/news/12027022/former-operator-launches-remote-monitoring-device-for-vending-machines
Former Operator Launches Remote Monitoring Device For Vending Machines
Cory Hewett considers himself a serial entrepreneur. When he was in high school, he owned vending machines and ran route. And in 2012 when he transferred to the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, GA, he wanted a way to remotely monitor his machines. “I hired a route driver to fill them for me, but I got this idea that it would be nice to check up on them via my smartphone,” said Hewett. “And there weren’t a lot of options for the small vend operator.” Hewett eventually sold his machines, but the idea to monitor machines quickly, simply and affordably followed him throughout his studies until last May when he put that idea to action… Hewett— now a senior at Georgia Tech—and a group of four students created the vending technology startup company called Gimme. The Gimme device is a BLE dongle that plugs into the DEX board. Route drivers can use the Gimme app to view a picklist for a stop, download a DEX file, scan a cash bag and enter inventory information.

www.aviationweek.com
http://aviationweek.com/defense/researchers-target-uavs-new-lidar
Researchers Target UAVs for New Lidar
Compact, ultra-fast lidar may chart littorals from UAVs
Pat Toensmeier
Bathymetric light detection and ranging (lidar) instruments are effective in laser-scanning the ocean to map littoral waters and other seafloor details. At an average of 600 lb. per unit, however, their use is confined to large manned aircraft. Work underway at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) may change this. Researchers have developed a proof-of-concept lidar prototype that improves the speed and accuracy of ocean scans and—unlike current systems—allows the collection and transmission of data in real time for production of high-resolution 3-D images. Researchers also produced a computer design of a bathymetric device for the prototype that is half the size and weight of current units and uses less power.

www.engadget.com
http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/artificial-sense-of-touch-gets-smarter-lets-robots-really-feel/
Artificial sense of touch gets smarter, lets robots really feel
by Joseph Volpe
The verdict’s still out on whether or not androids dream of electric sheep. But their ability to feel? Well, that’s about to approach levels of human sensitivity. We’re of course talking about the sense of touch, not emotions. And thanks to work out of Georgia Tech, tactile sensitivity for robotics, more secure e-signatures and general human-machine interaction is about to get a great ‘ol boost. Through the use of thousands of piezotronic transistors (i.e., grouped vertical zinc oxide nanowires) known as “taxels,” a three-person team led by Prof. Zhong Lin Wang has devised a way to translate motion into electronic signals. In other words, you’re looking at a future in which robotic hands interpret the nuances of a surface or gripped object akin to a human fingertip and artificial skin senses touch similar to the way tiny hairs on an arm do.

www.independent.co.uk
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/geek-mythology-im-troubled-by-the-rise-of-word-bae-but-thats-the-internet-for-you-9916709.html
Geek Mythology: I’m troubled by the rise of word ‘bae’. But that’s the internet for you
Neither ‘bim’ nor ‘gomping’ will pass into common parlance, but I love them
Rhodri Marsden
I see more and more people using the word “bae” these days, and it’s troubling me a bit. I’m all for the development of language, internet slang and neologisms – in fact, I’d go as far as to say that it makes me TOTES CICED – but there’s something about the word “bae”, that sickly-sweet contraction of the word “baby” or “babe”, that rubs me up the wrong way… A number of linguists have observed the way that the internet speeds up the process of language change. From OMG to WTF, from L33T to LOLCats, linguistic contagion can propel an abbreviation such as “TMI” from an online forum into the Oxford English Dictionary in a matter of months… Here’s a question, though: will mass online communication result in a convergence towards a single vocabulary, where different online dialects end up subsumed into one set of words, nicely defined by the Urban Dictionary website? A group of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, headed by Jacob Eisenstein, has been looking into precisely this – because, of course, our online communication is frequently date-stamped and geotagged, creating a handy data set to be analysed.

www.news.psu.edu
http://news.psu.edu/story/337874/2014/12/10/research/faculty-report-schools-pursuing-diversity-face-numerous-challenges
Faculty report: Schools pursuing diversity face numerous challenges
Kevin Sliman
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A report by Erica Frankenberg, assistant professor in Penn State’s College of Education, and her colleagues shared insights about a federal program that aimed to help school districts increase diversity. The report, titled “The Changing Politics of Diversity: Lessons from a Federal Technical Assistance Grant,” revealed that a number of factors, including legal uncertainty and political pressure, affected how districts pursued that goal. The group, which included Kathryn McDermott from the University of Massachusetts, and Elizabeth DeBray and Ann Blankenship from the University of Georgia, was researching the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) 2009 program called Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans (TASAP). Through TASAP, the DOE distributed $2.5 million awarded through a competitive grant process to 11 school districts to help them design student assignments that were both legal and racially diverse.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2014/12/11/is-there-a-shortage-of-stem-workers-or-are-companies-overlooking-older-applicants/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Is there a shortage of STEM workers or are companies overlooking older applicants?
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal released the findings yesterday of his High Demand Career Initiative, which highlights overall trends, high-demand careers and skills, challenges, recommendations and what Georgia businesses anticipate they will need in five to 10 years. One of the urgent recommendations was to increase the pipeline of workers with the skills needed for Georgia growth industries, including agriculture, aerospace, automotive manufacturing, defense, film, television, interactive entertainment, healthcare, life sciences, information technology, logistics and manufacturing. Here is what’s baffling: Industry leaders, politicians and academics decry the lack of skilled workers in these fields, yet many science, technology and math grads contend they can’t find work. And often those workers are older.

www.nytimes.com

College for Grown-Ups
By MITCHELL L. STEVENS
A cruel paradox of higher education in America is that its most coveted seats are reserved for young people. Four-year residential colleges with selective admissions are a privileged elite in the academic world, but their undergraduate programs effectively discriminate on the basis of age. Admissions officers typically prefer that the best and brightest be children. Yet leaving home at a young age to live on a campus full-time is not without serious financial, psychological and even physical risk. People make major investment decisions when they are choosing colleges, but with minimal information about quality and fit. Meanwhile flagship public universities, which rely on tuition to offset diminished public subsidies, condone Greek systems that appeal to many affluent families but also incubate cultures of dangerous play. The so-called party pathway through college is an all-encompassing lifestyle characterized by virtually nonstop socializing, often on the male-controlled turf of fraternity houses. Substance abuse and sexual assault are common consequences.

Education:
www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/12/12/accreditation-panel-issues-higher-ed-act-suggestions
Accreditation Panel Issues Higher Ed Act Suggestions
The federal panel tasked with advising the U.S. Department of Education on accreditation issues on Thursday released a draft set of recommendations for changing accreditation during reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity has been working on an updated set of recommendations since earlier this year. The panel previously made a series of recommendations in 2011 and 2012, but the Education Department has asked members of the committee to update those documents.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/How-Big-Money-Can-and/150747/
How Big Money Can, and Can’t, Shake Up Teaching
By Dan Berrett
Three years ago, two of America’s most influential universities made eye-popping commitments to improve teaching. Harvard University announced that it would devote $40-million to encourage its faculty members to experiment in the service of learning. The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor would run a $25-million project seeking much the same thing. On both campuses, faculty members on and off the tenure track have submitted proposals for competitive grants of up to $50,000 to take calculated risks in their courses. They’re creating digital textbooks, organizing workshops on teaching statistics, assigning common reading in engineering, and, in all cases, studying the results. …It’s too soon to judge the impact of the efforts on the two campuses and beyond. But it’s worth examining the underlying philosophy. Can money spark change where other attempts have failed? Will it overcome cultural and structural obstacles? And what can colleges without the same kinds of resources take away? Here are some lessons emerging from the experiments.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/12/12/interactive-learning-spaces-center-ball-state-us-faculty-development-program
Room to Experiment
By Carl Straumsheim
Ball State University is using active learning, multimedia-enabled classrooms and swivel chairs to put a new spin on its faculty development efforts. The university earlier this decade renovated its Teachers College building, creating two classrooms it calls Interactive Learning Spaces. The rooms are part of a larger faculty development program intended to promote active learning techniques and cut down on lecturing. As the program has expanded, the university is researching whether teaching at-risk students — those withdrawing from or earning a D or F in a basic math course — in the classrooms could improve academic outcomes and, eventually, graduation rates.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68364/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=9088ddcd11c14ddaa6a07cd6d8261c80&elqCampaignId=415
Vassar College Students Protest as National, Campus Issues Mount
by Catherine Morris
Hundreds of Vassar student surrounded and occupied Main Building last Friday, spurred on by a series of revelations about the college’s administrative response to allegations of sexual assault and racial profiling on campus. Protestors called on the administration to do better.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68367/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=9088ddcd11c14ddaa6a07cd6d8261c80&elqCampaignId=415
University of Kansas Fraternity to Remain of Interim Suspension
by Associated Press
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The interim suspension of a University of Kansas fraternity has been extended while the school and Lawrence police investigate allegations of sexual assaults at the chapter house on the Lawrence campus. Kappa Sigma was suspended Sept. 30 after the university received what Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little called “serious and disturbing” allegations of sexual assault at a fraternity party during the university’s homecoming the previous weekend.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68369/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=9088ddcd11c14ddaa6a07cd6d8261c80&elqCampaignId=415
Bob Jones University Releases Report on Handling Sex Abuse Complaints
by Associated Press
GREENVILLE, S.C. — An independent report on how Bob Jones University has dealt with sexual abuse over several decades concluded that university employees weren’t properly trained to handle such cases and victims seem to have been blamed. The 300-page report, released Thursday, recommended that the 3,000-student, fundamentalist school issue an apology to abuse survivors hurt by the school’s response. It also suggested the school provide better training for school personnel and provide tuition assistance to student victims of abuse who left the university before receiving their degrees.

www.insidehighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/12/12/justice-dept-20-campus-rapes-reported-police
Justice Dept.: 20% of Campus Rapes Reported to Police
College-aged women who are not students are more likely to be victims of rape and sexual assault than those who are students, but victims of campus sexual assault are less likely to report the crime to police, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. The report examined data from the bureau’s National Crime Victimization Survey collected between 1995 to 2013 about women aged 18 to 24 — the demographic that is most at risk for sexual assault. The researchers found that nonstudents in that age group were 1.2 percent more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than students. Of those students who were assaulted, however, 80 percent never reported the crime to police. For nonstudents, 68 percent never reported the assaults to law enforcement.

Related article:
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Study-Challenges-Notion-That/150817/
Study Challenges Notion That Risk of Sexual Assault Is Greater at College