USG e-clips from January 12, 2015

University System News
www.ajc.com
Students arrested at UGA after protest of state’s immigration policies
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/students-arrested-at-uga-after-protest-of-states-i/njkgX/
Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Several immigrant students without legal status were arrested at the University of Georgia Friday night during a protest of immigration policies that prevent them from attending some of the state’s largest colleges. Police were called to Moore College around 6:30 p.m. after about 50 protesters refused to leave the building, which closed at 5 p.m., UGA’s student newspaper, The Red and Black, reported. Some of the students voluntarily left the building when police arrived, but nine students from UGA, Kennesaw State and Freedom universities refused to leave and were arrested, according to the paper. The students were each charged with one count of criminal trespassing and told that they would be booked into Clarke County jail. Georgia’s University System prohibits students without legal status from attending any college that has had to turn away qualified students for the past two years because of space constraints. …With the merger announcement this week of Georgia State and Georgia Perimeter, some undocumented students have questioned whether the move would prevent them from attending Georgia Perimeter, where many are currently enrolled.

Related articles:
www.onlineathens.com
9 arrested during Freedom University sit-in at UGA
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2015-01-10/9-arrested-during-freedom-university-sit-uga

www.chronicle.com
9 Are Arrested at U. of Georgia in Protest of Ban on Immigrant Students
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/9-are-arrested-at-u-of-georgia-in-protest-of-ban-on-undocumented-students-2/91941

www.redandblack.com
Student protesters arrested after refusing to leave Moore College
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/student-protesters-arrested-after-refusing-to-leave-moore-college/article_864bebbe-987d-11e4-959c-33b0ffa137b6.html

www.covnews.com
How will the merger affect Newton County?
http://www.covnews.com/section/1/article/57692/
By Bryan Fazio
The merger of Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College will make the institution the largest university in the state. However what will be the effects on Newton County and its GPC campus? According to Charles Sutlive, Vice Chancellor for Communications of the University System of Georgia, many decisions about the merger will be finalized by a campus consolidation committee, consisting of faculty, staff and students from both institutions. Included in those decisions will be “assessing the needs and infrastructure of the new consolidated institution,” Sutlive said.

www.statesboroherald.com
Gov. Sanders’ estate gives $500,0000 to Georgia Southern
Grant designated for Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65193/
Special to the Herald
The Georgia Southern University Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art has received a $500,000 gift from the estate of former Georgia Gov. Carl E. Sanders, who died in November.
The gift will support academic initiatives for visual art and design students, exhibitions, merit-based projects, competitions and innovative curriculum development.

Related article:
www.ajc.com
Georgia Southern gets $500K gift from estate of former Gov. Sanders
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/georgia-southern-gets-500k-gift-from-estate-of-for/njkmY/

www.bostonglobe.com
For Boston-area colleges, Olympics would provide a chance to shine
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/09/boston-area-colleges-gear-play-major-role-potential-games/sapsXE9DgL4jO6DkMWM97M/story.html
By Matt RocheleauGLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Organizers of Boston’s Olympic bid are galvanizing area colleges to play a pivotal role in staging the games, from housing athletes and providing sporting venues to building facilities that would serve students long after the international spotlight fades. “We haven’t had to twist any arms,’’ Gloria Larson, president of Bentley University and co-chair of the Boston 2024 campaign’s institutional engagement committee, said Friday. “Every college and university we’ve spoken to so far has been all-in in every way they could.” …The last US city to host a Summer Olympics — Atlanta in 1996 — relied upon the Georgia Tech as a main venue. Thousands of housing units were built on the campus that have since been used as dormitories since. That city’s Olympic committee raised $47 million privately to pay for the construction, and the University System of Georgia issued bonds to cover the remaining $194 million in costs. The Olympic committee also raised $21 million in private funds to build an aquatic center on the Georgia Tech campus, which the college turned into a recreation center.

www.redandblack.com
UGA researchers identify colon cancer cause, potential treatment
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-researchers-identify-colon-cancer-cause-potential-treatment/article_8ad0b854-97a1-11e4-9a46-dfcea9e9aad2.html
Allie Dean
A team of University of Georgia researchers, led by Cancer Center Director Michael Pierce, has discovered a link between a sugar molecule and the treatment of colon cancer. Accepted on Oct. 1, their paper presents their findings that a sugar molecule-creating enzyme, GnT-V, is responsible for the regulation of cancer stem cells.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Richard Woods gets ready to steer Georgia Department of Education
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/09/richard-woods-gets-ready-to-steer-georgia-department-of-education/
Richard Woods becomes Georgia school superintendent today, a journey that began four years ago when the former Irwin County educator first ran for the job. Then, Woods lost in the Republican primary to John Barge, who ultimately won the seat but chose last fall to run against Gov. Nathan Deal rather than seek a second term as school chief. This time, Woods beat back a crowded GOP primary field to defeat Democrat Valarie Wilson in November.

Higher Education:
www.statesboroherald.com
Ga. legislature to look at education funding this year
Also on tap: ‘Recovery School District’ for failing schools
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65207/
BY Jason Wermers
ATLANTA — While funding for transportation improvements and another attempt to allow limited use of medical marijuana have been grabbing headlines across Georgia leading up to this year’s legislative session, education figures to play a bigger role under the Gold Dome than it did last year. Look for two significant initiatives from Gov. Nathan Deal, who is about to be sworn in for his second term, concerning education: reforming and updating the beleaguered funding formula and, perhaps more controversial, some kind of intervention for persistently failing schools.

www.accessnorthga.com
Deal, lawmakers return with long to-do list
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=283761
By The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Legislature convenes Monday in Atlanta, and a rough list of legislative priorities still is shaping up. But it’s clear Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders have high hopes for the 40-day session. Both parties view the start of Deal’s second and final term in office as an opportunity to get some work done. Here’s a look at several topics likely to come up for discussion this session: TRANSPORTATION AND TAXES …EDUCATION Since his re-election in November, Deal has said examining the state’s system for funding education is a top priority in his second term. Deal has said the complicated formula Georgia uses is outdated but also indicated he’s focused on making better use of state money given to schools, not an overall increase. …BUSINESS REGULATION …`RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’ …MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Related article:
www.onlineathens.com
New Georgia legislative session starts today
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2015-01-11/new-georgia-legislative-session-starts-today

www.myajc.com
Georgia still reviewing Obama’s free community college proposal
Federal money for two-year college students could free up HOPE funds
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/georgia-still-reviewing-obamas-free-community-coll/njkPg/#abc5d11b.3566685.735610
By Janel Davis and Michael Kanell – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
President Barack Obama has proposed making publicly funded community college available to all Americans with a program that would make the first two years of higher education as free and accessible as high school. With few details available on the plan, which is estimated to cost the federal government $60 billion over 10 years, Georgia officials were cautiously optimistic about its possible impact on the Peach State.

www.insidehighered.com
The Thought That Counts
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/12/community-college-experts-welcome-obamas-plan-some-reservations
By Paul Fain
Community college advocates like the spirit of President Obama’s blockbuster free community college proposal. It’s the details, many still unknown, that worry some.

www.insidehighered.com
Federal Promise Unveiled
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/12/obama-joined-republicans-unveiling-free-community-college-plan
By Michael Stratford
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — President Obama traveled here Friday to make his first full-fledged pitch for tuition-free community college, as White House officials confirmed that the ambitious proposal would cost about $60 billion over the next decade.

www.diverseeducation.com
President Obama’s Plan to Make Community College Free Draws Praise, Skepticism
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68785/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=fec6bc849b734c2685438a2fd40c0045&elqCampaignId=415
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
When President Barack Obama announced an ambitious new plan to make community college free this past Friday during a speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, his remarks drew an enthusiastic applause. And it drew praise in certain sectors of higher education because of its emphasis on boosting student access and success. …But among policymakers, analysts and college access advocates, the plan—known formally as America’s College Promise—drew skepticism about its workability and practicality. It also drew questions about the extent to which the plan would truly benefit the students who need it the most and why the president doesn’t focus more on finding ways to fund the Pell Grant program that helps low-income students pay for college.

www.chronicle.com
Obama’s Free-College Plan Evokes Spirit of Historic Higher Ed Acts
http://chronicle.com/article/Free-College-Plan-Evokes/151151/
By Jack Stripling
With a proposal that would send millions of students to community colleges free, President Obama joins a line of national leaders who have asked taxpayers to foot other people’s tuition bills for the greater public good. The president’s plan, still short on details, has been described by higher-education experts as a clarion call in the spirit of the original GI Bill, which became law in 1944, or the Pell Grant program, which was created by Congress in 1972. The GI Bill sent almost eight million veterans of World War II to college, and the Pell Grant program assists millions of low-income students each year.

www.chronicle.com
The Players Who Influenced Obama’s Free-College Plan
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Players-Who-Influenced/151145/
By Katherine Mangan and Beckie Supiano
The White House proposal to provide free community-college tuition to millions of students bears some familiar fingerprints—from a researcher who championed the idea, a nonprofit group that has pushed some of its key strategies nationwide, and, of course, existing plans in Tennessee and Chicago. Here are a few of the players that appear to have left their marks.

www.diverseeducation.com
Chattanooga College Officials Involved in Hiring Scandal Out
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68796/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=fec6bc849b734c2685438a2fd40c0045&elqCampaignId=415
by Associated Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Chattanooga State Community College administrator whose hiring led to a Board of Regents investigation of the school’s longtime president has been fired. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports Lisa Haynes was fired Monday by new Interim President Warren Nichols on his first day on campus. Longtime President Jim Catanzaro retired Dec. 31 in the midst of campus discontent with his leadership. The new president also fired Human Resources Director Tom Crum, who participated in Haynes’ hiring.

www.diverseeducation.com
Leaders Discuss Common Core State Standards at MLA Conference
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68791/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=fec6bc849b734c2685438a2fd40c0045&elqCampaignId=415
by Catherine Morris
VANCOUVER — It is not every day that Catharine R. Stimpson, former MLA president, regales an audience with a clerihew in the vein of W. H. Auden’s Academic Graffiti, but she composed one in honor of the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The last two lines of Dr. Stimpson’s poem—“In the New Year, to assess/ CCSS is a mess—“sum up the sentiments of some concerned MLA conference-goers regarding the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).