University System News:
www.mdjonline.com
Batter up! ’17 Braves tickets soon to go on sale
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/26457419/article-Batter-up—17-Braves-tickets-soon-to-go-on-sale
by Joe Kirby, Otis A. Brumby III and Lee B. Garrett, – Around Town Columnists
…THE GEORGIA SENATE’S Higher Education Committee holds a hearing at 3 p.m. today on a bill that would allow those in the country illegally who are beneficiaries of President Obama’s DACA amnesty to be charged the in-state tuition rate at state colleges and universities. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students (those who were brought here illegally as children by their parents, but who do not have legal status in this country) now are charged the out-of-state rate. Critics complain the effect of the bill, if it were to become law, would mean such students could attend any University System of Georgia school or technical college at a tuition rate less than the rate paid by legal immigrants — and less than the rate charged American citizens who attend such Georgia schools from out of state.
www.bizjournals.com
Anthem says thieves targeting customers following data breach
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2015/02/anthem-says-thieves-targeting-customers-following.html?page=all
Carla Caldwell
Morning Edition Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Anthem Inc. is warning customers about phone and email scams following the massive data breach at the health insurance company. Anthem (NYSE: ANTM), the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, said Feb. 4 that as many as 80 million customers have had their account information stolen. The Georgia division is among groups affected, the company said.
USG Institutions:
www.macon.com
Blake: Middle Georgia State has chance of becoming university this year
http://www.macon.com/2015/02/09/3577050_blake-middle-georgia-state-has.html?rh=1
BY MAGGIE LEE
ATLANTA — The first class of master’s degree students will enter Middle Georgia State College’s campus this fall if things fall in “best and shortest” time frame, its president said Monday. But both the schedule and the new name for what would be Georgia’s newest university are up to the Board of Regents, the appointed body that oversees the University System of Georgia, college President Christopher Blake said. “We have got our materials up to the system. The system will decide when is the best time for that,” Blake said. “I’m trying to gently say, ‘we’re making good progress.’ ’’
www.onlineathens.com
Most new UGA degree programs don’t meet enrollment projections
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2015-02-09/most-new-uga-degree-programs-dont-meet-enrollment-projections
By LEE SHEARER
Only about one in four new University of Georgia degree programs or majors lived up to their projected enrollment within three years of beginning, according to a report scheduled to be delivered to the state Board of Regents. But a handful succeeded well beyond initial projections, including several of UGA’s new engineering majors.
www.redandblack.com
Students can request admission records, but results not what expected
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/students-can-request-admission-records-but-results-not-what-expected/article_a3962b1a-afd6-11e4-a606-8b409c2fa323.html
Nate Harris
The admission at any college has been considered a process shrouded in mystery, prompting some students to seek “the formula” used to evaluate teacher recommendations, transcripts and essays in determining acceptances. At Stanford University, students recently discovered that through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law passed in 1974, students have the right to see their educational records. Students at Stanford began requesting their records through template letters, and many received their records back. …Because this is a federal law, the University of Georgia would have no choice but to fulfill students’ requests within 45 days. But David Graves, senior associate director of admissions operations and evaluations at UGA, said what students will receive will not reveal much about the admissions process, and this “discovery” of the ability to request records is far from new.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Davidson Magnet School student, teacher win STAR program award
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2015-02-09/davidson-magnet-school-student-teacher-win-star-program-award
By Sean Gruber
Staff Writer
Ask Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School teacher Paul Hennessy to describe student Russell Noah, and he’ll say “a hard working gentleman” who plans to study law and engineering in the future. “He is a dedicated and polite man, truly first class. He’s never late. He’s always ready to work,” Hennessy said. …Naoh’s work ethic and manners were also praised Monday during a Kiwanis Club luncheon, and he receivd praise from Richmond County School Superintendent Angela Pringle and University System of Georgia Vice Chancellor for Educational Access and Success Robert Anderson. …Anderson, who gave a keynote speech after the award ceremony, said former teachers and fellow students left “indelible marks” on his life that are still apparent 30 years later. Without the influence and dedication of his high school teachers, Anderson said he would not be where he is today. “The best thing you can do with your accomplishments is to inspire others by your actions and leadership,” Anderson said. “I still carry the lessons I learned decades ago with me. Thank you STAR teachers and students. You all make a difference.”
www.onlineathens.com
MADD lobbies at state Capitol for alcohol legislation
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2015-02-09/madd-lobbies-state-capitol-alcohol-legislation
By WALTER C. JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA | Jordan Griner and Michael Gatto Jr. may have never met, but the two college students’ parents tearfully recounted their deaths Monday in a noisy, crowded Capitol lobby as part of MADD’s legislative agenda. Mothers Against Drunk Driving posted their photographs on a display along with dozens of other victims of excessive drinking in hopes the smiling snapshots would catch the attention of lawmakers. One of the three bills on the agenda is the “Jordan Griner Act,” House Bill 42, sponsored by Rep. Earnest Smith, D-Augusta. …Georgia Southern University freshman Gatto wasn’t killed in a car crash, but MADD officials say the Cumming native was just as much a victim of drinking. …His father told the Capitol rally that “Michael’s Law,” House Bill 152, would have saved his son’s life had it been in force last August when the death occurred.
www.wsbtv.com
Ga. State students concerned about mold in dorm rooms
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ga-state-students-concerned-about-mold-dorm-rooms/nj7j7/
A Georgia State University says she spotted mold in her dorm room. She is among several students who complained about ongoing maintenance concerns at the dorms. “If I ask you to fix something when I’m paying so much money. It takes you two months. That is ridiculous,” said Amber Crosson, a Georgia State University student. Crosson said Crosson noticed the mold under her sink at her dorm at the University Commons after another plumbing related issue. “That’s like a lot when you have four females living in apartment that is not good being in the air,” Student Brandy Harris says she moved out of the dorms this year because she was having continued water and mold related problems.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Board OKs CSU design to replace old L-E tower at 12th and Broad
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2015/02/09/3557984_board-oks-csu-design-to-replace.html?rh=1
BY TIM CHITWOOD
Though some still complained the design didn’t fit the setting, the city board that regulates historic properties OK’d Columbus State University’s plans for a new building at the corner of 12th Street and Broadway. … CSU plans to preserve the newspaper’s historic 1931 Mediterranean-revival building and a 1950s addition to it at 12th Street and Front Avenue, but demolish the rest of the old newspaper complex that includes a warehouse, press bay and loading dock. The university will replace the office tower once called the Page Building with a three-story structure housing the College of Education and Health Professions, which it hopes to open downtown in the fall of 2016. Estimated to cost $20 million to $25 million, the 90,000-square-foot college is expected to draw up to 1,800 students and faculty.
www.globalbiodefense.com
UGA to Develop New Treatment for Chagas Disease
University of Georgia researchers in collaboration with Anacor Pharmaceuticals have received a $5.3 million grant from the Wellcome Trust to develop a new drug for the treatment of Chagas disease, which they hope will be ready to enter clinical trials by 2016. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which spreads via a subspecies of blood-feeding insects commonly known as “kissing bugs” because they tend to bite people on the face and lips. While the disease can progress slowly, chronic infection almost inevitably results in irreparable damage to heart and digestive system tissues.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Body of unidentified white male recovered in Lake Lanier
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/feb/09/body-found-in-lake-lanier-id8217d-as-missing/
By Tyler Estep
The search for Kelly Nash is over. The ending is not a happy one. Hall County authorities confirmed Monday afternoon that a body found Sunday evening in Lake Lanier was indeed that of Nash, the 25-year-old Georgia Gwinnett College student who disappeared early on the morning of Jan. 5.
www.ajc.cm
Woman pleads guilty in road rage death of KSU student
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/woman-pleads-guilty-in-road-rage-death-of-ksu-stud/nj73K/
Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The woman convicted of killing a Kennesaw State University student after a road rage incident was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 30 years.
Sparkles Lashayla Lindsey, 22, pleaded guilty in the October 2013 shooting death of 21-year-old Kimberly Faith Kilgore, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.insidehighered.com
A Persistently Ignored Problem
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/02/10/essay-need-colleges-take-more-seriously-issue-harassment-faculty-members-students
By Billie Wright Dziech
When Inside Higher Ed’s Carl Straumsheim broke details of the Walter Lewin affair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he moved institutions into unprecedented territory in the battle to cope with sexual misconduct on campus. But his article accomplished more than that — it also serves as a reminder that after decades of vacillating institutional, public and media interest in sexual abuse by collegians, solutions to the equally disturbing and more complex problem of professorial misconduct still elude institutions.
Higher Education:
www.diverseeducation.com
More Than $2 Billion in Federal Grant Money Unclaimed
http://diverseeducation.com/article/69620/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=8b304ed6d72c4621aa72a7aa0f19ddd3&elqCampaignId=415
by Jamal Eric Watson
Nearly $2.9 billion in free federal grant money went unclaimed because students did not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA. The findings were revealed in a report released by NerdScholar, an advocacy organization that counsels students and their parents about their options for financing college. Gianna Sen-Gupta, an analyst with the group’s higher education division, said that, in 2013, nearly 47 percent of high school graduates didn’t even bother to complete FAFSA, which is the “required first step that could’ve earned them Pell Grant money, which, unlike student loans, does not need to be paid back.” Sen-Gupta said that, in many instances, students simply believed that college was unaffordable and decided on that reason alone to forgo attending. In that pool of students many were first-generation minority students.
www.chronicle.com
Does the College Major Really Matter?
http://chronicle.com/article/Does-the-College-Major-Really/172011/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Jeffrey J. Selingo
Every year, high-school students and their families spend an inordinate amount of time on the college search, but comparatively little on the search for a college major. Perhaps that’s why a quarter of all freshmen change their major by the end of their first year, according to UCLA’s annual Freshman Survey, and half of first-year students say they plan to switch their field of study.
www.insidehighered.com
Arrests End Sit-In at U. of Minnesota President’s Office
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/02/10/arrests-end-sit-u-minnesota-presidents-office
Thirteen protesters were arrested Monday evening following a day-long sit-in at the president’s office of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Students and a few non-students organized the protest to demand changes that they said were needed to promote diversity and inclusiveness on campus. The group, known as Whose Diversity?, is seeking a range of changes, including increased financial support for Latino studies, a commitment to one all-gender bathroom in every building on campus and an end to crime alerts that note the race of suspects.
www.insidehighered.com
Report: Colleges That Divest Will Lose Money
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/02/10/report-colleges-divest-will-lose-money
A new report — funded by the Independent Petroleum Association of America — argues that colleges that sell holdings in fossil fuel companies are likely to pay a financial price for doing so.