USG Institutions:
www.redandblack.com
Students meet Georgia representatives at state Capitol for Dawgs at the Dome
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/students-meet-georgia-representatives-at-state-capitol-for-dawgs-at/article_5da438d6-b8aa-11e4-9b43-9ffaac6d8f9a.html
Patrick Adcock
Students and alumni alike shook hands with Georgia government representatives in Atlanta as part of the Student Government Association’s Dawgs at the Dome event Thursday. Dawgs at the Dome met early this morning in the Capitol building’s south atrium for a general breakfast reception as part of UGA Day. During the event, students were able to speak with select senators and representatives from the state about issues directly affecting their education today.
www.college.usatoday.com
Don’t worry, colleges and universities say ‘It’s On Us’
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/02/19/dont-worry-colleges-and-universities-say-its-on-us/
By: Walbert Castillo, Daniel Funke, University of Georgia and Megan Raposa, Augustana College
Nearly one in five women — approximately 22 million — have been raped, while one in 71 men — approximately 1.6 million — have been raped, according to the White House report. Additionally, younger people are more at risk for crimes related to sexual assault when one in five women have been sexually assaulted while attending college. Since the White House launched the “It’s On Us” campaign in September, the movement has sparked more than 250 colleges and universities to take a definitive stand against sexual assault. The campaign aims to raise awareness to campus communities by educating others about the responsibilities they have under federal civil rights laws to take action and prevent such crime from occurring.
www.albanyherald.com
Phoebe Foundation receives donation for medical student housing complex
Complex to be built near Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in coming months
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/feb/19/phoebe-foundation-receives-donation-for-medical/
By Jennifer Parks
ALBANY — The Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Volunteer Advisory Board was informed Thursday of a donation to the Phoebe Foundation to go toward the construction of a $5 million housing complex for medical students doing rotations in Southwest Georgia. The $900,000 donation is the largest lump sum to date ever contributed to one designated project by the volunteer services department at Phoebe. The proceeds came from an account consisting of proceeds from the hospital’s gift shop that collects interest, officials at the hospital said. The proposed 25-unit medical student housing gated community will be located on West Fourth Avenue and North Jackson Street near the hospital. Phoebe Putney Health System owns the property, which is directly adjacent to the Family Tree child development center. Students from the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, the University of Georgia Pharmacy School and other medical students studying at Phoebe will have the option to live there at a nominal cost.
www.bizjournals.com
Tech’s ATDC plans incubator for financial technology startups
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2015/02/20/tech-s-atdc-plans-incubator-for-financial.html
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a business incubator located at Georgia Tech, plans to develop a financial technology practice aimed at building the next generation of payment technology companies. WorldPay, which will relocate its headquarters to nearby Atlantic Station, is expected to underwrite that program with an up to $1 million check, according to sources. ATDC and WorldPay declined comment. WorldPay is also looking to open a software development lab aimed at building mobile and omni-commerce products, such as teller-based point-of-sale products and e-commerce platforms. Steve Karp, WorldPay’s senior vice president of product and portfolio strategy, is said to be leading the project.
www.bizjournals.com
Todd Oglesby: Apartment dwellers want homes where the activity is in metro Atlanta
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2015/02/20/todd-oglesby-apartment-dwellers-want-homes-where.html?page=all
Douglas Sams
Commercial Real Estate Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The last time Atlanta was experiencing such a large wave of urban reinvestment, Todd Oglesby was just starting his career in the development business. It was around the time of the 1996 Olympics, when public dollars were pouring into the city to fund new infrastructure. Oglesby had taken a job with Winter Construction Co., because he knew there were plenty of high-profile projects in the pipeline, and he wanted to be out working on them, not stuck behind a desk, wearing a suit and answering the phones… Metro Atlanta is in the midst of a residential boom targeting those new college graduates and 25- to 35-year-olds who make up Gen Y, also known as millennials. Besides Old Fourth Ward, projects tapping into that demand are rising around Tech Square, by Georgia Tech; in Buckhead, near the new MARTA pedestrian bridge; and in Dunwoody, near MARTA stations and the new State Farm Insurance Co. campus.
www.phys.org
Researchers identify, name toxic cyanobacteria killing American bald eagles
http://phys.org/news/2015-02-toxic-cyanobacteria-american-bald-eagles.html
by Sandi Martin
University of Georgia researchers have formally identified and named toxic cyanobacteria that have been killing American bald eagles across the Southeast. After years of studying the cyanobacteria coating the leaves of water plants in lakes, researchers in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources have determined that it is a previously undiscovered species in a new genus. In a paper published recently in the journal Phytotaxa, they named it Aetokthonos hydrillicola and lay out evidence that it is responsible for the eagle deaths.
University System News:
www.bizjournals.com
Lawmakers send mid-year budget to Gov. Deal
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/02/lawmakers-send-mid-year-budget-to-gov-deal.html
Dave Williams
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The General Assembly put the wraps on Gov. Nathan Deal’s $21.1 billion mid-year budget request Thursday. There were so few disagreements between the state House of Representatives and Senate over the spending plan that the chambers gave it final passage without having to appoint a conference committee to negotiate their differences. If the governor signs the mid-year budget as expected, it would increase state spending through the end of June by $276 million over the fiscal 2015 budget the legislature adopted last March. …After the governor asked for $515,600 in initial funding for the planned Georgia Film Academy, the legislature kicked in another $132,275. The initiative is being undertaken by the state university and technical college systems to train students to help plug a shortage of qualified workers in Georgia’s rapidly growing movie, TV and video gaming industries.
www.college.usatoday.com
Georgia bill would lower tuition, increase college access for undocumented students
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/02/19/georgia-bill-would-lower-tuition-increase-college-access-for-undocumented-students/
By: Daniel Funke, University of Georgia
…Sen. Nan Orrock is sponsoring a bill that would allow people who legally live in Georgia under the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to pay in-state tuition to attend public universities with open admission spots. If passed, Orrock says SB 44 would increase access to higher education for the roughly 19,000 immigrants with DACA status that live in the state, as they would not have to pay out-of-state tuition rates, which can be up to three times as much as in-state tuition. With less incentive to go out of state, those students could be key contributors to growing Georgia’s economy.
Higher Education:
www.economist.com
Georgia on their minds
A yearning for American higher education has driven a surge in overseas study
http://www.economist.com/news/china/21644222-yearning-american-higher-education-has-driven-surge-overseas-study-georgia-their
Millions of Chinese have dreamed of attending Harvard University. “Harvard Girl”, a how-to manual published in 2000 by the parents of one successful applicant, was a national bestseller. Georgia Institute of Technology, a prestigious university in Atlanta, has enjoyed less name-recognition. Yet this is fast changing: the number of Chinese applicants to Georgia Tech has surged, from 33 in 2007 to 2,309 last year. Some applicants are from the best schools in China, and all are ready to pay around $44,000 (for yearly fees and housing costs)—the equivalent of nearly ten times the average annual disposable income of urban households. The ambitions of Chinese students are shifting: no longer are they attracted just by the glittering names. Pursuit of education abroad is becoming an end in itself. Universities far less renowned than Georgia Tech are reaping the benefits. More than 800,000 Chinese went abroad to study at all levels in 2012 and 2013.
www.onlineathens.com
State lawmakers grill College Board executive
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2015-02-19/state-lawmakers-grill-college-board-executive
By WALTER C. JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA | Members of the House and Senate education committees took turns Wednesday criticizing an executive from the College Board for having a liberal slant on guidelines the organization publishes for teaching advanced-placement American history. The College Board, a New Jersey-based consortium of 6,000 colleges and universities, tests high school students to determine if their knowledge is sufficient to earn college credit. While the organization doesn’t technically specify curriculum, the 60-page guideline it gives teachers on what topics will be included in the test effectively determines what they focus on, according to experts. Teachers are evaluated on how well their students do on the test.
www.diverseeducation.com
UC President Napolitano Postpones Tuition Increase
http://diverseeducation.com/article/69931/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=8f6d5feadf004859ab6c636c4d218728&elqCampaignId=415
by Christine Armario, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — University of California President Janet Napolitano announced Wednesday she is postponing a proposed tuition increase as a good-faith gesture stemming from her ongoing negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown to resolve their standoff over higher education funding. “We’re having serious discussions both with the governor and with the Legislature,” Napolitano said after delivering remarks at the University of Southern California. “Those are underway so it seemed premature to go ahead and jumpstart the tuition increase.” Napolitano and Brown have been working in private to consider proposals the governor believes will allow the university to serve more students without increasing tuition or receiving a significant budget hike.
www.insidehighered.com
Faculty SOS
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/20/new-delphi-project-report-outlines-evolving-faculty-models-and-growing-support
By Colleen Flaherty
A common refrain from adjunct professors who get relatively low pay and little institutional support is that their working conditions are students’ learning conditions. But many colleges and universities continue to ignore that message and rely on part-time faculty to deliver the majority of instruction. A new paper is calling out those institutions for their lack of attention to faculty career designs and is demanding meaningful, collaborative discussions to address what it calls an existential threat to American higher education.