USG e-clips from March 26, 2015

University System News:
www.gainesvilletimes.com
Gainesville native recognized as nation’s top Army cadet
Ceremony at Capitol honors UNG’s Strickland
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/108686/
By Kristen Oliver
The No. 1 Army cadet in the U.S. is from Gainesville, and Gov. Nathan Deal couldn’t be prouder of the University of North Georgia’s Cadet Capt. Jonathan “Chase” Strickland. “We are very, very proud,” said Deal. “I have the distinct honor of knowing his family, his father and generations of his family, and they have all been dedicated servants of the state of Georgia and of our country.” Strickland was recognized at the state Capitol on Wednesday for his ranking as the No. 1 Army cadet in the nation.

www.myajc.com
‘Campus carry’ could be back at the Georgia Legislature
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/campus-carry-could-be-back-at-the-georgia-legislat/nkdqr/#98e4e5b8.3566685.735682
By Janel Davis and Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A state House committee on Tuesday may have opened the door to allowing guns on college campuses. Members of the House Public Safety Committee amended a previously uncontroversial bill that now appears to remove the authority of local school boards and college and university officials to regulate weapons on their property. …The amended legislation also would explicitly allow a person to keep ammunition in addition to a gun in their car while parked at work or on a college campus. Right now, anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon can keep a gun in a locked compartment of a car on school property. The powerful state Board of Regents has strongly opposed efforts to allow guns on campuses, including in the University System of Georgia. University System officials said they were aware of the changes and were reviewing the amended bill.

USG Institutions:
www.savannahtribune.com
ASU Student Honored With Georgia Legislative Academic Recognition Day Award
http://www.savannahtribune.com/news/2015-03-25/Social_%28and%29_Community_News/ASU_Student_Honored_With_Georgia_Legislative_Acade.html
Armstrong State University senior Blair Weaver was honored with the Georgia Legislative Academic Recognition Day Award during the University System of Georgia’s board meeting in Atlanta on March 18. …Weaver is an honors program student and part of the first cohort of students graduating from Armstrong’s new B.S. in Biochemistry degree program in May of 2015. …Annually, each of the 35 institutions in the University System of Georgia is asked to select one student as its representative for this prestigious honor awarded by the Board of Regents and the Georgia Legislature. …Weaver’s work in the program, coupled with his dedication to the university and his community, has made him an excellent candidate for this award. He currently maintains a 3.97 GPA and has received several awards over the course of his academic career, including the Col.

www.atlanta.citybizlist.com
Georgia Tech, S.P.S.U. Among Colleges with Highest ROI
http://atlanta.citybizlist.com/article/254892/georgia-tech-spsu-among-colleges-with-highest-roi
By Sindhu Madhusudan
Here are some of the states and their colleges that made the PayScale list of top 100 Colleges with best return-on-investments:
Georgia
Rank School
Location 20 Year Net ROI
Total 4 Year Cost Average Loan Amount
8 Georgia Institute of Technology (In-State)
Atlanta, GA
$796,300
$86,700
$30,600
17 Georgia Institute of Technology (Out-of-State)
Atlanta, GA $721,300
$161,700
$30,600
99 Southern Polytechnic State University (In-State)
Marietta, GA $503,300
$69,700
$22,640

www.wabe.org
UGA Gets Grant To Investigate Rural Communities
http://wabe.org/post/uga-gets-grant-investigate-rural-communities-0
By JOHN LORINC
Rural communities in Georgia are getting some attention from the University of Georgia. Researchers will be taking a look at more than 300 small towns throughout the state. Many of them are in rough shape. …The Department of Agriculture is giving UGA a five year grant worth nearly $500,000.

www.hbcubuzz.com
SSU Pinpoints Dropout Causes
http://hbcubuzz.com/ssu-pinpoints-dropout-causes/
By Brittany Ireland
Student maturity levels, financial aid and the variety of campus programs are the leading causes of dropouts at Savannah State University, according to an university administrator. According to the University System of Georgia, Savannah State’s retention rate for undergraduates from 2013 through 2015 is at about 70 percent. This leaves the drop out — or stop out — rate to be 30 percent for that same time period. In comparison with other universities in the state, such as Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University, Savannah State falls below the average retention rate of 80 percent.

www.wrcbtv.com
University of Georgia student attacked, robbed at gunpoint
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/28620024/university-of-georgia-student-attacked-robbed-at-gunpoint
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – Police say they’re investigating the gunpoint robbery of a University of Georgia student who was attacked as she walked home from downtown Athens. The Athens Banner-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/18ZRsBO) that the 21-year-old woman was struck in the head by two suspects around 10 p.m. Tuesday near the corner of East Broad and Arch streets.

www.wsbtv.com
KSU lecturer accused of assaulting Uber driver
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ksu-lecturer-accused-assaulting-uber-driver/nkfff/
By Rachel Stockman
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A local Uber driver says a Kennesaw State University lecturer assaulted him and yelled racist slurs during a pick-up in Dunwoody earlier this month.
Chiddi Stober, a Rockdale County history teacher, who drives Uber on the side, said he was picking up a customer at Joey D’s Oak Room in Dunwoody when the customer refused to get out of the car after becoming unruly. …“That’s the point where he hit me, he reached forward, he was sitting right behind me, that’s the point where he hit me right then,” said Stober. Stober showed us his medical report. After the incident, Stober discovered the passenger was a Kennesaw State University lecturer, teaching students at the school about business.

Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
U.S. Keeps Scrutiny of Risky Colleges Secret
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/26/education-dept-keeps-secret-names-colleges-found-be-risky-students-taxpayers
By Michael Stratford
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education is so concerned about the risk that dozens of colleges pose to students and taxpayers that it has curtailed access to federal money at those institutions — but it won’t say which ones. Even as it pushes to make far more information about colleges available to consumers, the department is keeping hidden from public view its decisions to punish certain colleges with funding restrictions known as heightened cash monitoring.

www.chronicle.com
Tenure Lawsuit Challenges Privacy of Student Evaluations
http://chronicle.com/article/Tenure-Lawsuit-Challenges/228789/?cid=at
By Peter Schmidt
Should the confidentiality shrouding students’ evaluations of college instructors always be protected, even if it might conceal violations of the law? A California state court is expected to take up that question on Thursday in response to Pomona College’s refusal to grant access to such records to a former professor suing the college for discrimination.

www.insidehighered.com
Community College to Bachelor’s
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/03/26/nearly-half-four-year-college-graduates-attended-two-year-college
By Ashley A. Smith
Nearly half of all students graduating with a four-year degree in the 2013-14 school year had some experience within a two-year institution. That detail is a part of a new report released Wednesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which found 46 percent of all students who completed a 4-year degree had been enrolled at a 2-year institution at some point in the past 10 years.

www.diverseeducation.com
A More ‘Diverse’ Approach to Diversity in STEM Education
http://diverseeducation.com/article/71032/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=fab6c746fbc649718ce91dfa4d7fb310&elqCampaignId=415&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=064cd1c55f4549f9994c3db86ad8ec57
by David E. Goldberg and Mark Somerville
Attracting more students into STEM education has long been a challenge for colleges and universities. For example, African-Americans make up only 5 percent of undergraduate engineering degrees, as compared with 13 percent of overall undergraduate enrollment. Latinos fare similarly, and many schools wrestle with gross imbalances from a gender perspective. One reason is that many high school students have the impression that STEM programs are welcoming only to a limited range of the population. To deal with this, many schools have created a variety of programs—scholarships, summer programs and so forth—intended to attract more diverse applicants to STEM. We hear about the “STEM pipeline” all the time.