USG Institutions:
www.bizjournals.com
Staton new interim president at Valdosta State
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2015/04/staton-new-interim-president-at-valdosta-state.html
Carla Caldwell
Morning Edition Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Cecil Staton, the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for extended education, has been named interim president of Valdosta State University. Staton, 57, will assume his new duties July 1 after current President William McKinney steps down.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Two of Columbus State’s three presidential finalists are finalists elsewhere
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2015/04/08/3659009_two-of-columbus-states-three-presidential.html?rh=1
BY MARK RICE
Two of the three finalists to be Columbus State University’s next president are finalists elsewhere. Randy Hanna, ex-chancellor of the Florida College System (formerly known as the Florida Community College System), and Carl Stockton, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, are two of the three finalists for the Jacksonville State University presidency, according to the Anniston Star. Stockton is scheduled to visit the northeast Alabama campus on Friday, and Hanna is scheduled to visit on Tuesday. The other Jacksonville State finalist is John Beehler, the dean of business at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
www.macon.com
Griffith says his FVSU reforms drew opposition
http://www.macon.com/2015/04/08/3683470_griffith-describes-opponents-created.html?rh=1
BY MIKE STUCKA
FORT VALLEY — Ivelaw Griffith still isn’t talking publicly about why he’s leaving the president’s office at Fort Valley State University. But during a conference Wednesday, Griffith described some of his opponents as he worked to raise the university’s standards and fight an enrollment loss.
www.savannahtribune.com
ASU Chief Of Police Honored At Federal 100 Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.
http://www.savannahtribune.com/news/2015-04-08/Social_%28and%29_Community_News/ASU_Chief_Of_Police_Honored_At_Federal_100_Awards_.html
Armstrong State University’s Chief of Police Wayne Willcox was honored with a Federal 100 Award at the 26th Annual Federal 100 Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. on March 26. Willcox was the only honoree from an academic institution.
www.kbtx.com
2015 SEC Faculty Achievement Award Recipients Announced
http://www.kbtx.com/sports/home/headlines/2015-SEC-Faculty-Achievement-Award-Recipients-Announced-299070381.html
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The winners of the 2015 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Awards were announced by the league office on Wednesday. These annual awards honor one faculty member from each SEC university who has excelled in teaching, research and scholarship. Each award winner will become his or her university’s nominee for the 2015 SEC Professor of the Year Award and will receive a $5,000 honorarium from the SEC. …University of Georgia, Dr. Samantha Joye, Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences
www.southeastgreen.com
USDA Announces $14 Million in Grants Supporting Economic Growth for Rural Communities
http://www.southeastgreen.com/index.php/news/southeast/13184-usda-announces-14-million-in-grants-supporting-economic-growth-for-rural-communities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced nearly $14 million in grants to support four programs to increase prosperity in rural America through research, education, and extension programs focused on promoting rural community development, economic growth, and sustainability. …Rural Communities and Regional Development: University of Georgia, Athens, Ga., $474,998
www.onlineathens.com
UGA police officer fired over alcohol amnesty will sue, his lawyer says
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2015-04-08/uga-police-officer-fired-over-alcohol-amnesty-will-sue-his-lawyer-says
By LEE SHEARER
A fired University of Georgia police officer will file a $5 million lawsuit against the state over his termination, his lawyer said Wednesday. Jay Park was wrongly fired and is entitled to whistleblower protection after questioning the UGA Police Department’s enforcement of a new state medical amnesty law and seeking clarification from outside the department, said the lawyer, Michael Puglise of Snellville. Park called state lawmakers after he tried to grant immunity to two UGA students when one of them called 911 for help with a friend who had been drinking and was told by a supervisor that he couldn’t.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Congressmen advocate for 2016 presidential debate in Georgia
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/apr/08/political-notebook-congressmen-advocate-for-2016/
By Curt Yeomans
All 14 representatives in Georgia’s congressional delegation lined up last month to back a bid to bring a presidential debate to the state next year. Milledgeville-based Georgia College and State University wants to host a debate during next year’s presidential election season. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on April 1 that the school was among 16 applicants seeking to host a debate next year. The U.S. representatives co-signed a letter to the commission asking for “fair and full consideration” of the school’s bid. The letter was dated March 25, but the office of U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) released a copy of it on its website on April 3. In the letter, the representatives touted Milledgeville’s history as a former state capitol.
Higher Education News:
www.myajc.com
Emory to offer financial aid to students spared from deportation
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/emory-to-offer-financial-aid-to-students-spared-fr/nkp3b/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium#91ac72e5.3566685.735697
By Janel Davis and Jeremy Redmon – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Immigrants without legal status have demonstrated for years against Georgia rules that bar them from attending some of the state’s top universities and paying in-state tuition at others. They’ve sued Georgia’s Board of Regents, lobbied at the state Capitol and staged acts of civil disobedience, seeking to reverse the state’s policies. All without success. But they are now cheering a victory outside of the state’s University System, a win they hope will boost their momentum. Emory University — a private research university based in Druid Hills — recently announced it would offer scholarships to students who qualify for a special reprieve from deportation through the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Emory’s move is significant because DACA recipients don’t qualify for federal student aid.
www.jbhe.com
Morris Brown College Emerges From Bankruptcy
In 2012, Morris Brown College in Atlanta filed for bankruptcy. After the sale of 26 acres of its campus to the city of Atlanta, the college has emerged from bankruptcy proceedings and will now seek to regain its accreditation.
www.chronicle.com
To Improve Retention, Community Colleges Teach Self-Esteem
http://chronicle.com/article/To-Improve-Retention/229191/?cid=at
By Katherine Mangan
As states and the federal government put a greater emphasis on raising college graduation rates, community colleges are moving to help a group of students who often fall behind: those required to take remedial-education classes. Sixty-eight percent of community-college students are required to take at least one class in remedial education, also known as developmental education; only about a quarter of that group earn a degree within eight years, according to the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College.
www.insidehighered.com
Update on Lumina’s Completion Goal
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/04/09/update-luminas-completion-goal
The Lumina Foundation today released its sixth annual report on the national college completion push it has helped lead. The foundation said 40 percent of working-age Americans held a two- or four-year degree in 2013, a modest improvement from the previous year’s rate of 39.4 percent.
www.insidehighered.com
New Reports on Competency-Based Education
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/04/09/new-reports-competency-based-education
The American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Higher Education Reform today released two new reports on competency-based education, which follow a report the center released in January. The first paper uses results from a survey of hiring managers at companies around the country to learn about employers’ perceptions of the emerging form of higher education. The survey found that while employers’ overall awareness of competency-based education is low, those that do know about it have a favorable view.
www.diverseeducation.com
Lines Drawn in Texas’ Undocumented Tuition Battle
http://diverseeducation.com/article/71458/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=30a0d152a24b412fbe56b607b1406730&elqCampaignId=415&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=f20639af6c374b2baeb5c9bedff69831
by Catherine Morris
Undocumented students in Texas are eligible for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, but some Texas state lawmakers are attempting to change that. Under Senate Bill 1819, brought forward by state Senator Donna Campbell, institutions of higher education would charge undocumented students out-of-state tuition. …Texas was the first state in the union to implement an in-state tuition policy for undocumented students by passing the Texas DREAM Act, or HB 1403, in 2001. Since then 19 states have followed suit, according to the University of Houston Law Center’s Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance.
www.chronicle.com
Court Upholds Arizona Regents’ Denial of Request for Scientists’ Emails
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/court-upholds-arizona-regents-denial-of-request-for-scientists-emails/96901?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
by Peter Schmidt
The Arizona Board of Regents was within its rights in denying an advocacy group’s request for the emails of two University of Arizona climate scientists, a state court has ruled. The state board neither abused its discretion, nor acted arbitrarily or capriciously, in withholding the emails based on its belief that releasing them would have a chilling effect on the exchange of ideas between professors and scientists, Judge James E. Marner of Arizona Superior Court held last month. The judge’s decision did not wade into the question of whether the concerns expressed by the board had any real basis, and instead focused on whether the state board had properly exercised its power.