University System News:
www.pbs.org
The difference $900 can make in college graduation rates
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/getting-hundreds-students-graduation-georgia-900-grants/
BY KYLA CALVERT MASON
At the start of each semester, the financial aid money appeared in Sana Ahmed Malik’s account. The federal and state funds typically covered the cost of tuition, with a little left over for books and living expenses. But the fall of her fourth year at Georgia State University, something wasn’t right. “I kept refreshing my account over and over because I was thinking ‘when is my refund going to show up?’” When her account did update, instead of a surplus, Malik had an outstanding balance. Adding a second major in management to her original marketing major had stretched Malik’s college career past the 127-credit-hour limit on the Georgia HOPE scholarship that had, until then, covered more than 80 percent of her tuition. …Her remaining tuition was paid with a federal Pell Grant, which go to students from households with high financial need. More than 75 percent of the grants do to students whose families earn less than $40,000 a year. Malik had nowhere to turn to cover the shortfall. Some semesters, nearly 1,000 Georgia State students like Malik — students in good academic standing and on track to graduate — faced this same problem: an outstanding tuition balance, usually less than $1,500 but too expensive for these students to cover, according to Timothy Renick, vice president of student success and enrollment management at Georgia State University.

www.middlegeorgia.ceo.com
Billy Hasty & Doug MacGinnitie Elected to University System of Georgia Foundation
http://middlegeorgiaceo.com/news/2015/08/billy-hasty-and-doug-macginnitie-elected-university-system-foundation/
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Sachin Shailendra, chair of the Board of Trustees of the University System of Georgia Foundation, Inc., announced that William G. “Billy” Hasty and Douglas J. “Doug” MacGinnitie were unanimously elected to the board. Hasty and MacGinnitie will serve three-year terms ending in June 2018.

USG Institutions:
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Lawrenceville mayor gives new GGC faculty tour of city
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/aug/18/lawrenceville-mayor-gives-new-ggc-faculty-tour-of/
By Danielle Ryan
LAWRENCEVILLE — Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson welcomed new faculty members at Georgia Gwinnett College Tuesday by giving them an exclusive tour of the Lawrenceville’s historic downtown area. Approximately 30 new GGC faculty members were taken on the tour to familiarize them with the geographic details of their new surroundings, highlighting the demographics and diversity, history, culture and economy of the area. Johnson said Georgia Gwinnett College is a vital part of Lawrenceville, the only Gwinnett County city to house a four-year degree granting institution within city limits. The college has a local economic impact of over $300 million, according to a study conducted by the University System of Georgia.

www.bizjournals.com
Foodservice veteran Regynald Washington gifts $1 million to GSU’s hospitality school
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2015/08/18/foodservice-veteran-regynald-washington-gifts-1.html?ana=e_du_pap&s=article_du&ed=2015-08-18&u=vw+Er5K3VYibgYlN9VLoOwwRR0k&t=1439926458
Amy Wenk
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A veteran of the foodservice industry has bestowed a major gift to Georgia State University. Regynald Washington gifted $1 million to the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration at GSU’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. The gift will fund scholarships, enhanced global experiences and provide for expanded teaching technologies, says GSU. The graduate program will be named the Regynald G. Washington Master of Global Hospitality Management.

www.ajc.com
Fulton chairman renews push for say on Turner Field
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/fulton-chairman-renews-push-for-say-on-turner-fiel/nnL7P/
David Wickert
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves has renewed his call to have a seat at the table for any negotiations involving the fate of Turner Field. On Wednesday Eaves will ask his fellow commissioners to approve a resolution calling for Atlanta and Fulton County to agree on a plan to solicit public input and plan for redeveloping the stadium site when the Braves move to their new stadium in Cobb County. Among other things, the resolution calls for the city and county to jointly develop a “request for proposals” or other process that would open the property to competing developers. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has taken the lead on negotiating the sale of the stadium to prospective developers. So far Georgia State University is the only prospective developer to publicly express interest.

www.georgianewsday.com
Atlanta college student found shot to death
http://www.georgianewsday.com/news/atlanta/353382-atlanta-college-student-found-shot-to-death.html
STAFF WRITER
Fulton County police are looking for a gunman who shot and killed a young woman early Wednesday morning. The victim was found slumped over in the driver’s side of a car located in the 2700 block of Ocean Valley Drive in south Fulton County. …The woman lived near the area where she was killed. Family members told us she was 21-years-old and was studying to be a pharmacy tech at Atlanta Metropolitan State College.

www.myajc.com
Kennesaw receives NIH grant to diversify biomedical field
http://www.myajc.com/news/lifestyles/health/kennesaw-received-nih-grant-to-diversify-biomedica/nnMDj/
By Shelia Poole – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University’s College of Science and Mathematics has been awarded a five-year, $1.018 million grant to increase the number of doctoral scientists from underrepresented groups. The grant, from the National Institutes of Health, recognizes KSU’s commitment to building diversity in the nation’s biomedical research workforce.

www.spoke.com
MHG CEO Pereira Announces Series of Funding to University of Georgia Labs
World’s Largest Producer of PHA Contributes Funding to Increase R&D Capacity for their Biopolymers
http://www.spoke.com/press_releases/55d37bbebae918dc55000364
BAINBRIDGE, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– MHG’s CEO, Paul Pereira, announced the company has contributed a series of funding to the distinguished labs of Dr. Jason Locklin, Dr. Mark Eiteman and Dr. Jenna Jambeck at the University of Georgia. These contributions will support several projects among the three labs, which will increase MHG’s research and development (R&D) capabilities for Nodax™ PHA and other sustainable biopolymers. “The University of Georgia possesses professors with very unique skills and abilities that are extremely beneficial to our company,” said Paul Pereira. “Our support promotes collaborations that will allow MHG to increase R&D capacity, identify future employees and keep us moving forward in the industry as well as remain at the forefront of sustainability and renewability.”

www.clatl.com
GSU wants to demolish historic Bell Building; tentative plan calls for temporary parking lot
http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2015/08/18/gsu-wants-to-demolish-historic-bell-building-tentative-plan-calls-for-temporary-parking-lot
Posted By Sean Keenan
Auburn Avenue’s historic Bell Building, once home of the Southern Bell Telephone exchange, could soon be wiped off the map. Last November, the Woodruff Foundation gifted Georgia State University $22.8 million to liven up some of the school’s Woodruff Park facilities. Most of the cash will be used to transform the former SunTrust building on Edgewood Avenue and Park Place into a state-of-the-art digital media center. But a large chunk of the foundation’s grant is earmarked for demolition of the Bell Building, which has been standing since the early 1900s. Tentative plans for the property after the wrecking crews leave call for leaving the lot open for parking space while Georgia State officials decide what facilities to eventually build on the site.

www.news.nationalgrorgraphic.com
How Bad Is Power Plant Pollution? Depends on the Weather
Making coal-fired plants less dangerous to health could be as simple as checking a special air quality forecast designed by Georgia researchers.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/08/150817-power-plant-pollution-depends-on-the-weather/
By Christina Nunez, National Geographic
Just how dirty is a coal-fired power plant? The answer, it turns out, can change a lot from hour to hour. The pollution that forms downwind of a power plant depends on shifting factors in the air. On some days, the mix produces hardly any of the fine particles that contribute to health problems such as asthma. On others, it can churn out more than twice as much. What if you could predict when pollution will likely be worse and adjust electricity sources accordingly? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say they’ve developed the first tool that can make those predictions.

www.spectrum.ieee.org
Hourly Model of Air Pollution Can Reduce Health Costs
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/fossil-fuels/hourly-model-of-air-pollution-can-reduce-its-health-costs
By Charles Q. Choi
Fossil-fuel-burning power plants can reduce the impact their pollution has on air quality and human health by controlling how active they are during certain hours, scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology say. These findings could help limit the drawbacks of generating electricity from fossil fuels without additional investment, they add. Burning coal and other fossil fuels releases pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

www.phys.org
Collaboration discovers toxic chemical in birds outside of Superfund site
http://phys.org/news/2015-08-collaboration-toxic-chemical-birds-superfund.html
by Vicky L. Sutton-Jackson
Researchers at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory have found that a contaminated mixture called Aroclor 1268 has spread beyond a former chemical plant, now a Superfund site, near Brunswick. SREL scientists and colleagues from UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the College of Veterinary Medicine published their findings recently in the journal Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts.

www.rockdalecitizen.com
John Douglas reinstated at Georgia Perimeter
http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2015/aug/18/john-douglas-reinstated-at-georgia-perimeter/
By Alice Queen
COVINGTON — Newton County District 1 Commissioner John Douglas has been reinstated as military outreach coordinator for Georgia Perimeter College after he was placed on administrative leave in response to a racially and sexually derogatory remark he posted on Facebook.

Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
‘Yes Means Yes’ Orientation
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/19/freshman-orientations-add-material-affirmative-consent?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=f60184a814-DNU20150819&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-f60184a814-197515277
By Jacqueline Thomsen
When students at Indiana University at Bloomington are asked to describe consent, they can often recite the lyrics from a student-written musical. “Consent is unmistakable … it’s often verbal … it’s uncoerced … it’s freely given … and if you’ve got those things together, that’s consent! Consent … whoa consent!” (The full lyrics of the song are at the bottom of this story.) And as college campuses across the country adapt to a culture — and legislation — calling for affirmative consent and “yes means yes” policies, freshmen orientations are often just one touch point for a larger conversation about sexual misconduct policies across campuses. Many colleges are adding programming or are revising past education on sexual assault prevention to focus on teaching the ideas behind affirmative consent, although some institutions already had relevant programs in place.

www.chronicle.com
Education Dept. Seeks to Clarify Privacy of Students’ Medical Records
http://chronicle.com/article/Education-Dept-Seeks-to/232463/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Katherine Mangan
Student medical records should stay private with only a few, specific exceptions in cases where colleges that are sued need the information to defend themselves, according to draft guidance provided to colleges on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education. The guidelines were issued in a blog post that sought to allay fears of what some observers called a privacy loophole that could make student counseling records vulnerable when cases go to trial.

www.insidehighered.com
Defining College Affordability
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/19/what-does-it-mean-college-be-affordable-heres-one-answer?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=f60184a814-DNU20150819&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-f60184a814-197515277
By Doug Lederman
President Obama’s plan for free community college. Bernie Sanders’s vision of two years of debt-free college. Lamar Alexander’s nascent proposal to rewrite the Higher Education Act to produce a more effective higher ed system. Elizabeth Warren’s double-barreled push for more federal and state funding and greater accountability. Hillary Clinton’s $350 million proposed overhaul of higher ed financing. Those are just some of the many public policy proposals circulating right now to revamp how the various parties involved in financing higher education — the federal and state governments, colleges and universities, philanthropic groups, and students and families — interact to do that. All of them, in one way or another, start with the premise that higher education is increasingly unaffordable for too many Americans.