University System News:
www.artsatl.com
Q&A: With Jeff Stepakoff at the helm, the Georgia Film Academy begins classes next month
http://www.artsatl.com/2015/12/qa-jeff-stepakoff-georgia-film-academy/
By JEFF STAFFORD
On June 9, ArtsATL posted an article on state of Georgia initiatives for meeting the needs and competitive nature of the rapidly expanding film and television industry, and one of the solutions was the creation of the Georgia Film Academy. At the time, Cecil Staton, vice-chancellor for Extended Education with the University System of Georgia, stated that the GFA would offer programs and training to prepare people for every aspect of film and television production, utilizing Georgia’s educational institutions and industry resources. What was particularly surprising was the proposed timeline — a launch in early 2016 — that would put this initiative on the fast track.With a remarkably fast and aggressive development scenario, the Georgia Film Academy is now a reality with an executive director (Jeff Stepakoff), staff and a website where you can register for the Academy’s initial two-course certification program which begins in January 2016. … Stepakoff recently talked with ArtsATL and provided details about his objectives. ArtsATL: What is the relationship between the GFA and Georgia’s educational systems?
USG Institutions:
www.ajc.com
Albany State band reaches fundraising goal, headed to Rose Bowl parade
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/albany-state-band-reaches-fundraising-goal-headed-/npngw/
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Albany State University’s marching band met its fundraising goal and will represent Georgia in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The “Rams in the Roses and Beyond” campaign exceeded its $270,000 goal, and raised $332,775 for the institution. The additional money will go towards need-based scholarships. The Albany State Marching Rams band is the only Georgia band, the only university band from the southeastern United States and the only historically black university band in the nation to participate in the event, school officials said. Albany State will appear as number 25 of 93 participants in the New Year’s Day, two-hour live special that will air at 8 a.m.
www.onlineathens.com
UGA’s fall Class of 2015 urged to ‘take care of you’
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2015-12-18/ugas-fall-class-2015-urged-take-care-you
By JIM THOMPSON
Nearly 3,000 people — 1,742 undergraduates and 1,065 graduate students — joined the ranks of University of Georgia alumni Friday as degrees were conferred during commencement exercises in Stegeman Coliseum. The undergraduates were sent into the world with some motherly advice — particularly fitting, because their commencement speaker, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta President and CEO Donna Hyland, had a son in UGA’s fall Class of 2015 — that also had roots in Hyland’s healthcare career.
www.tiftongazette.com
Police academy at ABAC announces 282n session graduates
http://www.tiftongazette.com/news/police-academy-at-abac-announces-nd-session-graduates/article_a38af634-a68c-11e5-a160-9b47ca545f5f.html
Special to The Gazette
TIFTON—Twenty-three individuals from the South Georgia area recently received certificates at graduation exercises for the 282nd session of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) Regional Police Academy at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Academy Director Marty Smith said the Overall Achievement award for the session went to Mason A. Cater of the Douglas Police Department. Matthew D. McDaniel of the Thomas County Sheriff’s Department received first place in Academics. Second place in Academics went Michael T. Rogers of the Moultrie Police Department. A’mon J. Gordon of the Albany Police Department received first place in the Firearms competition. Second place in Firearms was awarded to Desmond DiLorenzo of the Waycross Police Department. …The GPSTC Regional Police Academy regularly holds multi-week intensive training sessions designed to acquaint officers with state-of-the-art law enforcement techniques. The academy operates in cooperation with the School of Human Sciences at ABAC.
www.wrdw.com
Richmond County Schools awarded $150K grant to improve math classes
http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/Richmond-County-Schools-awarded-150K-grant-to-improve-math-classes-362972681.html
By Staff
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) — The Richmond County School District has been selected as one of the 2015-2016 Innovation in K-8 Mathematics Professional Learning Grant award winners. The school district will receive $150,000 to implement the learning plan which partners schools with Georgia Southern University to increase math teachers’ content knowledge and research-based instructional practices. State officials say Georgia Southern will take the lead in offering math courses for middle school teachers.
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong State University receives $100,000 donation to establish Emergency Food Research Fund
http://savannahnow.com/your-good-news/2015-12-18/p-nodehl1spanarmstrong-state-university-receives-100000-donation-establish
By The Savannah Morning News
A local family, who wishes to remain anonymous, recently donated $100,000 to establish the Armstrong Emergency Food Resource Fund at Armstrong State University. The family, which includes a faculty member and two generations of university alumni, is committed to support efforts to thwart the national trend of food insecurity among college students. One in five students went hungry in the last month, and one in 10 students has been homeless, According to a widely disseminated study led by University of Wisconsin at Madison professor Sara Goldrick-Rab. “Many students are now non-traditional, supporting families and working full-time while attending college,” said Armstrong President Linda M. Bleicken.
www.aikenstandard.com
Research opportunities for students offered at Savannah River Ecology Lab
http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20151219/AIK0101/151219322
Derrek Asberry
The Savannah River Ecology Lab is offering research opportunities for college students. The lab, or SREL, which is a research unit of the University of Georgia, is prepping for its 2016 Research Experience for Undergraduates in Radioecology program. The opportunity is a 10-week summer program that is funded by the National Science Foundation. The program offers undergrads an opportunity to conduct research at the Savannah River Site studying the fate, transport and effects of radionuclides in the environment.
www.statnews.com
Why isn’t Harvard getting rich off its scientific research?
By REBECCA ROBBINS
The Harvard name is among the most prestigious in the world. Thousands of the best scientific researchers work at its top-ranked medical school. And it sits within a few miles of one of the world’s foremost engines of medical innovation, the biotech hub of Kendall Square .Yet when it comes to converting the scientific discoveries of its faculty members into blockbuster drugs and devices, Harvard falls short. …Harvard ranks 25th among universities and university systems in terms of the number of faculty inventions it licensed or optioned out to industry in the 2012-14 fiscal years, according to data from the Association of University Technology Managers. The STAT analysis ranked Harvard 20th in efficiency, a measure that takes into account the amount of research spending and how many faculty discoveries have been commercialized at the top business-generating schools. The University of Georgia got five times more bang for its research buck by this measure. …The University of Georgia, which the STAT analysis ranked as the most efficient in the nation at capitalizing on faculty research, has a recipe for success: peanuts.The university’s agriculture inventions are relatively low-cost and low-risk, including 19 varieties of peanut plants that resist disease, tolerate drought, and produce more nutritious nuts. Peanut products make up a significant plurality of the discoveries the school moves to the marketplace.
Higher Education News:
www.hechingerreport.org
Black students are drastically underrepresented at top public colleges, data show
As Supreme Court considers affirmative action and students protest treatment, the admissions office can be a big obstacle
Black students are drastically underrepresented at top public colleges, data show
by MEREDITH KOLODNER
ARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As racial unrest sweeps across major college campuses, and African-American students demand more equitable treatment, college administrators need look no farther than their own admissions offices to find one root of the problem. The nation’s flagship public universities — large, taxpayer-funded institutions whose declared mission is to educate residents of their states — enroll far smaller proportions of black students than other colleges, and the number appears to be declining, according to federal records and college enrollment data analyzed by The Hechinger Report and The Huffington Post.
On average, just 5 percent of students at the nation’s flagship public universities are black. As recently as a decade ago, that figure was higher, although changing methods of counting racial categories makes a precise comparison difficult.
www.chronicle.com
Colleges’ Climate for Low-Income Students Shapes Academic Confidence
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Climate-for/234673?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=9428e0039c30403a8559f51f902722c0&elqCampaignId=2113&elqaid=7307&elqat=1&elqTrackId=cea0ed0ae6174d2881e3de7416fe25e8
By Beckie Supiano
Some colleges put significant resources into recruiting and financially supporting low-income students. But how colleges describe those programs also matters, according to a new paper. If messages from a college suggest that it is “warm” toward students like them, the authors found, low-income students’ academic confidence and identification as high achievers are stronger than if the messages suggest that it is “chilly” — that the needs of students like them are ignored or overlooked. We talked with the paper’s lead author, Alexander S. Browman, about the research and what colleges can learn from it.
www.diverseeducation.com
Omnibus Bill a Win for HBCUs, Minority Institutions
http://diverseeducation.com/article/79667/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=c367e64bb3df4be0ab714446cdba8fb3&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=ac734c6a3c564063a761260f40d692dd
by Autumn A. Arnett
Heading into the holiday break, Congress passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill to avert a government shutdown through September 30, 2016. The bill included significant increases in Title III funding and increases in Pell grant appropriations and other programs specifically geared towards strengthening historically Black colleges and universities and other minority institutions. Among the appropriations listed in the mega-bill is a $22 million increase in Title III funding ― which is specifically designated for the strengthening of HBCUs from the Department of Education, and several increases to critical research programs administered by other agencies.
www.chronicle.com
How Does a College Get an Exemption From Title IX?
http://chronicle.com/article/How-Does-a-College-Get-an/234674?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=9428e0039c30403a8559f51f902722c0&elqCampaignId=2113&elqaid=7307&elqat=1&elqTrackId=68b66d3198724723aa05d00527ef69dd
By Eric Kelderman
The federal gender-equity law known as Title IX has largely become known for two issues in higher education: requiring equity in opportunities for women in college sports and, more recently, a nationwide wave of demands for colleges to crack down on sexual harassment and rape. In fact, the law’s reach goes much further than those specific issues, barring all forms of discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation in “all aspects of education programs or activities operated by recipients of federal financial assistance,” according to an explanation of the law from the U.S. Department of Justice. But a report released on Friday by the Human Rights Campaign concludes that a growing number of colleges are applying for and receiving waivers from some of the law’s provisions.