University System News:
www.myajc.com
Georgia Archives thriving under new management
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-archives-thriving-under-new-management/npnJj/
By Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
…Three years after the Archives almost closed for regular public business, a new era has begun for the state’s premier keeper of government records and treasure trove of history. Since 2012, the Archives’ staff has tripled, seen its budget grow by more than 20 percent and welcomed a 30 percent increase in the number of visitors coming through the doors. …Students from the building’s neighbor, Clayton State University, are helping organize an effort for the Archives to market itself better and grow. Bigger and better workshops and other events — such as a recent workshop on the War of 1812 — are being organized to draw more people in. Efforts are underway to broaden programs such as the Archives’ partnership with the Georgia Humanities Council for its annual statewide awards program related to National History Day. … Lawmakers in 2013 took control of the Georgia Archives away from the Secretary of State’s Office and gave it instead to the University System of Georgia.
USG Institutions:
www.myajc.com
Turner Field holds future for Georgia State, neighborhoods
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/turner-field-holds-future-for-georgia-state-neighb/npq89/
By Janel Davis, Katie Leslie and J. Scott Trubey – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turner Field and its vast parking lots could reshape Georgia State University. That same downtown real estate also will define the future of nearby neighborhoods that for decades have been let down by promises of rebirth. Last Monday, Georgia State University and a development team were named the winning bidders for their plan to re-invent Turner Field, which will lose the Atlanta Braves after the 2016 season. The team is relocating to a new ballpark in Cobb County. Backers of the plans presented by Georgia State, Carter and Oakwood Development point to the influence of Georgia Tech on Midtown’s resurgence. …Winning the bid against a pair of little-known organizations was the easy part. The challenge will be in the months and years ahead, transforming 67-acres into a southern expansion of Georgia State’s campus as well as a privately-held and tax revenue-generating commercial and residential hub.
www.lincolnjournalonline.com
LCHS students are urged to register for dual enrollment classes at EGSC
http://www.lincolnjournalonline.com/news/2015-12-24/Front_Page/LCHS_students_are_urged_to_register_for_dual_enrol.html
East Georgia State College (EGSC) remains on track to offer college classes in Lincoln County, beginning Monday, January 11. For the first time ever, dual enrollment classes for high school students and the opportunity for others to earn an associate’s degree online will be available in Lincoln County.
www.myajc.com
More students apply early for college
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/more-students-apply-early-for-college/npqjm/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MacKenzie Tobin thought the cameras were filming her lab partner so she made sure to give them space. School administrators told students the crew was there from a state magazine to interview students and highlight the school for their academic achievements. Little did Tobin know, it was all a ruse: The crew was from the University of Georgia and they were there for her. …Last month, UGA announced it was offering early admission to 7,500 students. The state’s flagship institution received a record 14,516 early applications, an increase of almost 10 percent over the previous year. Georgia Tech, another of the state’s largest colleges, also had about 14,500 early applications. In previous years, about 60 percent of students who ended up in Georgia Tech’s freshman class were from the school’s early applicants. For much of the past decade, colleges and universities offering early application options have reported more students applying early, said David Hawkins, executive director for educational content and policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
www.fox5atlanta.com
WATCH: Ga. Tech Security Guard Brought to Tears after Students Pay it Forward
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/59519498-story
By: Nathalie Pozo
ATLANTA — A security guard at Georgia Tech was brought to tears after some students decided to pay it forward this holiday season. “Students from the Scheller College of Business wanted to thank a security guard who always goes the extra mile to make their day a little better,” the university shared in a Facebook post. Conor Lange organized the fundraiser for the security guard, Marcus Burns.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
City lawsuits, SPLOST top government and school news
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article51651895.html
CSU welcomes its fifth president (last article)
Columbus State University had a newsy year, most notably the selection of a new president. The 19-member University System of Georgia Board of Regents unanimously voted in April to hire Chris Markwood, who was the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He assumed the new position June 1, becoming the fifth president in the institution’s 57-year history and succeeding Tim Mescon, who retired Dec. 31.
www.businessinsavannah.com
BiS in brief: Armstrong receives $100,000 donation to food fund
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2015-12-26/bis-brief-armstrong-receives-100000-donation-food-fund#
A local family, who wishes to remain anonymous, has donated $100,000 to establish the Armstrong Emergency Food Resource Fund at Armstrong State University. The family includes a faculty member and two generations of university alumni.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
Coastal Georgia-based higher education institutions build on great partnership
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/coastal-georgia-based-higher-education-institutions-build-on-great-partnership/article_bf4fb51f-1770-59fd-ab78-78254183eabd.html?_dc=848899418022.4836
By Anna Hall
The leaders of two Coastal Georgia-based higher education institutions are looking forward to the future. College of Coastal Georgia President Greg Aloia and Coastal Pines Technical College President Glenn Deibert said the programs of the two state institutions are going strong. College of Coastal Georgia falls under the guidance of the University System of Georgia; Coastal Pines is governed by the Technical College System of Georgia. Their relationship benefits the Golden Isles, as well as coastal counties and their inland neighbors.
www.bizjournals.com
NIH awards $2.1 million grant to UGA researcher to study B-12
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2015/12/nih-awards-2-1-million-grant-to-uga-researcher-to.html
Carla Caldwell
Morning Edition Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
University of Georgia researcher Jorge C. Escalante has received a $2.1 million grant from National Institutes of Health Institute of General Medical Sciences. The grant is an extension of an initial five-year award announced in 2010. Escalante will use the money in the study of vitamin B-12, looking at the biosynthesis and anaerobic metabolism in salmonella, according to UGA.
www.savannahnow.com
Trio indicted for murder in 2013 slaying of Savannah State University student Rebecca Foley
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-12-23/trio-indicted-murder-2013-slaying-savannah-state-university-student-rebecca-foley
By Jan Skutch
Three Savannah men have been indicted on murder and related charges in the 2013 slaying of Savannah State University student Rebecca Lorraine Foley outside her southside apartment. Kevin Lenard Smith, 23, Roderick Demoine Parrish, 22, and Jordan Lamar Campbell, 23, were indicted by the Chatham County grand jury in a sealed document on Tuesday. It was unsealed Wednesday after the arrests of the three. The indictment, returned on evidence presented by Assistant District Attorney Frank Pennington II, charged the three with malice murder — that they caused Foley’s death on Jan. 21, 2013, by shooting her. The indictment also charged each with three counts of felony murder — that they caused her death during the commission of felonies of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with intent to rob and, individually and as parties to a crime, possession of a firearm by a first offender.
www.tigersroar.com
Former SSU student, graduate killed in Afghanistan
http://www.tigersroar.com/news/article_79bb0298-a9b3-11e5-b98c-b74afcb3456b.html
Xavier McKnight
www.wctv.tv
Valdosta State Alum Among 6 Americans Killed in Afghanistan Bombing
http://www.wctv.tv/news/APNews/headlines/Valdosta-State-Alum-Among-6-Americans-Killed-in-Suicide-Bomb-Attack-363422761.html
By: WCTV Eyewitness News
VALDOSTA, Ga. — A Valdosta State University alum was among six American service members killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan on December 21. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chester McBride graduated from VSU in May with a Master of Public Administration Degree.
Higher Education News:
www.nytimes.com
As Graduation Rates Rise, Experts Fear Diplomas Come Up Short
By MOTOKO RICH
GREENVILLE, S.C. — A sign in a classroom here at Berea High School, northwest of downtown in the largest urban district in the state, sends this powerful message: “Failure Is Not an Option. You Will Pass. You Will Learn. You Will Succeed.” By one measure, Berea, with more than 1,000 pupils, is helping more students succeed than ever: The graduation rate, below 65 percent just four years ago, has jumped to more than 80 percent. But that does not necessarily mean that all of Berea’s graduates, many of whom come from poor families, are ready for college — or even for the working world. …It is a pattern repeated in other school districts across the state and country — urban, suburban and rural — where the number of students earning high school diplomas has risen to historic peaks, yet measures of academic readiness for college or jobs are much lower. This has led educators to question the real value of a high school diploma and whether graduation requirements are too easy.
www.jbhe.com
New Report Shows the Failure of K-12 Schools in Preparing African Americans for College
New Report Shows the Failure of K-12 Schools in Preparing African Americans for College
A new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation finds that nationwide only 18 percent of African American fourth graders were proficient in reading and only 19 percent were proficient in mathematics. For African American eighth graders the numbers were even lower with 15 proficient in reading and 12 percent in mathematics. The good news is that these numbers have improved over the past 20 years. But proficiency rates for African American students continue to be only about half the rate for all students in these grades.
www.diverseeducation.com
Higher Ed Organizations Collaborate on Common Goals
http://diverseeducation.com/article/79780/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=e71d2700c40d4fdb948ae07edcad3740&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=053859d4974249538816e0a7e5a289fc
by Kenneth J. Cooper
The panelists assembled in the hotel conference room represent four higher education associations. They had gathered together for the first time. There was Dr. Cindi Love, executive director of the American College Personnel Association; Dr. Benjamin Reese Jr., president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education; and Tiki Ayiku, senior director of educational programs for the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. Moderating was Dr. Fred Hord, executive director and founder of the Association of Black Culture Centers or ABCC, which hosted the panel discussion at its annual conference in Boston. “We’ve never had representatives from those mainstream organizations at a national conference,” Hord said afterward. “That’s what was unprecedented.” The organizations have done some collaborations in the past couple years, and their leaders met at the November conference to discuss what more they might do together and how. The panel set an optimistic tone for the future.
www.washingtonpost.com
2015: A year of tumult on college campuses
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/12/25/2015-a-year-of-tumult-on-college-campuses/
By Nick Anderson and Susan Svrluga
On U.S. college campuses, 2015 was a wildly unpredictable year of reckoning. There were uprisings, shutdowns and lockdowns. There were bracing debates about racism, sexism and discrimination of other kinds. There were unprecedented efforts to tally up the toll of sexual violence at colleges and universities, including some of the most prestigious in the world. And there was a tragic toll of gun violence: Nine slain in October at Umpqua Community College in Oregon by a 26-year-old shooter who then took his own life. Academia thrives on tradition and ritual. Applications lead to admissions, which lead to enrollment. Then move-in day, the start of classes, the choice of a major (or two), perhaps a term of study abroad, perhaps a transfer, and finally, after four (or five or six) years, commencement. Here are 10 stories that shook up the rhythms of the college world.