University System News:
www.ajc.com
Bill would slow access to records for UGA, other athletic departments
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/bill-would-slow-access-to-records-for-uga-other-at/nqrC9/
J. Scott Trubey, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A controversial bill to restrict the public’s access to records about state economic development projects cleared both chambers of the Georgia Legislature this week, with an unprecedented amendment that would also delay access to information from the University of Georgia Athletic Association and other athletic departments at state public colleges. The bill, SB 323, would give all public college athletic associations 90 days to respond to an open records request. The bill covers all Georgia public colleges, including the four most powerful athletic departments – UGA, Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Georgia Southern.

www.politics.blog.ajc.com
University athletic spending to become a 90-day state secret
University athletic spending to become a 90-day state secret
Jim Galloway
Because Auburn might learn something, you won’t be able to. That’s according to our AJC colleague Scott Trubey:
A controversial bill to restrict the public’s access to records about state economic development projects cleared both chambers of the Georgia Legislature this week, with an unprecedented amendment that would also delay access to information from the University of Georgia Athletic Association and other athletic departments at state public colleges. The bill, SB 323, would give all public college athletic associations 90 days to respond to an open records request. The bill covers all Georgia public colleges, including the four most powerful athletic departments – UGA, Georgia Tech, Georgia State and Georgia Southern. … The measure would withhold for a longer period of time such newsworthy information as expenditures, such as the Georgia Bulldogs’ new ballyhooed indoor football practice facility in Athens. It also would delay disclosure of information such as the recent ramp up in spending by UGA for its football recruiting under new head coach Kirby Smart.
From the Macon Telegraph:
State Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, is a co-sponsor of the amendment and said the intention is to add extra time in returning open record requests as other states and athletic departments are afforded. …The Senate gave final approval to the bill on Wednesday.

www.myajc.com
Critics: Georgia bills a blow to government transparency
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/critics-georgia-bills-a-blow-to-government-transpa/nqrKX/
By Nancy Badertscher and J. Scott Trubey – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2016 could be a major year for secrecy and limiting the public’s right to know under Georgia’s Gold Dome. Lawmakers in the state House and Senate this session passed legislation curtailing public access to information on deals the state makes to attract new industry. Critics say the same bill, altered in the dead of night on one of the session’s final days, would give athletic departments at public colleges such as the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech three months to respond to virtually all open records requests. They, like all other state agencies, currently have three days to respond. …Open government advocates bemoaned what has been a troubling year. “While there always is a delicate balance between the public’s right to know and secrecy, these last few days at the Legislature have tilted the balance out of whack,” said Hollie Manheimer, the executive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.

www.onlineathens.com
Georgia open records advocates blast change for college sports
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2016-03-23/georgia-open-records-advocates-blast-change-college-sports
By KATHLEEN FOODY AND RYAN PHILLIPSASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA | College athletic departments in Georgia would have 90 days — instead of three — to respond to almost all open-records requests under a bill that has swept through the state’s legislature. Lawmakers approved the exemption to the current law Tuesday night. It was introduced by Republican Rep. Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs, who said he wants to fend off competing athletic programs from other states that are looking for information about athletes being recruited by Georgia schools. Ehrhart said that during recruiting periods, schools are inundated with records requests, and at times, forced to hire additional staff to handle the workflow. “This is not something that puts taxpayer dollars at risk,” he said. “We are just talking about recruiting information.” Open records advocates blasted the proposed change. Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said no other state carves out exemptions for college athletic departments’ records, and he knows of no other state that gives so much time for any agency to produce public records.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Rape kit bill gets new life as state legislative session nears end
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/politics/political-notebook-rape-kit-bill-gets-new-life-as-state/article_eefcb3b7-8774-51b2-86d1-3c92a556fe63.html
By Curt Yeomans
A rape kit testing reform bill that seemed dead and stirred anger against state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, a week ago got a second chance at becoming law as the Georgia General Assembly wound down its 2016 session this week. The state House of Representatives agreed to substitute the language of Senate Bill 304, which dealt with the disclosure of a person’s involuntary hospitalization records with criminal records, with the text of rape kit bill on Tuesday. The author of the rape kit bill, state Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, carried Senate Bill 304 in the house. “The bill is still alive and we are going to keep working with our partners to pass this important bill,” Holcomb said in a Twitter post after the substitution was made.

www.mdjonline.com
Georgia Voices: University System of Georgia: New conduct code assures due process
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/27135531/article-Georgia-Voices–University-System-of-Georgia–New-conduct-code-assures-due-process
by The Rome News-Tribune
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents has finally taken steps to ensure that students accused of sexual offenses and other misconduct will have the right to due process, including an attorney and right of appeal in each of the state’s public colleges and universities. New policies spelling out these rights have been adopted by the regents and will be applied system-wide, effective July 1, replacing each institution’s own rules. The due process issue came under the spotlight recently when state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, took offense at Georgia Tech’s handling of some cases involving complaints of sexual misconduct, in particular the expulsion of a student for an alleged misdeed, with reinstatement coming only after a lawsuit and an appeal to the Board of Regents. Another case that rankled Ehrhart involved Phi Delta Theta fraternity being put on a year’s suspension for allegations that racial slurs were yelled from a window of the frat house at a woman walking past. The fraternity ultimately won reversal on an appeal heard by former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Sears

USG Institutions:
www.wmbfnews.com
Residents want say in Turner Field redevelopment plans
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/31553949/residents-want-say-in-turner-field-redevelopment-plans
By Wesley Goheen, Digital Producer
ATLANTA (CBS46) – People who live near Turner Field in Atlanta want to be included in discussions to redevelop the area once the Braves leave for their new ballpark in Cobb County in 2017. The Turner Community Benefits Coalition will hold a meeting Thursday at the Martin Street Church of God from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. They want their voices to be heard by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority (AFCRA). That board is the one selling Turner Field for redevelopment.  The AFCRA is near to closing a deal with Georgia State University and Carter Development. But the coalition, which is made up of people from neighborhoods around the ballpark, wants some specific rights in any deal to sell Turner field.

www.bizjournals.com
Petition on change.org seeks ‘equitable’ development at Turner Field
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2016/03/petition-on-change-org-seeks-equitable-development.html
Carla Caldwell
Morning Edition Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition has started a petition on the change.org website that asks for signatures from people who support the Turner Field communities in calling for a “historic Community Benefits Agreement that ensures equitable and inclusive development” at the Turner Field site once the Braves move to the team’s new home. The petition has 299 of what the group says are 500 needed signatures. …Now, there is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change all this.Turner Field is being sold, leading residents of the Turner Field communities and their representative community organizations to call for a comprehensive, binding Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) based on the Turner Field Coalition’s Platform for Progress.

www.accesswdun.com
University of North Georgia celebrates Women’s History Month with Women’s Leadership Initiative
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/3/378732/university-of-north-georgia-celebrates-womens-history-month-with-the-womens-leadership-initiative
By AccessWDUN staff
In 1873, North Georgia Agricultural College, now the University of North Georgia (UNG), became the first college in Georgia to open its doors to both men and women. After 144 years, UNG still places high value on equal leadership opportunities, regardless of gender. During Women’s History Month, UNG celebrates and honors the women of its past and its future. In 1879, the college granted a bachelor’s degree to Willie Lewis, namesake of UNG’s Lewis Hall and daughter of university president David W. Lewis, becoming the first public college in Georgia to confer a degree upon a woman. Many schools, although unopposed to educating women, had refused to give them a degree, since women could not be considered “bachelors.” …The UNG Women’s Leadership Initiative, established in 2015 by a group of staff members, prepares women for a lifetime of leadership, from UNG to their communities and to their future workplaces. Through empowering events and mentorship, the initiative creates a culture of acceptance and persistence within the community.

www.thegeorgeanne.com
A New Master Program has been approved for Georgia Southern University
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/daily/article_9f3bc2e4-15d9-5c6a-a02c-0e58bb43f75f.html
By DJ Fullmer The George-Anne staff
On March 9, the Board of Regents approved for Georgia Southern University’s College of Science and Mathematics to offer a Master of Science with a major in Applied Geography. The degree’s focus is to prepare students for the field of geospatial technology applications specifically for national security, transportation and logistics and resource management and conservative science. It also focuses on the southeastern part of Georgia, and hopes to impact this region further by allowing students a more rigorous degree that will help them expand the field of applied geography further. The program should also allow the Department of Defense personnel to potentially receive certifications of advancement by taking classes in for this Master degree.

www.athensceo.com
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Names Inpatient Rehabilitation Gym after UGA Student Philanthropy
http://athensceo.com/news/2016/03/childrens-healthcare-atlanta-names-inpatient-rehabilitation-gym-after-uga-student-philanthropy/
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta dedicated its Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit Gym as the “UGA Miracle Gym” in a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 20. UGA Miracle is a student-run nonprofit organization at the University of Georgia that has donated nearly $6 million to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta since 1995, including a $1.068 million gift this year. CHOA informed the student group at the beginning of this year’s fundraising campaign that it would name the gym for the organization if it succeeded in meeting its annual fundraising goal of $1 million.

www.athensceo.com
$35,000 in Prize Money as UGA Hosts Two National Student Startup Competitions
http://athensceo.com/features/2016/03/35000-prize-money-uga-hosts-two-national-student-startup-competitions/
Staff Report From Athens CEO
Students from across Georgia and throughout the nation will be converging on the University of Georgia for two events that give young entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business and consumer brand concepts to a panel of investors and advisers for $35,000 in prize money. UGA’s Next Top Entrepreneur competition, in which eight student teams will compete in front of a live audience for a $10,000 prize, will be held on March 30, with the presentations beginning at 5 p.m. in the Rialto Room of Hotel Indigo in Athens. …Both events are part of a broader effort at the University of Georgia to nurture the entrepreneurial talents of students, and they are a part of Athens’ first Start-Up Week and UGA’s long-running Thinc. Week.

www.daltondailycitizen.com
Dalton school board looks for partners for new school
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/news/dalton-school-board-looks-for-partners-for-new-school/article_4a023a00-f169-11e5-bc31-3fe339f7f3b2.html
By Charles Oliver
It could be the city of Dalton. It could be Dalton State College. It could be the local business community. It could be all three. Members of the Dalton Board of Education say they want to partner with others in seeking a solution to overcrowding at Dalton Middle School and Dalton High School. …Superintendent Jim Hawkins said he and staff and consultants have already been talking to various organizations about ways they can work together. …But Hawkins noted that the school board will have to move more quickly than some of the other organizations it hopes to work with. “We are going to have to move before the city, before Dalton State College, before the chamber. We are at 100 percent capacity, and we are going to have to do something,” he said. “But we want to make sure we do this in a way that meets our needs but aligns with what others are looking at.” …“The mayor has already told us the City Council wants Dalton State downtown. Dalton State has said they are looking at a presence downtown.

www.onlineathens.com
UGA researchers find potential treatment for prostate cancer
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-03-22/uga-researchers-find-potential-treatment-prostate-cancer
By JAMES HATAWAYUGA NEWS SERVICE
Researchers at the University of Georgia have created a new therapeutic for prostate cancer that has shown great efficacy in mouse models of the disease. They published their findings recently in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine. The treatment is designed to inhibit the activity of a protein called PAK-1, which contributes to the development of highly invasive prostate cancer cells. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also one of the leading causes of cancer death among men of all races.

Higher Education News:
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Should college be free or at least debt-free?
Should college be free or at least debt-free?
One of the few education issues to emerge in this presidential race has been free college as proposed by Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. Sanders wants tuition-free public campuses in the model of several European countries. He also wants a substantial overhaul of student loan programs so more students can graduate without crushing debt. Student loans have particular interest here in Georgia where 62 percent of college graduates leave campus with a degree and debt. As the AJC reported in October: At public and nonprofit colleges in 2014, seven in 10 graduating seniors had student loans. The average debt amount for those graduates was $28,950, a 2 percent increase compared to the class of 2013, the report by the Project on Student Debt at the Institute for College Access and Success found. The report includes a state breakdown showing the average debt for 2014 Georgia graduates reached $26,518, up from $24,517 in 2013. Here is a debate on student debt by Olivia Alperstein, a 2014 Wesleyan University and the communications and policy associate at Progressive Congress, and Neal McCluskey, the director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom

www.chronicle.com
AAUP Slams Education Dept. and Colleges Over Title IX Enforcement
http://chronicle.com/article/AAUP-Slams-Education-Dept-and/235816?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=f06b69462edd465b9dfdf4a052cce60e&elq=0e56d53e8e6f4b9eb8e68b2c9da9dd9b&elqaid=8395&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2743
By Peter Schmidt
Both the U.S. Education Department and college administrators are fighting sexual harassment and assault on campuses in ways that trample faculty members’ rights to academic freedom, due process, and shared governance, the American Association of University Professors argues in a draft report released on Thursday. Moreover, the report warns, colleges’ current focus on eliminating sexual harassment may be contributing to other campus inequities, and may actually be hindering broader efforts to fight sexual discrimination under the gender-equity law known as Title IX. The report says “the singular focus on sexual harassment has overshadowed issues of unequal pay, access, and representation throughout the university system.” It raises concern that Title IX enforcement could “perpetuate race-based biases in the criminal-justice system, which disproportionately affect men who are racial minorities.” …The report also criticizes colleges over their responses to Title IX complaints, arguing that their “increasingly bureaucratic and service-oriented structure” has led them to trample faculty rights to appease aggrieved students and avoid OCR investigations and private lawsuits. It says college administrators usually bypass shared governance and neglect to seek faculty input in devising policies to comply with Title IX.

www.insidehighered.com
Howard Students Protest Handling of Sex Assault Cases
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/03/24/howard-students-protest-handling-sex-assault-cases?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=295b6c4e03-DNU20160324&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-295b6c4e03-197515277
More than 100 students gathered on Howard University’s campus Tuesday to protest the university’s handling of cases of sexual assault. The demonstrations began after a student posted on Twitter that the university mishandled her sexual assault complaint earlier this year. Other students began criticizing the university and sharing similar stories, using the hashtag #TakeBackTheNightHU.

www.insidehighered.com
Texas Tech Suspends Study Abroad in Belgium
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/03/24/texas-tech-suspends-study-abroad-belgium?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=295b6c4e03-DNU20160324&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-295b6c4e03-197515277
Texas Tech University has canceled its summer and fall study abroad programs in Belgium in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks that targeted the main airport and a subway station in Brussels, USA Today and KCBD-TV reported.

www.chronicle.com
In an Era of Tighter Budgets, Researchers Find Tenure Without Grants
http://chronicle.com/article/In-an-Era-of-Tighter-Budgets/235814?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=9317c2dc368a49618ed5143b2ba75f7d&elq=0e56d53e8e6f4b9eb8e68b2c9da9dd9b&elqaid=8395&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2743
By Paul Basken
It’s long been a rite of passage at major research universities: To have a chance at tenure, scientists first need to win at least one full-size federal grant. Now that’s changing. Though they’re reluctant to discuss details, several large research universities admit that they’ve begun granting tenure to faculty members who haven’t yet crossed that threshold, a concession to several years of flat federal support for science. …Government spending on science has been on a decades-long slide relative to GDP, with total federal spending on research still sitting below 2003 levels. Even worse, a one-time federal spending increase from the economic-stimulus act of 2009 led to a burst of research hires on university campuses whose costs now can’t be sustained, just as those hires are reaching their tenure decisions.