University System News:
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Hank Huckaby tells Chamber about ‘new normal’ in higher education
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/education/hank-huckaby-tells-chamber-about-new-normal-in-higher-education/article_804d75d4-956b-5c0a-911d-661fa2551ab8.html
By Keith Farner
DULUTH — When Hank Huckaby took over his current job five years ago, he described the climate in higher education as the “new normal.” Sticker shock for rising tuition costs, campus security and even finding qualified candidates to serve as presidents have all proven to be among Huckaby’s challenges as chancellor of the University System of Georgia. Coming out of the Great Recession, Huckaby said higher education faced questions about value, relevance and cost. Huckaby outlined his view of higher education across Georgia on Wednesday in a luncheon speech before the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce at the 1818 Club. “We began the theme of the new normal,” Huckaby said. “Things had to done differently to be effective and couldn’t necessarily be done the same old way. The new normal is not a status concept, it’s dynamic and will take different forms at different times.” Huckaby also addressed a task force he established two years ago to address campus safety.
USG Institutions:
www.savannahow.com
Texas educator recommended as new Georgia Southern president
http://savannahnow.com/news/2016-03-30/texas-educator-recommended-new-georgia-southern-president
By Savannah Morning News
Jaimie Hebert, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, has been named as the finalist to become the next president of Georgia Southern University. Kessel Stelling Jr., chairman of the university’s board of regents, and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced Hebert’s selection Wednesday afternoon. Hebert has a doctorate, a master’s and bachelor’s degree in statistics from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Sam Houston State University from 2005-2011. He has also been an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University and Appalachian State University. The board of regents is expected to name the next president of Georgia Southern University at an unspecified future meeting.
www.bizjournals.com
Atlanta among best cities in America for recent college graduates
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/03/29/atlanta-among-best-cities-in-america-for-recent.html
Phil W. Hudson
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Atlanta recently sent a group to South by Southwest 2016 in Austin, Texas, to attract and retain top talent in metro Atlanta and according to a new report the city may not need much help. The San Francisco-based financial planning site NerdWallet said Atlanta is the No. 9 best city for recent college graduates in 2016. …NerdWallet said it analyzed the 100 largest U.S. cities and ranked them according to the places that provide the best environments for college graduates who are just starting out. Its analysis focused on 2014 U.S. Census Bureau data covering job options, the age of the population, rent costs and median earnings, as well as December 2015 unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
9. Atlanta
College graduates in Atlanta, whether they’re newcomers or fresh from the city’s many universities, enjoy a lower cost of living than in most other cities on our list. Here, the median annual earnings for a resident 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree are $50,420, and rent runs at 22.9% of the median income, one of the lowest percentages in the top 10. In terms of jobs, recent grads may find opportunities at Atlanta’s 13 Fortune 500 headquarters, such as Home Depot, UPS, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines. In 2015, Atlanta was home to the third-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in a city.
www.gainesvilletimes.com
Hall’s new early college program draws students who ‘didn’t know how to get’ to college
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/m/section/6/article/115978/
By Ron Bridgeman
A number of students are working to pass the SAT in order to attend the Early College @ Jones program next school year, after just three of the 231 applicants had scores that qualified. More students have since applied and 64 students have now taken the SAT and 23 passed. Others are still working on it because their scores were close to passing. “Most of them had never even seen that test (SAT),” Michele Hood, Early College @ Jones coordinator, told the Hall County Board of Education on Monday. The students must meet the requirements for the University of North Georgia or Lanier Technical College, which means taking the SAT or ACT for UNG or Compass for Lanier Tech. Hood noted the school system wanted to reach “the unrepresented group that didn’t know they could go to college.”
www.feedstuffs.com
USDA announces $5.2m for nanotech research
http://feedstuffs.com/story-usda-announces-52m-nanotech-research-45-139424
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced March 30 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make an investment of more than $5.2 million to support nanotechnology research at 11 universities. The universities will research ways nanotechnology can be used to improve food safety, enhance renewable fuels, increase crop yields, manage agricultural pests and more. The awards were made through USDA’s Agriculture & Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the nation’s competitive, peer-reviewed grants program for fundamental and applied agricultural sciences. …Universities receiving funding include Auburn University, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Central Florida, University of Georgia-Athens,
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Fight Over Debt Collection Records
Federal lawsuit seeks to force the Education Department to provide information about its debt collection practices, including their impact on minority borrowers.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/31/civil-liberties-and-consumer-groups-sue-education-department-debt-collection-records?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=dec852ff98-DNU20160331&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-dec852ff98-197515277
By Michael Stratford
The American Civil Liberties Union and National Consumer Law Center on Tuesday asked a federal court to force the U.S. Department of Education to turn over various documents that show how the government collects student loan debt from defaulted borrowers. The groups filed a lawsuit against the Education Department, accusing it of violating the Freedom of Information Act by failing to release information about the department’s debt collection policies and its oversight of the private companies hired to collect student loans.