University System News:
www.ajc.com
State funding for colleges still lags pre-recession levels
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some states have begun to restore funding cuts to higher education, but the amount of money for colleges and universities remains far below previous levels. Of the states that have enacted full higher-education budgets for the current school year, funding for public two- and four-year colleges is $8.7 billion below what it was just before the recession, according to a new study released Thursday by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nationally, state spending on higher education is down an average of $1,525 per student, or 17 percent in the current school year, compared to the 2007-2008 school year. Georgia’s decline in student spending is above the national average: 19.8 percent less than pre-recession levels, when adjusted for inflation, the report found. The effect of years of budget cuts is evident in Georgia where state funding, which used to account for 75 percent of public college budgets, has dropped to 50 percent. The other half is made up mainly by students and parents through tuition.
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State University, Darton State College consolidation discussed
Albany schools have a target date of January 2017 to complete their merger
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — As Albany State University and Darton State College inch closer to a January 2017 deadline to consolidate the two schools into the new Albany State, ASU President Art Dunning and Darton interim President Richard Carvajal say they are making progress in the arduous process of combining the two institutions. The two held a consolidation forum Tuesday evening at Westover High School to give the community an update on the merger. The schools have already combined athletic departments, with the athletic director’s position the only one in the department left to be filled. Speculation is swirling around two names — former Darton AD Lea Henry and current ASU assistant AD Stephanie Harrison Dyer — to fill that slot. “We are looking at the things we are not doing right now,” Dunning said. “Darton and Albany State have different offerings for students, and we are looking as to how we can reposition the two campuses for the betterment of our students and the region. We are working closely with the Board of Regents because this is the seventh consolidation statewide. We’re not flying by the seat of our pants here. “This is one of the most extraordinary opportunities we may ever have in Southwest Georgia. As we know, higher education is the linchpin to economic prosperity. The motivation is to get better at what we do. “ Dunning stressed that the chance to create a new Albany State might be a one-time opportunity to create a stronger institution that will benefit the entire region.
USG Institutions:
www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
Penn State DuBois Chancellor Joins Middle Georgia State University as Provost
Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO
Melanie Hatch, Ph.D., will be Middle Georgia State University’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs, President Dr. Christopher Blake announced. Hatch, currently chancellor and chief academic officer for Penn State DuBois, will begin her new role at Middle Georgia State in August. The previous provost, Dr. Martha Venn, left MGA to become deputy vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University System of Georgia. “Melanie’s depth of leadership experiences, both academically and operationally, ensures that she will strengthen the integration and delivery of academic programs, which now include graduate degrees, in our multi-campus environment,” Blake said. “I am confident she will lead the way in opening new doors of opportunity for our students and developing initiatives to help the University enhance the region economically and culturally.”
www.gainesvilletimes.com
University of North Georgia police chief: Have plan for emergencies, report suspicions
School discusses how to deal with emergencies a week after campus was in lockdown
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/117022/
By Ron Bridgeman
Know what to do in an emergency — a tornado or an armed person shooting on campus — and if a person or behavior is suspicious, call campus police, Justin Gaines, University of North Georgia’s chief of police, told a small group at the school’s Gainesville campus Wednesday. Gaines presented the details of UNG’s emergency response plan after a brief lockdown on the campus in Oakwood last week. The plan includes medical, weather, train wrecks, hazardous spills and fires in addition to a person shooting on campus. Gaines told the group knowing the buildings where they are, knowing the campus and having a basic plan is critical. Everyone’s first response tends to overcome their knowledge, he said. Denial comes before deliberation, he added. “Everybody does it. I did it, and I’m on the beat,” he said. UNG’s Gainesville campus was locked down May 11 for about an hour as law enforcement officers looked for a suspect in two armed robberies in Gainesville. The man, Anthony Shivers, was found in the area of Tumbling Creek Road and arrested. Gaines noted it was not an “active shooter,” but he said faculty and students who were on campus reacted properly, and that several agencies cooperated in the search. He said a “lessons learned” report is being prepared about the search as a way to focus on improvements in the emergency plan.
www.southeastgreen.com
UGA team travels to Gulf of Mexico to investigate May 12 Shell oil spill
A team of research scientists led by University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye is on a rapid response research cruise to assess the impact of a crude oil spill approximately 90 miles south of Timbalier Island, Louisiana, on the biological communities in the Gulf of Mexico’s water column. The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the spill reportedly discharged from a Shell subsea wellhead flow line on May 12. …The cruise aboard the R/V Tommy Munro, mobilized by the Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs into the Gulf, or ECOGIG, consortium, left Monday night from the port of Biloxi, Mississippi. It includes ECOGIG scientists from UGA, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Higher Education News:
www.albanyherald.com
Sen. Johnny Isakson works to block new federal overtime pay rule
Senator says rule would hurt businesses and workers
From Staff Reports
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., says he plans to co-sponsor legislation that would block a new overtime pay regulation finalized Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Isakson said the regulation, which would double the amount a salaried person could earn and be automatically entitled to overtime pay when working more than 40 hours in a week, would force small businesses to cut salaries or jobs and could prevent middle-income workers from negotiating flexible work schedules. “This overtime pay rule adds burdensome new regulations on businesses while doing nothing to grow our economy,” Isakson, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that has jurisdiction over labor issues, said. “With this new regulation, fewer working parents will be able to have flexible schedules or work from home if their employers are forced to track every hour they work. “The Obama administration thinks that it knows better than business owners and employees, but I disagree. That’s why I have co-sponsored the Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act that will help workers and employers by stopping this harmful rule.” …Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Labor Committee, is expected to introduce legislation under the Congressional Review Act that would block implementation of the rule. Isakson said he will sign onto the bill as a co-sponsor.