USG Institutions:
www.ajc.com
Georga’s next teacher of the year chose teaching over medicine
Ty Tagami, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A high school science teacher from Douglasville has been named Georgia’s 2017 teacher of the year. Casey M. Bethel, an AP physics, AP biology and physical science teacher from New Manchester High, will succeed current teacher of the year, Ernest William Lee, II, a high school social studies teacher from Savannah. Bethel planned to become a surgeon and holds the record for the highest exit exam score for biology majors at his college. He changed his mind about medicine while in graduate school at the University of Georgia’s Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, where he discovered that he enjoyed teaching undergraduates. “I turned to education, and I never felt so alive,” he wrote in his application for the teacher of the year contest. He has continued researching during the summers with a Georgia Intern Fellowship for Teachers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
65-year-old Brunswick woman graduates with bachelor’s degree
By BRITTANY TATE The Brunswick News
Linda McZeal isn’t like many people her age. While most look forward to the golden years as a time to replace long hours at an office for time to travel and spend with family, this 65-year-old Brunswick woman has done something many of her peers wouldn’t consider at that age: she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in health informatics from College of Coastal Georgia on May 5. An unrealized passion birthed from years of being stuck in a bad marriage to having to practically raise her children alone, McZeal, who received an associate’s degree in nursing from the same college in 1986, said enrolling in a post-secondary institution for a second time just didn’t seem like a viable option in her life, considering she was forced to retire from her duties as a registered nurse due to her arthritic disability in 2011. …But I did go to school to get an associate’s degree in nursing at College of Coastal Georgia (then, Brunswick Junior College) and worked as a registered nurse for a while until I became disabled in 2011,” the Crowley, La., native said.
www.usnews.com
Retention Intervention: Staying the Course in College
Minorities and women often enter college planning to major in STEM, but then change their majors or drop out of school altogether.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-19/retention-intervention-staying-the-course-in-college
By Kimberly Leonard | Staff Writer
Minorities and women often enter college planning to major in science, technology, engineering or math, but then change their majors or drop out of school altogether. Strategies specifically designed to keep these groups in STEM fields while in college, or to help them discover their passion, can help, said academic leaders at the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference in Baltimore, in a breakout session titled “Retention Intervention: Staying the Course in College.” Some examples include getting students involved in minority student associations, adding coursework and extra-currucular activities focused on community involvement, and focusing on project-based curricula… Universities across the country already are helping underrepresented students stay in STEM fields. Georgia Institute of Technology, for instance, is a leader in graduating women and minority engineers. Gary May, dean and Southern Company chairman at the school’s College of Engineering, spoke at the U.S. News session about the school’s summer programs for high-school students, which gives them a real-world engineering experience. “It’s not just about giving students a fish, you have to teach them how to fish,” he said.
www.insidehighered.com
Creating On-Ramps to Academe
Colleges and universities looking to diversify STEM faculty should consider talented women in industry, government or private research, write Coleen Carrigan and Eve Riskin.
By Coleen Carrigan and Eve Riskin
One common strategy for increasing diversity in STEM departments is to hire talented women away from other universities. But this zero-sum approach fails to increase the number of female STEM professors nationwide. It also ignores another universe of potentially stellar female faculty: women who left academe after getting their doctorates to pursue science or engineering careers in industry, government or private research. Many of those women have the skills to become successful tenure-track professors and dynamic educators: impressive research accomplishments, experience making products and insider knowledge that prepares students to succeed in today’s workplaces. Indeed, some well-known, highly successful faculty members across the nation were hired directly from research labs or industry. They include Ayanna Howard, professor and Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Chair in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College; and Martha Pollack, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan. But the pathway from their industry or government careers back into academe is often far from clear.
www.wsbradio.com
New Tech jobs coming to Atlanta
http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/new-tech-jobs-coming-to-Atlanta/nrPdw/
By Bill Caiaccio
Metro Atlanta’s economy is getting a boost, as a California technology company has announced its bringing new jobs to Georgia Tech. Governor Nathan Deal says Keysight Technologies will create more than 200 software engineering jobs, representing an investment of almost $14 million. Deal says, “Georgia’s workforce is among the best in the country. Their talents and skills, paired with Georgia’s existing technology infrastructure, offer valuable resources for innovative and growing high-tech companies.”… Keysight CEO Ron Nersesian says his company has had a long-standing relationship with Georgia Tech. Nersesian serves on Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson’s advisory board. He says Georgia Tech was a leading factor in Keysight’s decision to set up an operation in Georgia. Peterson says, “One of the most attractive aspects of the innovation neighborhood we have created in Tech Square is not just the number of startups, but also the many Fortune 500 companies opening a presence there.”
www.wsbradio.com
Gwinnett city to assist tech startups
http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/Gwinnett-city-to-assist-tech-startups/nrP37/
By Sandra Parrish
The city of Peachtree Corners is looking help start-up technology companies and entrepreneurs launch their businesses in a new innovative way. Prototype Prime, the name of the tech incubator, will be located beneath city hall in Technology Park in what is currently empty office space… Besides providing work space, tenants will have access to technology such as a 3-D printer and podcasting equipment as well as resources from Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center.
www.mdjonline.com
Cobb lawmakers blast Kennesaw State’s AIDS museum exhibit
Jon Gillooly
KENNESAW — An AIDS exhibit at Kennesaw State University is under fire from state lawmakers who have denounced it as sickening. The exhibit, titled “Art AIDS America” was originally curated by the Tacoma Art Museum in October. Kennesaw State’s Zuckerman Museum of Art is the only Southern stop on its national tour, according to the museum. State Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, who chairs the Georgia House committee that funds universities, called the exhibit “sickening” and “a blatant political statement.” Ehrhart said he called KSU president Dan Papp to complain about the exhibit this week. Papp did not return calls from the Journal by press time. Moving forward, don’t expect to see such exhibits at KSU in the future, Ehrhart said.
www.ajc.com
Costs of celebrity college commencement speakers can add up
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/oklahoma/costs-of-celebrity-college-commencement-speakers-c/nrQd3/
COLLIN BINKLEY, The Associated Press
BOSTON — When colleges pick their graduation speakers, many strive to put a celebrity behind the podium. It can bring prestige. It can bring publicity. And it can bring a steep bill. This year, for instance, the University of Houston paid $35,000 to book retired astronaut Scott Kelly as the commencement speaker. Rutgers University paid $35,000 for journalist Bill Moyers, who spoke at one division’s ceremony after the schoolwide keynote speech from the unpaid President Barack Obama. Kean University in New Jersey paid $40,000 to each of its two speakers. Their costs were detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press through records requests. The AP asked 20 public universities with notable speakers to provide costs for their graduation speakers since last year, including speaking fees and travel expenses. …Of the 20 universities that provided records about their costs, 16 said they didn’t pay speaking fees this year. Former “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest wasn’t paid for speaking last week at his alma mater, the University of Georgia. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, spoke for free at the University of California, Berkeley ….The University of Georgia spent $22,000 to charter a flight for ABC news anchor Amy Robach.
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Community Colleges Opening Doors Wider With 4-Year Degrees
by Lois Elfman
Community colleges have stepped up to meet workforce opportunities in areas such as nursing and technology by offering four-year degrees. “Implementing baccalaureate degrees at community colleges is, at its heart, about preserving access to higher education for all students,” says Dr. Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). “Community colleges are a gateway to the middle class for many students,” he continues. “Providing baccalaureate degrees in areas where access to them is limited or nonexistent sends a critical message about the importance of providing higher educational opportunities to all Americans.” Community colleges are institutions that offer two-year associate degrees. For some individuals, that is their only experience with higher education. Other students go on to four-year colleges or universities to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The vast majority of community college students attend institutions located near where they reside.
www.chronicle.com
Among Greek Groups, Efforts to Curb Drinking Have Little Effect
http://chronicle.com/article/Among-Greek-Groups-Efforts-to/236540
By Katherine Mangan
Alcohol-education programs that have reduced problem drinking among college students in general have had little to no effect on those who arguably need them most: fraternity and sorority members. That’s the central finding in a report published on Thursday in Health Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association.