University System News:
www.rockdalecitizen.com
DARRELL HUCKABY: It’s best to be armed with common sense
So Georgia college students will not be able to carry firearms on campus after all. Whew. That’s a relief. I know, I know. I am supposed to be a voice of conservatism, and we conservatives are supposed to stick together. I know all the talking points. The Second Amendment. We give young people guns and send them overseas to kill but we won’t let them protect themselves on college campuses. The governor is a traitor — a RINO. He’s a Republican in name only. And on and on and on. Well, I, for one, am an independent thinker. I have never toed a party line, not when I considered myself a Democrat because it was virtually the only political party in our state and not now. And I think the idea of arming tens of thousands of college students would be a huge mistake, even though I agree with the concept in principle. …I have heard it argued that during mass shootings — like the one at Virginia Tech a few years ago, for instance — if the students had been armed the shooter would have been killed before the death rate was so high. I probably even said that myself. I often pop off like that without thinking. Maybe that’s true or maybe it is not, but on a daily basis I can see all kinds of mayhem occurring by allowing college kids to be armed. I am pretty sure Gov. Nathan Deal could, too. College kids don’t always react the way you think they might, and I shudder to think about what could happen on a given Friday or Saturday night — or Tuesday or Thursday night — if more people were packing.
USG Institutions:
www.onineathens.com
Loran Smith: UGA’s Terry College on track to true greatness
By LORAN SMITH
ATLANTA | The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business held its annual gala last weekend at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead with UGA luminaries and distinguished alumni interacting in the best “feel-good” environment which brought about tributes to students, faculty and alumni. The event raised over $300,000. Cold, hard cash, which is no small thing. “That,” says Terry Dean Ben Ayers, “is the equivalent of an $8 million endowment,” referring to the interest that would accrue from such a gift. While graduates of other colleges on campus host effective fundraisers and enjoy a spirit of giving back among its alumni, business graduates have a sobering advantage. They often are more affluent and have more resources. The results are dramatic, but leadership is also important.
www.atlanta.curbed.com
New Architecture at Georgia Tech Changing Look of Campus
Examining five new or soon-to-be additions to 131-year-old institution
http://atlanta.curbed.com/2016/5/6/11607540/new-architecture-georgia-tech-changing-campus
BY FRANK REDDY
A series of new and planned buildings on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus could breathe new life into the architectural feel of the 131-year-old institution. For Renovation Week, the folks at Georgia Tech shared the following information and recent photos and renderings that offer a glimpse into the university’s revitalized future. List of buildings includes: Caddell Building, Coda, Engineered Biosystems Building, Interdisciplinary Design Commons and Texas Instruments Plaza and The Living Building.
www.11alive.com
86-year-old earns second degree 65 years after first
Melissa Long, WXIA
Friday night, family and friends gathered at Georgia Tech to celebrate the class of 2016. And while every student is certainly accomplished, there’s one student in particular that stands out from the rest. Meet 86-year-old Leo Benatar who is following up on his Georgia Tech bachelor’s degree with a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering. “I’m old! I know what old is! And I’m old,” he said. Benatar took some time off in between being awarded his undergraduate degree and his advanced degree. He actually completed all of the credits needed for the master’s degree, after starting the program in 1954. But he couldn’t find a professor to hear his dissertation. He dropped out of the program in 1956 … Reflecting on the two chapters of his studies, Benatar said Georgia Tech students today are so much smarter and more knowledgeable than when he was first an undergraduate in 1947 … Seventeen family members and friends, including his wife, planned to attend and celebrate as Leo donned his cap and gown and received his master’s. So after he gets that diploma, what’s next for the 86 year old graduate? “My children tell me that I have to prepare a new resume now that I got another degree,” Benatar said. (w/video)
www.macon.com
FVSU senior balanced school, work with parenthood
http://www.macon.com/news/local/education/article76272392.html
BY JEREMY TIMMERMAN
Shacandice Thomas, who goes by Candy, has plenty on her plate without going to school, but now she’s graduating from Fort Valley State University. The 30-year-old mother of four said she’s cried “so many nights” because of challenges balancing parenthood with her studies, but she knows she has to be a role model for her children — 4-year-old Caleb, 6-year-old Christian, 9-year-old stepson Jukorin and 12-year-old Jayden. “So I’m to the point where I can’t give up because they need to see that,” she said of sticking with her education. Thomas worked at Longhorn Steakhouse for more than three years while she was at FVSU, dropping from full-time employment only during the final semester of her bachelor’s degree in education. She was able to do that thanks to an agreement with her husband, Christopher Thomas. …Thomas described her parents as her “backbone” and said she was also inspired to finish for her father, Jerry Wright, who completed three years at FVSU. Her mother, Benita Wright, didn’t go to college and said Thomas was “determined” to get her degree. “I think she is a very strong person because she’s doing something I would’ve liked to have done and didn’t,” Benita Wright said. Thomas plans to be an elementary school teacher, a role that her mother says fits her because she loves children.
Higher Education News:
www.myajc.com
Job outlook stable for college grads
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
College commencement season in Georgia gets into full swing this weekend with thousands of students receiving diplomas and setting off on their next endeavors. For most of these graduates, the workforce is the next stop. Fortunately, the economic outlook for graduates this year is relatively bright. Nationally, employers plan to hire 5.2 percent more new college graduates in 2016 than they did the previous year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. It is notable that that NACE’s job projections were trimmed from the 11 percent hiring forecast initially reported in November. Much of the change can be attributed to a larger portion of employers reporting plans to trim hiring. Still, there is hope. “This is the best time in 10 years to be graduating from college and hitting the job market,” said Jeffrey Dorfman, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Georgia, in reporting on job numbers for students at the state’s flagship institution. “Employers plan to hire more college grads this year than last, and the job market is generally pretty strong. While employers are looking to hire, Georgia is looking to produce a better workforce able to meet employers’ demands. The state is in the midst of an initiative, Complete College Georgia, to increase the number of people with college degrees or credentials by 250,000 by the year 2025.
www.npr.org
Job Growth Might Be Slowing Overall — But It’s Surging For New College Grads
Marilyn Geewax
The pace of job creation slowed substantially last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Employers added 160,000 employees in April, downshifting from the monthly average of 192,000 workers so far this year. That was a disappointment for many job seekers. But the country does have one group enjoying lots of opportunities: newly minted college graduates. In fact, economists say this might be the best time to be graduating in a decade. While the overall unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent last month, the Labor Department says the rate is only about half that for college graduates. And the freshest grads — the ones getting diplomas this month — are particularly attractive to employers, according to Andrea Koncz, research director for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Companies are seeking the young and educated to replace baby boomers, Koncz said. “They are continuing to increase hiring knowing that there are retirements, there are open positions to fill, and … it’s important to keep new college graduates in their talent pipelines,” she said. Nearly 3 out of 4 employers surveyed by CareerBuilder, a job search engine, say they plan to hire 2016 graduates, the highest level of hiring in nearly a decade.
www.insidehighered.com
Moving Past Checking the Box
Education Department urges colleges to rethink whether they should ask applicants about criminal and disciplinary records — and to be more nuanced when they do so.
By Scott Jaschik
The U.S. Education Department will today join groups that have been urging colleges that ask applicants about criminal justice and other disciplinary records to reconsider whether the questions are necessary and, if they are, whether they are being asked in ways that are unfair. The department is releasing a report, “Beyond the Box,” highlighting evidence that asking such questions can depress applications from those who had encounters with the criminal justice system as youth that may result from bias in the criminal justice system against young black males, or that may reflect behavior students have long outgrown. The report does not say colleges that ask these questions are engaged in illegal discrimination, but it does note that the U.S. Departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development, in the contexts of criminal background questions on job or housing application forms, have raised questions about the legality of broad questions that are used to reject people without attention to whether a specific individual poses a threat today.