USG clips from June 24, 2016

University System News:

www.statesboroherald.com

Marsh to join Georgia Board of Regents

Local attorney to fill position vacated by Lori Durden

http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/74924/

From staff reports

A source close to the Georgia Board of Regents has confirmed that Statesboro attorney Laura Taulbee Marsh will be appointed to the board. That announcement is expected from Gov. Nathan Deal’s office Friday.

 

www.myajc.com

Supreme Court ruling revives importance of campus diversity

http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/supreme-court-ruling-revives-importance-of-campus-/nrmXx/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=701e831d36-6_24_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-701e831d36-86731974

By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Supreme Court’s decision Thursday upholding the University of Texas’ affirmative action program has little direct impact on Georgia’s public colleges, legal and admissions experts said. Indirectly, the case is likely to further discussions about what higher education institutions should be doing to increase diversity on their campuses. “Today’s (Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin) opinion in some ways just upholds the status quo,” said Fred Smith, a visiting professor at Emory University’s law school. “Whether public colleges in Georgia want to look at more ways to increase diversity is not so much a constitutional question, so much as a policy question.” The state’s University System is reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision and through a spokesman declined to comment further. Georgia’s public colleges and universities have not used race as a factor in admissions since a federal appeals court in 2001 ruled that the University of Georgia’s admission program considering race was unconstitutional.

 

www.middlegeorgiaceo.com

FVSU to Host “Go Back Move Ahead” Open House

http://middlegeorgiaceo.com/news/2016/06/fvsu-host-go-back-move-ahead-open-house/

Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO

Fort Valley State University will host a unique Open House dedicated to adult learners who want to complete their college degree. The event, scheduled for Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., will be held at the FVSU Warner Robins Centers, 151 Osigian Blvd. in Warner Robins, Ga.  During the Open House, application fees will be waived. FVSU representatives will be on hand to offer information about the enrollment process, financial aid, information on transferring earned college credits, course schedules and other details needed to make returning to college an easier process. The FVSU Open House is a joint event with the University System of Georgia’s Go Back/Move Ahead Initiative. The campaign encourages many of estimated 1.1. million Georgians – or 22 percent of the state’s population – who have completed some college to return and finish their degrees.

 

 

USG Institutions:

www.walb.com

Georgia Southwestern State University New Online Program

http://www.walb.com/story/32297304/georgia-southwestern-state-university-new-online-program

By Re-Essa Buckels, Reporter

AMERICUS, GA (WALB) – One new report called many private Georgia colleges “dropout factories.” An analysis by a think tank found fewer than two-thirds of students at graduate at 27 private colleges in the state. At Georgia Southwestern State University, online programs play big role in increasing student graduation and retention rates. Online degree programs are in high demand at Georgia Southwestern. In fact, more than half of the students in the school of business take their classes online.

 

www.bizjournals.com

Keysight Technologies to put $14M, 250-job software development center in midtown Atlanta’s Coda tower

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/06/22/keysight-technologies-to-invest-14-million-in200.html

Urvaksh Karkaria

Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle

Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS) will invest $14 million in an Atlanta software development center and create 250 jobs. Keysight, formerly Agilent Technologies, produces electronic measurement instruments and systems, and software and services. Atlanta competed with Silicon Valley and Seattle for the project. Keysight chose Tech Square to tap into Georgia Tech’s research and talent pool. Keysight will eventually put the tech center at Coda, a 750,000-square-foot office tower expected to open at Tech Square in 2019. That building, which will be anchored by Georgia Tech, is targeting companies who work on Big Data technologies, and would benefit from the in-house 40,000-square-foot data center. “We are in the process of transforming ourselves into a software-centric company,” Keysight spokeswoman Amy Flores said. “We are going to be able to combine the talent that’s coming out of (Georgia Tech’s) engineering program with our resources.”

 

www.bizjournals.com

Q&A: Investor Andrew Lindner of Frontier Capital talks Atlanta, investing, new fund

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/06/21/q-a-investor-andrew-lindner-of-frontier-capital.html

Phil W. Hudson

Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle

On June 21, Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Phil W. Hudson sat down with Andrew Lindner. Lindner is co-founder and managing director of Charlotte, N.C.-based Frontier Capital, a private equity firm that invests in later-stage software and tech-enabled business services companies. Currently, Frontier is investing out of $390 million Fund IV, putting more than $28 million to work with investments in seven Atlanta companies — Ryla, eVerifile, Anodyne, Digital Envoy, Gazelle, Quickparts and SecureWorks. Atlanta Business Chronicle: How active is entrepreneurial activity in Atlanta? Andrew Lindner: It’s pretty steady. From our perspective, it felt like things had slowed down a little bit over the last couple of years. I felt like some of the early-stage capital had dried up four or five years ago, but with Georgia Tech and a relatively active angel [investors] community — it feels like it’s booming again. So, entrepreneurial activity feels like it’s on the rise.

 

www.athensceo.com

UGA to Get 19 New Electric Buses

http://athensceo.com/news/2016/06/uga-get-19-new-electric-buses/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=701e831d36-6_24_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-701e831d36-86731974

Staff Report From Athens CEO

The University of Georgia has been awarded $10 million from the state of Georgia to purchase 19 electric buses. The funding was announced at a ceremony in the Governor’s Office today and was awarded by GO! Transit Capital Program, a competitive funding program administered by Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority. UGA will provide $5 million in matching funds. The 40-foot electric buses emit no pollution, are quieter and have lower operating costs than existing diesel powered buses. The buses should arrive on campus in 2017 and are part of the university’s strategic plan to advance campus sustainability.

 

www.suwanneedemocrat.com

Court ruling creates concerns for police

http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/news/ga_fl_news/court-ruling-creates-concerns-for-police/article_028aa15f-0746-52a1-9217-47fceba3e817.html

By Terry Richards

VALDOSTA, Ga. — A decision handed down Monday by the state supreme court involving law enforcement jurisdictional boundaries has Valdosta’s police chief concerned.. The Georgia Supreme Court, reversing an appeals decision and years of precedent, ruled police officers may no longer make traffic arrests outside their department’s jurisdiction.In the case of Zilke v. the State, Bajrodin Zilke was stopped May 5, 2013, by a Kennesaw State University police officer for driving under the influence more than 500 yards off campus in Marietta. Zilke’s attorney filed a motion to suppress a breath test when the case goes to trial, arguing that the officer had lacked jurisdiction to make the arrest, as the offense had not occurred on, or even near, the university’s property, according to court documents.  The trial court agreed with Zilke’s attorney, but an appeals court reversed this decision, ruling that as a result of an earlier case, Glazner v. State in 1984, the breath test should be allowed because the alleged offense took place in front of the officer, documents show. …”The Zilke decision is a reversal of 30 years of precedent, however, it only writes into law what many agencies have considered a best practice for many years,” Rowe said. “Valdosta State University Police policy has been, and will remain to be in compliance with the court’s decision. “VSUPD will only effect an out-of-territorial-jurisdiction traffic stop in times of extreme necessity (immediate public safety risk, etc.) and then immediately turn the situation over to an agency of appropriate jurisdiction for action,” he said.

 

www.savannahnow.com

Ex-Armstrong coach: School fired me for discriminating against gay players

Evans denies wrongdoing, says he ‘never had a problem with them’

http://savannahnow.com/news-sports-college-sports/2016-06-23/ex-armstrong-coach-school-fired-me-discriminating-against-gay

By Nathan Deen

Former Armstrong State University head coach Ted Evans said he was fired after the school conducted a three-week investigation that found he had created a discriminatory and hostile environment for gay student athletes. Evans coached at ASU for 12 seasons and compiled a 413-213-1 record. He led the Lady Pirates to 11 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, and they most recently experienced their most successful season in program history, making it to the Division II College World Series and falling one win shy of the championship series. Armstrong State released an official statement Wednesday about its decision to part ways with Evans. “After careful consideration the Armstrong State University athletic department has decided to part ways with head coach Ted Evans and pursue new leadership for the Pirate softball program,” athletic director Lisa Sweany said in the statement. “We thank coach Evans for his 12 years of service to the Pirates and look forward to building upon recent successes on the field.” The school declined to comment or confirm Evans’ assertion he was fired for discriminating against gay players.

 

 

Higher Education News:

www.chronicle.com

Supreme Court Deals Blow to Obama’s Immigration Plan — and to Hopes of ‘Dreamers’

http://chronicle.com/article/Supreme-Court-Deals-Blow-to/236904

By Katherine Mangan

The U.S. Supreme Court’s deadlock on Thursday in a key immigration case disappointed college students who had hoped for reassurance that their parents and siblings wouldn’t be deported. The 4-to-4 decision upheld a lower court’s ruling to halt President Obama’s plans to extend protection from deportation to up to five million more people. The decision won’t affect the status of students and others who were granted protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was enacted in 2012. That program, known as DACA, provides a two-year reprieve for certain young people, including students and military veterans, who are in the country illegally. During that time, they can work and may not be deported.

 

www.diverseeducation.com

Scholars: Fisher Decision Gives Colleges ‘Breathing Room’ to Consider Race in Admissions

http://diverseeducation.com/article/85084/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=c2867c94f9284b518ba432451864f6f2&elq=50568f53f9b24ee985d72a8d6b4135ce&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=771

by Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Catherine Morris and Jamal Watson

In a long-awaited decision hailed as a victory for college diversity but which critics assailed as a harmful to its intended beneficiaries, the Supreme Court on Thursday decided — 4 to 3 — to uphold the use of race-conscious affirmative action in college admissions. While the opinion — written by Justice Anthony Kennedy — settles the case formally known as Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin, no one harbors any illusions that the ruling puts the kibosh on future challenges to the limited use of race in deciding who gets into college. Still, the case gives institutions of higher education a reprieve — or what one advocate of affirmative action described as “breathing room” — to use race as a small factor as they seek to form future incoming classes of freshmen that are diverse — something that supporters of race-conscious affirmative action say is essential to the nation’s body politic, its workforce and its future leaders.

 

www.chronicle.com

‘Fisher’ in Context: Making Sense of the Decision

http://chronicle.com/specialreport/Fisher-in-Context-Making/19?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=e219c270b15f43d690d0e7b7d5fbe864&elq=a5179f51fa4544f5a6cd78ff91c18273&elqaid=9599&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=3416

The Supreme Court’s latest ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin put an end to one of the most closely watched legal fights in higher education. The court upheld the Austin campus’s race-conscious admissions policy, but said that the university has an “ongoing obligation to engage in constant deliberation and continued reflection regarding its admissions policies.” So there’s still much to say about the future of race in admissions. Here, from The Chronicle’s archives, is a collection of articles that puts Fisher in a broader campus context.

 

www.chronicle.com

As ‘Fisher’ Churned, Conversations About Campus Diversity Evolved

http://chronicle.com/article/As-Fisher-Churned/236906?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=d0d3940e18c841cc97cb75ff9be5dd0f&elq=a5179f51fa4544f5a6cd78ff91c18273&elqaid=9599&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=3416

By Eric Hoover

Lawsuits move slowly, but the world spins fast. Since Abigail N. Fisher sued the University of Texas at Austin, 3,000 days have elapsed, bringing many changes to college campuses. Although the age-old debate over race-conscious admissions surely will endure, the conversation about campus diversity has broadened in scope. Who gets in still matters. But who a college recruits, and who, once there, gets a chance to thrive, is just as important.

 

www.chronicle.com

3 Key Takeaways From the Supreme Court’s Decision on Race-Conscious Admissions

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/3-key-takeaways-from-the-supreme-courts-decision-on-race-conscious-admissions/112366?elqTrackId=e0cf29dad7c3436983d47ce64ef4604a&elq=a5179f51fa4544f5a6cd78ff91c18273&elqaid=9599&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=3416

by Andy Thomason

To many observers, the Supreme Court’s 4-to-3 decision on Thursday that upheld the use of race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas at Austin came as a surprise. Even inside the court, it seems: “Something strange has happened,” wrote Justice Samuel A. Alito in the first line of his dissent, “since our prior decision in this case.” In 2013 the court ruled that a lower court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, had not applied enough scrutiny to Austin’s admissions program, and ordered it to revisit the case. The appeals court then effectively affirmed its prior decision. That judgment was appealed once again to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments in December. … Here are three key takeaways from that decision:

1.This is not a sweeping affirmation of race-conscious admissions on college campuses. …2. But a majority on the court believes Texas’ holistic review of applicants is defensible and legal. …3. The Austin campus has a responsibility to continue re-evaluating its admissions policy.