University System News:
www.valdostatoday.com
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH COMMITTEE NAMED
http://valdostatoday.com/2016/06/valdosta-state-university-presidential-search-committee-named/
VALDOSTA – Board of Regents Chairman Kessel Stelling and Chancellor Hank Huckaby have announced the formation of the two committees required by Regents’ policy to conduct a national search for the next president of Valdosta State University (VSU). “I am grateful for the continued support of Valdosta State University stakeholders and their commitment to the institution, the University System, and the State of Georgia by serving on the presidential search committee,” said Stelling. “We have comprehensive representation from faculty, staff, alumni, students, the Foundation, the Valdosta community, and the Board of Regents on the search committees, and they play a role critical in the future of Valdosta State.” The Regents’ Special Committee will be chaired by Regent Rusty Griffin and includes Regents Tommy Hopkins, Larry Ellis, Doreen Poitevint, Don Waters, and Chairman Stelling. The search and screening of candidates is the responsibility of a 17-member, campus-based Presidential Search and Screen Committee, whose members also are appointed by Chancellor Huckaby and Chairman Stelling.
USG Institutions:
www.bleckleyprogress.com
Middle Georgia State recognized for charitable giving.
http://bleckleyprogress.com/artman/publish/article_8962.shtml
By News release.
The State Charitable Contributions Program is a benefit for state of Georgia and University System employees to contribute to the charities of their choice through payroll deduction or one-time donations. There are 130,000 employees who can participate and more than a thousand charities are available for designating pledges. …Middle Georgia State University received the Commissioner’s Award, runner up to the Governor’s Cup, the top award. MGA was recognized in the 500-1000 employee category as the runner-up for the highest contribution per employee population.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Web course helps veterans transition to corporate life
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article83699692.html
BY ALVA JAMES-JOHNSON
If you’re a military veteran looking to enter the corporate world, you probably could use some help with the transition. Now, there’s an online entry-level course designed for that purpose, according to a news release issued by Georgia Tech Professional Education.The Veterans Education Training and Transition 101 program,goes by the acronym VET2. It was created by Georgia Tech Professional Education, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, to provide employment opportunities and assistance for up to 7,000 veterans from Fort Benning and Fort Stewart.
www.cbs46.com
Could Atlanta be the Silicon Valley of the south? (Video)
http://www.cbs46.com/clip/12522833/could-atlanta-be-the-silicon-valley-of-the-south
By Ben Swann, CBS46 Anchor
In this extended examination, we explore whether Atlanta could be the Silicon Valley of the south. Speaking with local startups and tech entrepreneurs making tomorrow’s technology today. (Featuring Magnus Egerstedt, Georgia Tech)
www.scicasts.com
Scientists Develop Roadmap to Chart the Path to Large-Scale Manufacturing of Cell-Based Therapeutics
An industry-driven consortium has developed a national roadmap designed to chart the path to large-scale manufacturing of cell-based therapeutics for use in a broad range of illnesses including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, blood and vision disorders and organ regeneration and repair. Over the past decade, new and emerging cell-based medical technologies have been developed to manage and possibly cure many conditions and diseases. In 2012 alone, these technologies treated more than 160,000 patients. Before these treatments can be more widely available, however, the cell therapeutics community will have to develop the capability for advanced, large-scale manufacturing of high-quality and consistent living cells. To advance that goal, the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have launched the National Cell Manufacturing Consortium (NCMC), an industry-academic-government partnership that recently released the National Roadmap for Advanced Cell Manufacturing. Establishment of the consortium and development of this 10-year national roadmap was sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
www.techinsider.io
This sanitation startup in Kenya turns poop into a sustainable source of fuel
http://www.techinsider.io/kenya-startup-turns-poop-into-fuel-2016-6
Emmie Martin, Business Insider
It’s easy to take something as ubiquitous as a toilet for granted when you live in a developed nation like the US.But for many people a round the world, lack of proper waste disposal and sanitation systems can cause widespread disease and even death. To help solve this problem, Andrew Foote and Emily Woods started Sanivation – No. 55 on the BI 100: The Creators – a sanitation startup that installs in-home toilets in East Africa and turns the waste into briquettes of sustainable, environmentally friendly fuel. Foote and Woods came up with the idea for turning waste into fuel as undergraduate students at Georgia Tech in 2011. The pair developed a thermal treatment system for human feces as a research project and later entered their work into Start-Up Chile, a business accelerator in South America.
www.ajc.com
State makes new push for fine arts courses in schools
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/state-to-offer-fine-arts-diplomas/nrfdY/
Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State education officials are trying a new way to encourage schools to teach about the arts, believing such courses improve a student’s academic performance. Students can soon earn a fine arts diploma seal upon graduating high school. Students must successfully complete three courses in one of the fine arts subjects — which include dance, music, theater, visual and media arts. They must also perform at least 20 hours of arts-related community service. Officials discussed the fine arts effort during last week’s state school board meeting… Superintendent Richard Woods has repeatedly said about one-half of Georgia Tech students have a music background.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Many Colleges Don’t Put Testing Requirements to the Test
By Eric Hoover
Any student who sweats through the ACT or SAT has reason to ask why such examinations are even necessary. Some colleges, it seems, can offer a more convincing explanation than others. Although most four-year institutions require standardized tests, only half (51 percent) measure how well test scores predict student success on their own campuses. Of those, 59 percent do so annually. Those findings come from a new report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which surveyed more than 400 colleges to learn more about how its members use entrance exams — and evaluate their usefulness. The report describes the prevalence of predictive validity studies, which gauge the correlation between admission criteria and specific outcomes, such as first-year grade-point averages. In short, the studies help colleges understand the extent to which their selection tools — grades and test scores — help forecast future performance.
www.washingtonpost.com
College courses without textbooks? These schools are giving it a shot.
By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel
A community college reform group has selected a handful of schools in Virginia and Maryland to develop degree programs using open-source materials in place of textbooks, an initiative that could save students as much as $1,300 a year. Such open educational resources — created using open licenses that let students download or print materials for free — have gained popularity as the price of print textbooks have skyrocketed, but courses that use the materials remain a novelty in higher education. Achieving the Dream, an education advocacy groups based in Silver Spring, Md., aims to change that by offering $9.8 million in grants to support the development of open-source degree programs at 38 colleges in 13 states. …Print textbook prices have climbed 82 percent in the past decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Textbooks can account for a third of the costs community college students encounter. The National Association of College Stores learned in a survey that students spent an average of $323 on course materials in fall 2015, down from an average of $563 a year earlier. Online marketplaces for used, new, rental or electronic textbooks are helping students save money, as is the emerging open-source market.
www.diverseeducation.com
Four Ways to Build a Brand to Recruit Student Veterans
by Jessica Shassere
By 2020, more than 5 million post-9/11 service members will transition from the military into civilian life. Many will enter the workforce, while others will use the GI Bill to earn their bachelor’s or graduate degrees. Your college or university needs to begin recruiting more veterans now. These students bring necessary diversity to the classroom by possessing experience most civilians can’t understand. Plus, while fewer students are earning a postsecondary education, institutions can compensate by enrolling service members who already come with governmental subsidies. Given the right support services, veterans — with their characteristic grit — will stay in school, graduate and become loyal alumni. But how can you attract this much-needed group?