University System News:
www.times-herald.com
Huckaby has been a good chancellor
http://times-herald.com/news/2016/08/huckaby-has-been-a-good-chancellor
By THE NEWNAN TIMES-HERALD
The University System of Georgia is essentially its own branch of government, with a budget of $8 billion that is larger than the entire spending of Oklahoma, Mississippi or six other states. It governs the future of 300,000 students, has 143,000 employees at 29 schools and is among Georgia’s largest landowners. Overseeing all of this is the system’s chancellor. Although he reports to the 19 members of the Board of Regents who volunteer their time as policymakers, he essentially answers to the governor. Usually, governors pick career academic administrators to try to tame the willful 47,000 professors and career staffers in the system. When he was governor, Sonny Perdue tapped a utilities CEO in an attempt to see if corporate-world techniques would have an impact, only to see this business veteran subsumed by the system’s lifers. Often, chancellors initiate some pet projects, deal with a crisis or two, and leave having had little overall impact. Nothing is more political than academic politics, and even seasoned administrators get swamped by this colossal bureaucracy. The current chancellor is different. Hank Huckaby’s unique career prepared him for the job better than his predecessors, and he capitalized on those experiences to truly shape the system in positive ways. He began his career as an academic, but he also served stints in state government, as an agency head and as director of the governor’s budget office. That gave him not only broad exposure to the entire state government but also valuable perspective and political connections.
www.news.wabe.org
University System Of Georgia Names Interim Successor For Huckaby
http://news.wabe.org/post/university-system-georgia-names-interim-successor-huckaby-1
By JOHN LORINC
Steve Wrigley will fill the vacancy for outgoing University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby. Huckaby announced Wednesday that he plans to step down at the end of the year. He’s been overseeing 29 state colleges and universities since 2011. Wrigley is currently the executive vice chancellor of administration, and he previously held positions at the University of Georgia.
ww.ajc.com
Georgia college students can carry stun guns this fall
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thousands of college students are returning to campuses across the state this month, armed with dorm supplies, backpacks and possibly stun guns, now allowed on campuses. Here’s what you need to know about the new law:
- What is the law?
Students and employees, 18 years and older, at Georgia’s public colleges and universities can now legally carry stun guns on campus. That includes in buildings, dorms and classrooms of the 29 institutions of the University System of Georgia and the 22 institutions in the Technical College System of Georgia. The law, House Bill 792, and sponsored by Rep. Buzz Brockway, was passed by the legislature earlier this year, signed by Gov. Nathan Deal, and took effect July 1.
USG Institutions:
www.albanyherald.com
ABAC enrollment up for third time in four years
More than half of students at Tifton college seeking four-year degrees
From Staff Reports
TIFTON — The numbers from the opening of fall semester Wednesday show that for the third time in the last four years, student enrollment is up at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. ABAC President David Bridges said the early enrollment data indicate a student population of 3,451, which would be 58 students more than ABAC had during fall semester 2015. ABAC also increased its enrollment in 2013 and 2014, the only college or university south of Macon in the University System of Georgia to accomplish that. “I have been studying the numbers all week, and it looks as if the enrollment from Florida, South Carolina and Alabama has pushed us past last year,” said Bridges, who is beginning his 11th year at the helm of the college. “We’re up 35 percent in those states. “ABAC is a destination college for most of those students since the majority of them are involved in our bachelor’s degrees in agriculture. I think the neighbor waivers certainly played a role in those students’ decisions to attend ABAC.”
See also:
www.tiftongazette.com
ABAC defies trend, enrollment on the rise
www.wtvm.com
ABAC celebrates great enrollment, nursing school anniversary
http://www.wtvm.com/story/32731236/abac-story
By WALB News Team
TIFTON, GA (WALB) – One south Georgia college is boasting about their great enrollment numbers this semester. Students at Abraham Baldwin College in Tifton started classes for fall semester on Wednesday. College President David Bridges said the school increased enrollment for the last four years, and that’s something no other college or university south of Macon has accomplished. “The percentage of students involved in bachelor degrees is way up. It’s up actually 25 percent. So every year since we’ve opened up bachelor programs in 2008 we’ve had really significant increases,” said Bridges. ABAC is also celebrating it’s 5th year anniversary for its nursing program with some good news. Instead of just an associates degree, students can receive a bachelor’s degree from ABAC. This year there are 22 students enrolled in the bachelor’s program.
www.patch.com
Georgia Gwinnett College Welcomes Record-Breaking Number of Students
GGC will see record-breaking enrollment when about 13,000 students begin classes for the Fall 2016 semester.
By Patch Staff
Growth and change are the normal state at Georgia Gwinnett College, and the 2016 fall semester will be exception. The college continues to make strategic changes to better serve its expanding student body. GGC will see record-breaking enrollment when about 13,000 students begin classes Monday. “Most of this year’s changes revolve around providing better service for students,” said Dr. Stas Preczewski, president. “From dining to information security, there are few aspects of the student experience that will not be impacted by the enhancements we are making this semester.” The college will open its newly completed expansion of Building C, which more than doubled the size of the previous structure. New classrooms and offices will help meet instruction needs and accommodate moving academic functions and faculty offices to the center of campus where students are better served.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Parents, students have range of emotions at Georgia Gwinnett College move-in day
By Keith Farner
LAWRENCEVILLE — Kira Freeman was equal parts excited and emotional as she stood outside her daughter’s new residence hall on Thursday morning. The Georgia Gwinnett College mother has been through this before with another child at Northeastern University in Boston. But she still wasn’t quite sure about the new experience her daughter, Jamie Eason, was set to begin. “I think it’s going pretty well, I think she’s 90 percent there,” said Freeman of her daughter, a recent graduate of North Atlanta High School. Only being about an hour away is a lot easier for mom to swallow, she said. Eason plans to study psychology and expects to eventually transfer to the University of Georgia. Of four choices, Freeman said Eason was initially skeptical of GGC, but then fell in love with the school. “The staff and how they nurture, how inviting they were, friendly, how they welcomed her,” Freeman said. That kind of experience played out across hundreds of cars, trucks and SUVs as they snaked around the residence halls as the first wave of some 750 students moved on campus. They’re all preparing to begin classes on Monday. It was an all-day affair that expects to continue into the weekend. In what is an annual exercise, about 250 volunteers helped direct traffic, push laundry carts and carry mirrors, suitcases and bedding.
www.wtvm.com
‘Operation Move In’ underway at Georgia Southern
http://www.wtvm.com/story/32747742/operation-move-in-underway-at-georgia-southern
By Dal Cannady, Reporter
STATESBORO, GA (WTOC) – Georgia Southern has organized what they call ‘Operation Move In’ for more than a decade. Even with 5,000 students living on campus, they try to streamline everything so that students and parents get what they need, but also so that they get it in as personable style as possible. That includes hundreds of volunteers at each residence hall, helping to unload and get things to rooms. Parents say this attention to detail makes the right first impression. “We were checked in and everything in the room in an hour. Everything is so well organized. Just a good testament of what Georgia Southern has become today,” said GSU parent, Leonard Bevill. “We’re so grateful to our military, and we try to help them whenever we can. Considering that program is among the top five in the nation over the past several years, they deserve that type of building,” said Dr. Teresa Thompson, Vice President, Georgia Southern University. Among the volunteers helping students and parents unload was new president, Dr. Jaimie Hebert. From talking to him, it seemed that Operation Move In was like nothing he’d seen at any of his previous schools.
www.wjcl.com
Ga. Southern welcomes students to campus
http://www.wjcl.com/article/ga-southern-welcomes-students-to-campus/1422630
Dave Williams
STATESBORO, GA — You might could say it’s the first day of the rest of their lives. More than a couple of thousand students are ready to begin that next chapter as they arrive on campus at Georgia Southern University. For many 18 year olds, being away from home for the first time in their lives can often be a daunting task. But the folks at Georgia Southern do their best make that task a little less daunting. Operation Move-In runs like a well oiled machine and it really makes the students feel at home.
www.onlineathens.com
Earlier UGA semester start leads to record-breaking semester length
By MARTHA MICHAEL
The fall semester at the University of Georgia still includes a long (and so far) hot summer. When UGA students returned last week, there were six weeks left of summer as Aug. 11 was the earliest start students and faculty began an academic year. It is also almost a week earlier than when fall classes began last year; and next year, the calendar will beat this year’s record — classes start Aug. 10. “The academic calendar has been a source of concern, debate and difficulty for some time, because we have to balance a lot of different competing interests.” said Janet Frick, associate psychology professor and the upcoming chair of the Executive Committee of the University Council. Summer is more than a break from classes, despite record-breaking numbers of students taking online and in-person summer classes at UGA. Summer is a time many students use to work, intern, volunteer, study abroad, conduct research, or do a combination of those. In fact, UGA recently enforced an “Experiential Learning” graduation requirement for all undergraduates. When summers are shortened, those learning opportunities are harmed as well.
www.albanyherald.com
UGA Tifton admission counselor allows campus to sell itself
Recruiter’s technique evolved during her first year in position
By Kenzie Kesselring
TIFTON — When she is recruiting students, Admissions Counselor Breanna Coursey allows the University of Georgia Tifton Campus to sell itself. UGA Tifton is the same institution, and offers the same quality of education, as the university’s Athens Campus. “The quality of education is by far the strongest attribute of UGA Tifton,” said Coursey. “The network that students develop by being part of the Bulldog Nation is unparalleled. Pair that with convenience, opportunities outside the classroom, world-renowned faculty and south Georgia agriculture, and it creates a winning combination.” The UGA Tifton campus has a 99 percent graduation rate and a 98 percent job placement rate, according to Jason Peake, director of academic programs for the UGA Tifton Campus, and students get to study with world-renowned researchers.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Student overcomes brain tumor, aftermath
AU student overcomes brain tumor
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
When she awoke from her coma, Alyssa Haddon didn’t recognize her family and couldn’t speak or move her right side. She would not only overcome the impact of removing a large brain tumor but also find her calling in the process. Haddon, 19, of Evans, is set to begin her sophomore year this week at Augusta University, and she hopes to one day become a therapist. Her surgeon believes her experiences will make her a great one.
www.onlineathens.com
Former U.S. Sen. Chambliss to teach at UGA law school
By UGA NEWS SERVICE
The University of Georgia School of Law will again offer its students the opportunity to learn from former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is returning to the law school as its Sanders Political Leadership Scholar. Chambliss and Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Camila Knowles (who previously served as Chambliss’ chief of staff) will co-teach the class Political Leadership and the Law, where students will receive firsthand insights into public service and explore the topics of ethics, campaign finance and negotiation. The class will be taught as part of Georgia Law’s Atlanta Semester in Practice initiative and will be based at the law school’s facility in the state’s capital.
www.onlineathens.com
UGA research spending surges, awards, too
By LEE SHEARER
The University of Georgia’s research expenditures jumped by 14 percent from the 2015 to 2016 fiscal years, reaching $175.3 million. That jumps comes after another big jump of 7 percent the year before, between the 2014 to 2015 fiscal years. The research spending curve seems certain to continue upward; UGA also recorded a two-year, 22 percent increase in the dollar amount of research grants UGA faculty or the university received, according to a UGA announcement. Research awards are a measure of money they will come in and be spent in future years.
www.athensceo.com
UGA Science Learning Center Dedication to be Held Aug. 17th
Staff Report From Athens CEO
The University of Georgia’s Science Learning Center is now open for student instruction. The three-story, 122,500-square-foot building was tailor-made for teaching undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics with the goal of increasing the number of students who pursue careers in the STEM fields. A dedication ceremony will be held Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. The event will include state officials, university administrators and others. The ceremony will include remarks from University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby; UGA President Jere W. Morehead; Gregory Robinson, Franklin Professor in chemistry; and Hayley Schroeder, an undergraduate student majoring in ecology and entomology. Supported by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and funded by Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia General Assembly, the center cost $48 million and includes 33 instructional labs designed specifically for interactive learning in core undergraduate science courses, two 280-seat lecture halls, two 72-seat SCALE-UP classrooms as well as spaces for informal student collaboration. The space is designed to foster communication between instructors and students as well as between students and their peers.
Higher Education News:
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Are too many of Georgia’s public colleges dropout factories? New report gives state low marks.
We typically talk about dropout rates in relationship to high schools but a new study targets four-year public campuses and takes aim at Georgia’s overall rate of college completion. Using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard, Third Way, a self-described Washington centrist think tank, found 88 percent of four-year public schools in Georgia qualify as dropout factories — fewer than 66 percent of their students graduate within six years. The new report, “What Free Won’t Fix: Too Many Public Colleges are Dropout Factories, examines the broad questions of college costs and outcomes. Nationwide, there are only 80 schools (15 percent of four-year public colleges) where two-thirds of first-time, full-time students earn a degree within six years. The study warns, “The graduation rates of the remaining 455 schools are so low that if they were high schools instead of colleges, they would be flagged as dropout factories and be required by federal law to intervene to improve their completion rates.”
www.ajc.com
Emory added to list of colleges sued over retirement plan fees
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Emory University is the latest university being sued for allegedly allowing its employees to pay millions of dollars in excessive fees associated with its employee retirement plan. The national firm, Schlichter, Bogard and Denton, based in St. Louis, filed a class action lawsuit Thursday on behalf of more than 20,000 Emory employees who are members of the plan. The lawsuit alleges Emory, as the plan sponsor, failed to consider or offer cheaper investment alternatives for employees’ retirement savings that were available to the plan. Instead, Emory selected and kept a large number of duplicate investment options, even though some of those options had a history of poor performance. “These university employees deserve the same right to build meaningful retirement assets as employees of for-profit companies,” said Jerry Schlichter, the attorney representing the employees in the lawsuit. Emory responded to the suit in a statement Friday: