USG Institutions:
www.mdjonline.com
KSU women’s softball coach fired for alleged misconduct involving female athletes
Anthony White
MARIETTA — Torrence “Tory” Acheson, Kennesaw State University women’s softball head coach, has been fired following an internal review of allegations of sexual harassment, the university announced Wednesday. Acheson came under investigation after the university’s athletic and human resources departments received an anonymous letter alleging inappropriate behavior and actions toward players on the KSU softball team. A review by Kennesaw State’s Title IX Office, initiated immediately following the letter’s receipt, found that Acheson violated the sexual harassment provision of Kennesaw State’s sexual misconduct policy by making a series of inappropriate comments to members of the team, according to KSU spokeswoman Tammy DeMel. “We are extremely disappointed in Coach Acheson’s behavior and apologize to our student athletes and their parents. This type of conduct simply will not be tolerated at Kennesaw State,” said KSU Interim President Houston Davis.
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www.12news.com
College fires softball coach for sexual misconduct with players
www.insidehighered.com
Kennesaw State Fires Coach Over Sexual Harassment
www.thebrunswicknews.com
CCGA, city and county agree to make college degrees more accessible
By LAUREN MCDONALD The Brunswick News
College of Coastal Georgia agreed on Wednesday to remove a few barriers for city and county employees wishing to return to the classroom and get a college degree. Administrators with the college signed an agreement Wednesday with officials from both the City of Brunswick and Glynn County to be partners going forward in the Leveraging Educational Attainment through Partnerships program, or LEAP. The program will offer city and county employees the option to get a college degree at College of Coastal Georgia.
www.wgauradio.com
UGA lands another Eminent Scholar
http://www.wgauradio.com/news/news/local/uga-lands-another-eminent-scholar/nr9XG/
By Tim Bryant
One of the nation’s leading infectious disease researchers will join the University of Georgia faculty this fall as its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Karen Norris, currently a professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, will join the faculty of UGA’s Department of Infectious Diseases of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the newly developed Center for Vaccines and Immunology on Sept. 1 as the GRA Eminent Scholar in Immunology and Translational Biomedical Research. The Georgia Research Alliance has partnered with Georgia’s research universities to recruit world-class scientists who foster science- and technology-based economic development since 1990. GRA also invests in technology for research labs, helps commercialize university-based inventions and facilitates collaboration among academia, business and government. Norris will be the 16th active GRA Eminent Scholar at UGA. “I am pleased that Dr. Norris will be joining UGA,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Her innovative work will expand the outstanding infectious disease research already being conducted here and will contribute significantly to the university’s efforts to translate research into treatments for some of the world’s most deadly diseases.”
www.savannahtribune.com
SSU Names New Provost And Vice President Of Academic Affairs
Savannah State University President Cheryl D. Dozier, DSW, has named Clarissa Myrick-Harris, Ph.D., as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Savannah State University (SSU), which began August 1, 2016. …“Dr. Myrick-Harris’ exemplary record as a professor, scholar, historian and administrator will be an asset as she takes the helm of the academic units at Savannah State University,” said Dozier. “She is well prepared for the responsibilities of the office, and I am confident she will provide effective leadership for our faculty, staff and students.”
www.myajc.com
Irish firm Voxpro plans 500-job expansion in Athens
By J. Scott Trubey – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Irish company that operates call centers and provides technical support for a number of high-profile tech firms plans to open a customer service facility in downtown Athens. Voxpro said it will establish a “Center of Excellence” and create 500 jobs over the next four years as part of a U.S. expansion, according to a news release from Gov. Nathan Deal’s office. Voxpro will open temporary offices later this month at One Press Place, home of the Athens Banner-Herald newspaper, which in recent years has become a hub for a number of Athens firms. The permanent office is slated to open in October. …Kiely said the company, based in Cork, Ireland, scouted Athens and cities in three other states. He said the talent pool in the Athens area and the region’s quality of life helped sell Voxpro on Georgia. He said his firm plans to recruit from the University of Georgia. The interior of the new offices won’t look like a call center, but will feel more like a startup with a music recording studio in the office.
www.ajc.com
Lynn Westmoreland donates papers to University of West Georgia
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The University of West Georgia’s Ingram Library will house the personal papers of U.S Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. The collection of items will include campaign materials, personal committee files, photos and memorabilia from Westmoreland’s extensive political career in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Georgia State House and as vice chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Westmoreland, R-Coweta County, announced in January that he would not seek re-election, opting to take time off to spend with family and consider a possible run for governor in 2018. He represents Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes Carrollton, where the university is located. …UWG’s Special Collections currently includes papers of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Congressmen Bob Barr, Mac Collins and Pat Swindall.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
A Coach’s Cover-Up?
A former Kent State softball player says the university tried to conceal that she was raped by her coach’s son. Now she’s asking a state court to order the university to release records that could prove her allegations.
By Jake New
A former Kent State University softball player who says she was raped by her coach’s son filed a complaint Tuesday asking the Supreme Court of Ohio to order the release of records that could shine new light on how the university handled her case. The student, Lauren Kesterson, alleges that Kent State officials not only declined to investigate her report but colluded with the accused student’s mother to cover up the case. The coach, Karen Linder, later resigned. When Kesterson attempted to use state open-records laws to obtain documents related to the case and the coach’s resignation, the university denied much of her request. …The summer after her junior year, Kesterson finally learned about the university’s Title IX policies and realized how Linder should have handled her case. Kesterson decided to file a Title IX complaint against her coach. She met with the university’s deputy coordinator for Title IX, who, according to the lawsuit, said she would file a formal complaint within 24 hours, including no-contact orders against Karen and Tucker Linder, who was set to return to campus that fall. Then, according to the lawsuit, Joel Nielsen, the university’s athletics director, intervened. Instead of filing the complaint as required by the university’s policies, Nielsen allegedly set up a meeting with Karen Linder. Two days later, the softball team’s assistant coach sent an email to players announcing an emergency meeting. Linder was resigning as head coach.
www.insidehighered.com
Pressure to Spend More on Poor Students
A new report suggests wealthy institutions should spend more from their endowments to help low-income students, but many campus critics say it’s not so simple.
By Rick Seltzer
A fraction of a percentage point can translate into a lot of money. And a change that small in universities’ endowment spending could translate into millions of dollars for low-income students, argues a controversial new report released Thursday. The report, from the nonprofit advocacy group the Education Trust, breaks down data on some of the largest endowments in the country, those with more than $500 million in assets. The Education Trust argues that many wealthy institutions have the capacity to put more endowment money toward low-income students with what would be a relatively small change in their spending habits — and that they should. “In our opinion, institutions are doing a lot for low-income students, but they’re not doing nearly enough,” said Andrew Nichols, director of higher education research and data analytics at Ed Trust. “They can do a lot more, given the benefits they are given regarding the endowment not being taxed.”
www.insidehighered.com
One in 5 Undergrads Do Not Seek Financial Aid
One-fifth of undergraduates did not apply for any financial aid during the 2011-12 academic year — typically because they thought they could afford college without it or did not believe they would qualify, according to a report from the U.S. Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics. That number was even higher at public two-year institutions, where 30 percent of students did not apply for financial aid. At public four-year institutions, 18 percent said they did not apply, according to the report.
www.insidehighered.com
Report on Faculty Role in Student Success Efforts
Faculty members are critical agents in student success but are surprisingly underemployed in that effort, according to a new paper from the Education Advisory Board, a best practices firm advising college and university administrators. “The Evolving Role of Faculty in Student Success” is based on interviews with 120 higher education leaders. (An infographic is available here.) It says that without engagement among faculty, “most top-down student success initiatives are doomed to fail, either through outright opposition or because of a limited reach.” Sometimes administrators don’t communicate their expectations about supporting students to faculty members, according to the report, and best practices — where they are being employed — often remain within pockets of an institution.