University System News:
www.savannahnow.com
Editorial: High five for five local REACH scholars
http://savannahnow.com/opinion-editorial/2016-09-24/editorial-high-five-five-local-reach-scholars
Promising young athletes are publicly recognized when they get scholarships to play sports in college. It’s fitting that promising students in the Savannah-Chatham County public school system, especially those who face obstacles, get equal recognition for their hard work and achievement by signing contracts that could earn them $10,000 scholarships to any of Georgia’s HOPE-eligible institutions. This week, five Savannah-Chatham middle school students with academic promise got the deal of a lifetime — as did their parents. …In return, each will receive a $10,000 college scholarship from the Georgia REACH Foundation. Even better, most of the state colleges and universities have agreed to double or triple the award to cover all tuition costs. The need-based REACH Georgia Scholarship Program was designed to increase the college-going rate among low-income students with academic potential. …This program is Georgia’s first public-private, needs-based scholarship program and AT&T, the initial private sponsor, provided seed funding for the five pilot school systems: Rabun, Quitman, Douglas, Dodge and Bulloch County Schools. Since then, more than $1 million has been raised from private entities such as Georgia Power, Verizon, Wells Fargo and the University System of Georgia Foundation. …This effort is worth applauding. It’s sorely needed in Savannah and in other communities in Georgia with high poverty rates. …“If you keep your side of the bargain, we will keep our side of the bargain,” said Don Waters, a member of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and the REACH Foundation Board, who is from Savannah.
www.11alive.com
‘I’m flipping it’ Georgia program allows seniors to go to college for free
Rachel Laubach is a 75-year-old woman who loves to bake, garden and spend time with her family. She is also a college student — and has been for 8 years. “I’m flipping it,” she said. At Georgia State University Perimeter, she’s called a GSU-62. That’s the term for a senior citizen who uses a state program to attend college for free. That’s right: free. In 1983 a state law was enacted that enabled any Georgia resident age 62 and older to attend a state college with tuition waived. Hundreds of seniors every year take advantage of the opportunity. Laubach cherishes it. “It gives you the opportunity to have a new start,” she said. “Wherever you are.” Laubach needed a new start. Nearly a decade ago, her son John died the day after Thanksgiving at the age of 41. She went through months of grief counseling, then decided to take up higher education. “You decide,” she said, “‘I’m gonna live the rest of my life feeling it.’” She’s been a GSU-62 ever since, taking one class every semester.
www.thedallasnewera.com
Future veterinarian saves over a hundred birds while attending college at GHC
Written by Sheila Averett Jones
Brianna Stoddard walks to her door with a parrot on her shoulder. The blue and gold Macaw inches along Brianna’s arm, sidestepping to her hand. Brianna tells BB to say, “Hi.” The parrot’s head cocks from side to side. Its gold chest feathers rise a little and it shakes off with its long blue wings. BB remains quiet, though. Inside, one of BB’s fellow Papayago Rescue House rehabilitated Macaws isn’t shy. From its cage, it calls, “Hello.” And if you ignore the introduction, but somehow make eye contact, BB’s friend repeats a little louder, “Hello.” All along Brianna’s house are large cages for birds like BB. Thirty-two birds. Three sanctuaries. Sized from finches to a hawk. Brianna has been rescuing birds since 2014, when she helped found Papayago Rescue House. “I’ve had birds since I was a little girl,” she said. “We started with 16. There’s not many rescues for birds in Georgia. We saw the need for us to step in, because birds like BB need our help.” …It’s probably no surprise that Brianna is planning on becoming a veterinarian with a specialization in avian medicine, but she said she has wanted to be a veterinarian since she was six years old and she’s proud to have made her start at Georgia Highlands College. “GHC has really given me a chance to make a lot of great connections. I love how one-on-one it is. The school provides so many different opportunities,” she said, “and it has helped give me the education I need to move forward.”
www.politico.com
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES LAUNCHING A PR CAMPAIGN
http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education
By MICHAEL STRATFORD
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES LAUNCHING A PR CAMPAIGN: Between public outrage over rising tuition and congressional scrutiny over the use of endowments, universities have found themselves on the defensive as of late. But America’s public universities are taking a proactive approach to restoring their brand. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, which represents hundreds of public colleges across the country, is launching a five-week public relations campaign aimed at “clarifying some common misconceptions.” The APLU and its members will be taking to social media with the hashtag #PublicUValues.
— Public universities are still the cheapest way to earn a four-year degree, “despite deep state cuts that have increasingly shifted the financial burden onto students and families,” the APLU contends as part of the campaign, the first week of which begins today and will focus on affordability. After aid, students attending a public university in-state pay about $3,980 per year on average, compared to the $14,890 students at private universities pay each year on average, according to the APLU’s data. The rest of the campaign will focus on student debt, the personal value of a degree to students, the value of more degrees to society, and the benefits of public university research.