University System News:
www.savannahnow.com
Hurricane Matthew cancellations, closures and openings updates
These cancellations and closures have been announced since Sunday after Hurricane Matthew. Check back for updates as we receive them. University administrators and safety personnel have assessed the condition of the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro after Hurricane Matthew. The campus will open and classes will resume Tuesday. …Classes at Armstrong State University’s main campus in Savannah and the Armstrong Liberty Center in Hinesville are canceled through Oct. 12, according to the university. …Georgia Tech-Savannah has cancelled its October Learners and Leaders session, “Innovation in Savannah,” originally scheduled for Oct. 13.
www.growinggeorgia.com
Freedom Gallery Opens at ABAC on October 13
For Dr. David Bridges, there’s no question that those who sacrifice their lives for the United States of America should be honored in a special way. That’s why the president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is so excited about the public opening of the new Freedom Gallery at ABAC on Oct. 13. “We are doing this because I want future generations of ABAC students to know that we respect the honor, the integrity, and the valor of those who serve in the armed forces of our country,” Bridges said. “We will continue to invest in those who invested so much in us. We must not forget that some of them invested their lives for our freedom.” The Freedom Gallery focuses on the life of Harold Bascom Durham, Jr., an ABAC alumnus and Tifton native who gave his life for his country on a Vietnam battlefield on Oct. 17, 1967. For his bravery, he was selected as a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. …“The Freedom Gallery is a tribute to all the brave men and women who place themselves in harm’s way every day so that all Americans can be free,” Bridges said. “It is a key component in our new Veterans Initiative.”
www.finance.yahoo.com
Most Educated City in Each State
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-educated-city-state-100032931.html
Earning a college degree is one of the best ways to open up opportunities, especially to higher-paying jobs. The economic benefits of a well-educated population are also far-reaching. Based on recently released educational attainment data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the level of higher education in every metro area in each state.
- Georgia
> Most educated city: Athens-Clarke County
> Pct. with bachelor’s degree: 38.0%
> Number of postsecondary institutions: 3
> Median household income: $38,643
Based in Athens, the University of Georgia enrolls roughly 27,500 undergraduate students. Many university graduates likely remain in the area, as there is a far higher concentration of college graduates in the Athens metro area than across the state as a whole. While incomes tend to be higher in areas with larger shares of four-year degree holders, Athens is a notable exception. The typical area household earns only $38,643 annually, roughly $12,600 less than the statewide median income.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia State University plans $35 million infectious disease research center, first in the Southeast (SLIDESHOW)
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/10/11/georgia-state-university-plans-35-million.html
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia State University is planning a $35 million biomedical research center that would focus on treating and preventing deadly epidemics such as Ebola, Zika and influenza. The nearly 55,000-square-foot building — part of the university’s downtown research campus — will house a Biosafety Level (BSL) 3/4 research facility equipped to handle the most dangerous viruses. It would be the only university-based Level BSL – 4 research facility in the Southeast and one of 13 operational or planned facilities around the country, noted Dr. James Weyhenmeyer, Georgia State’s vice president of research and economic development. “We will be doing research to better understand the replication, transmission and infection by deadly pathogens,” Weyhenmeyer said. The expansion requires approval from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
www.myajc.com
Olens’ KSU bid: Qualifications or politics?
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/olens-ksu-bid-qualifications-or-politics/nsn7z/
By Eric Stirgus and Aaron Gould Sheinen – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens rose from neighborhood activist to Cobb County commission chairman to the state’s top lawyer by building strong political relationships, but those relationships are one point of contention over his potential appointment as president of Kennesaw State University. For example, four of the 19 state Board of Regents members, or their relatives and related businesses, contributed $31,200 to Olens’ two campaigns for attorney general, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found. The whiff of politics causes many KSU students and faculty to question whether ambition and connections have more to do with his proposed appointment than his qualifications. Olens has no experience managing a university and has alienated some there with stances he took as attorney general. But political experience, bridge-building skills and his longstanding Cobb County ties can also serve Olens well as university president, his supporters say. The Regents are scheduled Wednesday to vote on Olens. If approved, Olens will lead a fast-growing school of 35,000 students aiming to become a leader in business, engineering and teaching studies.
www.huffingtonpost.com
Politician for College President? Consider This.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-brian-c-mitchell/politician-for-college-pr_b_12419180.html
Dr. Brian C. Mitchell
Director of Edvance Foundation, former college & university president
Some politicians make good college presidents, at least on paper. As Rick Seltzer reported in Inside Higher Education last week, the best of them possess many of the same skills as successful college and university presidents. They are typically well connected with outside stakeholders, enjoy good name recognition, and know how to fundraise, at least with certain groups of donors. Many of them have some knowledge of higher education – usually on a macro level – that sets them apart within a pool of potential candidates when presidencies open up. Mr. Seltzer noted that the most recent American College President Study by the American Council on Education found that about two percent within a pool of candidates in presidential searches had at least some political experience at the local, state, or federal level in their previous positions. …It’s a long tradition that has also faced a bumpy road. The recent donnybrooks at Kennesaw State University and the University of West Florida provide concrete real-time case studies. Let’s not get into the weeds on the merits of each case but look instead at the principles, process, and expectations placed upon politicians seeking a college presidency. In doing so, it’s easy to see why confrontations can occur over a selection and to suggest ways in which these controversies can be avoided. Further, let’s agree to treat the issues at public and private institutions similarly. …And most importantly, the Board must be prepared to stand with the president, keeping their noses in and their hands outside of the tent. At these institutions, a politician-turned-president may be an attractive solution, especially if the politician has shown creativity and ingenuity in the way that they govern.
www.insidehighered.com
AAUP Calls for National Search for Kennesaw
By Scott Jaschik
The American Association of University Professors is joining students and faculty members at Kennesaw State University in urging the Georgia Board of Regents not to appoint Sam Olens, Georgia’s attorney general, as the university’s next president. The board is expected to approve his appointment this week. Some on the campus object to the appointment of a politician without a career in higher education. Others object to actions he has taken that are widely seen as antigay. The emphasis of a letter the AAUP sent this week is about process and the lack of a national search for the fast-growing university. The AAUP letter says that “the apparent decision to forgo a national search for the Kennesaw State presidency is at odds with widely observed principles of academic governance.”
www.mdjonline.com
SILENT PROTEST
KSU faculty, students protest impending vote on Olens
Jon Gargis
KENNESAW — Two days before a vote to install Attorney General Sam Olens as Kennesaw State University’s next president, protests from faculty and students against the impending appointment continued Monday on the campus green. Billed as a faculty-sponsored silent protest for a national search for a new president, the midday gathering drew an estimated 200 to 300 participants as it got underway about at 12:20 p.m. The protest saw participants stand in silence with their backs toward Kennesaw Hall, which houses the university president’s office and other administrative departments. The “silent” part of the protest was visible on many participants’ faces, as their mouths were covered by strips of paper with messages such as “National search” and “No voice,” referring to Olens’ selection as the sole nominee for the president job. Rumors of Olens taking the post began swirling shortly after then-President Dan Papp announced his retirement in May and have persisted through the start of the school year.
www.ajc.com
Kennesaw State students, faculty hold silent campus protest of Olens
Ben Brasch The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A large group of students and faculty silently lined Campus Green at Kennesaw State University on Monday in protest of the sole option for their future leader. Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens is teed up to become the next president of the university without a lick of student input. All this in the wake of a tumultuous year of leadership failures, including financial policy violations by former president Dan Papp, who suddenly resigned earlier this year. …The state Board of Regents is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Olens’ presidency.
www.albanyceo.com
Albany Technical College Special Needs Program to Kickoff LEAP Program Today
Staff Report From Albany CEO
Albany Technical College’s Special Needs program will kickoff the Leveraging Education for Advancement Program on Tuesday, October 11, 2016, beginning at 10am in the Kirkland Conference Center. The new program has been provided through a $2.5 million federal grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. A five-year grant for students with disabilities, the goal is to develop programs that will allow more students to be included in college life and to meet their potential in becoming productive citizens. …Currently, the following colleges and universities in Georgia are participating in the grant: University of Georgia, Columbus State University, Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College, Albany Technical College, and Georgia State University, with four others to be named at a later date. Albany Technical College is the first college within the Technical College System of Georgia to participate in the program.
www.metroatlantaceo.com
Governor’s International Award Recognizes Kennesaw State’s Global Programs
Staff Report From Metro Atlanta CEO
Kennesaw State University’s Division of Global Affairs and its leader, Vice Provost Lance Askildson, received a 2016 Governor’s International Award during a ceremony Thursday at the Atlanta History Center. The awards recognize individuals and organizations working to build and strengthen Georgia’s vibrant international business community. DGA and Askildson, who also serves as the University’s chief international officer, were chosen from three finalists for the awards’ international education category, one of seven categories honored during the 35th annual event. The awards are sponsored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in collaboration with the World Trade Center Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “The receipt of the Governor’s International Award for Education is an honor for Kennesaw State University and our Division of Global Affairs,” said Kennesaw State’s interim president, Houston Davis, who accepted the award on behalf of Askildson, who is in Australia teaching an education-abroad course.
www.bizjournals.com
International business achievement honored at 2016 Governor’s International Awards
Jessica Saunders
Managing Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Top leaders in international business in Georgia turned out to honor achievements in global trade at the Atlanta History Center. …Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Cedric Suzman, who was introduced by World Trade Center President Karen Loch, said that while he was grateful that his role in bringing international focus and perspective to Atlanta was “noticed and ppreciated,” all he had done had been in collaboration with others. Suzman co-founded the Southern Center for International Studies (SCIS), where he developed a long-running course on international management. Later, he founded and served as executive vice president and director of programming for the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, an affiliate of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. Among the leaders Suzman credited with aiding his achievements at SCIS were Peter White, president and co-founder of SCIS; Dean Rusk, who served as secretary of state under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and was Samuel H. Sibley Professor of International Law at the University of Georgia;
www.chronicle.com
As Sports Spending Soars, Programs Scramble to Keep Up
By Brad Wolverton and Dan Bauman
Starting a football program is never cheap. But when the University of North Carolina at Charlotte fielded its first team, in 2013, it tried to keep a lid on spending. The first season, the head coach made just $250,000. The second year, the team didn’t step foot on a plane, playing 10 of its 11 games within the state. But by last year, when the 49ers began competing at the NCAA’s top level, the head coach’s pay had climbed to $600,000, while the department’s travel costs, including charter flights for football, exceeded $1.7 million. Athletics officials were also paying $2.4 million a year toward debt service on a new stadium. The addition of football led Charlotte’s athletics expenses to rise by more than 75 percent between 2010 and 2014, one of the biggest increases of any major-college program. While Charlotte’s spending may be exceptional, it is hardly alone. At least six other programs, including the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of North Texas, and Washington State University, saw their expenses climb by more than 60 percent during the same time, even when adjusted for inflation.
Spending Climbs Among Football Bowl Subdivision Programs
Georgia Southern U. Percent change from 2010 to 2014 – 64.3; Georgia State U. Percent change from 2010-201 – 47.6
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Colleges, Universities Making Retention, Completion Priority
by Reginald Stuart
The roller coaster-like ride that has sent much of higher education on breathtaking twists and turns in recent years may be far from over. Still, clearly identifiable tools are emerging with new survival strategies for helping troubled institutions across the country. With an overall goal of boosting retention and completion rates, myriad efforts are afoot. Some institutions are revising demographic recruiting strategies. Some are rebranding themselves and their pitches to catch the attention of wider audiences. Institutions are paying more attention to and raising funds for helping existing students pay the costs of staying in school.