University System News:
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong State University president to retire next year
By Savannah Morning News
Armstrong State University President Linda Bleicken has announced she will retire next year. Bleicken has led Armstrong since 2009, coming to the southside Savannah college from Georgia Southern University, where she was a vice president. She is Armstrong’s seventh president, and during her tenure the school changed its name from Armstrong Atlantic State University to Armstrong State. The university has also expanded enrollment and outreach since she began. “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve as the president of such an important institution for the past seven years,” said Bleicken. “Armstrong stands apart as a vibrant, diverse community dedicated to student success and focused on our values of scholarship, leadership and stewardship. I sincerely appreciate the ongoing support of faculty, staff, students, parents and community leaders and hope Armstrong will continue to cultivate generations of future leaders for many years to come.” Bleicken has been appointed to serve as the president of the American Academic Leadership Institute, a national organization dedicated to the development and support of leadership in higher education, beginning in July 2017. Bleicken is Armstrong’s first female president.
www.savannahnow.com
Georgia Southern boasts highest enrollment numbers ever
http://savannahnow.com/news/2016-10-26/georgia-southern-boasts-highest-enrollment-numbers-ever
By Savannah Morning News
Enrollment at Georgia Southern University has reached a historic high at 20,674 full-time students enrolled for the fall semester of 2016, marking an increase of more than 200 students from this time last year. GS has experienced consistent enrollment numbers of approximately 20,500 for the last five years. GS spokeswoman Jennifer Wise said this year’s increase over last year’s enrollment of 20,459 represents a promising rise in full-time students, including 136 additional new freshmen. “We are proud of the hard work of our admissions team and the entire campus community in the recruitment and retention of the best and brightest students from across Georgia and the country,” said Dr. Teresa Thompson, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. “We have wonderful faculty and advisors who work with students on an individual level to ensure they are prepared for college coursework and are successful while they are at Georgia Southern.” There is one professor per every 22 students at GS, which helps the university maintain its unique small feel for a college of its size. GS also provides hands-on learning with research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students, Wise said. This semester’s record enrollment also includes an increase in the number of graduate students enrolled in the University’s Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies, Wise said.
www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
Middle Georgia State University Named USG Service Excellence Gold Institution of the Year
Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO
Middle Georgia State University and University president Christopher Blake were named Gold Institution and President of the Year at the University System of Georgia Chancellor’s Service Excellence Awards on Tuesday, October 25. The award was presented by Chancellor Hank Huckaby during a ceremony at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. “Any institution of higher education has a duty not only to educate, but to serve our students, our employees, and our region,” said Blake. “Middle Georgia State University has long been committed to service through strong and accessible leadership, exceptional academic offerings, and thorough engagement in our communities. It is gratifying in the extreme to see our efforts recognized by Chancellor Huckaby and the University System of Georgia.”
www.goldenisles.news
CCGA expands study abroad opportunities
By LAUREN MCDONALD
Tiara Stokes, a senior at College of Coastal Georgia, aspires to study abroad so she can experience some culture outside of Brunswick. “I just want to get the experience and to see the different surroundings,” Stokes said. “I would just love to see different people and different cultures.” Stokes took one of the first steps toward making her dream a reality by attending a study abroad fair at the college last week. The Office of International Education sponsored a European Council study abroad fair that focused on summer programs in England, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Scotland and Russia. The event attracted more than 65 students. For the last several years, the college has worked to expand its study abroad opportunities for students with the hope of offering a more international and diverse education. Within the last two years, the college has established global partnerships with the American College of Greece and with Sacred Heart College in Belize.
www.goldenisles.news
Student lends hand to Sparrow’s Nest
By LINDSEY ADKISON
It is often said that high school is “the best time of your life.” For most youngsters, that is true. It is a time that focuses on school work as well as making lifelong memories with friends. That is certainly true for Madison Willet. The 17-year-old Glynn Academy senior relishes life as a typical teenager. She enjoys spending time with her friends while taking care of business academically. In fact, Madison takes that to another level. She is part of a dual enrollment program, splitting her time between high school curriculum and courses at College of Coastal Georgia. She is so far ahead of the game that this stellar student will complete her first year of college in December, before she graduates from high school.
www.georgiastatesignal.com
Students complain of not enough laundry machines in the Georgia State residence halls
By: Jahmair Stewart
Georgia State’s six resident halls on the Atlanta campus are home to nearly 5,400 students, who are worried there aren’t enough laundry machines to keep up with residents. The University Lofts houses 550 residents. The laundry room in the resident hall provides 12 washers and 12 dryers. Courtney Miller, a resident at the University Lofts said she believes there aren’t enough washers and dryers for students living in the building. “There’s always a long wait,” Miller said. She added that she only does laundry twice a month due to the inconvenient wait times. “When there is only 12 washers and dryers, and then some of the machines break, it becomes very difficult to do laundry,” Miller said. Piedmont North resident Jade Hodo said she has also ran into issues this year with the washers and dryers.
www.athensceo.com
Big Data Methods Under Development at UGA will Help Tackle Diseases
Staff Report From Athens CEO
The University of Georgia’s Ping Ma will use a new grant to crunch big data numbers, not uncommon for a statistics professor. What is unusual is that his work may help save lives. Ma has been awarded $1.3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop statistical tools to further clarify the causes of many diseases-including cancer, heart disease and aging-related illnesses. Over four years, Ma and his team of researchers will look at something known as small RNAs, hoping to unravel their regulatory role on abnormal variations in genetic transcription.
www.11alive.com
Police: Student shot to death near University of West Georgia identified
Phillip Kish and Christopher Buchanan, WXIA
CARROLLTON, Ga. — An investigation is underway after a student was found shot to death at an apartment near the University of West Georgia on Wednesday. Authorities later identified the victim as a senior at the school, 23-year-old Tyler Ford of Athens, Ga. According to Carrollton Police Capt. Chris Dodds, authorities received a call that someone had been shot at the River Point Apartments on Lovvorn Road. around 4:30 p.m. Responding officers found Ford dead at the entrance to an apartment. The victim’s roommate said that they were in their bedrooms and heard someone knock on the door. When the victim answered the door, they heard a gunshot.
www.savannahnow.com
Family of slain Savannah State student sues university’s private foundation
By Brittini Ray
More than a year after their son was shot and killed at Savannah State University, the parents of Christopher Starks are now suing the private foundation that maintains the campus’ facilities. Sharron and Willie Starks filed a wrongful death suit against USG Real Estate Foundation III LLC, alleging the entity failed to provide adequate security and protection at the campus where their son was killed last year at age 22. Starks was fatally shot after a fight in Savannah State’s Student Union about 9:15 p.m. Aug. 27, 2015. His killer has not been found. The Starks family is represented by Atlanta-based The Cochran Firm and Savannah-based Tate Law Group, which called a news conference Wednesday to discuss the lawsuit. The two law firms also announced a lawsuit alleging negligence on behalf of Christonia Woods, who was shot and severely injured on the university campus in 2014. The Starks lawsuit, filed in Fulton County, states that USG “breached its duties owed to Christopher Starks by failing to exercise ordinary care to keep its premises safe” and stated the campus facility was “negligently maintained, inspected, secured, patrolled and managed.”
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
New Online Program Matches Freshmen With Study Abroad Opportunities
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
In an effort to get more students to think sooner than later about studying abroad, a new pilot program enables college freshmen to set up online profiles that match them with programs of interest around the world. “It’s like an online dating site only instead of getting matched to people, they’re getting matched to global opportunities,” said Samantha Martin, CEO of Via TRM, a Colorado-based tech startup that launched a pilot version of the program this fall with three universities. Martin made those remarks Tuesday after a presentation of the pilot program—officially known as “Freshman Cohort” — at the Institute of International Education’s 2016 Generation Study Abroad summit in Washington, D.C. It was just one of a series of new and innovative ideas proffered at the summit to achieve the Generation Study Abroad goal of doubling and diversifying the portion of the nation’s students who study abroad by 2020. Currently, only about one in 10 American students study abroad, and the vast majority of those students are White and well-to-do, IIE statistics show. Generation Study Abroad seeks to change those statistics around.