University System News:
www.onlineathens.com
UGA’s College of Environment and Design ranked in top 10 nationally
By UGA News Service
The University of Georgia College of Environment and Design earned top 10 rankings in four categories in DesignIntelligence magazine’s 2016-17 edition of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools. “These latest rankings reaffirm the quality our College of Environment and Design and just how innovative its degree programs are,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Thanks to the college’s extraordinary faculty, its students graduate ready to help create a more sustainable future.”
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Fun Academy aims to make Columbus an animated film production magnet
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article110953082.html
BY TONY ADAMS
A Columbus company called Fun Academy Motion Pictures is quietly laying the groundwork to become a major player in the animated motion-picture industry, with plans to launch an animation studio locally over the next couple of years. Already, Fun Academy and its founder, executive producer Richard Lanni, are working on the company’s first animated film to be released in 2018, called “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero,” with expectations that it will be the first of many such movies in the coming years. “Our initial plan was just to have a distribution facility here for our projects. As time has gone on and I’ve spent more time here and we’ve looked at the place, we believe we have the answer to giving Columbus its share of the $7 billion film industry in Georgia,” said Lanni, who first visited the city about seven years ago to do media projects for the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center. …Lanni and his Columbus team laid out their plans this week for Fun Academy before a group of business and art leaders at the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, extolling the merits of the industry that the company is moving forward with developing locally with the help of Columbus State University, the Springer Opera House and others in the community. …The Georgia Film Academy already is working with the city, CSU and the Springer to develop production talent for the industry as it burgeons amid a rising number of movies filmed in the state and work on popular TV series such as “The Walking Dead,” which is shot primarily just south of Atlanta.
www.ajc.com
UGA crash survivor Agnes Kim released from Shepherd Center
Alexis Stevens The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Six months after a crash killed four of her University of Georgia classmates, the survivor has been released from the Shepherd Center. Agnes Kim, 22, of Snellville was released Wednesday from the rehab center, where she has been recovering from a brain injury. Her daily rehabilitation will continue at Shepherds Pathways in Decatur, the center said. “Ms. Kim’s family is grateful for the outpouring of support from the community,” the Shepherd Center said in an emailed statement. “However, they continue to request privacy.”
www.gradynewsource.uga.edu
UNG Student Stabs Boyfriend in the Head
http://gradynewsource.uga.edu/blog/2016/10/27/ung-student-stabs-boyfriend-in-the-head/
Grady Newsource
Yesterday a 21 year old University of North Georgia student was arrested for aggravated assault. According to the police report, Trevor Ausburn called to report that his girlfriend Lauren Jones stabbed him in the head with a knife. The police report says they got into a dispute over who each other had slept with in the past. When Ausburn didn’t leave Jones’ apartment, police say Jones stabbed him in the head with a knife.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Georgia Southern student found unresponsive in Aspen Heights
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_58a422f8-9c5e-11e6-b376-b3241a34c120.html
By Erin McGuiness | 0 comments
Authorities have confirmed the death of Georgia Southern University student Matthew Verrico. The 20-year-old was found unresponsive at his home in Aspen Heights last night after an apparent suicide according to Jake Futch, Bulloch County Coroner. Authorities do not suspect foul play and Futch said that they are not investigating into the matter.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Fixing Capacity With Better Class Scheduling
Colleges are re-examining their student enrollment data to better understand how courses are scheduled in an effort to fix capacity problems.
By Ashley A. Smith
Some colleges struggling to figure out how to manage overcrowded or empty courses could be looking for solutions in the wrong place. A new report from Ad Astra Information Systems shows that the capacity issues some colleges are facing can be traced to the way they schedule classes. The company’s Higher Education Scheduling Index is a database that tracks how colleges allocate their faculty and classrooms to meet students’ course needs. The report found that 36 percent of entry-level courses at four-year public institutions were “overloaded” with enrollments of 95 percent or more, which created “bottlenecks” that hindered students from graduating on time. The report also found that during peak hours, classroom utilization ranged from 63 percent at community colleges to 70 percent at public universities. The annual report used data from 82 four-year public universities, 23 four-year private institutions and 52 community colleges. (Ad Astra isn’t the only company or consulting group that is assisting colleges with their capacity or scheduling issues. Others, such as Huron, offer similar services.) For some of these colleges, the problem boils down to the way they currently schedule courses — by rolling the master course schedule from one year to the next.
www.diverseeducation.com
Study Finds Black Youth Interest in Technology Growing
by Catherine Morris
The tech industry is a notoriously lonely place for African Americans. Black workers comprise only 6.9 percent of STEM employees, and less than 5 percent of the workforce at tech companies in Silicon Valley. At tech behemoths like Google and Yahoo, Black workers made up 1 percent of the workforce. A new study shows that younger generations of African Americans may be poised to change the game. Taking a deep look at computer usage and career aspirations among African American youth, the study reveals that the majority of African Americans between the ages of 11-17 are self-reportedly confident about their computer skills, about half say that they want to learn how build their own website, and a third want to learn how to code.
www.diverseeducation.com
Role of Chief Diversity Officers Expanding on College Campuses
by Oliver B. Tomlin III
Thankfully, after many years, the chief diversity officer (CDO) position is getting its due on college campuses. Institutions have come to realize just how critical a CDO is to getting things done regarding diversity and inclusion as well as to legitimizing these efforts in the eyes of constituents. That’s the good news. It is to the point, however, that the roles of most chief diversity officers have ballooned. Responsibilities include, at one end of the spectrum, recruiting and retention of students, staff, faculty, and leadership. This is the more transactional part of the job, about increasing the numbers of underrepresented individuals within the institution and ensuring a pipeline for the future. At the other end of the spectrum is the more amorphous but critical charge to change and shape the institution’s culture, climate and reputation. Are we a fair and inclusive institution? Does our culture provide us with a competitive advantage within the increasingly fractured education marketplace of today? In the middle of things the CDO has the more operational D&I, or diversity and inclusion, matters: there are trainings to conduct, workshops to host, conferences to attend.
www.insidehighered.com
NCAA to Distribute Funds Based on Academics
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/10/28/ncaa-distribute-funds-based-academics
By Jake New
The National Collegiate Athletic Association announced Thursday that, beginning in 2019, it will distribute millions of dollars in revenue to member institutions based on the academic performance of their athletes. The money will come from the association’s new $1.1 billion multimedia rights deal for the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament. Colleges will be awarded the funds by earning “academic units” based on the academic performance of their teams, similar to how programs earn units based on how far they advance in the tournament. According to the NCAA, each school can earn one academic achievement unit per year if its athletes meet at least one of the following requirements:
www.bizjournals.com
Florida: We’re losing our film business to Georgia
Ellie Hensley
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Florida got rid of its film tax incentive program earlier this year, and now it is losing business to Georgia, according to Deadline. “The industry here is one step away from dead,” said Fred Moyse, business manager of IATSE Local 477, which represents film crews in southern Florida, told the website. “We’ve lost a third of our members. It’s been devastating to the men and women who work in this industry, and crippling to the small businesses that support it.”