University System News:
www.tigersroar.com
Savannah State students arrive to safer location
http://www.tigersroar.com/news/article_3e10cab2-8c38-11e6-a145-57df4528f26d.html
Xavier McKnight
The remaining Savannah State students who were still on the campus despite Hurricane Matthew’s anticipation have finally arrived to Fort Valley State University (FVSU). Students were reportedly escorted by police onto buses and departed from the Savannah State campus at approximately 2:50 pm on Thursday. The students will be provided with meals in the FVSU cafeteria and shelter will be provided in the FVSU Gymnasium where cots have been set up for SSU students to sleep on. The meals are free and all the SSU students will have to do is show their Savannah State ID card to receive the meals. FVSU has also planned activities for the SSU students to participate in to help keep them busy during this time. The SSU students will remain at FVSU until Hurricane Matthew and all storm related activity have left the Chatham County area.
www.macon.com
Savannah animals evacuated to Fort Valley
http://www.macon.com/news/local/article106544532.html
An emergency animal shelter at Fort Valley State University will serve as the temporary home of 68 animals evacuated from the Oatland Island Education Center in Savannah. The evacuated was due to the expected path of Hurricane Matthew.
www.wgxa.tv
Fort Valley State University houses exotic animals evacuated from Savannah
http://wgxa.tv/news/local/fort-valley-state-houses-evacuated-exotic-animals
BY ERIC MOCK
PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — When disaster strikes who takes in the exotic animals being evacuated? The Fort Valley State University Veterinary Center is read to accept them. Animals from the Oatland Island Wildlife Center in Savannah are being evacuated to the safe center at the university. FVSU students are preparing to receive all kinds of animals – everything from alligators to bobcats. Chair of the Veterinary Sciences Department, George McCommon, said they’re ready for them. “We’re designed to be here as a release valve if you will, because every animal control center is full. They’re always super full and so there’s no surplus area so we’re here to be that surplus area,” McCommon said.
www.statesboroherald.com
Georgia Southern campus now closed
All university-sponsored activities cancelled through Saturday
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/76674/
The Georgia Southern University campus is closed effective at 10 am this morning. This will enable faculty, staff and students to meet logistical challenges that may present themselves prior to the storm. All Georgia Southern University sponsored events are canceled through Saturday, October 8. Please dismiss all staff, students and faculty at this time. Georgia Southern University buses will run until noon. Georgia Southern University’s on-campus residence halls will remain open. Dining Commons on Oct. 6-8, will be open 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 5 – 8 p.m. All other dining outlets will be closed on Friday and Saturday.
www.fox28media.com
Hurricane evacuation shelters open across Georgia
http://fox28media.com/news/local/hurricane-evacuation-shelters-open-across-georgia
BY KATHERINE SHEPHERD
Georgia (WTGS FOX 28) — Nineteen Red Cross shelters are open across Georgia in order to take in Hurricane Matthew evacuees. Gov. Nathan Deal ordered a mandatory evacuation of six coastal Georgia counties Thursday morning: Bryan, Chatham, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden. That order was in addition to the voluntary evacuation request that he ordered on Wednesday for areas west of Interstate 95. The open Red Cross evacuation shelters in Georgia are in the following locations: …Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Gressette Gym, 2802 Moore Hwy., Tifton, Ga.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia Tech completes purchase of Biltmore in Midtown Atlanta
Douglas Sams
Commercial Real Estate Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Tech Foundation Inc. completed a deal for Midtown’s historic Biltmore, giving the school more space to expand startups and land more R&D centers that want to be close to Technology Square — one of the nation’s emerging innovation districts. The Foundation is said to have paid at least $64 million for the Biltmore, according to sources familiar with the sale, though no price was given. Atlanta real estate company Novare Group, which owned the 286,931-square-foot building, a landmark on West Peachtree Street across from Tech Square, had reached an agreement with the Foundation earlier this summer.
www.radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com
Did UGA PhD candidate Seth Wilson get a lucky 13th win in a row on ‘Jeopardy’?
Rodney Ho
University of Georgia PhD candidate Seth Wilson saw his “Jeopardy” streak end in a rather sudden fashion Wednesday night. He was cruising along, building a $12,800 lead at one point late into the second round. His 13th victory in a row was in sight. In an interview, even Wilson himself said he felt confident he would be adding to his $265,000 win total in a few minutes. He had good reason to think things would go his way. Over his 13 games, Wilson made very few mistakes, getting about 90 percent of his answers correct. And up to that point, he was answering enough questions to stay ahead of his rivals. But then he made a mistake. (It happens.) …Alex Trebek announced the Final Jeopardy category: “The Economy.” Unfortunately, Wilson said he didn’t feel comfortable with business-related subjects. “Business and economics questions are legendarily tricky on ‘Jeopardy,’ ” he said in the interview tonight. “A lot of big champs have missed it in the past.” So he decided to play it conservative by betting just $5. His hope was that Margie would bet just enough to beat him if he got the question wrong. He actually knew the answer to the clue: ” ‘Systematically Important Financial Institution’ is an official status known more informally by these 4 words.” It was “Too big to fail.” Unfortunately for Wilson, Margie knew it, too. But she didn’t wager $2,001 as he had hoped. Instead, she bet it all and doubled her total to finish with $34,000, far exceeding his $19,005. Wilson said he had tried this tactic in an earlier game and it worked. This time, not so much.
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Sam Olens is sole candidate to lead Kennesaw State University. Is this any way to choose a president?
In recommending state Attorney General Sam Olens as the next president of Kennesaw State University, Chancellor Hank Huckaby cited Olens’ deep roots in Cobb. “He knows Cobb County so well and he’s been a very dedicated citizen of this community,” Huckaby told the AJC. I don’t know what kind of college president Olens will be or whether he possesses the vision to build on Kennesaw’s momentum and growth. However, I question why Huckaby believes Olens is qualified because he lives in Cobb and loves the county. That might qualify Olens to lead a chamber of commerce in Cobb or a parade, but does it qualify him to lead a 35,000-student university? Huckaby and the Board of Regents ought to offer a far more comprehensive argument for eschewing a national search in favor of a politician without any higher ed experience.
www.insidehighered.com
Picking Political Presidents
Search processes prove to be a key point of contention as West Florida and Kennesaw State have considered making politicians university presidents.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/10/07/interest-rises-politicians-university-presidents
By Rick Seltzer
It’s about a five-hour drive from Kennesaw State University’s campuses outside of Atlanta to the University of West Florida in that state’s panhandle. But in the last few months the two institutions traced very similar paths toward picking new presidents. In September West Florida seemed poised to choose a politician for its next president. Term-limited Republican State Senator Don Gaetz was named one of four finalists for the job early in the month, sparking objections from faculty members and others who felt largely shut out of the search process. Other objections included the legislator’s lack of higher education experience and his record in office — a record that included crafting Florida’s controversial performance-based funding system. Kennesaw State currently sits on the brink of having a longtime politician as its own president. Georgia’s Republican attorney general, Sam Olens, appears to be a shoo-in for the position when the University System of Georgia Board of Regents votes for Kennesaw State’s next president Oct. 12. System Chancellor Hank Huckaby endorsed Olens, who is the only candidate under consideration for the position, even as students and faculty members protested the lack of an open search along with what some see as the attorney general’s antigay record and higher ed inexperience. Rumors long preceded both politicians’ public candidacy for the university presidencies, raising suspicions that they’d been picked for the positions before full searches even started. But that’s where the similarities might end, as it appears likely the two universities’ presidential searches are set to turn out differently. West Florida trustees ultimately chose Provost Martha Saunders for president over Gaetz in a contentious vote, while Olens remains the only candidate to lead Kennesaw State.