University System News:
www.barnesville.com
Hopkins named chair of USG Board of Regents
http://www.barnesville.com/archives/9710-Hopkins-named-chair-of-USG-Board-of-Regents.html
Posted by Walter Geiger
Dr. Tommy Hopkins of Griffin has been named chairman of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Dr. Hopkins has served the 3rd Congressional District on the board since 2010. His chairmanship is a one-year term.
www.walb.com
Students speak out as Darton addresses financial aid issues
http://www.walb.com/story/33730574/students-speak-out-as-darton-addresses-financial-aid-issues
By Mike Fussell, Reporter
Students at Darton State College are upset about financial aid problems costing them money and impacting the educational plans. The Financial Aid Director addressed concerns during an open meeting Wednesday afternoon. She said the school is making sure issues, which arose from using a paper system and a workforce stressed by turnover and ongoing audits, don’t happen again. The school has since digitalized its record keeping system, but some students are most worried about the money they’re being asked to repay. Just weeks before graduation, Darton student Lindsey Gay is supposed to be focused on finals, but instead she’s scrambling to repay financial aid money she was over-awarded.
www.albanyherald.com
Stephanie Lawrence addresses financial aid questions
Albany State financial aid director said she was aware of challenges facing her department
By Terry Lewis
In response to financial concerns expressed by faculty and students at Darton State College, Executive Director of Student Financial Assistance at the new Albany State University Stephanie Lawrence held a brief Q&A with the Darton Faculty Senate at the West Campus on Wednesday. All questions were required to be written on index cards, and Lawrence left the meeting without taking questions from the floor. “I know there were some concerns over some things that happened over the summer and the beginning of fall (regarding financial aid),” Lawrence said. “I want to assure you all that we are aware of those challenges, and we are working to improve policies and procedures in the office of financial aid so we don’t ever repeat what happened.” In late 2015, a University System of Georgia internal audit of Albany State University’s Financial Aid office included a review of the financial aid histories of five students who also were employees of the university. It showed that one former employee of the department had received $270,000 in federal student financial aid since 1985. As a result, four department employees were dismissed, Lawrence was hired and Albany State was required to repay the U.S. Department of Education $3 million in Title IV financial aid funding.
www.wtvm.com
5 movies, 2 TV shows filming in Savannah: Are Incentives working?
http://www.wtvm.com/story/33726835/5-movies-2-tv-shows-filming-in-savannah-are-incentives-working
By Don Logana, Anchor
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – Tyler Perry, Daniel Radcliffe, and Kristen Stewart are just a few of the stars in Savannah right now, filming movies and TV shows. So many productions…but are there enough production workers? Right now in Savannah, we have five movie crews and two TV crews, and they all need workers. “In terms of crew, Savannah is absolutely at capacity,” said Charles Bowen, Savannah Film Alliance. Savannah Film Alliance’s Charles Bowen represents several productions already filming in Savannah. …Bowen credits the new moving incentive for drawing skilled crew members to the Hostess City to help with production needs, and people. “The local pool is really growing, and it’s an exciting time for the entertainment industry,” Bowen said. …Jody Scheisser is location manager for Lizzie. They are getting some extra help from students in Savannah Tech’s Georgia Film Academy, interning on some of these new projects as part of their curriculum. …”There were more productions here than any previous year combined, and 2016 is far outpacing 2015,” Bowen said. When you are talking future production growth, all classes are full at the Georgia Film Academy for this semester. They’re already filling up quickly for next semester, as well.
www.publicnow.com
Clayton State University Seeks To Become National Model With Launch Of Five-Year Strategic Plan
http://www.publicnow.com/view/144A5A094E9C7079AC8A37C6851C6837BC88DE95
Laker Newsroom
Clayton State University marked its commitment to becoming a national model for community engagement and student enrichment in higher education with the launch of Strategic Plan 2022. A kickoff celebration was held November 15 in the James M. Baker University Center with more than 100 people in attendance. The five-year plan builds on University milestones over the past few years to advance its mission of providing students an experience-based learning environment supplemented with active community service learning opportunities to ensure students are prepared for success.
www.newswise.com
UGA’s Stable Isotope Lab Becomes Largest In North America
The Center for Applied Isotope Studies at the University of Georgia is already world-renowned, but the center’s role in the scientific community just became even bigger. Following an expansion of the facility and acquisition of new instrumentation, the 24,000-square-foot center is now home to the largest stable isotope lab in North America, surpassing the University of California, Davis, and cementing its position as an industry leader.
www.ajc.com
UGA engineering school grows, reorganizes
Chris Quinn The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The University of Georgia’s College of Engineering, in a sign of the times, will reorganize its administrative structure. The move is designed to streamline operations as the college has seen its enrollment quintuple in five years. The College of Engineering will divide into three academic units: the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; the School of Chemical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering; and the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering, in the spring of 2017.
www.onlineathens.com
Demands on UGA’s technology infrastructure keep growing rapidly, while security challenges mount, says UGA technology VP
By Lee Shearer
Technology and data demands continue to grow dramatically at the University of Georgia, but where that technology and data is being processed and stored is moving off-campus, the UGA’s chief technology administrator said Wednesday. Part of that is local, as UGA records systems such as payroll and finance move to software systems that serve all the University of System colleges and universities, said Tim Chester, vice president for information technology. Chester gave his annual “State of Technology” talk at the universities Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries building Wednesday. UGA retirees are scheduled to move to the University System of Georgia paryoll and human resources systems this January. Under UGA’s PeopleSoft “OneSource” project timeline, UGA budgets move over in 2018, finance in July 2018 and payroll, which affects many more people, in 2019. Meanwhile, people are growing more and more reliant on UGA’s networks.
www.artsatl.com
Breaking News: Kennesaw State University announces the Bentley Rare Book Museum, opening in April 2017
Laura Relyea
Kennesaw State University’s Department of Museums, Archives, and Rare Books has announced the Bentley Rare Book Museum, to open on April 22, 2017. The museum will be an evolution of the university’s Bentley Rare Book Gallery, which was established in 1986 as a result of a partnership between senior curator Robert B. Williams and Fred D. Bentley Sr., who donated a large number of 19th- and early 20th-century first editions as the gallery’s foundational collection. This new iteration is aimed to reach out to communities through increased programming, free admission, and rotating exhibitions.
www.wjcl.com
Statesboro breaks ground for Blue Mile Gateway
http://www.wjcl.com/article/statesboro-breaks-ground-for-blue-mile-gateway/8298285
Dave Williams
Earlier this year, the City of Statesboro found out they were one of the finalists in the America’s Best Communities Competition, qualifying the city for a $3 million grand prize for revitalization. Now, the signature project of that competition is one step closer to reality. A dream nearly five years in the making is almost reality for the City of Statesboro. A nice crowd gathered Wednesday afternoon for the groundbreaking for the Blue Mile Gateway. The Blue Mile represents a one mile stretch from the entrance of Georgia Southern University to the courthouse and revitalization to that area. “It’s really happening, it’s really here,” said Phyllis Thompson, Statesboro-Bulloch Co. Chamber of Commerce. ‘This revitalization is a big nod to the founders of our community all of those years ago and the founders of Georgia Southern over 100 years ago. We are acknowledging our great history, but we’re looking at our economic future today.” The Blue Mile is the signature project that has made Statesboro one of the eight finalists in the America’s Best Communities contest and a shot at a $3 million prize to help further downtown revitalization.
www.connectsavannah.com
Armstrong professors awarded $330,000 grant
Posted By Jim Morekis
The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded a $330,967 grant to Armstrong State University Senior Physics Lecturer Donna Mullenax, Ph.D, Math Lecturer Janel Smith, Ph.D., and Childhood and Exceptional Student Education Lecturer Elizabeth Williams. The two-year grant is funded by the Mathematics and Science Partnerships federal program and will support STEM education in Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS). “We are pleased to secure the U.S. Department of Education’s Math and Science Partnerships Grant,” says Mullenax. “The funding will contribute greatly to the professional development of local STEM teachers.” Mullenax, Smith and Williams are working collaboratively with SCCPSS personnel to provide professional development for elementary and middle school math and science teachers. Together, they will implement the Content and Instructional Practices Project, which focuses on content instruction and instructional training to strengthen the classroom experience for students.
Higher Education News:
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Federal report: Graduates of for-profit career colleges earn less. Beware of their promises.
This news release from the U.S. Department of Education reveals more troubling data on the for-profit education sector, this time the career colleges that promise students will end up with certificates and high-paying jobs. Not true, says the federal data. Certificate holders coming out of public institutions fare much better. Here is the most startling fact in the USDOE report: The median earnings of nearly a third of graduates of for-profit certificate programs are less than the yearly income of a full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage ($14,500) even as students take on debt to complete these programs. Here is the full USDOE release: …The data released today show that graduates of career training programs at public institutions generally fare better than those of comparable programs at for-profit institutions. Specific highlights include:
www.chronicle.com
Fight Over the Recording of Title IX Proceedings Exposes Gaps in Law and Trust
By Peter Schmidt
Things got testy when Columbia University administrators met privately with students demanding a right to bring audio recorders with them when questioned about their complaints of gender-based misconduct. Curious about what happened? Listen yourself. One student surreptitiously recorded the meeting last month so that her advocacy group, No Red Tape Columbia, could post it all online. She did so legally because Columbia is in New York, one of 39 states that allow people to record conversations without the consent of other participants. Some of its students have seized on audio recorders as tools to try to ensure their institution complies with the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX. Just as they secretly recorded their meeting with administrators, No Red Tape members want to secure Columbia students the right to record any interviews, hearings, and appeals related to their complaints of rape, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based misconduct. Columbia has moved in the opposite direction.
www.insidehighered.com
Feeling Unsafe
Student engagement survey finds black students are more than twice as likely as other students to feel “physically unsafe” on campus, and that black professors interact more with their students than do other professors.
By Jake New
Findings released Thursday from the National Survey of Student Engagement suggest that one in seven black students feel physically unsafe on college campuses. Overall, 93 percent of the 13,000 students who responded to the survey reported feeling physically safe at their institution, but that perception varied among different demographic groups. Among black students, 14 percent said they disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “I feel physically safe at my institution.” One in 10 American Indian or Alaska Native students and 9 percent of multiracial students also said they disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement. About 5 percent of white students reported feeling unsafe, as did 5 percent of Hispanic or Latino students, and 6 percent of Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. “The good news is that the vast majority of students do feel safe on campus,” Alexander McCormick, director of NSSE, said. “But there are still feelings of alienation and disconnectedness out there that we should be concerned about. There is an emotional cost and strain to not feeling safe or welcome that gets in the way of studying and engagement.”
www.ajc.com
College students protest Donald Trump’s deportation plans
Associated Press
Rallying supporters on social media with the hashtag #SanctuaryCampus, organizers said actions were planned at more than 80 schools, including Vermont’s Middlebury College, where about 400 people gathered, and Yale University, where demonstrators numbered about 600. Students sought assurances that their schools would not share their personal information with immigration officials or allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on campus. “Can you imagine the fear that it would inflict on college campuses if having ICE agents walk into a campus becomes the status quo?” organizer Carlos Rojas of the group Movimiento Cosecha, said by phone from New Jersey. “It would be terrifying.” The actions continued days of demonstrations that have broken out in cities and high school campuses following Trump’s election victory last week. The Republican’s campaign promises included a vow to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally.
www.chroniclee.com
Could Colleges Become Sanctuaries for Undocumented Immigrants?
By Shannon Najmabadi
…On Wednesday, just a week after the election’s result became known, students at dozens of colleges across the country participated in coordinated walkouts in support of establishing sanctuary campuses at their institutions. The movement, emerging from broader worries about the precarious state of undocumented students in higher education, is notable for the speed at which it has spread. But is the demand practical? And with many colleges already leading efforts to help undocumented students succeed, how much will it add? The notion of a sanctuary campus may mean different things to different people.