University System News:
www.ajc.com
www.ajc.com
Georgia State’s $53M Turner Field redevelopment plan approved
Molly Bloom Scott Trubey The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State University will spend $52.8 million to buy and redevelop Turner Field and nearby properties, with most of the money cobbled together from money saved from bookstore profits, building rentals, student housing payments and parking permit fees, under a plan approved unanimously by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Wednesday. It’s a major step forward in the school’s plan to convert the baseball stadium into a football stadium as part of a mixed-use development and campus expansion.
www.bizjournals.com
Board of Regents OKs Georgia State-Turner Field project
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/11/09/board-of-regents-committee-oks-georgia-state.html
Dave Williams
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
he University System of Georgia Board of Regents Wednesday approved Georgia State University’s plan to buy Turner Field and convert what has been a baseball park for nearly 20 years into a football stadium. The $52.8 million project calls for Georgia State to buy the 38.4-acre Turner Field site from the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority for $22.8 million, then convert the ballpark into a 22,000-seat artificial turf stadium for the football Panthers, a $26 million renovation project. The university also plans to spend $4 million to repurpose a portion of Turner Field’s Club Level for academic use and extend its existing lease of 3.1 acres of parking on the northern end of the property at a cost of $59,000 per year.
Demonstrators protest Georgia’s university admission, tuition rules
Jeremy Redmon The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Student activists and faith leaders on Wednesday protested Georgia Board of Regents policies that bar immigrants without legal status from attending five of the state’s top universities and paying in-state tuition at its others, briefly encircling the board and reciting prayers. One Georgia State University student was arrested on obstruction and trespassing charges and was taken to the Fulton County Jail. The protesters held their peaceful demonstration a day after Republican Donald Trump won the White House in a stunning upset after campaigning on increasing deportations and building a new wall on the southwest border. Several of Wednesday’s protesters said they were frightened by Trump’s proposals but would not let his victory deter them from demonstrating. …The protest was part of a series of demonstrations organized by Atlanta-based Freedom University, which provides tuition-free college preparation for students affected by the board’s policies.
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State University, Darton State College 2016 fall enrollment numbers plummet
Albany State enrollment falls 12.9 percent; Darton drops 24.7 percent
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — Just weeks away from finalizing the consolidation of Albany State University and Darton State College, both schools have seen their 2016 fall semester enrollment numbers plummet by one-fifth compared to fall semester 2015. The University System of Georgia on Wednesday released the system’s fall 2016 enrollment figures, which saw Albany State’s enrollment number drop 12.9 percent, from 3,492 in 2015 to 3,041 this year. Darton had the system’s biggest decline at 24.7 percent, from 5,471 in fall 2015 to 4,120 this year. Combined, the two institutions lost 1,802 students, or 20.1 percent, from the previous fall’s enrollment. …Regionally, Georgia Southwestern State University posted a 7.2 percent 2016 enrollment increase; Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College saw growth of 2.4 percent; Valdosta State University’s numbers increased 0.6 percent, and Fort Valley State University saw a 0.6 percent decline.
www.publicnow.com
CSU To Hold First Film Academy Graduation
http://www.publicnow.com/view/E33E1E089662EAFA89668B182F766A559B292C45
COLUMBUS, Ga. – The first graduation ceremony for students in Columbus State University’s new film certificate program will be held Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. at the Springer Opera House. In partnership with the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Springer Opera House, the program and its first graduation is a milestone for Columbus and the 13 participating students. Part of the Georgia Film Academy, CSU’s On-Set Film Production Certificate Program is offered through CSU’s Department of Communication in collaboration with the Springer Opera House. It was one of the first programs of its type offered in state of Georgia when it launched earlier this year.
www.griffindailynews.com
Vietnam veterans to be honored
The Veterans Affairs branch of the Lamar County NAACP, the City of Barnesville and Gordon State College are joining together to recognize Vietnam-era veterans during a special ceremony. The event will take place Monday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. in room 123 of the Nursing and Allied Health Sciences building on the campus of Gordon State College.
www.dawsonnews.com
Celebration on Friday to honor veterans
http://www.dawsonnews.com/section/1/article/19331/
By Allie Dean
Veterans from all military branches and all years of service will be honored on Friday as part of Dawsonville’s 12th annual Veteran’s Day celebration. …Beginning at noon on Nov. 11 the University of North Georgia will honor and recognize veterans in and around Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville and Oconee. All vets and active-duty service members will be honored. The event is free and open to the public and will be held on the Gen. William “Lipp” Livsey Drill Field at the Dahlonega campus.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
EGSC, President Boehmer take bronze award
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2016/11/egsc-president-boehmer-take-bronze-award/
by KATELYN MOORE
On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Georgia College and State University hosted the annual Chancellor’s Service Excellence Awards Ceremony. Institutions, teams and individuals representing the University System of Georgia’s institutions across the state gathered to recognize those who truly embodied the concept of service excellence. “We are honoring leaders of service excellence who, in the last year, have promoted and led initiatives to unite the system in service, quality, and to focus on effective and efficient use of resources for our students, our faculty, our staff and our community,” said Deborah Webb, Director of the University System of Georgia Service Excellence Program. …East Georgia State College and its president, Dr. Bob Boehmer, received the bronze award in the category of Outstanding Institution of the Year and President. This award recognizes a president and his or her employees that have demonstrated the highest commitment and performance levels in service excellence across the institution over the last year, including best practice accomplishments and employee activities that foster service excellence, and achievements as recorded in institutions’ University System of Georgia Service Excellence Improvement Plans.
www.upi.com
Scientists fight cancer with RNA nanoparticles
By Ryan Maass
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a targeted therapy for treating ovarian cancer using nanoparticles. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists used a minute gel pellet of nanohydrogel to carry a payload of RNA into ovarian cancer cells in mice. The study’s authors say the approach may help supplement existing treatment methods. “The dramatic effect we see is the massive reduction or complete eradication of the tumor, when the ‘nanohydrogel’ treatment is given in combination with existing chemotherapy,” researcher John McDonald explained in a press release.
www.wistv.com
UGA student accused of stealing from pre-veterinary club
http://www.wistv.com/story/33666802/uga-student-accused-of-stealing-from-pre-veterinary-club
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – A University of Georgia student has been accused plundering the checking account of a club she was a member of. Citing a UGA police report, the Athens Banner-Herald (http://bit.ly/2fD58X6 ) says 23-year-old Kayla Marie Hargrove made unauthorized withdrawals totaling more than $4,100 from the university’s Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club between August 2015 and June 2016. Hargrove, who was listed by the club as having served as its community service chair from 2015 to 2016, was arrested Oct. 28 on 17 felony theft counts.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Trump’s Surprise Victory Sends Shock Through Higher Ed
By Nick DeSantis, Eric Kelderman, Andy Thomason, and Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz
Donald J. Trump’s upset victory in the presidential race early Wednesday morning, after an acrimonious campaign that cast a harsh light on deep racial divisions across the United States, stunned higher-education leaders and left many questioning what his administration would mean for colleges. Mr. Trump’s win represented one of the most surprising results in a presidential election in decades. He defeated Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee and former secretary of state, thanks in large part to a groundswell of populist support among white, working-class voters without college degrees. During the campaign, he angered many Americans with pronouncements and policy proposals that singled out Muslims, Hispanics, and African-Americans, among other groups, potentially frightening off international students, and he earned widespread condemnation for his remarks and his actions toward women.
www.insidehighered.com
Trump Victory Jolts Higher Ed
Many academic leaders fear the president-elect could scare off foreign students, encourage discord on campuses and promote the anti-intellectualism that won him broad support from non-college-educated males. UPDATE: American Council on Education congratulates president-elect.
By Scott Jaschik
Donald Trump stunned the pundits and confounded the pollsters on Tuesday by being elected president of the United States. Many in higher education — including many college leaders who had long lists of objections to Hillary Clinton’s plan for free public higher education — were horrified by the prospect of a Trump presidency. The Republican candidate regularly attacked colleges as politically correct, his comments about non-Americans in the United States worried many college leaders who depend on international students, and he rejected consensus science about climate change and other topics. His student supporters on campus — in many cases outnumbered but active nonetheless — set off a series of conflicts and debates about free speech with in-your-face tactics such as building fake walls to symbolize the one Trump vowed to build on the border with Mexico.
www.insidehighered.com
The New Congress and Higher Ed
Donald Trump shockingly won the presidency as the GOP maintained its grip on Congress.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/08/uncertain-outlook-under-trump-and-gop-congress
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Republicans maintained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday’s election as Donald Trump was elected president — shocking Democrats who expected to win the presidency if not the upper chamber of Congress as well. However, leaders of both parties have said that a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act will be a top priority in the next Congress and will provide an opportunity to tackle a host of policy issues affecting postsecondary education. Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Patty Murray of Washington — the senior Republican and Democrat, respectively, on the Senate education committee — will both return to the upper chamber after Murray easily won her re-election bid.