University System News:
www.bizjournals.com
Regents to vote on new president for Valdosta State
Dave Williams
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The interim president of Darton State College in Albany, Ga., is in line to become the next president of Valdosta State University. A special committee of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Thursday recommended Richard Carvajal for the post. The board will vote on the recommendation next week. Carvajal has been interim president at Darton State since last December. Before that, he served for nearly five years as president of Bainbridge State College. “Since joining the university system in 2011, he has demonstrated his strong ability to lead,” system Chancellor Hank Huckaby said. “We believe he is ready to commit his future to the students, faculty and staff of Valdosta State.”
See also:
www.valdostadailytimes.com
Carvajal recommended to head VSU
www.valdostatoday.com
Carvajal recommended as new VSU president
http://valdostatoday.com/2016/12/carvajal-recommended-as-new-vsu-president/
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State University holds Topping Ceremony for fine arts center
Officials say 80,000-square-foot facility expected to be complete by June
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — It took 14 years, three university presidents, two governors, a couple of years of legal wrangling with the Ray Charles Foundation, seeing funding appear and disappear from state budgets, and yet more wrangling with the state general assembly. But Albany State University finally has its new fine arts center.Granted, it’s still just a shell, but from ground to roof, it’s there. The university celebrated Thursday with a Topping Ceremony. “I feel like I am waking from a dream in a place I never thought I would be,” College of Arts and Humanities Interim Dean Rani George said. “We want this facility to be the cultural hub of Southwest Georgia, and this is a start.” State Sen. Freddie Powell Sims was instrumental in getting the funding through the legislature and getting Gov. Nathan Deal to sign off on the project.
www.usnews.com
Finish Graduate School Requirements Online After College
Postbaccalaureate online courses might be a good choice for the recent college graduate who’s working, experts say.
By Jordan Friedman
As a teacher at an elementary school in Florida, 26-year-old Mandy Suhandron became interested in the job of the speech-language pathologists who worked there – so much that she decided it’s the career she wants to pursue. But before she could apply to graduate school, she needs to fulfill some undergraduate requirements that she hadn’t in college. After taking two classes on campus at the nearby Florida Atlantic University, she decided to continue her studies remotely at the University of South Florida, which offers seven online postbaccalaureate courses. “I preferred online because I wanted to keep working,” Suhandron says. She’s taken two postbac classes at USF so far, and has signed up for three more. For students like Suhandron who need to finish graduate school requirements after college, online education might be the way to go. That learning format, experts say, provides flexibility for the recent college graduate or career-changer who’s also working. …The University of Georgia has an online postbac program in classical languages. “I could apply for a Master of Arts and not have to go back and redo a bachelor’s degree to be qualified for the entry requirements,” says 40-year-old Keith Saare, an online student in the UGA program and U.S. Army chaplain.
www.walb.com
So. GA counties share $9M career academies grant
http://www.walb.com/story/33846147/so-ga-counties-share-9m-career-academies-grant
By Dave Miller, Digital Exec. Prod.
ATLANTA, GA (WALB) – New College and Career Academies in Chattahoochee, Tift, and Worth counties will be created, using nine million dollars in grant from the Technical College System of Georgia. Governor Nathan Deal said in a release that each academy will receive $3 million, which will be matched with local funding to support startup costs, construction and initial staffing. …Columbus Technical College will partner with the Chattahoochee County School District and Columbus State University
www.saportareport.com
Column: Metro Chamber unveils new strategic plan, 2017 leaders
http://saportareport.com/column-metro-chamber-unveils-new-strategic-plan-2017-leaders/
By Maria Saporta
Women scholars honored
In the past 25 years, ARCS has raised and awarded $4.5 million in scholarships to more than 450 scholars at Georgia Tech, Emory, the University of Georgia and Morehouse College. The all-woman organization that stands for Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, celebrated its 25th anniversary in Atlanta during a luncheon at The Ritz-Carlton downtown Nov. 17, when they awarded 50 STEM scholars at the four universities — granting a total of $370,000. The national women’s organization was founded in 1958 in response to the Sputnik launch, and ARCS’ 16 chapters have awarded more than $100 million.
www.bizjournals.com
Sleep tech firm hopes to wake up Atlanta
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/12/02/sleep-tech-firm-hopes-to-wake-up-atlanta.html
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A publicly traded Israeli-based medical device maker has picked Atlanta for its North American headquarters. Itamar Medical Inc. (TASE: ITMR) develops technologies to diagnose, monitor and treat obstructive sleep apnea — a medical condition that affects one in four people in the United States and is typically associated with cardiovascular disease.A publicly traded Israeli-based medical device maker has picked Atlanta for its North American headquarters. Itamar Medical Inc. (TASE: ITMR) develops technologies to diagnose, monitor and treat obstructive sleep apnea — a medical condition that affects one in four people in the United States and is typically associated with cardiovascular disease. Georgia is home to more than 120 device manufacturing companies, which collectively employ more than 3,500 people, according to the 2012 Shaping Infinity report. Medical device manufacturing, which represented 23 percent of the state’s life sciences industry jobs, increased employment by 7.2 percent between 2007 and 2010. Several universities, including Georgia Tech, Emory University, The University of Georgia and Georgia State University are focused on medical device and biomedical research.
www.thehill.com
Obama cybersecurity commission to present final report Friday
BY JOE UCHILL
The Presidential Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity will submit its final report to President Obama Friday afternoon. It will be released to the public soon after. The commission’s report covers six emerging threats and offers potential solutions. It is intended as a transition document to help the next administration. The commission will present the report to Obama tomorrow at 2 p.m. …It is composed of 12 experts from varying backgrounds, including former National Security Agency and Cyber Command head Gen. Keith Alexander. It also includes current and past executives from MasterCard, IBM and the information security firm Crowdstrike, as well as professors from Georgia Tech and Stanford.
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Experts Wary of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
If you ask what the recent appointment of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education means for higher education, a common refrain — even among education policy and advocacy leaders — is that it’s too early to say. “Given DeVos’ sparse record on postsecondary issues, we don’t know many specifics about what her appointment holds for issues such as access and diversity in higher ed,” said Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, of Washington, D.C. “We’re all reading the tea leaves and it’s just much too early to tell,” agreed Terry Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the American Council on Education, which represents the nation’s colleges and universities.