University System News:
www.valdostaceo.com
Chancellor Hank Huckaby Reflects Back on His Time Serving Georgians
http://valdostaceo.com/video/2016/12/chancellor-hank-huckaby-reflects-back-his-career/
Chancellor of the University System of Georgia Hank Huckaby talks about his time serving in his distinguished career serving multiple roles in government and education throughout our state. He also discusses some of the greatest things he has learned through his time.
www.onlineathens.com
Progress in containing college costs, boosting graduation rates, Georgia’s incoming chancellor says
By Lee Shearer
The University System of Georgia is making progress in ramping up the number of people graduating from college and in keeping college affordable in Georgia, the man who will soon become the university system’s top administrator told legislators Monday. “The two really go hand in hand,” said Steve Wrigley, who becomes chancellor of the University System of Georgia on Jan. 1. Wrigley was the featured luncheon speaker Monday at the Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators at the University of Georgia’s Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The institute is held every two years after fall elections, and aims to give legislators education and training in the legislative process and in the issues coming up before the legislature convenes in January. Wrigley was interim chancellor since August, when Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced his retirement effective Dec. 31. …In 2012, Gov. Nathan Deal’s “Complete College Georgia” initiative set a goal of 60 percent of Georgia’s workforce having post-secondary education such as college or technical school. Now, only 47 percent do, he said. To meet its part of that goal, the university system needs to increase the number of graduates by about 3 percent a year, he said. The system has about 321,000 students, and about 62,000 graduated this year, up 14 percent from five years ago, he said.
www.onlineathens.com
Georgia lawmakers learn about state’s role in economic development
By Jim Thompson
In 2006, Axion BioSystems was a two-employee enterprise in St. Louis, Missouri. The next year, the Georgia Research Alliance convinced the company to move to Georgia, and today, the Atlanta-based enterprise has 48 employees, 40 of whom are living in metropolitan Atlanta, and all of whom are earning more than the $55,730 median salary for the state’s capital city. Additionally, all of the company’s Atlanta employees have come to it through institutions of higher education in the state, according to president and CEO Tom O’Brien. Along the way, the Georgia Research Alliance, a nonprofit organization that links eight of the state’s public and private higher-education research institutions, including the University of Georgia, state government and the state’s industrial sector, connected the company with scientists and provided it with a series of grants and $500,000 in loans. Those loans will be repaid by 2019, O’Brien said. At the core of Axion’s business is technology that it licensed from Georgia Tech, and today the company’s use of microelectrode arrays has helped in its development of nerve repair tape, is assisting in the modeling of diseases, and is being used by major drug companies, according to O’Brien. And that’s just one of the success stories from the Georgia Research Alliance, the nonprofit’s president and CEO Michael Cassidy told Georgia legislators Monday during the 30th Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators. The institute is jointly sponsored by the university’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the leadership of the Georgia General Assembly. It is designed to give newly elected state lawmakers some background on the legislature, which convenes on the second Monday in January, and to help both new and old legislators explore a number of public policy areas. O’Brien and Cassidy were featured in a Monday morning session on entrepreneurship attended by dozens of incoming and incumbent legislators designed to stress the importance of state investment in economic development.
www.hpj.com
USDA awards $9.4 million for safer, more effective pest management
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently awarded $9.4 million to support 25 research and outreach projects that will help mitigate pests, weeds and diseases on farms and in communities. The awards are made through NIFA’s Crop Protection and Pest Management Program and Integrated Pest Management program, which have awarded more than $64.5 million since 2014. …2016 ARDP recipients include: University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, $324,615;
www.wjcl.com
Armstrong State University ramps up community policing efforts
http://www.wjcl.com/article/armstrong-state-university-ramps-up-community-policing-efforts/8468642
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Recent violence involving law enforcement across the country has a local university taking action this week with Armstrong State University’s Police Department ramping up efforts to be more visible on campus. Officer Tracy Braun said the new community policing effort gets officers out of the their patrol cars and onto campus. “We’re just more approachable instead of being stuck in a squad room,” said Braun, “somewhere where we aren’t approachable by anyone who might need us or just stop by and say hi, we’re sitting right there with them.” Inside Armstrong’s student union, officers set up a station where they can write reports and interact with students. Armstrong police said it’s all about trust between officers and students. Braun said there has been a lot of animosity between law enforcement and the general public. She chalks it up to a smartphone addicted culture.
www.savannahnow.com
At Savannah Tech, high schoolers ‘Move On When Ready’
http://savannahnow.com/news/2016-12-05/savannah-tech-high-schoolers-move-when-ready
By Mary Carr Mayle
High school students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 can get a jump start on college credits at Savannah Technical College through the school’s “Move On When Ready” program. The program is open to students currently enrolled in a Georgia public or private high school or home schooled. Tuition and books are covered at no charge, as are most fees. The MOWR program allows high school students to take academic degree-level core courses that will transfer to any technical school or university in the Technical College System of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.
www.myajc.com
Georgia University System: “Sanctuary” campuses unacceptable
By Jeremy Redmon – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s University System sent a strong signal Monday that it does not want to see “sanctuary campuses” in the state. Designed to protect college students studying in the United States without legal status, the idea of sanctuary campuses has been gaining steam nationally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election as president. Recently, the issue has begun to flare here in Georgia. There has been discussion among some leaders at Armstrong State University in Savannah about adopting the label. And Emory University, a private college in Atlanta, said it was looking into the issue as well. But in a prepared statement sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the university system said while they respect the rights of students, faculty and staff to express their views, “calls for institutions to implement policies and procedures that may violate state and federal laws are unacceptable.” “The University System of Georgia and its institutions have always abided by the law and will continue to do so,” the statement says. “We expect our institutions to follow the law and cooperate with all federal and state agencies. As public employees we have a duty to uphold the law.”
Higher Education News:
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Agnes Scott president: We stand by our undocumented students and support their dreams
Elizabeth Kiss is president of Agnes Scott College in Decatur. A few days ago, she announced her campus would maintain its support of undocumented students. In a column today, she explains why. First, some background on what is turning into a volatile issue in Georgia: Many children of illegal immigrants are now attending college under the 4-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The federal program applies to young immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children, who attend school here and have no felony convictions. Those accepted into the program are granted temporary reprieves from deportation and permits to work legally in the U.S. …Emory University and Agnes Scott have both taken stands, prompting a rebuke from a Georgia House leader. …Today, the University System of Georgia released a statement warning that Georgia’s public colleges must follow the law and cannot become sanctuary campuses, the term being used for those schools vowing to protect students who are illegal immigrants. In its statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the university system said while they respect the rights of students, faculty and staff to express their views, “calls for institutions to implement policies and procedures that may violate state and federal laws are unacceptable. The University System of Georgia and its institutions have always abided by the law and will continue to do so. We expect our institutions to follow the law and cooperate with all federal and state agencies. As public employees we have a duty to uphold the law.” With that background, here is a column from Dr. Kiss on the issue.