University System News:
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State University-Darton State College consolidation gains SACS approval
Approval final step needed for authorization of new Albany State University
From Staff Reports
ATLANTA — The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) gave its approval Tuesday to the consolidation plans of Albany State University and Darton State College. University system of Georgia Board of Regents Chancellor Hank Huckaby first announced the consolidation plan to create the new combined institution in November 2015. Officials from SACSCOC, the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education in the Southern states, announced the approval of the prospectus submitted for the new institution during the group’s annual meeting held in Atlanta. SACSCOC’s approval represents the final step needed for the Board of Regents to review and grant authorization for the consolidated institution to officially operate as the new Albany State University. The board is scheduled to review the final recommendation for consolidation at its Dec. 9 telephonic meeting.
www.albanyherald.com
Darton State College set to graduate final class as separate institution
Darton’s Class of 2016 will close chapter on a story that began in 1966
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — Tommy Coleman remembers walking along sheets of plywood to get to class at the newly opened Albany Junior College in the fall of 1966.. “There were 267 students in the first class, and the two years I spent there were probably the best years of my life,” Coleman said. In 1987, the school was renamed Darton College, and in 2011 the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved Darton’s change to State College status so that a four-year program leading to a bachelor’s degree in Nursing could be developed. That’s a long way from plywood sidewalks. But Friday at 7 p.m. at the college’s Cavalier Area, Darton’s graduating class of 2016 will be the last to bear the school’s name. Next month, Darton and Albany State University will become one institution, completing a consolidation project begun in 2015 by the Board of Regents.
www.myajc.com
UPDATE: 1 officer killed, 1 injured in SW Georgia shooting; suspect ID’d
Steve Burns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One officer was killed and another was seriously injured in a shooting in Americus. The shooting happened at the Country Club Estates apartments about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. The slain officer was from Americus police, and the injured officer was from Georgia Southwestern police, the Albany Herald reported. Both suffered head wounds, Channel 2 Action News reported. The suspect was identified as Minguell Kennedy Lembrick, 32, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. …The injured officer was flown to a hospital in critical condition, the GBI said. As a precaution, the Georgia Southwestern State University campus was placed on lockdown, officials said.
See also:
www.fox47news.com
One officer killed in shooting at Georgia college
Second officer in critical condition
http://www.fox47news.com/news/national/manhunt-under-way-after-2-officers-hurt-in-georgia
www.washingtontimes.com
Authorities: 1 officer killed, 1 wounded; shooter at large
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/dec/7/authorities-2-south-georgia-officers-shot-shooter-/
www.lancastereaglegazette.com
College notes
These area students made accomplishments at colleges and universities.
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/story/life/2016/12/06/college-notes/95040570/
Georgia Southern University
STATESBORO, Ga. — Caleb Herd of Lancaster is a member of the Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Eagle Battalion program team that won first place in the Task Force Georgia Ranger Challenge Competition on Oct. 21.
www.northwestgeorgianews.com
Pilot kiosk for digital doctor visits launches at GHC
From staff reports
Georgia Highlands College has joined eight other University System of Georgia colleges in launching a system-wide pilot for LiveHealth Online Kiosks, a live two-way video machine with a board-certified doctor. Employees and students can see a physician for things like a cough, cold, flu, sinus infection, urinary tract infection and so on. The doctor can answer questions, check vitals, make a diagnosis, provide treatment and even write a prescription, if needed.
www.georgiastatesignal.com
Atlanta campus to consider undocumented applicants as Trump’s deportation plans loom
http://georgiastatesignal.com/trump-administration-undo-efforts-undocumented-students-advocates/
By: Sean Keenan | Senior Reporter
Georgia State will now consider accepting undocumented students at its Atlanta campus, and some advocates for immigrants’ rights are hailing the news as a triumph over a policy that’s been called discriminatory and segregating. But, after years of protesting and civil unrest by activists, the state’s higher education oversight arm, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents (BOR), hasn’t actually budged on its stance on the admission of students living without legal status in the country. Georgia State used to be among five colleges which, due to a BOR policy created in 2010, barred undocumented immigrants from enrolling. But after two years of admitting every academically qualified applicant, the school — as well as Augusta University — was removed from that list. The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia College and State University will continue to uphold the ban, since they’ve turned away some students whose grades were up to par. …“GPC has the largest population of undocumented students of any Georgia university, and the [BOR] realizes that kicking out undocumented students would not be a financially good idea for them because they’re bringing in out-of-state tuition,” she said.
www.tiftongazette.com
Bentley to speak at ABAC commencement Dec. 8
TIFTON – Matt Bentley, General Manager at Bendabout Properties in McDonald, Tennessee, will be the featured speaker at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College fall commencement ceremony on Dec. 8 at 10 a.m. in Gressette Gym. A total of 188 graduates are expected to receive their diplomas at the ceremony. ABAC President David Bridges and ABAC Alumni Association President Chuck Scarborough will present the prestigious George P. Donaldson Award and the ABAC Alumni Association Award to the top associate degree graduate and the top bachelor’s degree graduate participating in the ceremony Bentley, a 1988 ABAC graduate, has served as the general manager at Bendabout Properties since 1994.