University System News:
www.oconeeenterprise.com
Retiring chancellor credits his team with any success
http://www.oconeeenterprise.com/news/article_34f978b4-bc8c-11e6-94fd-5fa28f813d22.html
by Blake Giles
Like a football coach who relies on his assistants, retiring University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby credits his support staff for his success. Huckaby was Oconee County’s state representative in 2011 when he was selected as the 12th chancellor of the University System of Georgia. Now he is stepping down at the end of the year, to be succeeded by yet another Oconee County resident, Steve Wrigley, who served as executive vice chancellor of administration under Huckaby.
Huckaby said he is often asked the “secret of success,” and he deflects praise to his staff.
www.wsfa.com
Sam Olens to preside over first graduation at Kennesaw State as president
By WGCL Digital Team
New Kennesaw State University President Sam Olens will preside over the school’s first graduation ceremony since being named president on Nov. 1. …More than 2,400 students will graduate from the school in five ceremonies that will be held at the KSU Convocation Center starting on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m.
www.accessatlanta.com
Kennesaw State to graduate 2,400
http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/education/kennesaw-state-graduate-400/XHtXRH00R13u5BjskSfnXL/
Chris Quinn
Kennesaw State University will graduate more than 2,400 students during fall commencement December 13 and 14. Newly appointed university president Sam Olens, will officiate. The five graduation ceremonies will be held in the KSU Convocation Center beginning Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 10 a.m.
www.wtoc.com
Universities to hold Fall 2016 graduation ceremonies across Coastal Empire
By Abby Jeffers, Digital Producer
Universities will hold Fall 2016 graduation ceremonies across the Coastal Empire this weekend. Georgia Southern University’s 25th annual Fall commencement ceremony will be held at Paulson Stadium at 1 p.m. Friday. Mike Royal will serve as the speaker. Royal, a Georgia Southern alumnus, is the chairman of the Georgia State Board of Education. …Armstrong State University will graduate more than 600 students on Saturday at two commencement ceremonies. The first ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and the second at 1:30 p.m. Neil L. Pruitt Jr., Chairman and CEO of PruittHealth, Inc., will serve as the commencement speaker at both ceremonies. Savannah State University will hold its 189th annual commencement ceremony on Saturday morning. The program will begin at 9 a.m. at the Tiger Arena located on campus in Savannah. University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Henry “Hank” Huckaby will be the graduation speaker.
www.publicnow.com
Kevin Carter Earns USG Distinguished Service Award
http://www.publicnow.com/view/07A6ED6E537EBC0D1F66E49D8AB831F2F1C61620
Valdosta State University’s Kevin Carter is the recipient of the 2016 University System of Georgia Distinguished Service Award. A plumber with more than 40 years of experience, Carter joined the Blazer Nation family in 1990 and currently helps the men and women of Plant Operations maintain the daily operations of all VSU facilities and systems. He reports each day to the Mechanical, Building Maintenance, and Paint Shop, waking every morning at 4:30 a.m., ready to respond to maintenance and repair requests. …Carter said this is his first time receiving the University System of Georgia Distinguished Service Award. He did not know that he had been nominated for the honor, so he was a little surprised when his boss called him to the office and told him he had won. ‘You work every day and you think people don’t really notice what you do,’ he shared. ‘It’s pleasing to know they do.’ Carter was presented the 2016 University System of Georgia Distinguished Service Award during the 20 annual Office of Real Estate and Facilities Conference in Savannah.
www.chronicle.com
How One University Encourages Innovation in Teaching
By Katherine Mangan
When wadded up papers start flying across the University of Georgia lecture hall where Gary T. Green is teaching, it may look as if he’s lost control of the class. But these are the times, he says, when his students are most engaged.
Each time a “snowball” lands on a desk and a student unfolds it, the recipient writes down three points that he took away from a potentially confusing part of the lecture. He in turn balls up the paper and throws it to a classmate, who smoothes it out and adds three more points. By the time the snowballs have been crumpled and uncrumpled twice, each one lists nine bullets to help students summarize the main ideas of the lecture. Mr. Green, a professor of natural resources, recreation, and tourism, is always on the lookout for ways to energize his students and encourage the shy ones to speak up. Sometimes the students’ notes fly around the classroom on paper airplanes or bounce from row to row on Post-it notes stuck to beach balls. A typical comment in his teaching evaluations, he says, is that the class was fun and “we never knew what he was going to do.” Mr. Green shares his ideas about teaching a large class, and borrows others, in faculty learning communities organized by the university’s Center for Teaching & Learning. These committees, made up of five to 15 participants, meet about once every three weeks throughout the year. Members are encouraged to share their strategies with the broader faculty through workshops, short summaries, or journal articles.
www.macon.com
Dead suspect in cop killing in Americus identified as Minquell Lembrick , coroner says
http://www.macon.com/news/local/crime/article119671583.html
BY JENNIFER BURK AND LIZ FABIAN
The man wanted for killing an Americus police officer and critically wounding another officer is dead. Sumter County Coroner Greg Hancock confirmed Minquell Lembrick was dead inside a house that was the scene of a SWAT standoff Thursday morning. A manhunt focused on Lembrick shortly after Wednesday’s shooting of the officers responding to a domestic dispute. Authorities surrounded a house in Americus where they were looking for Lembrick. Nearby businesses around Allen Street were locked down as a SWAT team approached the house, according to WGXA reporter Eric Mock, who said he spoke with the chief just before noon. A law enforcement source told The Telegraph the suspect died of a self-inflicted wound to the head.
www.myajc.com
Accused Georgia cop killer is dead, GBI says
http://www.myajc.com/news/crime–law/accused-georgia-cop-killer-dead-gbi-says/QsWG5W06klj6NZ0MX5CmOM/
By Lauren Foreman , Raisa Habersham and Steve Burns – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“It has been confirmed that Minquell Lembrick is deceased,” GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a statement. “There will be a press conference at 1 p.m.” Americus police Chief Mark Scott would not say if Minquell Kennedy Lembrick took his own life.
www.wistv.com
GBI urges Americus shooting suspect to turn himself in
http://www.wistv.com/story/33996147/gbi-urges-americus-shooting-suspect-to-turn-himself-in
By WALB News Team
In a press conference Wednesday night, the GBI spoke out to the suspect they believe shot two officers, killing one and injuring the other. Americus Police Chief Mark Scott said that Officer Nicholas Smarr was killed, and Smith, who is a Georgia Southwestern State University safety officer, was taken to Macon, in critical condition after a shooting in Americus Wednesday morning. …The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office chaplain announced at a vigil Wednesday night that Officer Jody Smith has made it through surgery in Macon after he was shot Wednesday morning, his condition at this time is unknown. A manhunt is underway for Minquell Lembrick, 32, who officials believe shot the two law enforcement officers, and more than 20 agencies are involved. …The University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby also released a statement expressing their condolences and concern for those involved: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the officers, their families and the Georgia Southwestern State University and Americus communities. We are deeply saddened by this tragic attack on our law enforcement officers. They have dedicated their lives to protecting our students, faculty, staff and the citizens of Americus. We are heartbroken and on behalf of our colleges and universities send our prayers and support to Georgia Southwestern and the Americus community.”
www.forbes.com
Atlanta Boldly Claims Global FinTech Lead Status
Tom Groenfeldt , CONTRIBUTOR
New York and London may be global financial services leaders, but Atlanta is the unsung — so far — leader in financial technology, fintech. “Over a period of time when no one was paying attention, this crazy thing was happening. Metro Atlanta, and Georgia in total, has become the fintech capital of the world,” said Barry McCarthy, executive vice president and head of network and security solutions at First Data and chair of FinTech Atlanta. The nonprofit organization was formed in 2015 to develop Atlanta as the recognized global capital of the FinTech industry… George Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), founded in 1981, is a startup incubator that works with 325 companies a year and says that more than 90 percent of its graduates are successful five years after completing the program.
www.atlanta.curbed.com
In Midtown, construction on Coda begins at Tech Square
With demolition finished, site work has begun on the Portman-designed computing center
http://atlanta.curbed.com/2016/12/6/13849574/coda-tech-square-construction-midtown-atlanta
BY MICHAEL KAHN
Construction is ramping up at Tech Square on Georgia Tech’s High Performance Computing Center, formally known as Coda. Demolition began in October, with an old bank building and three-story commercial structure coming down along West Peachtree Street. Now, demolition has moved to the interior of what remains of the Crum & Forster Building as site work is underway on the rest of the block. Plans call for the 21-story complex to fill an entire block with more than 1 million square feet of office and retail space, as well as an 80,000-square-foot high performance computing space.
www.globalatlanta.com
Georgia Tech to Open New Campus in Shenzhen, China
http://www.globalatlanta.com/georgia-tech-open-new-campus-shenzhen-china/
Trevor Williams
It wasn’t in the plan, but in the end, the offer was just too good to refuse. Georgia Institute of Technology is lending its brand and educational energy to the creation of a new college campus and institute in China, a joint venture at a physical location which will serve as a sort of Asian hub for a university aiming to raise its profile even further in a fast-growing region. The new Georgia Tech Tianjin University Shenzhen Institute will be located on a 36-acre greenfield site provided by the city of Shenzhen. A small town until the 1980s, the city was a testbed for some of China’s free-market reforms and has now blossomed into one of its preeminent business and technology hubs. It’s sometimes called China’s Silicon Valley, and companies from innovative startups to multinational giants like Huawei are based there.
www.timeout.com
“ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE SAYS
https://www.timeout.com/atlanta/things-to-do/business-of-entertainment-focus-on-film
Georgia is now ranked third in worldwide film production. Join us to find out what’s at stake for this $7 billion industry. We’ll begin with networking and breakfast followed by a lively and interactive conversation with Georgia film industry insiders.
Event Information
Who: Leaders in the business and entertainment industry.
Why: Gather for breakfast and networking with film industry leaders
When:. Thursday, December 8, 2016 – 7:30-11:30 a.m..
Where: The Fox Theatre
Attire: Business
Direction & Parking: There are many parking lots in the vicinity of the theatre that offer parking for Fox patrons. All lots are privately owned.
PROGRAM
ACT 1 – CASTING CALL!
The business of talent attraction, retention and development in Georgia
Moderated by Jeffrey Stepakoff, Executive Director, Georgia Film Academy
www.polk.allongeorgia.com
First Latino Literature class at GHC to be offered fall semester
http://polk.allongeorgia.com/first-latino-literature-class-at-ghc-to-be-offered-fall-semester/
Georgia Highlands College will be offering its first Latino Literature class for spring 2017. The ENGL 2135 course is potentially one of the first Latino Literature surveys offered on the sophomore level in the University System of Georgia. Dean of Humanities Jon Hershey stated GHC has had such a good response with its African American Literature course (ENGL 2133) that creating a Latino Literature survey is a great next step toward widening course options at the college.
www.tallahassee.com
FAMU presidents backs plan for scholarship funding
The News Service of Florida
Florida A&M University interim President Larry Robinson testified Wednesday before a congressional committee in favor of legislation that would boost scholarship funding for historically black, land-grant colleges such as FAMU. Robinson was part of a panel that included presidents of some of the 19 historically black colleges and universities that would benefit from legislation (House Resolution 6020) filed by U.S. Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat who is also a 1967 graduate of FAMU. Scott’s legislation, which is co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., would provide $1 million a year, over five years, in scholarship funding for students at each of the 19 schools. The students would have to commit to pursuing studies that would lead to careers in agriculture-related fields, including agribusiness, food production, retailing, clothing industries, energy and finance. …In addition to Robinson, other college presidents scheduled to testify included Cynthia Hammond of Central University, Paul Jones of Fort Valley State University
Higher Education News:
www.newsradio1067.com
Georgia lawmakers plan anti-‘sanctuary campus’ legislation
http://www.newsradio1067.com/2016/12/02/georgia-lawmakers-plan-anti-sanctuary-campus-legislation/
Several state lawmakers are already looking into how best to discipline universities that try to declare “sanctuary” status. The issue first came to light last week when Emory University President Claire Sterk wrote a letter to the Emory community responding to a petition from students, faculty and staff requesting the university consider becoming a “sanctuary campus” in light of the presidential election results. President Barack Obama’s administration started Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, in 2012. The policy gives temporary deportation relief to illegal immigrants who were brought into the United States as children. Some believe President-Elect Donald Trump will reverse DACA. “This is not about Emory University or Agnes Scott, who I understand is also talking about sanctuary campuses, it’s about following the law,” said Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs. “You don’t get to pick and choose which laws you’re going to follow.” Ehrhart serves as the Chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee, under the House Appropriations Committee and helps craft the budget each year. He explained that pulling state funding for “sanctuary” schools could be an effective deterrent.
www.insidehighered.com
Reaching ‘New Majority’ Students
New book explores different classroom strategies for teaching first-generation, underrepresented students.
By Kasia Kovacs
College students today are increasingly different from those of previous generations. They are less likely to be white and more likely to be the first in their families to go to college. Professors who would like to guide these first-generation college students in adjusting to higher education may come across their own challenges. Communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds can become a barrier unto itself. In her new book, Breakthrough Strategies: Classroom-Based Practices to Support New Majority Students (Harvard Education Press), Sister Kathleen Ross, director of the Institute of Student Identity and Success at Heritage University and founding president of the university, outlines various approaches for professors to connect with and teach first-generation, underrepresented students — or “new majority students,” as Ross calls them.
www.insidehighered.com
Defining the Master’s Degree
With programs growing, graduate schools group tries to create a framework for curricula and expectations across diverse fields.
By Colleen Flaherty
Lots of the talk about reforming graduate education centers on the Ph.D., namely, making it more innovative and compatible with a variety of possible career paths. But the overwhelming majority of graduate degrees conferred are master’s, which tend to have the opposite problem, if it can be called a problem at all: they’ve become so diverse it’s hard to know what exactly the degree means these days.
www.insidehighered.com
Completion and the Value of College
The college completion agenda reaches an inflection point as the Obama administration ends and the nation increasingly focuses on jobs and college value. Experts assess shifts in the completion push and what comes next.
By Paul Fain
The national college completion agenda has reached an inflection point. Republican control of the White House, U.S. Congress and most state capitols likely means less focus on the production of higher education credentials, at least those earned at traditional, four-year colleges. Job training almost certainly will get more attention than college completion in coming years. But those two goals can be compatible. And the completion push already has begun to include looking at what happens to students after they graduate. Inside Higher Ed spoke with 20 experts who work on college completion from a wide range of perspectives (they are listed below). Some common themes emerged. The movement and its message have evolved during the seven or so years since the Obama administration joined with the Lumina Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to go all in on a broad effort to increase the proportion of Americans who hold a meaningful postsecondary credential.
www.chronicle.com
A Sex-Assault Case Pits Privacy Against Transparency
Eli Capilouto, president, U. of Kentucky
By Jack Stripling
As colleges across the nation grapple with the problem of sexual assault, a case unfolding at the University of Kentucky stands out as particularly complex and troublesome. A series of articles published in recent months by the Kentucky Kernel, an independent student newspaper, revealed that a Kentucky professor had been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault before resigning this past August in a quiet settlement with the university. In a tug-of-war with the newspaper, the university released the details of its settlement with James D. Harwood, a former associate professor of entomology, but declined to provide all of the documents associated with its investigation …The state’s attorney general ordered the university to release its investigative files, but the university appealed that decision. In order to appeal the ruling, a quirk of Kentucky law requires the university to sue the student newspaper. Although Kentucky’s case is unique, it highlights a host of challenges colleges face as federal authorities and students demand more accountability on the handling of sexual-assault allegations. Eli Capilouto, Kentucky’s president, stopped by The Chronicle’s offices this week to talk about the case and the university’s broader efforts to create an environment where victims feel they can safely and confidentially report those crimes. Transcript coming soon.
www.insidehighered.com
Overtime Second Thoughts
After last-minute injunction halted a federal overtime rule, many colleges and universities will go ahead with planned changes.
By Andrew Kreighbaum
An injunction issued just before Thanksgiving blocked a Department of Labor rule that would require overtime pay for millions of additional American workers. But some college employees will see raises nonetheless. The final overtime rule, issued in May, would raise the salary threshold under which employees are eligible for overtime pay to $47,476 from $23,660. Congressional Budget Office report found that the injunction would mean $470 million in lost earnings in 2017 for those workers, including many employees of colleges and universities. The final rule included a teaching exemption but covered nonfaculty employees and postdoctoral fellows whose duties primarily focus on research. Many officials in college admissions, counseling centers and other parts of higher education also predicted that their units would have many employees newly eligible for overtime. Many colleges and universities have indicated they plan to go ahead with salary changes that were already planned in response to the rule. Other institutions have said they will hit pause on salary changes following the injunction. And higher ed policy groups say they can’t provide an estimate of how many universities will move ahead or scrap plans made in response to the rule.
www.insidehighered.com
Summer Pell Left Out of Congressional Spending Bill
By Andrew Kreighbaum
A House appropriations bill released this week leaves out new funding to restore summer Pell Grants, disappointing advocates who made that item a priority heading into the lame-duck session. Congress must approve a new stop-gap spending bill by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Restoring year-round funding of Pell Grants has been a goal of both parties since an agreement in 2011 to cut summer Pell over funding shortfalls. Students can receive up to $5,815 annually in Pell funding. With a $7.8 billion surplus in the program, higher education stakeholders and congressional Democrats had called on appropriators to use the lame-duck session to increase the value of the grants and restore funding for summer semesters.
www.insidehighered.com
A Watchdog Bites
Southern accreditor puts 10 colleges on probation, including Louisville for its governance problems, several for-profit art schools for financial woes and new University of Texas campus for an array of shortcomings.
By Doug Lederman
Who says accreditors too rarely punish the colleges they oversee? The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools emerged from its biennial meeting this month by placing 10 colleges and universities on probation, including the University of Louisville, which has endured a monumental governance fight, and the University of Texas’s new campus in the Rio Grande Valley, which was cited for an unusually long list of shortcomings as it sought accreditation for the first time. Eight other colleges — including three colleges in the for-profit Art Institutes chain and two historically black institutions — also were placed or continued on probation, mostly for financial problems. One of them, Bennett College for Women, has bounced on and off probation for more than a decade.
www.insidehighered.com
Moody’s Sees Stable Outlook for Higher Ed in 2017
By Rick Seltzer
The outlook for nonprofit U.S. higher education continues to be stable heading into 2017, but issues lurk that could drag on the sector in the future, Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday.
Expected revenue growth, strong demand and steady enrollment levels support the stable outlook for next year, an outlook that carries over from 2016, according to a new report from the ratings agency. Potential issues for the sector include rising costs and uncertainty about federal policy. The outlook indicates Moody’s expected business conditions for the higher education sector in the next year to 18 months. Operating cash flow margins are projected in the 10 percent to 12 percent range for most public universities. Margins are projected between 12 percent and 14 percent for private universities. …Tuition revenue is expected to increase modestly amid a focus on affordability, state appropriations are projected to rise incrementally, academic medical centers are expected to perform well and research funding appears stable.