University System News:
www.gpbnews.org
University System Of Georgia Tackles Opioid Abuse
http://gpbnews.org/post/university-system-georgia-tackles-opioid-abuse
By EMILY JONES & NAJAE LAMAR
The University System of Georgia is making an antidote for opioid overdoses available on all its campuses. The drug Naloxone can reverse the effects of an overdose on opioids like heroin and fentanyl. The use and addiction of the opioid heroin has increased throughout the United States and is trending among 18-25 year olds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a little over 1,300 people died in Georgia from opioid overdoses in 2015, the most recent year with available data. Naloxone can save the life of someone suspected of overdosing, and it will soon be available to campus law enforcement at all of Georgia’s public colleges and universities. “Campus safety is our top priority,” Board of Regents Chairman C. Thomas Hopkins Jr. said in a statement released by the University System. “Making the drug Naloxone available to our safety departments across all of our campuses can make the difference in saving a life.”
www.albanyherald.com
EDITORIAL: University System of Georgia is proactive on opioid abuse
Soon all USG campuses will have an opioid antidote on hand for campus law enforcement to use
By The Albany Herald Editorial Board
With opioid abuse on the rise, especially among college-age individuals, we’re happy to see the University System of Georgia is tackling the issue head-on. About half of the state’s public universities and colleges now have the drug naloxone in the hands of campus law enforcement officers, who are usually the first to respond to on-campus events such as overdoses. System officials plan to make sure that the emergency drug is available throughout the USG to public safety officers, who are authorized to administer it in cases where opioid abuse is suspected. “Campus safety is our top priority,” Board of Regents Chairman C. Thomas Hopkins Jr., a medical doctor, said in a statement released by the University System on Tuesday. “Making the drug naloxone available to our safety departments across all of our campuses can make the difference in saving a life. I commend the USG law enforcement chiefs and their officers for taking the action necessary to have this emergency drug available on campus as a first response in protecting our students.”
www.myajc.com
Georgia university will rename building for slain officers
ATLANTA-NEWS By Steve Burns – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Americus-based police officers who were shot and killed by a suspect in December will be memorialized on the Georgia Southwestern State University campus, the school announced. GSW will rename its public safety building the Nicholas Smarr and Jody Smith Memorial Building, according to the announcement. Smarr, 25, and Smith, 26, were slain after they answered a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The man accused of shooting them, Minquell Kennedy Lembrick, took his own life with a gunshot the next day after he was surrounded by officers, authorities said. Smarr, an Americus officer, and Smith, a Georgia Southwestern officer, were high school classmates and graduated together from the police academy at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “The dedication of our building to our fine young fallen officers is an honor to our department,” GSW Public Safety Director Mike Tracy said. “Both of these men, at a young age, dedicated themselves to a profession of public service.”
www.live5news.com
Georgia Southwestern State to rename building for fallen police officers
By Jim Wallace, Anchor
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia Tuesday has approved a proposal to name the Georgia Southwestern State public safety building the “Nicholas Smarr and Jody Smith Memorial Building.” The two police officers were killed in the line of duty in December. School officials say the date that the building will be dedicated will be announced later in the spring. Smarr served as an Americus police officer, and Smith was a GSW police officer.
www.news.wabe.org
State Leaders Look To Ga. Colleges To Help Fill Jobs
http://news.wabe.org/post/state-leaders-look-ga-colleges-help-fill-jobs
By MARTHA DALTON
In three years, two-thirds of Georgia’s jobs will require some type of post-high school education, but the state isn’t currently producing enough qualified candidates to fill those positions. So lawmakers, educators and college administrators are trying to come up with solutions… That feeds into another existing problem: college affordability. Although Georgia’s Board of Regents didn’t raise college tuition costs for the 2016-17 school year, most students saw their rates go up by at least 3 percent per year during the previous four years. The increases were higher at research universities, like the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.
www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
Technical College System of Georgia to Assume Management of Georgia Veterans Career Transition Resource Center
Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO
Georgia’s public higher education systems, the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, are committed to serving our nation’s active-duty service men and women, veterans and their families. Georgia’s public higher education institutions are frequently recognized in independent national rankings for their commitment and quality of service to veterans and active duty military. Middle Georgia State University and Central Georgia Technical College have been proud to partner together to develop and launch the Georgia Veterans Career Transition Resource Center, a state public higher education instructional and support facility specially designed to serve active-duty service personnel and veterans and their family members. …While TCSG and USG will continue to partner closely in serving those who served our country, Central Georgia Technical College will manage the operations and services provided at VECTR effective July 1, 2017. Middle Georgia State’s Office of Veteran and Military Services will continue to provide the highest levels of support to military personnel and veterans through programs and services offered on its five campuses in the Middle Georgia region and online.
www.ajc.com
Kennesaw State to offer cybersecurity degree
Eric Stirgus The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University is beefing up its cybersecurity course offerings. The school announced Tuesday that the Georgia Board of Regents has approved its Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity program. The cybersecurity major includes elements of information technology, information security and assurance, and criminal justice, officials said. The degree program, set to begin in fall 2017, is the first major initiative of Kennesaw State’s Institute for Cybersecurity Workforce Development.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Student Government presidents address concerns about fees in consolidation process
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_3336a479-5e53-53c7-86ca-514147014669.html
By Jozsef Papp The George-Anne staff
The Georgia Board of Regents announced the recommendation for consolidation between Georgia Southern (GS) and Armstrong State University (ASU) on Jan. 11, 2017. According to a press release, the consolidation process is expected to take 18 months with the end result being a consolidated institution with the Georgia Southern name. At the moment, a lot of questions about fees have been left unanswered because the administrations from both schools simply don’t know. The first consolidation committee meeting took place on Feb. 1 at the University System of Georgia offices in Atlanta.
www.11alive.com
Executive Profiles Week of February 12
Shawn Shepard, WXIA
David Rubinger gets the inside scoop on Georgia’s entertainment industry when he talks with Georgia Film Academy Executive Director Jeff Stepakoff. Stepakoff knows a little something about entertainment. As an accomplished screenwriter he’s helped develop and produce television hits such as The Wonder Years and Dawson’s Creek.
See also:
www.metroatlantaceo.com
Jeffrey Stepakoff with Georgia Film Academy Discusses His Background in Film
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
A Georgia dreamer who came to America as infant and attends college now: Let me stay
Jaime Rangel is a Dalton State College student now working as an intern in Atlanta. Brought to the United States as an infant, Rangel is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which enables him to attend college. I’m a “Dreamer”— I was brought to the United States illegally when I was 6 months old; before I could walk, before I could talk, and long before I had any rights to make legal decisions of my own. I love America. I work hard, follow the rules, and because I grew up in Georgia, I speak with a southern accent. The United States is my home, and I don’t know any other – which is why it is so frightening to think that I could be facing possible deportation to a country I have never known … I’m a student at Dalton State College, studying finance and economics. I hope someday to work in governmental affairs and work with our elected officials on policies that can help my state remain the number one state to do business. I want to help my community grow, prosper, or as Gov. Nathan Deal said recently on his state of the state “accentuate the positive, and eliminate the negative.” But I may not get the chance.
www.accesswdun.com
UNG online programs top national rankings
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/2/500713/ung-online-programs-top-national-rankings
By AccessWDUN staff
The University of North Georgia’s online programs in political science and nursing earned the first and sixth spots, respectively, in national 2017 rankings for value and affordability. “These rankings are a testament to how we strive to bring high-quality and affordable education options to students who cannot take traditional courses due to high demand in other areas of their lives,” said Dr. Irene Kokkala, director of UNG’s division of distance education and technology integration. UNG’s Associate of Arts in core curriculum with a pathway to political science and Master of Arts in international affairs earned the university the number one spot on the 2017 Top Online Colleges: Best Value Political Science list from SR Education Group, which produces the Guide to Online Schools.
www.savannahnow.com
Georgia Southern University ROTC wins fourth MacArthur Award
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-02-13/georgia-southern-university-rotc-wins-fourth-macarthur-award
The U.S. Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, has announced Georgia Southern University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps ROTC program is one of eight schools to receive the MacArthur Award for the 2015-2016 school year. This is the second consecutive MacArthur Award for the Eagle Battalion and is the fourth overall since 2009. The Eagle Battalion previously received the award in 2009, 2010 and 2015. Georgia Southern University was selected as the top program from the 6th Brigade Army ROTC, which includes 39 programs from six states and Puerto Rico. Lt. Col. Erik Kjonnerod, professor of military science, applauded the battalion for its latest achievement. …The 2016 MacArthur Award is just the latest in a long list of recent accolades for the Eagle Battalion. Georgia Southern has commissioned more Army nurses than any program nationwide, has consistently exceeded its STEM mission, and is home to one of the largest non-military college ROTC programs in the country. The Battalion’s Ranger Challenge team won the state competition in October 2016, and finished second at the Brigade level in January.
www.statesboroherald.com
Georgia Southern team wins national retail ‘challenge’
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/78529/
Special to the Herald
A team of Georgia Southern University students received first place for the 2017 Student Challenge, a business case competition for National Retail Federation Student Association members to demonstrate their creativity and business acumen to retail executives, sponsored by KPMG. The finalists attended the Federation Foundation’s gala in New York City, where the top team was announced last month. Jeffrey Licciardello, senior public relations major with a marketing minor, Kelsey Wertz, senior marketing and logistics major, William (Keller) Campbell, junior marketing and logistics major, and Alexis Montaño, junior marketing major with a management minor, worked together on the competition.
www.menafn.com
BIG Pitch Award Competition Offers $10,000 to Collegiate Innovator – Ocean Exchange
Ocean Exchange and Georgia Southern University College of Business Administration announce the 2017 BIG Pitch Award Competition for 10,000. They invite undergraduate and graduate student innovators with solutions in the field of sustainability to apply. The BIG Pitch Award is in its third year.
www.goldenisles.news
CCGA students study public transportation
By DEBORAH BAYLISS
Exploring options for a public transit system in Brunswick is not a new development. Ideas have been tossed about for years. College of Coastal Georgia students are now getting involved and recently conducted a survey of the student body. “I got involved with having the students conduct the survey after asking (Brunswick) mayor (Cornell Harvey) the question why there was no public transportation system here,” said Sharon Sellers-Clark, assistant professor of education and director of field experiences, certification, data management and outreach at College of Coastal Georgia. …“My presentation basically, is on the findings from the survey my students conducted for my class on interdisciplinary research methods,” Sellers-Clark said Monday. “They had to do their own research study. It was a diverse group of students from various programs including nursing, education, business and communications. They had to conduct a review on their specific area.”
www.georgiatech.blog.ajc.com
Todd Stansbury’s vision to differentiate Georgia Tech
http://georgiatech.blog.ajc.com/2017/02/13/todd-stansburys-vision-to-differentiate-georgia-tech/
Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech basketball player Rand Rowland and football player KeShun Freeman have brought their school honor with awards commending their service to the community. Both were named to the Allstate Good Works teams for their respective sports, citations for their contributions to the community. The Good Works team, established for football in 1992, is perhaps the most recognized award in college athletics for community service. Freeman was named in the fall, Rowland last week. Tech was the only school to have a member on both the football and men’s basketball teams this academic year. (Women’s basketball player Katarina Vuckovic made the team last year.) They’re an embodiment of the vision cast by former athletic director Homer Rice, whose Total Person Program has been replicated across college athletics.
www.douglascountysentinel.com
UWG crime-fighting program announced
Arthia Nixon/Times-Georgian
The University of West Georgia has formed a partnership with local law enforcement to fight criminal activity on or near the University of West Georgia campus. The program, which was announced Monday, will extend to the nearby off-campus apartment neighborhoods and include coordinated surveillance and investigation of activity in the neighborhoods as well as periodic drug sweeps. Representatives from the Carrollton Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the city of Carrollton and UWG Police joined UWG President Dr. Kyle Marrero in launching what is being called Operation Protect Our Pack. More than 2,000 of the blue and white Protect Our Pack wristbands have already been distributed and Marrero said that the initiative is keeping UWG on track as one of the safest campuses in the state.
www.ajc.com
UGA approves $63 million renovation to Sanford Stadium
Seth Emerson
Another long-awaited and long-sought facility project at Georgia is finally coming to fruition. And it’s going to be expensive. The UGA athletic board on Tuesday approved an overhaul to the west end of Sanford Stadium that athletics director Greg McGarity said would “not exceed 63 million.” But the school plans on fundraising the vast majority of it. The board approved a plan to raise $53 million from private funds, which the rest coming from the athletic association’s reserves.
www.gpb.org
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography: Diving Into Marine Science in Savannah
- Cindy Hill
We’ve spoken with some scientists about the research they are doing at University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, but we haven’t really talked about the Institute itself. Michael Sullivan, Skidaway’s External Affairs Manager, introduces us to who they are and what they do on their 800-acre Savannah campus. “We are there and the University of Georgia has two separate units of their marine extension service there also,” Sullivan said. “The Marine Education Center and Aquarium and I think that’s what most people associate with our campus. And they also have a shellfish research laboratory that is right now creating Georgia’s first oyster hatchery, to try to revitalize Georgia’s oyster aquaculture on the coast. And NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is headquartered on our campus. The Sanctuary itself is about twenty miles off of Sapelo Island.” “We have a team of faculty scientists of about 12 or 14,” Sullivan explained. “They are primarily interested in conducting basic research mostly in marine environments.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Georgia Southern remembers Lt. Roach, a True Blue Eagle
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_25c2317b-8588-5402-8636-8652ccb28fa1.html
By:Matthew Enfinger The George-Anne staff
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Frank Roach, a member of the University Police Department,” Laura McCullough, Georgia Southern University police chief, said in a email . Roach served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Following his four years in the Air Force, he returned to Statesboro, GA, where he obtained his Bachelors of Science from Georgia Southern College and began a career as an educator in Milledgeville, GA. In 1983, Roach graduated from the Police Academy and began his career with the Statesboro Police Department, where he served for 27 years until his retirement in 2010. In 2011, Roach began his career at GS as the Certification Manager of Georgia Southern Public Safety.
www.trueviralnews.com
Former NFL player, 10-year-old girl and her mother killed in fire
http://trueviralnews.com/former-nfl-player-10-year-old-girl-and-her-mother-killed-in-fire/
MONROE, Ga. — A fire ripped through a home in Walton County, Georgia, early on Sunday, killing a former NFL player and a 10-year-old girl and her mother, CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL reports. Investigators were trying to determine what caused the blaze, which began around 6 a.m. at a home in Monroe. The home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. After entering the home, they found Quentin Omario Moses, 36, unconscious on the floor, and he was rushed to a medical center where he died from his injuries. Firefighters later found the bodies of Jasmine Godard, 10, and her mother, Andria Godard, 31. From 2003 to 2006, Moses was a defensive end for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2007 NFL Draft, by the Oakland Raiders. Moses also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Quentin’s family,” University of Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said in a statement. “We are shocked and saddened by this tragic news. Quentin was an outstanding representative of not only the University of Georgia but also his hometown of Athens. On behalf UGA Athletics, we extend our most sincere condolences to his family.”
www.macon.com
Economy looking good for 2017, but there’s a ‘but’ in there
The economic gurus from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth and the Center for Economic Analysis at Middle Georgia State University gave attendees at the Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon a peek into the future, statewide and locally. And in the words of Benjamin Ayers, dean of the College of Business, he had “good” news to report. On the national level, things aren’t perfect, but are looking better than 2016. Dr. Ayers, quoting from the report said, “The 2.5 percent rate of 2017 GDP growth will be higher than last year’s 1.7 percent, but below the 2.9 percent average of the last 50 years.” …The good news for Georgia is that our state’s GDP is looking better than the national average at 3.2 percent, and for all intent, with an unemployment rate below 5 percent, which is considered full employment. Ayers says the state is looking at a “manufacturing renaissance” and pointed to Georgia being ranked the No. 1 state for doing business by consultants for the fourth consecutive year. But — yes, when economists speak, there is always a “but.” The report warns: “Because Georgia’s economy is inextricably linked to the national economy, the risk of another recession is 35 percent, up from only 25 percent last year. The primary risks likely to trigger a new recession are massive shifts in asset prices (e.g., equities and/or bonds), mistakes in fiscal and/or monetary policies, a much sharper than expected slowdown in China, or a widespread financial panic due to turmoil in the credit markets.”
Higher Education News:
www.talktown.blog.myajc.com
Need money for a college education? Try crowdfunding
http://talktown.blog.myajc.com/2017/02/15/need-college-tuition-try-crowdfunding/
By Nedra Rhone
The cost of a college education just keeps going up. In its most recent report, the College Board found that the estimated annual budget (which includes all fees associated with attending college) ranged from $17,000 for a two-year commuter school to $49,320 for a private non-profit, four-year on campus education. It’s no surprise then, that college students and the people who love them, have found more innovative ways to raise money for college. Yes, there are traditional 529 plans and Roth IRAs to help parents stash away college money from the day a child is born, but for the many students who don’t have those resources, crowdfunding has increasingly become a way to fill in the gaps. Students have been using GoFundMe to help raise money for their educations since the company was founded in 2010, but in the last few years, there has been a significant increase in these campaigns. More than $100 million has been raised for education related expenses by users and education related campaigns are one of the fastest growing categories on the site.
www.insidehighered.com
Financial Aid Helps Low-Income Students Graduate
By Ashley A. Smith
A new report from the Association of Community College Trustees, the California Community Colleges’ Chancellors Office and the Institute for College Access & Success finds that student success increases among two-year, low-income students if they receive more financial aid. Nearly half of students with a zero expected family contribution who received more than $7,500 in financial aid graduated or transferred, compared to 17 percent of those who received between $1,001 and $2,500 in aid. Those students who received a combination of federal, state and institutional aid had the highest rates of success.
www.insidehighered.com
80 Cents on the Dollar
Despite higher education’s progressive reputation, new research shows a stubborn pay gap between women and men who are administrators.
By Rick Seltzer
Higher education administration is still a man’s world if you’re measuring pay and position title. A gender pay gap at the top levels of higher education leadership has persisted over the last 15 years, according to new research released Tuesday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, known as CUPA-HR. A gulf between the number of men and women in the most prestigious, highest-paying jobs has not closed significantly, either. Women working in administrative positions mostly filled by men did earn relatively more than many of their peers who work in positions largely filled by women — and in a handful of cases, those outnumbered women earned more than their male counterparts. While that may offer little or no comfort to women administrators who believe in equal pay for equal work across the board, it could show that colleges and universities are attempting to recruit and keep women for positions in which they are underrepresented. The new research on women’s pay and representation in the top ranks of colleges and universities comes at a time when discussions of equality are common and many in higher education seem to recognize the benefits of diversity, said Jacqueline Bichsel, CUPA-HR director of research. Research shows that a diverse staff can help more students succeed and improve institutions’ research ability, she said. That diversity includes gender diversity.
Yet several key indicators have changed little since the start of the century.
www.chronicle.com
Trump’s Focus on Black Colleges May Seem Unexpected, but the Conversation Started Months Ago
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz
After barely speaking about higher education during his campaign, President Trump and his administration are giving one portion of the sector — historically black colleges and universities — an unexpected spotlight. Last week, BuzzFeed News reported that the White House was considering an executive order on HBCUs that could direct the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to operate from the White House, not the Education Department. Also last week, Betsy DeVos visited Howard University and met with its president, Wayne A.I. Frederick, on her second day on the job as secretary of education. College leaders say the attention is welcome, but they are proceeding with caution to make sure policies and students, not politics, are the central focus. And administrators are mindful that the opening days of the new administration are a key time to ensure that their priorities, like more robust funding and federal support, are heard.
www.insidehighered.com
Trump Says New Order on Immigration Possible
By Elizabeth Redden
President Trump on Friday said he might sign a “brand-new order” on immigration as enforcement of his Jan. 27 executive order barring entry into the U.S. for nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries remains halted by the courts. The New York Times reported that the president promised to continue the court battle over the original order but “indicated that he would not wait for the process to play out to take action.” Appearing on Sunday morning news shows, Stephen Miller, a White House senior policy adviser, said the Trump administration is considering various legal options, including the possibility of a new order, according to The Washington Post. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday to keep in place a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing the entry ban. Many college and university leaders condemned the ban, which prevented the travel of students and scholars from the seven countries to their campuses and barred those who were already in the U.S. from traveling internationally for professional or personal purposes.
www.insidehighered.com
College Owner Pleads Guilty to Immigration Fraud
By Elizabeth Redden
The owner of a chain of four Los Angeles-area colleges accused of running a “pay-to-stay” scheme through which foreign nationals fraudulently obtained immigration documents allowing them to stay in the U.S. on student visas though they were not bona fide students pleaded guilty Thursday to federal immigration fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced in a press release. Hee Sun Shim, 53, of Beverly Hills, owned and managed three colleges in Los Angeles’s Koreatown — Prodee University/Neo-America Language School; Walter Jay M.D. Institute, an Educational Center; and the American College of Forensic Studies — and a fourth institution, Likie Fashion and Technology College, in Alhambra, Calif. Prosecutors say that the four schools collected tuition from and issued immigration documents to individuals who were not genuine students and had no intention of attending classes — and who, in some cases, lived outside California. Prosecutors also say that Shim created fake student records, including transcripts, to deceive federal immigration authorities.