University System News:
www.onlineathens.com
Modified campus gun bill back on Georgia legislature committee agenda Monday
By Lee Shearer
The state House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee this week delayed voting on a controversial bill that would allow people to carry guns on college campuses. But a modified version of House Bill 280 could move out of committee Monday, when the committee is scheduled to see a modified version of the legislation. Two other firearms-related bills are also on the agenda for Monday’s committee meeting. After opponents of the legislation spoke out against it at a committee hearing earlier this week, the bill’s author, Mandi Ballinger, R-Canton, asked that a vote be delayed and said she would bring back a modified version to the committee’s next meeting on Monday. Those opponents included University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley. The University System of Georgia is the state system of public colleges and universities, including the University of Georgia and the University of North Georgia, which has a campus in Oconee County.
www.albanyherald.com
Albany, Dougherty County take spotlight at State Capitol
Albany Chamber delegation honored at Albany-Dougherty Day
By Brad McEwen
ALBANY — A delegation of civic and business leaders representing the interests of Albany and Dougherty County spent part of two days meeting with Georgia leaders and advocating for the community at the annual Albany-Dougherty Day at the State Capitol. On Wednesday, the 25-strong delegation, which included members of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s executive board and Legislative Affairs Committee, along with local officials and community allies, met with a cadre of state leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and others to discuss the issues that are important to Albany, Dougherty County and the region. …Also in regard to work force development, the 2017 agenda asks for funding support for Albany’s Southwest Georgia Medical Housing Complex for third- and fourth-year medical students from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, pharmacy students enrolled at the University of Georgia and residents in the Phoebe Family Medicine Residency Program.
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong alumni have plan to save school’s name
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-02-23/armstrong-alumni-have-plan-save-school-s-name
By Dash Coleman
University’s legacy a key point as consolidation with Georgia Southern continues
The Armstrong State University Alumni Association has drafted a recommendation for preserving the Savannah school’s name and legacy once it consolidates with Georgia Southern University next year. In a recommendation completed earlier this month, the association’s board of directors suggests that what is now Armstrong’s main campus in Savannah should be renamed Georgia Southern University — Armstrong Campus. The request specifically states that alumni do not want the location to become known as the Savannah campus of Georgia Southern. The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted unanimously in January to consolidate the two universities, which are about 50 miles apart, to create the fourth largest university in the state. Technically, both universities will be dissolved then combined as a new institution that will keep Georgia Southern’s name and president. The move came as a shock to current students, alumni and employees of both institutions who were not given a chance to weigh in before the USG made its recommendation to the board. Alumni also suggested that the “Armstrong Campus” be specified on “all signage, branding, print and virtual media, and in all other places the name Armstrong or Armstrong State University currently exists.” The Alumni Association’s recommendation has been presented to faculty, student and staff leadership at the university, and on Friday morning it will go before the board of the Armstrong Foundation. From there, the recommendation will likely make its way to a special consolidation implementation committee that will present plans for how to move forward to the USG.
See also:
www.mdjonline.com
Armstrong State alumni introduce plan to save school’s name
www.uews.com
Armstrong State Alumni Introduce Plan to Save School’s Name
Armstrong State University alumni are trying to preserve the Savannah school’s name as it prepares to consolidate with Georgia Southern University next year.
www.latimes.com
UC regents unanimously approve Georgia Tech dean as new chancellor for UC Davis
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uc-davis-chancellor-20170223-story.html
By Teresa Watanabe
University of California regents unanimously approved a new chancellor for UC Davis on Thursday, tapping a Georgia Tech dean who is widely praised for his engineering brilliance, administrative skills and effective advocacy for underrepresented minority students. Gary May, a UC Berkeley alumnus who heads Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering, will be the 10-campus UC system’s only African American chancellor. May replaces Linda Katehi, who resigned last year after a UC investigation into allegations of conflicts of interest found that she violated multiple university policies and misled her superiors, the public and the media.
www.tigersroar.com
Dozier expected to go to White House early next week
http://www.tigersroar.com/news/article_a778a0b4-fa3e-11e6-8ae3-0fa1baa6510c.html
Asha Gilbert
Savannah State University President Cheryl D. Dozier says she is planning to attend a summit at the White House with other HBCU presidents to discuss the future of historically black universities. The summit by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, scheduled Feb. 27-28, brings presidents of historically black colleges and universities together with President Donald Trump’s staff and lawmakers. “It is on the agenda, but hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Dozier said. “I would leave Sunday. The convention is Monday and Tuesday, and I’ll be back Wednesday.” According to Politico, the Trump administration plans to take a step beyond the standard renewal of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, which has been issued by every president since Jimmy Carter.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
University System of Georgia honors Columbus State professor
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/education/article134642704.html
BY MARK RICE
The University System of Georgia has honored a Columbus State University professor. Jennifer Brown, an associate professor of educational foundations at CSU, is the system’s 2017 winner of the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. A committee of faculty and administrators from throughout the system evaluated the nominations, according to CSU’s news release, which didn’t report the number of nominations. CSU interim provost and vice president of academic affairs Tina Butcher said in the release, “I have known Dr. Brown since she came to CSU in 2011 and have found her to be a consummate professional who conducts and applies research in a manner that improves student learning and the overall student experience. She is an outstanding faculty member and is greatly deserving of this recognition.”
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Senate Democrats Ask DeVos to Explain Falwell’s Higher-Ed Task Force
by Adam Harris
Senate Democrats are asking Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, to enlighten them about a federal task force to be led by Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University. In a letter released on Thursday, six Democratic senators, led by Patty Murray of Washington and Elizabeth A. Warren of Massachusetts, said they were “extremely concerned” by the lack of public explanation regarding the purview of the task force and Mr. Falwell’s potential conflicts of interest. The Trump administration has not yet made an official announcement about the task force that Mr. Falwell told The Chronicle he had been chosen to lead. “Obtaining the input of college and university leaders is certainly one part of any comprehensive review of federal policy,” the senators wrote, but even so, “it is critical to guard against conflicts of interest where they exist.” In January, Mr. Falwell told The Washington Post that “there’s too much intrusion into the operation of universities and colleges,” and that the task force would deal primarily with deregulation.
www.chronicle.com
Colleges Try to Ease Immigrant Students’ Stress as Government Steps Up Deportations
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Try-to-Ease-Immigrant/239317?cid=wsinglestory_hp_1
By Kelly Field
The Trump administration’s recent moves to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants have colleges searching for ways to help immigrant students who fear authorities will target them or their families. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland issued new guidelines meant to increase arrests and speed deportations of undocumented immigrants. Those documents don’t affect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a policy of the Obama administration that allows young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children to remain in the United States to study or work. But President Trump’s new policies and threats to revoke DACA have caused widespread anxiety among “DACAmented” students — those who successfully applied for DACA benefits — as well as other undocumented students on campuses. In response, counseling centers, already stretched thin by rising demand for mental-health services, are adding new programs for these students; campus legal clinics are offering advice to them and their families; and many departments are creating spaces and forums where students can share their feelings of frustration and fear, or simply vent.
www.insidehighered.com
Teaching and Integrating International Students
Various surveys look at biggest academic challenges international students face and the availability of professional development opportunities for professors teaching in intercultural classrooms.
By Elizabeth Redden
WASHINGTON – What would international students in American classrooms most want their professors to do differently? A survey of 662 international students at 23 colleges and universities commissioned by ELS Educational Services found that many international students want their professors to: