University System News:
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Georgia Film Academy’s first class: New grads have begun careers in booming movie/TV industry
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/03/17/georgia-film-academy-s-first-class-new-grads-have.html
Ellie Hensley
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia is now the No. 3 filming location in the United States, with nearly 250 movies and television shows filming here in the last year. These often required hundreds or even thousands of crew members to make them a reality, and because Georgia’s crew base has yet to catch up to the influx of productions, many of these jobs went to workers flown in from Los Angeles. The Georgia Film Academy is looking to change that. Last year, the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) was launched by the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia to train in-state crew members and keep film jobs in the hands of Georgians. Interest in the academy was incredibly high, with 6,000 showing interest in fewer than 200 spots in the first cohort. …In December, the academy graduated its first class, and Executive Director Jeff Stepakoff says these graduates are already finding success. Of the 207 graduates, over 50 are already working professionally in the industry. “Our director of workforce internships, Kate McArdle, comes into my office almost every week fighting tears, saying she received a call from someone who has joined the workforce and talked in effusive detail about how the academy has changed their life,” Stepakoff said. “We have students whose permanent careers have been built by the academy. And really, the entire state is now benefitting from their work.”
www.11alive.com
Ga Tech students create device to track concussion recovery
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/ga-tech-students-create-device-to-track-concussion-recovery/422995240
Jennifer Bellamy, WXIA
… Concussions are usually caused by a blow to the head, but violently shaking the head or even the upper body can also cause them as well, even without you even recognizing it. If you have ever had a concussion you are probably familiar with the nausea and headaches that come with it. Now, a device called the Wobble, created by several Georgia Tech students, could help those recovering from a concussion even after those initial symptoms fade. Coaches and trainers often rely on athlete feedback when determining if a player is ready to get back to the sport they love, but that information can be clouded by a desire to compete. “Knowing when they’re completely recovered to go back onto the field is a challenge and it’s really important because the brain in a very vulnerable state after a concussion and so if they were to suffer another big hit it could be catastrophic.” said student inventor Garrett Wallace.
www.myajc.com
In Georgia, a backlash builds on campus rape
Bill highlights rights of the accused
http://www.myajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/georgia-backlash-builds-campus-rape/sgH1ovTDHVxD7kjEEUxhmJ/
By Rhonda Cook – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Grace Starling transformed from a student to an activist on the day House Bill 51 was filed in the Georgia House of Representatives. It was then that she decided to go public with a night she’d tried hard to forget – the night she says she was raped.
But for a male college student, who says he was falsely accused of sexual misconduct in a separate case involving another student, the bill is a badly-needed remedy to a university justice system run amok. Eventually cleared, he says the allegations, nonetheless, altered his college career and caused friends to abandon him. As reports of rapes on college campuses have risen, so too have measures designed to protect sexual assault victims. But as schools have moved aggressively to curb sexual violence they are facing a backlash from students who say they were falsely accused. The leading edge of that fight is playing out in Georgia, where a bill is advancing in the final days of the legislative session that would provide more due process rights to the accused while also dramatically limiting the ability of the state’s public colleges to investigate and punish allegations of rape. The measure passed in the House earlier this month and is pending in the state Senate. …Last year, the Georgia Board of Regents put in place system-wide policies to eliminate disparities between schools. The university system has not taken a position on Ehrhart’s bill, saying only that the Regents are working with the lawmaker. Ehrhart leads a panel that controls state funding for higher education.
www.myajc.com
Big gains, big losses possible for Georgia in Trump budget
http://www.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/big-gains-big-losses-possible-for-georgia-trump-budget/muYFwDwynjpsEX9qu7Ge4I/?ecmp=newspaper_email&user-access=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpYXQiOjE0ODk2OTQ0MDAsImV4cCI6MTQ4OTgwOTU5OSwicHJvZHVjdHMiOlt7InBpZCI6Ind3dy5teWFqYy5jb20iLCJleHAiOjE0ODk4MDk1OTksImF1dGhlbiI6ImJ5cGFzcyJ9XX0.LdBS9tLTr8OJQ9qvCVJGN3qkLQvKAuh3F9I0qEdZU_w&uuid=C2616CE0-E62D-41E9-AB0A-E6CD0DB19A3F
By James Salzer and Tamar Hallerman – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
President Donald Trump’s first federal budget plan has proposals that are bound to win praise from some corners of Georgia and produce a lot of worry from others. Georgia is home to eight major military bases, has one of the largest contingencies of military personnel in the country, has military contractors and its universities are doing a lot of defense research, so Trump’s call to boost military spending is welcome news to some.But nonmilitary spending could take significant cuts. Georgia is home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its universities do hundreds of millions of dollars in federally funded research in other areas such as public health, and 29 percent of what state government spends each year comes from the federal budget, paying for things such as free and reduced school lunches, nursing home stays, workforce training and environmental protection. It is home to more than 70,000 federal jobs, some of which could be axed if his proposal moves forward. …Research is another area some fear Trump and Republican lawmakers will cut. Defense research, some of which is done at Georgia Tech, may benefit from the president’s budget. Health care research at places such as Georgia State University may not. Michael Cassidy, the president of the Georgia Research Alliance, said the state’s universities did about $1.2 billion worth of federally funded research in 2016.
www.myajc.com
Senate committee adds key exemption to Georgia’s ‘campus carry’ gun bill
http://www.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/senate-committee-adds-key-exemption-georgia-campus-carry-gun-bill/Er0VTYz4BkDp2raEECnJTI/
By Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill to allow firearms on Georgia’s public college and university campuses was amended Thursday to exempt areas on some campuses where high schoolers attend class. The move by the Senate Judiciary Committee effectively allows House Bill 280 to move forward while also giving lawmakers more time to negotiate with Gov. Nathan Deal over a possible compromise. The action came as the bill was added only 2 1/2 hours before the committee’s previously posted 4 p.m. agenda, which eventually included 20 bills. The committee took a party line vote of 5-3 on the campus gun bill at 7:50 p.m., as the bill was the last heard by the committee in the meeting.
www.macon.com
Senate committee approves ‘campus carry’ bill with changes
http://www.macon.com/news/state/georgia/article139015913.html
BY KATHLEEN FOODY
Associated Press
Licensed gun owners could carry concealed handguns on public college campuses under legislation backed by a Senate committee Thursday evening, with a new exemption for buildings where high school-age students attend classes at some technical colleges. The measure would allow anyone age 21 and up to carry a concealed handgun on campus with a state-issued permit. Georgia’s Republican Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a similar bill last year, and lawmakers hope that various carve-outs in this year’s proposal will win him over. The Senate panel added an exemption for Georgia’s “college and career academies” where high school students can take specific courses at technical colleges. The bill approved by the House earlier this month already exempted student housing, preschools and sports facilities. Deal last year said he was concerned about permitting guns in child care facilities, administrative offices and in buildings that hold disciplinary hearings. The University System of Georgia still opposes the bill. System Chancellor Steve Wrigley told senators that allowing concealed handguns won’t make campuses safer and asked them to keep the state’s prohibition intact. “Current law strikes the right balance to create the right environment for our campuses,” Wrigley said. “This position is supported by our presidents and our campus public safety departments who are closest to the day-to-day realities and operations of the state’s public colleges and universities.” Georgia is among 17 states that ban concealed weapons on campuses.
Armstrong State University marching in last Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade
http://savannahnow.com/news/st-patricks-day/2017-03-16/armstrong-state-university-marching-last-savannah-st-patrick-s-day
By Dash Coleman
Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a chance for local institutions to show off their pride to thousands of revelers. It is, after all, the single biggest parade in the city. Today’s parade is the last time one such institution, Armstrong State University, will have a chance to flaunt its school colors to the masses. The Savannah school is being consolidated with the larger Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, a move that’s expected to take effect at the start of next year. “It’s not our last time in a parade as Armstrong, but it’s our last time in the St. Patrick’s parade as Armstrong,” said Allison Lyon, the school’s assistant director of student life. “… We always try to go big.” Typically, Armstrong’s parade presence includes a mix of students, employees and alumni marching in front of a pirate ship float — an homage to the school’s sports teams, the Pirates. Armstrong doesn’t have a marching band, but Lyon said the school likes to show enthusiasm during the parade because of its 83-year-0ld history in the city.
www.savannahnow.com
Ernie Gadzos Percussion scholarship awarded to GSU student
http://savannahnow.com/news/your-good-news/2017-03-16/ernie-gadzos-percussion-scholarship-awarded-gsu-student
By Savannah Morning News
The Ernie Gadzos Percussion Music Scholarship was presented March 3 to Georgia Southern University percussion major Eric Kollars. Recipients of the scholarship must maintain a 3.0 or better grade point average, and must also demonstrate a singular dedication to the art of percussion performance. The scholarship was presented in Statesboro by Fred Gretsch, who established the scholarship in 2006, to memorialize the life and legacy of drumming legend Ernie Gadzos. …Today, Fred and Dinah Gretsch are active promoters of music education. “Our family goal is to ‘enrich lives through participation in music,’” Dinah Gretsch said. “To help do that we support music programs — providing teachers and instruments — in many private and public schools. A few years ago I created the Mrs. G.’s Music Foundation for that purpose. We’ve also established scholarships at many colleges across the country, including the Ernie Gadzos scholarship at Georgia Southern University. In addition to that scholarship, we’re also doing a joint program with GSU and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bulloch County, in Georgia. All the GSU students studying to become music teachers are serving as teachers in the clubs.”
www.bizjournals.com
Exclusive: The top 25 NCAA marketing deals
The University of Texas will get $12.7 million this year in exchange for the right to sell advertisements and sponsorships at athletic department events. It’s one of three schools that will get more than $10 million in exchange for those rights.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/03/16/exclusive-the-top-25-ncaa-marketing-deals.html
Matthew Kish
Staff Reporter, Portland Business Journal
The University of Georgia will get $7.7 million and Georgia Tech will get $5.7 million this year in exchange for the right to sell advertisements and sponsorships at athletic department events, part of a growing trend of universities cashing in on the popularity of collegiate sports. Over the past eight months, the Business Journal filed public records requests with every school in the top level of college sports for a copy of its multimedia rights deals. The contracts give an outside company — typically Winston-Salem, N.C.-based IMG College or Plano, Texas-based Learfield — the right to sell everything from signs inside arenas to advertisements in the concourses.
www.bizjournals.com
Tech Foundation lands $20 million parcel
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/03/17/tech-foundation-lands-20m-parcel.html
Douglas Sams and Amy Wenk, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Georgia Tech Foundation has scooped up a nearly two-acre Midtown property along West Peachtree Street for almost $20 million, a long-term investment that expands the school’s presence in one of the country’s rapidly emerging technology districts. The foundation paid $19.4 million, or just under $11 million an acre, for the site at 1052 W. Peachtree St., an existing parking lot and low-rise brick building standing amid the bustle of construction for new residential towers between 10th and 14th.
www.insidehighered.com
Work-Study Worries
Many experts on the program agree it needs changing with a greater emphasis on low-income students. But few agree that the large cut being sought by the Trump administration will help.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/17/trumps-work-study-proposal-causes-stir
By Rick Seltzer
Emily Rutledge spends 16 hours a week in the University of North Georgia’s university relations office for her federal work-study job, tracking times the press mentions the university, helping to coordinate logistics for events like commencement and assisting graphic designers. It’s the first year Rutledge, a 19-year-old sophomore, has taken part in a work-study job. She qualified for the program last year but had already landed other work before coming to campus — she worked two jobs as a freshman, as a waitress and in retail, to earn money she needs to pay for college. Rutledge has yet to lock in her major, but she thinks her current job will prepare her for a future career more than the ones she worked last year. She doesn’t plan on working in retail or restaurants, and she feels she’s gaining more experience and skills tackling different tasks in an office setting. Plus, her current managers on campus allow her to strike a better balance between being a student and an employee than did her managers last year. Overall, Rutledge supports work-study, she said. “If you don’t work for it, you don’t get it,” she said. “I think it’s really beneficial, because it shows you have to work to earn the money. It’s not just a handout.” Now, however, Rutledge and other students in the federal work-study program are entering a period of uncertainty after President Trump released his budget proposal Thursday. Trump’s budget plan calls for substantial changes and cuts to the federal work-study program.
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
Georgia Democrats turn to KSU for answers on voter data hack
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/03/17/georgia-democrats-turn-to-ksu-for-answers-on-voter-data-hack/
Greg Bluestein
The Democratic Party of Georgia appealed to Kennesaw State University for details about an alleged breach of confidential data that could affect millions of Georgia voter records, after the state’s top elections official rebuffed a similar request. Party chair DuBose Porter demanded Thursday that KSU president Sam Olens reveal data about the extent of the attack, and urged him to accept help from the Department of Homeland Security to secure the elections infrastructure. The FBI launched an inquiry into the suspected cyberattack this month at the request of state officials after they received notice that records kept by the Center for Election Systems at KSU may have been compromised. State officials have released few details amid the pending investigation, and KSU declined Friday to respond to Porter’s request. A group of tech experts has also pushed for an overhaul of the state’s election system after the alleged breach, calling on Georgia to use a paper audit trail to ensure accuracy. In a letter to Olens, Porter wrote that there’s “no confidence” in KSU’s handling of the voting records until more details of the breach are disclosed. “It is your contractual obligation to provide Georgians with assurance that our voting system is sound and secure,” Porter wrote.
www.onlineathens.com
Regents approve $63 million Sanford Stadium project
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/sports/2017-03-16/regents-approve-63-million-sanford-stadium-project
By Lee Shearer
The state Board of Regents has given the go-ahead for a huge expansion and renovation at the west end of Sanford Stadium, where the UGA football team plays its home games. The project was one of the items on the agenda for approval by the regents, who oversee the state’s public colleges and universities, at the board’s Wednesday meeting. The expansion is one of the largest building projects yet undertaken by the university or its athletic department, a nonprofit corporation whose board is headed by the UGA president. At $63 million, the project will cost about 31 percent more than UGA’s 122,500 square foot Science Learning Center, which opened last year near the university’s Stegeman Coliseum, and it will cost more than twice as much as the athletic association’s recently dedicated $30.1 million indoor practice facility for football and other sports.
Higher Education News:
www.bizjournals.com
Report: SCAD president nation’s highest-paid nonprofit college leader
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/03/16/report-scad-president-nationshighest-paid.html
Mark Meltzer
Executive Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A Georgia college president was the highest-paid leader of a nonprofit college in the United States, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the most recent data available. But it wasn’t The University of Georgia’s Jere Morehead, Georgia Tech’s Bud Peterson or Georgia State University’s Mark Becker. It was Paula Wallace, president of the Savannah College of Art and Design, who earned $9.6 million in 2014. That made Wallace the eighth-highest-paid employee at the tens of thousands of organizations across the United States legally classified as charities, the Journal reported. Wallace, 68, earned a base salary of $859,000 and a bonus of $1 million, which by themselves rank her among the highest paid college leaders, the Journal said. The bulk of her compensation came from the payout of deferred earnings worth $7.5 million.
www.insidehighered.com
Protecting Pell? Critics Say Budget Wouldn’t
By cutting a third of program’s surplus and slashing other aid programs, Trump administration’s first budget would imperil college access, advocates argue.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/17/proposed-us-budget-would-imperil-pell-and-low-income-students-critics-say
By Andrew Kreighbaum
The document outlining the Trump administration’s first budget, released in a bare-bones outline Thursday, states that the White House plan “safeguards” the Pell Grant program and would leave the key financial aid source for needy students on “sound financial footing for the next decade.” But many advocates for low-income students say the opposite is true. By taking about a third of the program’s multi-billion-dollar surplus and cutting other college access programs, they assert, the new administration would jeopardize Pell’s long-term sustainability and harm the prospects of low-income students. What the White House is calling its “skinny budget” — a broad outline of the detailed 2018 fiscal proposal due from the administration later this spring — seeks an overall cut of 13 percent of the Department of Education’s funding from the current year. To offset steep proposed increases in military spending, the budget blueprint seeks $54 billion in cuts across the board to nondefense spending.