University System News:
www.savannahtribune.com
Stacy Cobb Makes History At UGA
By Savannah Tribune
By: Walter Moore and Alan Flurry
Savannah native Stacy Cobb made history on May 6, 2017, becoming the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in Statistics at the University of Georgia. Along the way, Stacy has discovered an expansive capacity for learning, the importance of role models and the crucial role that confidence plays in the formula for academic success. While at UGA, she studied in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong, Georgia Southern faculty to craft alternate proposal for academics
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-05-10/armstrong-georgia-southern-faculty-craft-alternate-proposal-academics
By Dash Coleman dash.coleman@savannahnow.com
Discussions on a proposed academic structure for a combined Armstrong-Georgia Southern University led to disagreement between faculty members and some administrators Wednesday during a meeting of the committee tasked with consolidating the two schools. After more than half an hour of back-and-forth between members of the committee, Georgia Southern President Jaimie Hebert moved to table the matter until the group’s next meeting in two weeks, giving faculty members from both universities time to propose an alternative plan. But, Hebert said, a vote will be taken on a new academic structure next time, whether the proposal is popular or not. “We will have an academic structure after we leave the next meeting,” Hebert said. “We have to, because it will be imperative then to move forward. We need to start making decisions about departmental structures, where programs will be administered from — those types of decisions. We can’t make those until we have the academic structure in place.” In January, the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted unanimously to consolidate the two schools, giving only a few days’ public notice such a plan was even being considered and without seeking input from constituents at large. The vote started a roughly yearlong process and put the task of figuring out how to combine the two universities into the hands of the 41-member committee that met Wednesday, essentially forcing the individual schools’ employees to make tough and controversial decisions. Initial planning must be complete by September to receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
www.wjcl.com
Vote regarding future Georgia Southern University postponed amid opposition
http://www.wjcl.com/article/vote-regarding-future-georgia-southern-university-postponed-amid-opposition/9634213
Steve King
Reporter
A decision regarding the academic structure of the future Georgia Southern University has been postponed after several Georgia Southern University and Armstrong State University faculty members voiced their disapproval of the Operational Working Group’s proposal. The Operational Working Group presented their proposal at the Consolidation Implementation Committee meeting at GS on Wednesday afternoon. The proposal would have the future GS consist of nine colleges. It would retain the colleges unique to the current GS while combining GS and ASU’s Colleges of Education, Health Professions and Science. The proposal also includes moving several departments to other colleges and dividing the liberal arts and social sciences into two new colleges. OWG members say this would “be more manageable across the three campuses.” However, faculty members at GS and ASU have voiced their disapproval of this proposal. Recently, they created a petition against this proposal, collecting more than 100 signatures from faculty members. The petition states the proposal “would be wrong for our students, wrong for our faculty and at fundamental odds with our academic mission.” …Near the end of the meeting, Dr. Jaimie Hebert decided to postpone a decision on the academic structure of the future GS until the next CIC meeting on May 24.
www.americanmilitarynews.com
(VIDEO) The Body Of Fallen Soldier 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee Returns Home
The body of First Lt. Weston C. Lee returns home
(VIDEO) The Body Of Fallen Soldier 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee Returns Home
BY STAFF WRITER
First Lt. Weston C. Lee, 25, of Bluffton, Ga, a decorated U.S. Army paratrooper assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina was killed by an IED blast while on patrol April 29, 2017 as part of an advise-and-assist mission near Mosul. Lee joined the Army in March 2015 and deployed to Iraq in December. He was a platoon leader on his first deployment at the time of his death. …Last week, First Lt. Weston C. Lee’s body returned home. A scholarship fund in honor of Weston C. Lee was set up by Colin Marney, a fraternity brother of Lee’s from the University of North Georgia. As of Tuesday, more than $57,000 was raised through a GoFundMe account.
www.myajc.com
EXCLUSIVE: Former Kennesaw student stripped of protection from deportation
http://www.myajc.com/news/exclusive-former-kennesaw-student-stripped-protection-from-deportation/OMNTEIiH66maII052K9CrN/
By Jeremy Redmon
Federal authorities have stripped a former Kennesaw State University student of her temporary protection from deportation, setting the stage for her possible expulsion. Jessica Colotl’s arrest and near-deportation for a traffic violation in 2010 sparked a controversy about unauthorized immigrants attending public colleges in Georgia and beyond. A Cobb County judge would go on to dismiss the criminal case stemming from the traffic charge. But officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement on Wednesday said that she admitted guilt in the case. “Jessica Colotl, an unlawfully present Mexican national, admitted guilt to a felony charge in 2011 of making a false statement to law enforcement in Cobb County,” ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said in a statement. Cox said she was allowed to enter a diversionary program by local authorities. “However, under federal law her guilty plea is considered a felony conviction for immigration purposes,” he said.
www.americustimesrecorder.com
Justin Wells receives 2017 award at GSW
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) student Justin Wells, of Americus received the African American Male Initiative (AAMI) Graduate Award. This award is given through the African American Male Institute at GSW, which was started in 2008, and is determined by the successful completion of all requirements to graduate from GSW as a member of the AAMI program.
www.news-daily.com
Clayton State Model UN team returns from national conference with awards
http://www.news-daily.com/features/clayton-state-model-un-team-returns-from-national-conference-with/article_7c203c66-5ef4-5e83-aa38-245c0b168214.html
By Chelsea Prince
Six students representing a small Caribbean country could have easily slipped by unnoticed at the National Model United Nations conference in New York City last month. They were much smaller in number than many of the other teams competing, and only one member had prior Model UN experience. Two work full-time jobs and have children, one of them grandchildren. Two others are full-time students majoring in social sciences and another hopes to become a law enforcement officer. But despite the team’s size, their relative inexperience and the small, seemingly uncontroversial island nation of Grenada they represented, the Clayton State University Model UN team made a splash at the national conference. The team walked away with an Honorable Mention award, recognition of the team’s individual contributions to their respective committees and their performance across the conference as a whole.
www.avma.org
Georgia alumni recognized by college
https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/170601z.aspx?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=a05725190c-eGaMorning-5_11_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-a05725190c-86731974&mc_cid=a05725190c&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine honored four alumni with awards for service to the veterinary college and the veterinary profession during its 54th Annual Veterinary Conference and Alumni Weekend, March 24.
www.athensceo.com
UGA Awarded Innovation Corps Site Status
http://athensceo.com/news/2017/05/uga-awarded-innovation-corps-site-status/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=a05725190c-eGaMorning-5_11_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-a05725190c-86731974&mc_cid=a05725190c&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Staff Report From Athens CEO
The University of Georgia has been named an Innovation Corps Site by the National Science Foundation, enhancing UGA’s ability to turn ideas and research discoveries into commercially viable products or services by providing early evaluation of projects through a customer discovery process. The I-Corps award will enable UGA to serve up to 30 new startup projects a year, adding to the university’s rapidly growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and assisting the campus-wide collaboration focused on helping all entrepreneurial projects move to the marketplace. Innovation Gateway, the university’s arm for translating research discoveries into products and companies, will serve as the hub for I-Corps UGA, but collaborators will include UGA’s Entrepreneurship Program, College of Engineering and numerous faculty and staff across campus.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
EGSC’s honey bees win first place
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2017/05/egscs-honey-bees-win-first-place/
by KATELYN MOORE
The honey bees of East Georgia State College recently won first place in the educational category of the Pine Tree Festival Flower Show held at the Sudie A. Fulford Community Learning Center on April 29 and 30, 2017. The event was sponsored by the Seedling Garden Club. …As a Bee Campus USA institution, one of EGSC’s goals is to promote the importance of all pollinators to the world we live in.
www.myajc.com
All hail the bee
Georgia Tech, Little Bee Project cultivate healthy hives in metro area
http://www.myajc.com/lifestyles/food–cooking/all-hail-the-bee/F46B1kzjoBospwsBq5kMjO/
By Ligaya Figueras – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There has been quite a buzz over bees in the last few months.
In mid-March, freeze warnings in the state prompted the Georgia Department of Agriculture to issue a statement about the impact of frigid temperatures on fruit crops. Open flowers and emerging buds were at risk, but so were what Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black called “the unsung hero of our blooming crops”: the honeybee. …Just a week later, the rusty patched bumblebee was placed on the federal endangered species list. It was the first time a bumblebee species in the U.S. received protection under the Endangered Species Act. …Locally, Georgia Tech has been doing its part to advocate for bees since 2013, when it launched its Urban Honey Bee Project. The university maintains hives on the rooftop of one of its buildings on campus and also at community gardens around Atlanta: at Piedmont Park, Zoo Atlanta and a farm near the Westside Beltline. Its interdisciplinary undergraduate research and education program focuses on the impact of urban habitats on honeybees, and that has attracted faculty members and students from a number of departments, said program director Jennifer Leavey. …Georgia Tech is also one of 28 Bee Campus USA-certified colleges around the country. Bee Campus USA is a national program that fosters the well-being of pollinators at higher learning institutions. (East Georgia State College in Swainsboro is the only other Bee Campus USA-certified institution in Georgia.)
www.wtvm.com
GA Congressman Drew Ferguson discusses higher education at Columbus roundtable
http://www.wtvm.com/story/35396450/ga-congressman-drew-ferguson-discusses-higher-education-at-columbus-roundtable
By Chandler Morgan, Reporter/Anchor
Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-GA) visited Columbus State University to meet with university presidents and staff from around the Third District for a higher education roundtable. News Leader 9 caught up with the newly serving Congressman to hear what issues he’s in town to tackle. “Quite candidly I want to get some information back and some ideas to take back to committee [in Washington],” said Ferguson. “Some things are working very well, here in Georgia, and making these educational institutions very successful,” said Ferguson. Ferguson said one of the concerns frequently brought up by the university presidents in attendance at today’s meeting, dealt with student financial aid and educational enrollment costs. University presidents and leaders included LaGrange College, Point University, Columbus State University, University of West Georgia and Gordon State College. “We heard very clearly that students having access to Pell grants and student loans were very important,” said Ferguson. “But we also recognize that we’ve got to maximize those dollars in our education system and we’ve got to make sure we are doing everything we can to help these students graduate on time,” said Ferguson.
www.savannahnow.com
Savannah State facing potential NCAA sanctions with release of latest APR scores
http://savannahnow.com/news/sports/local-colleges/2017-05-10/savannah-state-facing-potential-ncaa-sanctions-release-latest
By Nathan Deen
The Savannah State athletics department is making gains in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate, but the Tigers will once again face Level 2 penalties for men’s basketball and football for the 2017-18 season. Football recorded an 896 multi-year APR for the 2015-16 academic year – its highest mark since 2010-11 – but the NCAA requires a minimum of 930 for programs to avoid penalties. Men’s basketball registered an 880 multi-year score, which is down from 892 the previous academic year. The APR was created by the NCAA in 2003 and measures the eligibility and retention rates of student-athletes at each Division I institution. The NCAA released its most recent APR figures Wednesday. Men’s basketball and football each received Level 2 penalties. Baseball received a Level 1 penalty for its multi-year APR score of 919. The Level 1 penalty reduces practice time by four hours and one day each week during the regular season. Level 2 includes the Level 1 penalty as well as the loss of postseason eligibility and potentially spring football and a reduction of the number of games a team plays during the regular season. Next season would be the second straight in which the Tigers have to sit out during the postseason in men’s basketball. …However, Savannah State athletic director Sterling Steward said Wednesday that the NCAA provides avenues for teams to avoid penalties. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of progress,” Steward said. “A lot of it depends on us hitting a score this year to get those penalties removed.
Higher Education News:
www.bizjournals.com
Accenture study: Atlanta No. 12 U.S. city for 2017 college graduates
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/05/10/accenture-study-atlanta-no-12-u-s-city-for-2017.html
David Allison
Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A new study by Accenture says Atlanta is the No. 12 U.S. city for where 2017’s college graduates would prefer to start their career. The No. 1 ranked city was New York. Rounding out the top 10 are Chicago, southern California, Washington D.C., Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Denver, and Houston and Austin tied at 10. Atlanta was No. 12, with Charlotte, N.C., No. 13; Raleigh-Durham, N.C., No. 14 and Minneapolis-St. Paul No. 15. …The study found that among 2017 graduates in Atlanta, 54 percent expect to find a full-time job, while 40 percent of 2015/2016 grads found a full-time job. Also among Atlanta grads, the study found that 73 percent expect to find a job within six months, whereas 66 percent of 2015/2016 grads found a job within 6 months. The study found that for the first time in years, the number of graduates wanting to work for large companies increased.
www.insidehighered.com
U.S. Treasury to Raise Student Loan Interest Rates
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/05/11/us-treasury-raise-student-loan-interest-rates?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=d0de37198d-DNU20170511&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-d0de37198d-197515277&mc_cid=d0de37198d&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Paul Fain
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is set to raise federal student loan interest rates in July, Money magazine reported Wednesday. The move had been expected after the Federal Reserve increased benchmark interest rates in recent months.
www.chronicle.com
Florida Moves to Slash Funds for Remedial Education, and College Leaders Protest
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Florida-Moves-to-Slash-Funds/240048?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=3a424fdbcd1745a8927bd0b2b39796da&elq=c3b94e3a061a48ea89e0be35c9d15ed2&elqaid=13875&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5788
By Katherine Mangan
Four years ago, the Florida Legislature changed the trajectory of developmental education across the state’s 28 open-access colleges by making remedial classes optional for most students. Enrollment in the classes plunged, and colleges set to work revamping and beefing up academic supports for students who weren’t ready for college-level classes. Lawmakers concluded that the reduced remedial enrollments meant that colleges needed less money. On Monday, as part of an $82.4-billion state budget bill, they slashed the colleges’ remedial budgets by $30.2 million. The move provoked an immediate outcry by leaders of the Florida College System, which represents the state’s open-access institutions, many of which offer both two-and-four-year degrees.
www.chronicle.com
People Esteem Community Colleges but Question How Well Higher Ed Serves Students
http://www.chronicle.com/article/People-Esteem-Community/240047?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=75ec4f0101724173aff733aefd35df63&elq=c3b94e3a061a48ea89e0be35c9d15ed2&elqaid=13875&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5788
By Eric Kelderman
The American public has mixed feelings about how well colleges serve the needs of students, according to the results of a poll released on Thursday by New America, a nonpartisan think tank. Three-quarters of the respondents agreed that it is easier to be successful with a college degree, but only one-quarter said higher education is “fine just the way it is,” according to the poll. But within the results are several positive signs for academe, including a relatively glowing picture of community colleges: At least 80 percent of those who answered the poll said that community colleges contribute to a strong work force, are worth their cost, and prepare people to succeed — more-positive perceptions than for any other sector of higher education. …Higher-education experts at New America said this first survey was meant to set a baseline and doesn’t yet explain what was behind the results. But community colleges have gotten a lot of positive attention in recent years, including a growing movement by states to provide free tuition at two-year colleges and a push for more work-force preparation, said Amy Laitinen, director of higher education in the education-policy program at New America.
www.insidehighered.com
Tennessee Free Speech Bill Signed Into Law
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/05/11/tennessee-free-speech-bill-signed-law?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=d0de37198d-DNU20170511&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-d0de37198d-197515277&mc_cid=d0de37198d&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Colleen Flaherty
A free speech bill backed by state Republican lawmakers in Tennessee became law there this week. It is separate legislation from what was previously dubbed the “Milo bill,” after fallen Breitbart star Milo Yiannopoulos, whose February appearance at the University of California at Berkeley sparked violent protests from non-students. The news law says that it “is not the proper role of an institution to attempt to shield individuals from free speech, including ideas and opinions they find offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical or wrong-headed.”