University System News:
www.ajc.com
Georgia college presidents get pay raises
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/georgia-college-presidents-get-pay-raises/TI4FXlXwSaenA0pur5xTPL/
Eric Stirgus
The presidents of 23 Georgia public colleges and universities got raises this week, courtesy of the state Board of Regents. The base pay increases were between 1.5 percent and 4 percent, according to data released Thursday afternoon by the University System of Georgia. Most of the presidents received either a 3 percent or 4 percent raise. The board met Tuesday in executive session to approve the salaries.

www.erietvnews.com
SPECIAL REPORT: Could a college close? Erie News Now examines the State System Review
http://www.erietvnews.com/story/35467167/special-report-could-a-college-close-erie-news-now-examines-the-state-system-review
By Matt Knoedler
ERIE, Pa. – “…including the merger or even closure of some institutions.” It was this line from Chancellor Frank Brogan in January that shocked many throughout the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Fear, leading to the question: Could one of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities, such as Edinboro University, actually close its doors? The state system — commonly called PASSHE — has launched a full-scale review, to find out. “We wanted to go into this study with no preconceived notions,” said Kenn Marshall, PASSHE spokesman. To conduct that review, PASSHE has hired the Colorado-based National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. They’ll be looking at the role Edinboro University plays in the State System, and also how PASSHE affects Edinboro and its other 13 universities. But as Erie News Now learned, that review has been underway since summer 2016. And it doesn’t take long to notice the challenges PASSHE is facing and why this could be a real threat. Nearly a quarter of the system’s funding comes from the commonwealth — 27 percent, or $444.2 million– which gave PASSHE $60 million less this year than in 2008. PASSHE has cut $325 million over the last decade, Marshall said. …Many of the 14 state-owned universities are revamping their curriculum to avoiding closing or merging, using PASSHE’s Skills Gap Analysis” to do that. The schools are cutting outdated and lower-enrolled programs while developing new programs for in-demand jobs. …Other states, like Georgia, have consolidated. In their case, from 14 to 7 institutions since 2011. The difference is, the University System of Georgia does not need approval from lawmakers to make cuts. But PASSHE does, need approval from the commonwealth for any consolidation. So depending on what findings are in the NCHEMS report, it will still take approval from the general assembly, before any college would close.

www.myajc.com
Georgia activists issue ‘New Appeal for Human Rights’
http://www.myajc.com/news/breaking-news/georgia-activists-issue-new-appeal-for-human-rights/fwJnCAakhNVp20bCfJlNLO/
By Jeremy Redmon
A diverse coalition of young Georgia college students and veteran activists has issued a “New Appeal for Human Rights,” modeled on the 1960 “Appeal for Human Rights” black civil rights advocates published in Atlanta newspapers to combat segregation. The new appeal protests discrimination in the justice system; abuse of farmworkers; Islamophobia; and policies that block unauthorized immigrants from attending some of Georgia’s top universities and paying in-state tuition rates at other state schools. The appeal also protests a new Georgia law aimed at cutting state funding to private universities that declare themselves “sanctuary campuses” in defiance of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. And it calls for “de-escalation training” for police, increased access to healthcare, more affordable housing in Atlanta and a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration system with a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
MCG doctor returns to oncology program he helped build
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/2017-05-18/mcg-doctor-returns-oncology-program-he-helped-build
By Tom Corwin Staff Writer
The fourth time might be the charm for Dr. Anand Jillella. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted earlier this week to create the J. Harold Harrison Distinguished University Chair in Medical Oncology and to appoint Jillella as the first to fill it starting July 1. Jillella, currently the associate director for community affairs and outreach at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, will be chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, a position he has held before, and associate director for Medical Oncology Services at Georgia Cancer Center.

www.walb.com
Medical student housing complex to open soon
http://www.walb.com/story/35464292/medical-student-housing-complex-to-open-soon?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=b7f16d5bdb-eGaMorning-5_19_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-b7f16d5bdb-86731974&mc_cid=b7f16d5bdb&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Melissa Hodges, Anchor
The Medical College of Georgia’s new student housing in Albany is set to open soon. The school’s associate dean says the “first-class” living experience will help retain top pharmacists and physicians. FlaggStone, the $8 million medical student complex located just a few blocks away from Phoebe’s main campus, will be officially christened at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting. Students from MCG, the University of Georgia’s Pharmacy School, and Phoebe family medicine residents will be able to live in the facility which can house up to 40 people.

www.wabe.org
Re-Entry Program Brings Former Nurses Back Into The Profession
http://news.wabe.org/post/re-entry-program-brings-former-nurses-back-profession
By NAOMI THOMAS
…The current nursing shortage is one of the most significant to hit the state, and it continues to worsen. (Here’s a recent article on the shortage.) According to the Georgia Nurses Association, more than 50 percent of the nursing workforce is nearing retirement age. Meanwhile, the aging of the population as a whole means that more nurses and health professionals are needed to act as caregivers. In the Northwest Georgia mountains, Blue Ridge Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is scrambling to relieve the nursing shortage. Blue Ridge AHEC is a nonprofit regional health education center based in Rome, charged with increasing the supply, distribution and education of health professionals within the 20-county region they cover. Georgia is divided into six AHEC regions, and all are making similar efforts. …In addition to AHEC’s six regional programs, two metro Atlanta universities — Kennesaw State and Clayton State — also have programs aimed at putting nurses back into the workforce.

www.wrbl.com
GSW grad survives rare brain disorder
http://wrbl.com/2017/05/17/gsw-grad-survives-rare-brain-disorder/
By wrblteresawhitaker
A recent Georgia Southwestern State University graduate is well on her way to becoming a registered nurse. A rare brain disorder could easily have stopped her in her tracks. Tori Duren was born with Arnold Chiari Malformation. She didn’t know it until symptoms started showing up when she was in high school. She would need two surgeries by the time she reached college to correct the problem. …She was out of school for one year, but when she returned she changed her major from Biology to Nursing. She says she was inspired by a nurse named Rose at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she had both of her surgeries. Tori graduated this month. She takes her licensing exams in June to become a registered nurse.

www.onlineathens.com
UGA conference spotlights college barriers faced by homeless or foster-care students
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-05-18/uga-conference-spotlights-college-barriers-faced-homeless-or-foster-care?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=b7f16d5bdb-eGaMorning-5_19_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-b7f16d5bdb-86731974&mc_cid=b7f16d5bdb&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Lee Shearer
High school counselors, college admissions officers, social workers and other professionals gathered in the University of Georgia’s Georgia Center for Continuing Education on Thursday, there to get a taste of what it’s like to be a young homeless person or foster child hoping to get into college. Nearly 180 people from across Georgia, and a few from beyond, started off the Embark Georgia Leadership Conference with a “college-access simulation” designed to show them the barriers such students often must face alone, without the family support systems usually taken for granted. A special group of student volunteers who know those barriers well played the roles of admissions officers, social workers, financial aid counselors and others who aren’t always helpful. The students were homeless students or students from foster care now enrolled at UGA and other schools.

www.albanyceo.com
AT&T Donates to Albany State University for Student Scholarships
http://albanyceo.com/news/2017/05/t-donates-albany-state-university-student-scholarships/
Staff Report From Albany CEO
AT&T is helping to support higher education in Southwest Georgia. The company recently made a donation to the Albany State University Foundation to support scholarships. Courtney Brinson, AT&T Georgia regional director of external affairs, presented the donation on May 17 to ASU President Art Dunning and Randae Davis, ASU Interim Chief Development Officer. …Brinson and AT&T have a long and valued relationship with ASU, having generously donated in previous years.

www.emetrotimes.com
Clayton State University Hires New Film and Digital Media Center Director
http://www.emetrotimes.com/clayton-state-university-hires-new-film-digital-media-center-director/
By eMetro Times
glynn-beardClayton State University continues to make a mark in Georgia’s film industry as it seeks to offer greater educational opportunities for individuals who want to break into the $7 billion market. The University’s Center for Continuing and Professional Education has hired Glynn Beard as director of the Film and Digital Media Center. He will lead efforts to revamp the Center’s film and digital media programming to be relevant for industry demands. “There’s a window of opportunity in content creation,” he said. “I want to see the next generation of films shot in Georgia, written in Georgia, with Georgia writers and producers.” Beard, an award-winning independent filmmaker for the last 20 years, is no stranger to the film industry.

www.coastalourier.com
Armstrong students release diamondback terrapins on Tybee Island
http://coastalcourier.com/section/19/article/86769/
Armstrong State University student members of the Terrapin Educational Research Program of Savannah (TERPS) recently gathered on Tybee Island to release 17 diamondback terrapins into the wild. The state-protected turtles hatched from eggs rescued on Highway 80 last summer. “Our research students work with the diamondback terrapins year-round,” said Armstrong biology professor and TERPS advisor Dr. Kathryn Craven. “They cared for the turtles on campus and have been proud foster parents.” The diamondback terrapin, which can be found along the eastern seaboard, is the only North American turtle species to live exclusively in brackish water. TERPS is designed to raise awareness of the marsh turtles and to reduce their mortality on area roadways and in local crab traps.

www.morningagclips.com
USDA invests $17.5M in rural communities
Grants will improve sustainable agriculture & help rural communities thrive
http://www.morningagclips.com/usda-invests-17-5m-in-rural-communities/
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced 47 grants totaling nearly $17.5 million to improve sustainable agriculture and help rural communities thrive. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. “A number of factors are involved in achieving economic success in rural communities,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “These NIFA investments will help us understand the social and behavioral factors that inform decision-making in agriculture, which can help rural communities thrive.” …The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative is America’s flagship competitive grants program for foundational and translational research, education, and extension projects in the food and agricultural sciences. … FY16 AERC grants include: …Albany State University, Albany, Georgia, $499,724 Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia, $149,827 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, $499,630

www.blufftontoday.com
Georgia Southern acquires living laboratory
http://www.blufftontoday.com/news/2017-05-18/georgia-southern-acquires-living-laboratory
Mary Landers
While Georgia Southern University is working on an upcoming consolidation with Armstrong State University and an enlarged student population of 27,000, the Statesboro-based school has acquired its first permanent scientific field station. Known as the Effingham Wetlands, the parcel measures about 1,400 acres and was recently donated by the Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (STPAL) to the Georgia Southern University Foundation with the express purpose of using the property as a vibrant living laboratory.

www.statnews.com
Cardiologists embrace 3-D printing to ‘test drive’ high-risk heart procedures

Cardiologists embrace 3-D printing to ‘test drive’ high-risk heart procedures

By MAX BLAU
Hoping to reduce the dangers of high-risk heart valve procedures, more doctors are relying upon 3-D printing to create models of hearts identical in shape and size to their patients.’ And a chorus of cardiologists believes 3-D models, used to better plan for heart valve replacements, have made tricky procedures faster and safer — freeing hospitals to accept patients who were rejected for open-heart surgery and left with nowhere else to turn. They’re calling for more medical institutions and, eventually, insurers to get on board with a practice found at a small but growing number of hospitals, including ones in Texas, Michigan, and Maryland… “If you have a solid model in your hands, it can be helpful to see the anatomy,” said Zhen Qian, head of cardiovascular imaging research at the Atlanta-based Piedmont Heart Institute. “You can see everything. You can have a better idea of the anatomy and geometry as opposed to looking at a screen.”  Two years ago, Qian turned to Georgia Tech to design a valve that could be used by his cardiologists to practice surgeries. Chuck Zhang, a Georgia Tech engineering professor who’s designed materials for planes and prosthetic legs, has been developing this replica valve.

www.bizjournals.com
$140M West Midtown project moving forward
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/05/19/140m-west-midtown-project-moving-forward.html
Douglas Sams and Amy Wenk
Georgia Tech has picked a developer for a planned $140 million West Midtown project that would target rapidly growing startups for new loft offices surrounded by stores, housing and a boutique hotel. An affiliate of Georgia Tech, Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV), has selected S.J. Collins Enterprises to lead development of the 9-acre site at 14th Street and Howell Mill Road amid some of intown Atlanta’s trendiest stores and restaurants. Fairburn, Ga.-based real estate firm S.J. Collins is known for new Whole Foods-anchored developments in Chamblee and Decatur. It’s also worked on major projects that cater to the technology industry. For example, it developed the Marketplace at Tech Center, a shopping and dining destination in Newport News, Va. It sits next to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, a nuclear physics laboratory. The proposed West Midtown project would include at least 100,000 square feet of loft office space, 70,000 square feet of retail, 275 residential units (either rental or for sale), and a boutique hotel.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
No. 1 GGC men’s tennis advances to NAIA quarterfinals
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/college/no-ggc-men-s-tennis-advances-to-naia-quarterfinals/article_d7bc6036-3b83-11e7-bfae-5bee7bcbaa36.html
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College men’s tennis team moved another step closer to capturing a fourth consecutive NAIA national title on Wednesday as the Grizzlies blanked No. 17 Middle Georgia State 5-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the championship tournament. With the victory, the Grizzlies move to 20-0 on the season and have now won 52 straight matches dating back to the 2015 season.

Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
The Ups and Downs of Upward Bound
All About the Program Behind the Grant-Formatting Controversy
http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-UpsDowns-of-Upward/240117?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=b2bba475601a46e6b0193d9586a9f4ef&elq=3f5cd4ddd49a4cc4b0c25fd3d7890e67&elqaid=13997&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5846
By Kelly Field
The uproar that has followed the Education Department’s refusal to consider dozens of Upward Bound grant applications that were submitted with formatting errors has brought fresh attention to a program that’s been around since the Johnson administration. The department’s move, which disqualified more than 70 applicants that failed to follow the agency’s strict rules on line spacing, font size, and page limits, drew outrage from colleges, condemnation from Congress, and calls for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to reconsider. But this is hardly the first time the college-prep program, which served more than 60,000 students in 2015, has been in the headlines. Over its 50-year history, Upward Bound has faced budget cuts, competition from new programs, and questions about its effectiveness. Still, Upward Bound has survived, thanks in large part to its vocal alumni and a basic rule of Washington: All politics is local. Every time there’s been a threat to the program, lawmakers have come to the defense of programs in their districts.

www.insidehighered.com
White House Would Slash Student Aid and NSF
Details leaked about forthcoming budget include large cuts to college aid programs and end Public Service Loan Forgiveness and subsidized loan programs. Other leaks point to new proposals to cut science.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/05/19/reported-details-trump-budget-include-big-cuts-financial-aid
By Andrew Kreighbaum
The White House’s 2018 budget for education — expected to be released next week as part of the administration’s full spending proposals — appears to double down on the eye-popping cuts to programs included in the Trump administration’s “skinny budget” released in March. According to details leaked to The Washington Post this week, the forthcoming budget calls for eliminating the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, letting the Perkins Loan program expire and ending the subsidy that pays the interest on some undergraduate loans while borrowers are in college. While the Department of Education’s overall budget would take a huge 13.6 percent cut, the details leaked so far suggest that the administration plans to invest hundreds of millions in new school-choice initiatives across the country. The preliminary budget released in March included deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health and multiple other science programs, especially those focused on environmental research.

www.chronicle.com
Colleges Grapple With How to Help Students Still Left in Limbo by Trump’s Travel Ban
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Grapple-With-How-to/240114?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=025f11630a104e30b79c0e0e4b7de665&elq=3f5cd4ddd49a4cc4b0c25fd3d7890e67&elqaid=13997&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5846
By Karin Fischer
President Trump announced his executive order barring travelers, including students, from a half-dozen predominantly Muslim countries shortly after he took office in late January. But even in the dead of winter, officials at Ohio University were already thinking about summer. While students from the affected countries would be permitted, under the order, to complete their studies, if they went home to visit family and friends, they might not be able to return to the United States. So Ohio administrators began drawing up a plan to offer summer housing to students stranded by the travel ban. The university is not alone. The academic year may be winding down, but colleges still find themselves grappling with fallout from the ban.

www.insidehighered.com
U of California Limits Out-of-State Enrollments
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/05/19/u-california-limits-out-state-enrollments?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=7e1b35309a-DNU20170519&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-7e1b35309a-197515277&mc_cid=7e1b35309a&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Scott Jaschik
The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to cap out-of-state enrollment at 18 percent of undergraduate enrollment at the five campuses currently below that level. But for the other four campuses — generally those with the most admissions demand — current out-of-state levels may be maintained