University System News:
www.insidehighered.com
New President for SHEEO
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/05/08/new-president-sheeo
By Paul Fain
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association has hired Robert E. Anderson to be its new president, beginning in August. He will replace George Pernsteiner, who has led the group for four years.
Anderson is currently interim chief academic officer and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University System of Georgia, where he has worked on college completion, distance education, academic program approval and other initiatives.
www.walb.com
Final Spring graduation for Armstrong State University
http://www.walb.com/story/35361019/final-spring-graduation-for-armstrong-state-university
By WTOC Staff
The final Spring graduates of Armstrong State University walked across the stage on Saturday. 800 students, a record number, got their diplomas at the Savannah Civic Center. Former Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, the university’s first African-American student, delivered the commencement speech. The graduates join more than 38,000 alumni from the school. “It feels wonderful,” said Chelsea Robinson, Masters Graduate. “I feel like it’s taken me forever but I’m finally here, and I finally made it.” “It feels great to be honest with you,” said Eric Jordan, Masters Graduate. “I started here at Armstrong with my undergrad in 2010 and today I’m standing here in 2017 with my Masters Degree.” Also graduating from Armstrong were three sets of twins. …Armstrong was founded in 1935. Armstrong and Georgia Southern will officially merge in January of 2018. The Winter graduates will be the school’s final graduating class.
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong honors record number of graduates
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-05-06/armstrong-honors-record-number-graduates
By Savannah Morning News
Armstrong State University honored a record number of graduates at its annual spring commencement on Saturday. Degrees were conferred upon more than 800 students from Armstrong’s College of Education, College of Health Professions, College of Liberal Arts and College of Science and Technology. Former Savannah Mayor Otis S. Johnson served as the keynote speaker. Johnson made history when he transferred to Armstrong State in 1963, becoming the first African-American student to attend and graduate from the institution. In 2003, Johnson was elected as Savannah’s mayor and reelected in 2007. “This is an exciting and important event,” Johnson said. “I stand here as the first African-American to attend Armstrong College in 1963 and I will be the last commencement speaker for Armstrong State University. This commencement is historic because the graduates will be the last from Armstrong State University as we know it in the city of Savannah. It’s very special.” …The spring commencement was the final one for university President Linda Bleicken, who will retire June 30. Bleicken has led Armstrong since 2009. Jennifer Frum will assume the role of interim president on July 1.
www.wgxa.tv
20-year-old graduates from Fort Valley State University
http://wgxa.tv/news/local/20-year-old-graduates-from-fort-valley-state-university
by Danielle Apolinar
On Saturday morning, over 200 students graduated at the Fort Valley State University graduation ceremony. One of those students was 20-year-old Deja Clay, who received her degree in Biology. …Clay was the youngest graduate there and plans to enter medical school and become a cardiovascular student. Clay graduated in just two years and said it was tough at times, but her dedication and ambition has been well worth it. …She said she was able to graduate this early because she knew the value of dual enrollment courses, which are college level courses taken in high school.
www.americantowns.com
Dan Nix Honored with University System of Georgia Academic Recognition Day Award
http://www.americantowns.com/ga/valdosta/news/dan-nix-honored-with-university-system-of-georgia-academic-recognition-day-award-28489981
Dan Nix is Valdosta State University’s 2017 University System of Georgia Academic Recognition Day Award recipient
www.albanyherald.com
Albany Museum of Art officials ponder move downtown
Museum relocation would add to downtown synergy, give economy $4 million boost
http://www.albanyherald.com/features/albany-museum-of-art-officials-ponder-move-downtown/article_d19c327a-263e-58c7-bed5-9626b85569c5.html
By Carlton Fletcher
It’s one of those not-so-well-kept secrets, the talks that have surfaced between city of Albany officials and the Albany Museum of Art’s board of directors, but representatives of both groups said last week they’d like to relocate the museum in the city’s Central Business District. Museum Executive Director Paula Williams, while cautious in her discussion of the possible move, said, “We haven’t decided if we’ll renovate an existing building or start a new structure from the ground up, but our board did agree that if we find the funding and we’re able to get a building suitable to house a credited art museum, we’ll definitely be moving.” …AMA’s current facilities at 311 Meadowlark Drive, which are on the west campus of Albany State University, were severely damaged by straight-line winds that tore through the community on Jan. 2. While the installation of a new roof and renovations of the first floor of the facility are currently underway, Williams said it’s unclear whether the museum will resume operations at that location. Ownership of the Meadowlark Drive facility is something of an anomaly for AMA board members as they ponder the museum’s future. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents owns the land on which the museum sits, but the museum owns the building. “There’s an agreement in place with the Board of Regents that if we sell the building at any time, they get the first option to purchase it,” Williams said. “They haven’t shown interest in buying the property yet, but they have a year to make a decision. And we have nothing in writing from them saying they’re not interested.
www.insidehighered.com
The New Student ID
Despite questions about privacy, colleges using biometric authentication such as iris scans say they are mostly concerned with getting students into campus facilities as quickly as possible.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/05/09/u-georgia-adopts-iris-recognition-hands-free-authentication
By Carl Straumsheim
The student ID card isn’t going away, but the technologies that colleges are using to supplement it are moving the institutions toward a future in which students are rarely required to pull out their cards. Requiring students to take out their wallets, pull out an ID and wiggle it just right under a bar-code scanner is a recipe for congestion. Fingerprint or hand geometry reading are some popular alternatives, but the sensors don’t always work on the first attempt, and some students may be squeamish about touching a surface that thousands of other people use — especially before sitting down to eat. So the issue remains: How do you get students into the dining hall, recreation center or other spaces on campus quickly while at the same time verifying their identity? Some institutions, such as the University of Georgia, are pursuing a hands-free future. UGA has used some form of biometric authentication since the 1970s, and this summer will bring the latest development. When students return to campus this fall, they will have the option of enrolling in a system where they can use their irises to enter dining halls and the Ramsey Student Center, said William H. McGee, IT director of auxiliary services at UGA.
www.wbtv.com
Columbus State University creates foundation, helps homeless
http://www.wbtv.com/story/35376038/columbus-state-university-creates-foundation-helps-homeless
By J.T. Fellows, Digital Content Producer
Columbus State University is creating a foundation aimed at helping current or aspiring students who are homeless or living in shelters. The foundation will be named “embark” after a network established in Georgia that works to get homeless youth to college. Funds at CSU will be used to purchase housing, food, clothing, and other essential items so these students can start or complete their degrees.
www.tigersroar.com
Marine science program looks forward to new dock, research facility
http://www.tigersroar.com/news/article_6f6b8bee-3442-11e7-b706-13304a800265.html
by Alexsia Brown
The marine science program at Savannah State University will have a new research facility and dock.
“Right now, from our current dock we have to be careful about what time we come and go with the boats. Because of how shallow it gets, you can see the mud out there,” Carol Pride, full professor and chairwoman of the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, said. “So there’s certain times around the tide when we can’t bring the boat in, and we’ve gotten stuck before and have to dock it somewhere else down the creek.” The new dock will help solve that problem because it will go out to deeper waters.
www.wgauradio.com
UGA BUILDINGS NAMED IN HONOR OF BUSINESS LEADERS
http://www.wgauradio.com/news/local/uga-buildings-named-honor-business-leaders/kDDHYrAin6Viemw5f6TGAN/
By: Bryant Tim
Construction of Benson Hall and Moore-Rooker Hall is near completion as part of the second and largest phase of UGA’s Business Learning Community. The buildings are located on the Athens campus at the corner of Lumpkin and Baxter streets. “I want to thank these outstanding alumni for their tremendous loyalty and support,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Their generous gifts will enhance the learning environment for business students at the University of Georgia for generations to come.” The two new buildings adjoin Amos Hall, the centerpiece of Phase II’s construction, and are next to Correll Hall, which opened in 2015. “We are honored to name these buildings for such respected leaders in the business community. I am especially grateful for the faith and confidence these alumni have demonstrated in the future of the Terry College of Business,” said Dean Benjamin C. Ayers. “We’re very excited for completion of the second phase of construction this summer, when all of our faculty and students will be able to work, learn, study and collaborate in business school facilities that are second to none.” The naming of Benson Hall and Moore-Rooker Hall was approved earlier this spring by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
www.publicnow.com
Three Georgia Schools Named National Green Ribbon Winners
http://www.publicnow.com/view/24170EF1AFB0F4CECA7667374F717439EA98F550
Three of Georgia’s public schools have been named national Green Ribbon Schools for 2017, the U.S. Department of Education announced this week. Gilbert Elementary School in Walker County, Kinchafoonee Primary School in Lee County, and Morningside Elementary School in Atlanta Public Schools were all honored with the Green Ribbon designation, which recognizes schools and districts that exercise a comprehensive approach to creating ‘green’ environments by reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education for students. The University of Georgia was also honored …Through a partnership involving the Georgia Department of Education, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Captain Planet Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the U.S. Green Building Council of Georgia, the Clean Air Campaign and the University System of Georgia, three schools and a college were nominated to compete for the national award.
www.georgiatrend.com
Trendsetters: Where the Grass is Greener
http://www.georgiatrend.com/May-2017/Trendsetters-Where-the-Grass-is-Greener/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=9cb06dc886-eGaMorning-5_9_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-9cb06dc886-86731974&mc_cid=9cb06dc886&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Ellen Berman
The next time you tee off, you may be standing on a new drought-resistant turf discovered by the “Turf Team” working at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in Tifton. It’s called TifTuf™, the newly licensed bermudagrass cultivar that may soon be the grass of choice for athletic fields, golf courses and lawns throughout the South and in many countries around the world.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
Bobcat Baseball makes school history, takes conference championship
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2017/05/bobcat-baseball-makes-school-history-takes-conference-championship/
by KATELYN MOORE
For the first time in the history of East Georgia State College’s athletics program, the Bobcat Baseball team has earned their first regular-season conference championship. They will go on to play in the conference tournament in Lake Point May 10 – 13, 2017.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Georgia Gwinnett uses offensive outbreak to top Talladega, claim A.I.I. championship
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/college/georgia-gwinnett-uses-offensive-outbreak-to-top-talladega-claim-a/article_7cff6072-3452-11e7-9e3c-830553ae8e67.html
By Brandon Sudge
Staff Correspondent
Georgia Gwinnett College leadoff hitter Rodney Tennie’s table-setting abilities led the Grizzlies to a 13-3 victory over Talladega (Ala.) and their second-consecutive A.I.I. conference championship. …Georgia Gwinnett and Talladega will both advance to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round, but the Grizzlies will get to hoist the conference crown as they will serve as a host school in the Lawrenceville bracket from May 16-19.
www.ajc.com
Fans & foes of campus gun law looking to propose changes
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/fans-foes-campus-gun-law-looking-propose-changes/b5oe8ikCWMk0tFHV2LvEnO/
Eric Stirgus
Critics as well as supporters of Georgia’s new “campus carry” law are looking for ways to make changes to the guidelines. Some supporters, such as 29-year-old Georgia State University law student Alex Ward, are thinking of fixes to the law that would allow faculty to carry permitted weapons into their own offices. Tamelonie Thomas, 23, a Georgia Southern student who opposed the legislation, is hoping the University System of Georgia will consider signage on campuses explaining where people can carry firearms and training for permit holders.
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
As colleges figure out how to accommodate guns, parents continue to worry
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/05/08/as-colleges-figure-out-how-to-accommodate-guns-parents-continue-to-worry/
In signing the campus carry bill over the objections of the Board of Regents, university faculty and students who resoundingly opposed the measure in polls, Gov. Nathan Deal has created a stressful situation for colleges required to accept guns in their midst by July 1. The new law allows anyone with a concealed weapons permit to carry firearms on public campuses except in dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, buildings used for athletic events, child care centers, areas where high school students attend class, offices or rooms used for disciplinary hearings, and faculty academic offices. The bill is silent on how universities are expected to handle challenges, including gun storage. While students can bring their guns to class, student centers and dining halls, they can’t bring them to their dorms so where do they store them at night?
www.ajc.com
Will campus carry cause parents, faculty to spurn Georgia colleges?
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/will-campus-carry-cause-parents-faculty-spurn-georgia-colleges/r80R0wDrvLgb5xOAalFzLM/
Maureen Downey The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Critics of campus carry worry that parents will reconsider allowing their children to attend school in Georgia, which is now one of 10 states legalizing conceal carry on its public campuses. Signed last week by Gov. Nathan Deal, Georgia’s law goes into effect July 1, forcing colleges to scramble to figure out how to balance parent safety concerns with the legal right of students to be armed. Writing in the AJC Get Schooled blog, one mother says, “Students who don’t feel comfortable sitting in a classroom with a loaded gun will look elsewhere. Professors and other instructors who present provocative ideas or who have extremely rigorous grading standards may feel safer in classrooms where students are not armed. While many families, students and instructors who favor campus carry will continue to choose Georgia’s public schools, those who oppose it will choose private schools that don’t allow firearms or look outside the state.”
www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong: Cyber forensics to continue after police chief’s departure
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-05-05/armstrong-cyber-forensics-continue-after-police-chief-s-departure?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=ICYMI:%20Monday,%20May%208
By Dash Coleman
Armstrong State officials are trying to rein in unease about the longevity of the university’s cyber forensics operations after the school’s longtime police chief was fired and a Chatham County official raised concerns in a public meeting. The school, which is in the process of consolidating with the larger Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, has been offering specialized investigative services to local law enforcement agencies for about five years. Armstrong’s police department, under recently fired Chief Wayne Willcox, expanded a cyber-security lab and trained several officers in digital forensics, making their services available to local law enforcement agencies. A statement issued by Armstrong last week said reports of those services being in jeopardy “are not accurate.” Some concern was initially raised April 21, when Chatham County Manager Lee Smith told the county’s commissioners in a public meeting that Armstrong’s cyber forensics unit would shut down, creating “a major problem.” He also asserted, in comments that were picked up in a television news story, that staff would be laid off – something the university denies. Smith, through a spokesperson, declined to comment further, but his spokesperson cited a statement from Armstrong that the lab would continue operations. The unit, however, is switching from oversight by law enforcement to oversight by the school’s broader Center for Applied Cyber Education, though sworn officers and certified examiners will still be handling casework, according to information provided by the school. Georgia Southern President Jaimie Hebert, who will head the new school, said in a statement Wednesday that the Savannah-based center “will assuredly be an important program” at the combined university but did not get into specifics.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Called to the White House, Business Leaders Attest to NIH’s Value
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Called-to-the-White-House/240031?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=26eb6836d18142da99bbe2bbee5abbeb&elq=2492522ca63049f8b2e437b4db7dd517&elqaid=13839&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5765
By Paul Basken
Not even two months ago, the Trump administration shocked the biomedical research community by proposing an 18-percent cut to the budget of the National Institutes of Health. On Monday at the White House, that attitude began to look like ancient history. Ushered into the Executive Mansion by a contingent of biomedical industry chiefs, NIH leaders spent two hours with top administration officials — followed by a visit with President Trump himself — carefully explaining the economic and human-health importance of the federal investment in medical science. Specific spending figures for the NIH were not discussed during the session, though the encouraging budgetary implications of the conversation seemed pretty clear, several participants said afterward.
www.insidehighered.com
Demanding Results on Transfer
Unusual foundation grant will pay for community colleges and four-year institutions to improve their transfer pathways, with goal of 30 percent bump in four-year degrees earned by community college graduates.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/05/09/foundation-fund-college-partnerships-community-college-transfer?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=a5b00d2bcb-DNU20170509&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-a5b00d2bcb-197515277&mc_cid=a5b00d2bcb&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Paul Fain
An unusually structured new grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation seeks to help eight colleges design a better pathway for community college students to earn four-year degrees. The foundation is funding the nonprofit Education Design Lab to lead a one-year “design challenge” for four pairs of community colleges and four-year institutions to develop customized sets of proven interventions to get more transfer students to graduation. The lab will choose the four sets of partner colleges from proposals submitted before August. The winners, who will have their costs covered by the foundation, must commit to a 30 percent increase in the number of entering community college students who earn bachelor’s degrees within six years of their start at the two-year institution. …The low four-year-degree completion numbers for community college transfer students helped convince the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation’s leaders to create the challenge grant, said Todd Penner, a portfolio director for the foundation who oversees its college success portfolio, which includes a four-year scholarship for lower-income students.