University System News:
www.ajc.com
Making the Grade: Tuition waiver gives seniors 2nd chance at learning
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/making-the-grade-tuition-waiver-gives-seniors-2nd-chance-learning/vHKP2hwoy6l9nMrW4W1opM/
H.M. Cauley For the AJC
Even though Roger DePuy, 75, had an accomplished career with IBM and retired comfortably in 2010, there was one thing he regretted not having done. “I went to college when I was 18, but life happened, and I dropped out,” he said. “Then in 2011, I realized I lived just a mile from Kennesaw State and that I still wanted to complete my degree and plaster that paper on the wall.” Any doubts DePuy had about writing papers, attending lectures and keeping up with technology evaporated when he found out that as a Georgia resident older than 62, he could attend courses for the cost of books and parking. …In the 2017 spring semester, 1,055 Georgia adults took advantage of the Senior Citizen Waiver that allows them to take classes for fun or degree credit without paying tuition.
www.ajc.com
Cops: KSU student’s gun, wallet stolen in armed robbery at campus dorm
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/cops-ksu-student-gun-wallet-stolen-armed-robbery-campus-dorm/1IyM6cDukikBYhExsf2qFJ/
Amanda C. Coyne The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Kennesaw State University student was robbed at gunpoint at the school’s Austin Residential Complex at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday, campus police said. The student was loading items into his car when two men carrying handguns approached him. The men demanded the student hand over his wallet and gun, according to an alert sent to students. The student complied and was not injured.
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Sign of the times in Georgia: No flipflops in UGA labs, but Glocks allowed
Sign of the times in Georgia: No flipflops in UGA labs, but Glocks allowed
Georgia rose to the front page of Reddit a few days ago over the state’s campus carry law that went into effect on July 1. “Madbiologist,” a poster to the mega online discussion site, shared the above photo, saying it was outside of a University of Georgia lab. I asked UGA about the sign, but haven’t heard back. Side note: UGA didn’t mention the campus carry law at the freshman orientation I attended last month, even in the presentation by the UGA police chief. None of the official speakers brought up the law over the two-day orientation. The issue, however, was raised by parents during a Q&A with current UGA students about life on campus. While the law permits guns in classrooms and labs, they are still outlawed in dorms. Anxious parents asked how UGA would make sure guns are kept out of dorms. A UGA official took that question, saying dorms were off-limits and conceal carry permit holders would be informed of that. But parents pressed her, asking if there were plans for metal detectors to ensure guns were not carried into dorms. Her answer: “No.”
www.poststar.com
Granville woman dies after crash
http://poststar.com/news/local/granville-woman-dies-after-crash/article_d7ef2c83-9e40-540a-9d80-f21c6353b3c6.html
Shelby McEachron, 21, died Monday of injuries suffered July 17 in a two-vehicle crash on Warrensburg Road in Thurman. McEachron was a Granville High School graduate and a student at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. … The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday the investigation into the accident is still ongoing.
www.wfxl.com
ABAC to begin school year with first-ever provost
http://wfxl.com/news/local/abac-welcomes-first-ever-provost
by Mary Green
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College begins its new school year in just a few weeks, and they’ll be doing so with a new leader in charge of academics. Dr. Jerry Baker took over as ABAC’s vice president for academic affairs on July 1, and he will also serve as the school’s first ever provost, a role Baker likens to the school’s “chief academic officer.” He said he hopes to continue ABAC’s ongoing strategic plan by engaging more students in this job.
www.wsav.com
Armstrong and Georgia Southern police departments to consolidate ahead of merger
Armstrong and Georgia Southern police departments to consolidate ahead of merger
By WSAV Staff
The University Police Departments at Armstrong State University and Georgia Southern University will consolidate July 29 in preparation for the universities’ anticipated consolidation in January 2018. Laura McCullough, Georgia Southern’s chief of police and director of the Office of Public Safety, will lead the consolidated University Police Department. “The early integration of University Police Departments will allow for upgraded equipment and aligned training standards,” notes McCullough. “We will be fully integrated well before the start of the fall 2017 semester.” In recent months, the police departments have conducted extensive cross-training with front line supervisors and officers, including ride-a-longs, to facilitate team-building between officers at both universities.
www.savannahnow.com
Committee to discuss merging Armstrong, Georgia Southern alumni groups, newspapers
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-07-25/committee-discuss-merging-armstrong-georgia-southern-alumni-groups-newspapers
By Dash Coleman
Precise details about academic departments and course offerings have yet to be decided, but groups studying how to combine Armstrong State and Georgia Southern universities are nearly done with their initial work. When a committee tasked with carrying out the state-mandated consolidation meets Wednesday, members will decide whether to move forward with nearly 80 recommendations, including suggestions to merge the two universities’ alumni associations and student newspapers. Other recommendations on a consent agenda — that is, vetted items that rarely result in discussion at the meetings — include policies to merge certain aspects of email, phone and wireless internet services, align and expand leadership and volunteer opportunities for students and embark on a rebranding campaign for a combined student housing program.
www.times-herald.com
Textile trail gets grant
http://times-herald.com/news/2017/07/textile-trail-gets-grant
By Winston Skinner
A $30,000 grant is helping to preserve the history of the West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail that runs through Coweta County. The Fuller E. Callaway Foundation recently granted the funds to the University of West Georgia’s Center for Public History, which will support the trail. …The heritage trail also promotes public programs, exhibits, events and other activities that highlight the textile industry and its impact on the region. …The UWG Center for Public History manages the Textile Trail with a staff of faculty and students. It researches, documents, preserves and promotes public discussion of the history and cultural, architectural, and folklife resources of the broader West Georgia region. Trail staff have collected stories and information at the Moreland Mill, and others mills including those in Arnco and Sargent are also on the trail.
www.washingtonpost.com
Blueberries are good for you. Don’t be afraid to grow them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/new-blueberry-varieties-are-perfect-for-gardeners-who-live-in-the-mid-atlantic/2017/07/25/be543bee-6ca4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html?mc_cid=ac2ea6ac03&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56&utm_campaign=ac2ea6ac03-eGaMorning-7_26_17&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_term=.e5c4b893f5ee
By Adrian Higgins
Loaded with vitamins, antioxidants and other good things, blueberries are the trendy health fruit of summer. …Blueberry bushes are particular about growing conditions. They want acidic, organically rich soil that stays moist but not wet. The more organic matter you incorporate, the easier it is to meet those needs, but if you stick a blueberry bush in common clay soil and walk away, it will start to decline — and rapidly if the soil dries out. …But while the home gardener may have cooled to this plant, farmers, breeders and growers have gone to town with the blueberry. In the United States, per-capita consumption grew by 50 percent between 2010 and 2015 as the blueberry became popular as a health food. Growers have responded by increasing the size and geographic range of blueberry plantations. …Southern growers have a species called rabbiteye blueberry, which is generally a larger shrub than the highbush with smaller and sweeter berries. Hybridizers in southern agricultural schools, particularly the University of Georgia and the University of Florida, have been able to cross the highbush blueberry with rabbiteye and other species to create a type known as southern highbush. Many of them fruit in the spring, allowing growers in the Southeast to get premium prices for the first blueberries of the season, easily shipped to major markets along the East Coast.
www.myfox8.com
NC scientists, students work to keep Americans safe from nuclear threats
NC scientists, students work to keep Americans safe from nuclear threats
by Bob Buckley
The federal government is charged with keeping us safe and it has put its faith in the work of scientists and students here in North Carolina. “We’re not really about producing specific gadgets that fix things today,” said Yousry Azmy, lead nuclear engineer at North Carolina State. Azmy is the director of the Consortium for Nonproliferation Enabling Capabilities – CNEC – based at NC State, but including six other universities: North Carolina A&T, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Illinois and Kansas State. They are big believers in nuclear technology for the right purposes, like energy or medicine. But they know the bad actors around the world want to use it do destroy their enemies.
Higher Education News:
www.nytimes.com
Why I Bring My Gun to School
Antonia Okafor
It was my first year as a public policy graduate student at the University of Texas, Dallas, and I was taking all my classes at night so I could work during the day. Every evening, after class got out around 10, I had to walk through the sprawling parking lots to get to my car. I dreaded that time of day. I would pray that no one was lurking in dimly lit areas or behind cars, and I’d try not to think about the campus police alerts I’d seen about sexual assaults in the area. I had survived such an assault myself when I was a child. The incident left me acutely aware of the realities of being preyed upon just because you are physically smaller and less likely to protect yourself. I know what it means to feel defenseless.
www.forbes.com
Are OPMs Building An Ivory Tower Of Babel?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancraig/2017/07/24/are-opms-building-an-ivory-tower-of-babel/#55a58c2c50af
Ryan Craig , Contributor
It’s gotten a lot harder to sell online degrees. According to an annual survey by Quality Matters and Eduventures titled the Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE), 56% of administrators say the market for online programs is much more competitive than it was five years ago. But we don’t need CHLOE to tell us that. All we need to do is search on “online business degree” to see a plethora of universities fighting for clicks. Despite the competition, virtually all universities — 95% to be exact — say their institutions plan to launch more online degree programs in the next three years, according to CHLOE. For instance, Coventry University in the U.K. just announced its intention to launch not one, but 50 degree programs over the next five years. And in many of these cases, the focus of the online gold rush is the master’s degree.
www.insidehighered.com
College Degrees Lead to ‘Good Jobs’
Associate and four-year degrees lead to a growing share of well-paying jobs, study finds, as struggles increase for workers with only a high school credential.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/26/increasing-share-good-paying-jobs-go-college-graduates?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=7c2537cc65-DNU20170726&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-7c2537cc65-197515277&mc_cid=7c2537cc65&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Paul Fain
The college degree has solidified its role as the best ticket to the middle class. With the title “Good Jobs That Pay Without a B.A.,” new research from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce would seem to offer some solace for job seekers with only a high school credential. But not much, as the study shows that an increasing share of well-paying jobs have shifted to workers who hold four-year or associate degrees. The bachelor’s degree remains the “gold standard,” said Anthony Carnevale, the center’s director and a co-author of the new study, which he said also is “very good news for community colleges.” The center examined who is getting “good jobs,” which it defines as those paying an annual wage of least $35,000 for workers under the age of 45 and $45,000 for workers over 45. The overall median income for jobs that meet those standards is $55,000.
www.diverseeducation.com
Report: Good Jobs Available for Those Without Bachelor’s
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Despite the decline of manufacturing that made good jobs for high school graduates a rarity, there are still 30 million good jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree, a new report being released today from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce shows. And while a large portion of those good jobs are still in manufacturing and held by individuals with only a high school diploma, the situation is changing as the economy shifts from blue-collar industries to skilled-services industries, such as health services and financial services, according to the report titled “Good Jobs that Pay Without a BA.” And the new non-Bachelor’s degree jobs are favoring workers with some post-secondary education, particularly an associate’s degree, states the report, produced by center director Dr. Anthony Carnevale, along with researchers Dr. Jeff Strohl, Dr. Ban Cheah, and Neil Ridley.
www.chronicle.com
Trump Struggles to Find a Leader for White House Initiative on Black Colleges
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Trump-Struggles-to-Find-a/240745?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=47c8d8c4f09f4b2fb9c750b833bb6025&elq=0e85ff20042f49dfa22966b6b60b7c9d&elqaid=14874&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6294
By Adam Harris
The Trump administration has made a number of public overtures to black colleges in its first six months. Chief among them: signing an executive order in February that would move the White House Initiative on historically black colleges into the West Wing, from the Department of Education. Many people, including students on HBCU campuses, saw the event as little more than a photo opportunity and worried that the black-college leaders who attended events around the signing were being used as puppets. But others saw opportunity and signs that the administration was willing to work with black colleges. After President Trump signed the order, his administration turned its attention to appointing an executive director to oversee the initiative. But filling that post has proved to be difficult.
www.insidehigheed.com
Senate Appropriations Bill Cuts NSF Funding
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/07/26/senate-appropriations-bill-cuts-nsf-funding?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=7c2537cc65-DNU20170726&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-7c2537cc65-197515277&mc_cid=7c2537cc65&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Andrew Kreighbaum
A Senate appropriations bill that cleared a subcommittee vote Tuesday would cut funding for the National Science Foundation by $151 million below fiscal year 2017 funding levels. The total $7.31 billion provided for the agency includes $5.92 billion for research and research facilities and $862 million for education and training programs. Both areas would be cut by about 2 percent in the proposed spending package. That would mean 456 fewer research grants awarded next year, committee Democrats said.