University System News:
www.ajc.com
This is the most affordable college in Georgia
http://www.ajc.com/news/world/this-the-most-affordable-college-georgia/YLKGuaOxu2jURtWD4QC98L/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=14cc6a0392-eGaMorning-8_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-14cc6a0392-86731974&mc_cid=14cc6a0392&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Najja Parker The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Receiving your college acceptance letter can be an incredible accomplishment, but pursuing your education can cost you a pretty penny. With more than 80 institutions across the state of Georgia, which is the cheapest? According to a recent report from Business Insider titled “The most affordable college in every state,” it’s the University of Georgia in Athens. The publication determined its results by examining data from The Chronicle of Higher Education, only considering the top 220 schools included in the US News and World Report annual report. By taking a look at information from the 2016-2017 academic year, analysts factored in published tuition and required fees and room and board. And for for state colleges, they only listed in-state prices. UGA came out on top for the Peach State with a total annual cost of $21,234. Tuition was $11,634 and room and board was $9,600.

www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Are white students being discriminated against in college admissions? Apparently, White House thinks so.
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/08/02/are-white-students-being-discriminated-against-in-college-admissions-apparently-white-house-thinks-so/
Having just spent a year visiting colleges and now having attended new student orientations at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, I wonder about the reported concerns of the Trump administration that white students are being shut out by affirmative action policies. Georgia’s public institutions don’t consider race as an admissions factor. (The state’s public colleges haven’t used affirmative action in admissions since the University of Georgia’s admissions policy was ruled unconstitutional in 2001 by a federal appeals court.) While the state seeks to draw more minority students to its public campuses  and has seen some improvement, the most competitive campuses in Georgia do not reflect the racial makeup of the k-12 student population. There was no shortage of white students at Georgia’s premier research universities and the half-dozen or so elite universities we toured. But don’t take my word. According to state data, about 70 percent of UGA’s students are white, 10 percent are Asian and 8 percent are African-American. Half of Georgia Tech’s freshmen last year were white; 25 percent Asian; 8 percent Hispanic and 6.5 percent black. Yet, according to The New York Times:

www.augusta.ceo.com
MCG Student Wins American Medical Association Scholarship
http://augustaceo.com/news/2017/08/mcg-student-wins-american-medical-association-scholarship/
Staff Report From Augusta CEO
Quante Singleton, a third-year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, says that he always knew he wanted to be a physician, even if he wasn’t sure how he was going to become one. “Growing up, I knew what I wanted to do, but I never saw a lot of doctors that looked like me, so I didn’t have exposure to those role models,” says the winner of a 2017 American Medical Association Foundation Minority Scholars Award. “And when I finished high school, I knew it was time to get a job and go to work.” …Singleton enrolled at Clayton State University and worked 24-hour shifts several times a week at the fire department throughout his four years of undergraduate education. He was intent on finally applying to medical school when he graduated and says the time was right, even if he needed few pushes to realize it.

www.ajc.com
Kennesaw State hires government relations director
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/kennesaw-state-hires-government-relations-director/2AjlYuMe8mopJEJAimerSN/
Eric Stirgus The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University announced Tuesday it’s hired an official who’s worked in several state agencies and the Georgia Legislature as its new government relations director. Michael Parkerson’s duties will include working with some of those state officials, community leaders and others on initiatives that Kennesaw State hope will benefit the university. “Michael’s expertise in government relations and higher education will be a tremendous asset to our efforts to expand the University’s reach and impact,” KSU President Sam Olens said in a statement. “His skill set combines broad knowledge of how government functions at all levels and valuable expertise in public-sector administration and management. Michael will be a highly effective representative and persuasive advocate for Kennesaw State.” …Parkerson’s job starts Aug. 1.

www.bizjournals.com
University of Georgia R&D spending reaches all-time high
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/08/01/university-of-georgia-r-d-spending-reaches-all.html?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=14cc6a0392-eGaMorning-8_2_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-14cc6a0392-86731974&mc_cid=14cc6a0392&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Eric Mandel Digital Producer Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University of Georgia has continued its surge of spending on research and development, reaching an all-time high in fiscal year 2017. UGA announced Tuesday that the $458 million in expenditures marked the fourth consecutive year of increasing funds, with the record total representing a 31 percent increase in R&D expenditures since fiscal year 2013. The university said much of that funding surge comes from external grants and contracts principally from federal agencies but also from foundations, corporations, the state of Georgia, and other sources, as well as institutional funds. The externally funded research activity climbed 37 percent over the past three years, to $198 million in FY 2017, the school said. UGA noted in a press release that the increase in research spending comes at a time when federal funding of higher education research and development is declining in both current and inflation-adjusted dollars.

www.hypepotamus.com
This Georgia Tech-Sprung Nanomaterials Startup Could Stop Smartphones From Exploding — and Much More

This Georgia Tech-Sprung Nanomaterials Startup Could Stop Smartphones From Exploding — and Much More

by Holly Beilin
When Georgia Tech engineering professor and entrepreneur Baratunde Cola started working with nanomaterials as an engineering Ph.D student in the early 2000’s, he knew it would be a wide-open field. But when he dug into the properties of the carbon nanotube, a structure first discovered just 10 years prior, he saw the opportunity of “one of the most magical materials the Earth has ever seen.” Carbon nanotube is unique in terms of physical, electronic, and mechanical properties — stronger but lighter than steel, far more conductive of heat or electricity than copper. The nanotube is tiny, with a diameter measuring about 10,0000 times smaller than a human hair. Cola says he first began working with the material at the same time he began seeing the massive issues electronic device makers were having with heat dissipation.

www.insidehighered.com
The New Wave in Digital Humanities
These five rising stars work in alternative-academic and traditional tenure-track positions at public research, liberal arts and Ivy League institutions.
https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2017/08/02/rising-stars-digital-humanities
By Will Fenton
The digital humanities have supported a remarkable diversity of teaching, scholarship and service pursued by a diverse group of leaders who are shaping the field’s values and priorities. Inside Digital Learning here showcases the contributions of five rising stars of the digital humanities: Alex Gil, Lauren Klein, Marisa Parham, Miriam Posner and Jacqueline Wernimont. While no selection can represent the full scope of a field, these scholars represent the emergent and promising work within digital humanities… Lauren Klein, assistant professor in the school of literature, media and communication, director of the Digital Humanities Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology

www.news.wabe.org
10 Places To Watch The Solar Eclipse In Georgia
http://news.wabe.org/post/10-places-watch-solar-eclipse-georgia
By Kaitlyn Lewis
On Aug. 21, we will be able to witness a historical event — the first solar eclipse visible to the continental United States in the past 38 years, according to NASA. The eclipse’s totality — the path of the moon’s shadow cast upon the Earth — will cross straight through the country and even clip the northeast corner of Georgia… Starting at noon, eclipse glasses will be distributed on campus, but supplies are limited. The college suggests that viewers share their glasses with their friends, so everyone can enjoy the experience. In addition to the viewing, which will be held at the Kessler Campanile, the Georgia Tech observatory will be live-streaming a video of the eclipse. Astronomy-themed snacks and activities will also be available.

www.sacbee.com
UC Davis Chancellor Gary May takes over, hopes to ‘move on to a new era’
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article164846892.html
By Diana Lambert
Fall classes haven’t started yet at UC Davis, but Tuesday was the first day of school for new Chancellor Gary S. May. May, 53, told reporters Tuesday that he wanted the university to move on from the controversy that surrounded former Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi. “My nature is to look forward, and I think that I can hopefully turn the page and move on to a new era,” May told reporters at the UC Davis Welcome Center. “I understand there were some challenges with the previous administration, but I think I can put those behind us and think about what the future holds for UC Davis.” Previously the engineering dean at Georgia Tech, May was selected as the seventh chancellor of UC Davis by the UC Board of Regents in February.

Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Department of Education Scrapping Plan for Single Student Loan Servicer
http://diverseeducation.com/article/99683/?utm_campaign=DIV1708%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20AUG2&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
The U.S. Department of Education announced late Tuesday that it was reversing course on its plan to award all federal student loans to a single student loan servicer and creating a new “environment” for how it operates — a move that student advocates and even one of the most vocal critics in Congress tepidly hailed as a good move. “I’m glad the Education Department is changing course, but it will be important to continue watching the Department to evaluate whether its decisions are good for the millions of struggling federal student loan borrowers,” said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.), who has accused U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos of putting the interests of business ahead of the interests of students. Warren made her remarks in a statement after DeVos announced that the Education Department was cancelling its student loan solicitation.

www.nytimes.com
Justice Dept. to Take On Affirmative Action in College Admissions

By CHARLIE SAVAGE
The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The document, an internal announcement to the civil rights division, seeks current lawyers interested in working for a new project on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.” The announcement suggests that the project will be run out of the division’s front office, where the Trump administration’s political appointees work, rather than its Educational Opportunities Section, which is run by career civil servants and normally handles work involving schools and universities.

www.chronicle.com
What You Need to Know About Race-Conscious Admissions in 2017
http://www.chronicle.com/article/What-You-Need-to-Know-About/240820?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
By Andy Thomason
The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening that the U.S. Department of Justice is planning “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.” The report was based on an internal document from the department that left many questions unanswered. Read more about what this could look like here. In the meantime, let’s catch you up on the state of race-conscious admissions in 2017: What do people mean by “affirmative action”? It’s typically understood to mean the intentional promotion of members of minority groups to account for past and current discrimination. But colleges practice several forms of affirmative action in admissions, including ones that help the children of alumni and donors, prospective athletic stars, and others. The kind of affirmative action that appears to be in the cross hairs of the Department of Justice is race-conscious admissions, wherein colleges consider applicants’ race, among other factors, in deciding whether to admit them.

www.chronicle.com
What Happens When a College Accepts Too Many Students?
http://www.chronicle.com/article/What-Happens-When-a-College/240819?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
By Suhauna Hussain
In May, the University of California at Irvine found itself in a tough spot: Some 7,100 incoming freshmen had accepted admission offers for the fall — 850 more than the university had expected. Admissions yield rates have become increasingly unpredictable over the past decade, experts say, and the issue of over or under¬enroll¬ment isn’t limited to Irvine. Approaches like Irvine’s may disproportionately penalize low-income, first-generation students, some observers say. But how Irvine managed the problem — rescinding acceptances from about 500 students just two months before the start of the fall term — was extraordinary. Approaches like the one Irvine administrators decided on are more likely to disproportionately penalize low-income, first-generation students, some observers have pointed out.

www.nytimes.com
Alarming Levels of Sexual Violence Found on Australian Campuses, Report Says

By JACQUELINE WILLIAMS
A long-awaited national survey on sexual assault and harassment at Australian universities — the first of its kind in the country — has revealed that young women are experiencing what victims’ advocates describe as “shocking levels” of sexual violence on campuses across this country, prompting a range of new measures by officials to tackle the problem. The report, released on Tuesday by the government’s Human Rights Commission, shows that 51 percent of all university students were sexually harassed at least once in 2016. It also shows that more than 2,000 students, or 6.9 percent of those surveyed, were sexually assaulted at least once in 2015 or 2016 and that in the vast majority of cases, neither the victim nor bystanders reported the episode.

www.nytimes.com
Why We Shouldn’t Think About College as a Business

By KRISTIN WONG
We conventionally think of college as a place where you can discover new ideas, indulge curiosities and learn for the sake of learning. As tuition skyrockets and becomes less accessible for everyone, however, students have been compelled to think of college from a business perspective instead. In the 2010s, much of the discussion surrounding higher education is less about education and more about its suitability as an investment, like real estate or publicly traded stock. While there are conflicting opinions on the cause of rising tuition, students are relying on loans now more than ever to fund their education, leading student debt in the United States to top $1 trillion.

www.insidehighered.com
The Case for Higher Ed in a Job-Focused World
Facing skeptical public and politicians, campus business officers discuss strategies for making a more practical case for higher education.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/08/02/campus-administrators-weigh-more-practical-argument-higher-education
By Doug Lederman
As the former president of two small liberal arts colleges and Pennsylvania’s independent college group, Brian C. Mitchell believes “with all my heart” in the traditional case for American higher education: that it helps produce full and productive members of an engaged citizenry. “It’s a noble argument, the right argument,” he told an audience at the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. But “it just doesn’t matter given the environment,” he said. “It just doesn’t resonate.” It’s not that Mitchell thinks there isn’t a good case to be made for higher education. And the former president of Washington & Jefferson College and Bucknell University doesn’t accept the idea that colleges and universities collectively face a “doomsday scenario,” as some prognosticators tend to predict.