University System News:
www.bizjournals.com
University System of Georgia economic impact grows by 8 percent
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/08/21/university-system-of-georgia-economic-impact-grows.html
Dave Williams Staff Writer Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia’s public colleges and universities generated an economic impact of $16.8 billion during fiscal 2016, up 8 percent from the previous year. About two-thirds of that impact came from spending by University System of Georgia campuses for salaries, operations and other budgeted expenditures, and from spending by students, according to a study conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. The remaining one-third was generated by the multiplier effect of the dollars the schools and students spent in their areas of the state. On average, for every dollar spent by a university, an additional 52 cents is generated for its region. “The university system is committed to its role in supporting and advancing the economic growth of the state of Georgia,” system Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. “These numbers reflect the hard work and support of Georgians across the state, and we hope to continue to drive innovation, workforce development and job creation for years to come.”
See also:
www.augustaceo.com
University System of Georgia’s Economic Impact on Georgia Totals $16.8B
http://augustaceo.com/features/2017/08/university-system-georgias-economic-impact-georgia-totals-168b/
www.bizjournals.com
See where seven Georgia university presidents had lunch on Monday
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/08/21/see-where-seven-georgia-university-presidents-had.html
David Allison Editor Atlanta Business Chronicle
Classes are starting at Georgia’s universities, but there may have been no bigger gathering of academic firepower in Georgia on Monday than at the Rotary Club of Atlanta’s lunch meeting. Presidents of seven universities were on hand to hear a talk by University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley, including Elizabeth Kiss, president of Agnes Scott College; Valerie Montgomery Rice, president of Morehouse School of Medicine; G.P. “Bud” Peterson, president of Georgia Tech; Sam Olens, president of Kennesaw State University; Harold Martin Jr., interim president of Morehouse College; Claire Sterk, president of Emory University; and Mark Becker, president of Georgia State University.
www.11alive.com
Would you be able to get into UGA, Tech, GSU today?
http://www.11alive.com/news/would-you-be-able-to-get-into-uga-tech-gsu-today/466302975?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=fa9e23fb8d-eGaMorning-8_22_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-fa9e23fb8d-86731974&mc_cid=fa9e23fb8d&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Jennifer Leslie, WXIA
Students in the Class of 2021 are setting records as they step on campus at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State University. New statistics from the state’s biggest universities show large classes with impressive GPAs and test scores.
www.myajc.com
Big pensions on the rise in Georgia retirement systems
http://www.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/big-pensions-the-rise-georgia-retirement-systems/lidEponchE2XQeFXrlKjsL/
By James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The number of Georgia retired university employees, teachers and state employees receiving pensions of more than $100,000 a year has more than doubled in the past six years, according to retirement system records. But state law prevents the public from going online and looking up who any of those retirees are, despite massive taxpayer investment in the retirement funds. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis showed the number of former employees receiving pensions of more than $100,000 a year from the Teacher Retirement System and Employees Retirees System went from about 1,100 in early 2011 to almost 2,400 as of June. mMost of the tens of thousands of former teachers, university professors and staffers, and state employees don’t receive anywhere near that kind of pension. The average TRS pension, for instance, is less than $40,000 a year.
www.ajc.com
Eclipse brings learning opportunities to Georgia’s college campuses
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/eclipse-brings-learning-opportunities-georgia-college-campuses/h0OWQopukGadysM5c1xPiJ/
Eric Stirgus
Classes were cut short and delayed at several Georgia’s college and universities Monday as students and faculty gathered on campus in the midday heat to marvel at the solar eclipse. Tens of thousands of students filled the University of Georgia’s Stanford Stadium to watch the event. The atmosphere was comparable to a Dawgs game. At Georgia Tech, students, faculty and visitors met on the campus green to see the solar show and, of course, to conduct experiments. One group of students measured the drop in temperature as the moon danced in front of the sun. Others tested the vision on a board as the sky darkened. The day was surreal for freshman Amelia Szabo, 18, of Bremen. Monday was the first day of academic day of Szabo’s career at Tech. She agreed to volunteer at the vision board. “It’s a really good experience and to experience it on my first day on campus is really cool,” she said. For each student excited by the spectacle, there were many who were disappointed because they didn’t have special eyeglasses to see it. Szabo advise those without glasses to ask others politely to briefly use their glasses. Some watched through telescopes and other devices students created to view the eclipse. At the height of the eclipse neared, the mood was gloomy among many in crowd at Tech as a cloud covered the sun. Then, the cloud floated away. Applause and shouts of “wow” filtered through the crowd at Tech as they saw the moon nearly completely block the sun.
www.wgxa.tv
Middle Georgia State students use photography to combat hate
http://wgxa.tv/news/local/middle-georgia-state-students-use-photography-to-combat-hate
by Shannon Lilly
MACON, Ga. — In the wake of violence and controversy around the nation, a group of Middle Georgia State University students used photography to open a dialogue on hate and racism. MGSU student Demarcus Beckham said he doesn’t always feel safe coming to school. “Witnessing hate at first hand, it’s scary. It’s scary,” Beckham said. Especially after violence in Charlottesville brings racial tensions to the forefront of the nation. “To see that hate and the violence that comes across, who says that something like that can’t happen at a college campus?” asked Beckham. “It has!” That’s why he and several other students are working on a project to tackle our nation’s toughest issues. “Our purpose is to bring unity.” They are taking photos and spreading them around campus. The mission is to unite students and challenge some of Georgia’s newest legislation.
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
National Study Shows Freshmen Better Off Taking 15 Credits
http://diverseeducation.com/article/100534/?utm_campaign=DIV1708%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20AUG22&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Students who took 15 credits during their first year of college did better academically and were retained at higher rates than those who took fewer credits, an analysis from the Education Advisory Board (EAB) being released today has found. The analysis — which involved nearly 1.3 million full-time college students at 137 institutions — found that college freshmen who took an average of fewer than 15 credits per semester were 19 percentage points less likely to graduate in four years. “This is a big problem,” the analysis states, because more than half of incoming college students — 56 percent — only register for the full-time minimum of 12 credits per semester. The analysis — believed to be the first of its kind on a national scale — also found that students with a high school GPA of 2.0 to 3.0 who took 15 or more credits ended their freshman year with a GPA that was 0.36 grade points higher than their peers — 3.04 versus 2.68. The 15-credit takers were retained at a rate of 90 percent versus 81 percent for those who took fewer than 15 credits per semester, the analysis found. Similarly positive findings held true even for students who were less prepared academically or who were Pell Grant recipients, said Ed Venit, senior director at EAB, showing that even lower- income students who are more likely to work during college can still handle the larger course load. Venit says the findings should embolden counselors who may have been worried about overloading students — particularly first-generation college students — with too much coursework as they acclimate themselves to the demands of college life.
www.insidehighered.com
The Missing Black Professors
Study of top public universities finds limited faculty diversity, yet signs of progress — except for African-Americans in STEM.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/08/22/study-top-public-universities-finds-limited-faculty-diversity-and-yet-signs-progress?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=8747997abc-DNU20170822&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-8747997abc-197515277&mc_cid=8747997abc&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Colleen Flaherty
Efforts to diversify the faculty may not be focusing enough on key areas, namely math-based fields — especially when it comes to black faculty members. And such efforts haven’t led to any premium in pay for those hired to contribute to campus diversity. That’s all according to a new study of faculty representation and wage gaps by race and gender in six major fields at 40 selective public universities. Consistent with existing research, the study says, black, Hispanic and female professors are underrepresented, while white and Asian professors are overrepresented across disciplines. But nearly all of that can be attributed to underrepresentation of black and Hispanic men and women and women of all backgrounds in the natural sciences, technology, engineering and math, it asserts.
www.diverseeducation.com
Stakeholders Call for Postponement of White House Initiative on HBCUs Conference
http://diverseeducation.com/article/100537/?utm_campaign=DIV1708%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20AUG22&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Gia Savage
The White House Initiative on HBCUs annual conference is scheduled for September 17-19. However, stakeholders within the historically Black colleges and universities community, have requested that the conference be postponed. They cite the fact that an executive director has yet to be announced and many have begun to question whether the Trump administration will be a strong advocate for HBCUs. In a letter addressed to President Trump, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams –who serves as HBCU Caucus Chair — and other members of Congress detailed their argument for postponing the conference.