University System News:
www.ajc.com
South Georgia college campuses work to resume classes after Irma
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/south-georgia-college-campuses-work-resume-classes-after-irma/AtuL6hyKZEXikdXcBhewcN/
Eric Stirgus
Several South Georgia colleges and universities are working to get things back to normal in the wake of Tropical Storm Irma, which caused widespread damage – particularly power outages – to that part of the state. Here’s the latest on class schedules on some of those campuses: Armstrong State University: Electrical power was restored to all buildings Wednesday afternoon. Residential students can return to campus at 2 p.m. Friday. Classes will resume Monday. College of Coastal Georgia: Its Brunswick residence halls will reopen at 3 p.m. Friday. Classes will resume at the Brunswick and Camden Center on Monday morning.
Georgia Southern University: Students may return to their residence halls at noon Friday. Classes resume Monday. Savannah State University: Classes resumed Thursday.

www.mashable.com
Student asks to bring dog to class before Hurricane Irma, professor has the best response
http://mashable.com/2017/09/14/hurricane-irma-luna-dog-school-georgia/#XTQ2c7.nBPqr
BY GIANLUCA MEZZOFIORE
Jessica Lewis is a student at Georgia Southern who, just like everyone at her university last week, was preparing to leave Statesboro ahead of Hurricane Irma. On Thursday afternoon, she had just one class left, (a Political Science seminar) and already had her stuff packed and in her car, so she could head home to Atlanta straight away as her class the next day was cancelled. But there was one outstanding issue: her dog Luna. “I was trying to figure out the easiest and quickest way to her because obviously I wasn’t leaving her there, and I was doing my best to get ahead of the traffic because all of Florida and Coastal Georgia was evacuating north/west,” she told Mashable. “So completely on a whim, I emailed my teacher and asked if I could bring her.”

www.ajc.com
This Georgia city has been named one of the best college towns in the US
http://www.ajc.com/news/world/this-georgia-city-has-been-named-one-the-best-college-towns-the/GAu17g20xRhFVnejrtF7MJ/
Najja Parker  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the hunt for the best areas to attend undergrad? No need to travel far, because Athens, the home of The University of Georgia, has been named one of the best college towns in America, according to a recent report. The American Institute for Economic Research released its annual ranking, placing the Georgia city No. 14 on the list. Boulder in Colorado was the No. 1 pick.

www.onlineathens.com
UGA at 16 on US News list, highest ranking ever
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-09-14/uga-16-us-news-list-highest-ranking-ever?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=9cae617cfc-eGaMorning-9_15_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-9cae617cfc-86731974&mc_cid=9cae617cfc&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia is one of the two 16th-best public national universities in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. UGA has hovered around and usually just inside the top 20 for years, but this year’s tie for no. 16 with Ohio State University is the highest U.S. News ranking ever for UGA. According to a UGA press release, an increase in selectivity contributed to UGA’s rise in the rankings. This year, 55 percent of UGA first-year students were in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, up from 53 percent last year. An increase in alumni giving during UGA’s $1.2 billion capital campaign also helped, according to UGA’s announcement of its place in the new rankings. UGA was ranked no. 54 overall among all national universities; the U.S. News rankings are dominated by private colleges and universities.

www.bizjournals.com
UGA’s Terry College of Business marking next phase of new campus
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/09/15/ugas-terry-college-of-business-marking-next-phase.html
Dave Williams
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University of Georgia Friday will celebrate the completion of the second phase of a new home for the Terry College of Business and break ground on the project’s final phase. Gov. Nathan Deal and UGA President Jere Morehead will dedicate Phase II of the university’s Business Learning Community, a $63 million project consisting of three buildings encompassing 140,000 square feet. Amos, Benson and Moore-Rooker halls include two large auditoriums, a capital markets lab, a music business lab, undergraduate commons, classrooms and faculty offices.

www.griffindailynews.com
UGA-Griffin to hold ribbon-cutting for turfgrass facility
http://www.griffindailynews.com/news/uga-griffin-to-hold-ribbon-cutting-for-turfgrass-facility/image_0ab94dde-9951-11e7-abac-67cfa55e170e.html
The University of Georgia will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21 to signify the official opening of new turfgrass facilities on the campuses in Griffin, Athens and Tifton.

www.aviationweek.com
Workforce: How A&D Stacks Up Against Silicon Valley
The state of the A&D workforce is better than you might think, but some elements are still too grounded in the past
http://aviationweek.com/workforce-2017/workforce-how-ad-stacks-against-silicon-valley
Joseph C. Aneslmo and Carole Rickard Hedden
Ask any U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) chief executive what his or her primary concern is and more times than not the answer will come back “workforce.” Keeping 849,000 people who design, build, support and service the industry’s systems and products engaged while attracting and developing successive generations of employees is no easy task, after all. The results of Aviation Week’s 2017 U.S. Workforce Study, released on Sept. 12, point to several encouraging trends. A worrisome “leadership dip” in 40-50-year-olds has smoothed out, attrition is relatively low at 4.3%, and the average ages of the overall A&D workforce (46) and its engineers (45) declined slightly… The study also asked companies to identify the universities that are meeting their criteria as a “preferred supplier” of talent. The top U.S. universities this year are the Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Virginia Tech, San Diego State University, the University of Colorado and Cornell University.

www.bizjournals.com
Metro Atlanta Chamber initiative aims to make Atlanta a ‘smart cities’ leader
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/09/14/metro-atlanta-chamber-initiative-aimsto-make.html
Maria Saporta
Contributing Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Metro Atlanta Chamber today is launching its latest initiative – IoT.ATL – at the GSMA Mobile World Congress meeting this week in San Francisco. The initiative reflects Atlanta’s dominance in the area known as the Internet of Things (IoT) – the digital connection between items like cars and appliances and the internet. It is also a next generation of the Chamber’s Mobility initiative, which highlighted Atlanta’s strength in mobile communications… “We think some of the greatest minds in the IoT space are here in Atlanta,” Zeto said, mentioning Georgia Tech, the leadership within the City of Atlanta as well as the Atlanta Committee for Progress.

www.bizjournals.com
Why Delta’s Richard Anderson went from planes to trains
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/09/15/why-delta-s-richard-anderson-went-from-planes-to.html
Maria Saporta
Contributing Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Make no mistake about it. Richard Anderson is now a railroad guy. Anderson, the former CEO of Delta Air Lines Inc., became co-CEO of Amtrak — the nation’s passenger railroad system — in July. His co-CEO is Wick Moorman, who served as both CEO of Norfolk Southern Railroad and as Amtrak’s past CEO… When it was announced he was taking the Amtrak co-CEO job, Anderson was supposed to assume the title of CEO in January, when Moorman was supposed to step into an advisory role. “I hope he will stay on as co-CEO,” Anderson said of Moorman. “I want him to stay. He’s a great Georgia Tech engineer.”

www.onlineathens.com
Coke sought to ‘spread some happiness’ in Athens with Hug Machine
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-09-14/coke-sought-spread-some-happiness-athens-hug-machine
By Red Denty
Coca-Cola United was on the University of Georgia campus Wednesday and Thursday trading Coke products for hugs using the Coca-Cola Hug Machine. The Athens-based Coke bottling plant brought the huggable vending machine to campus in an effort to “spread some happiness,” said Kristen Isaacson, Coca-Cola United Business Development Manager. The Hug Machine looks like the average vending machine, but instead of buttons, there are sensors on the side and an invitation to “Hug Me.” When the machine gets a hug, a Coke drops out. “There’s no tricks, no ulterior motives. We just want to make people smile,” Isaacson said. UGA students lined up to hug the machine, something that was a novel experience for many.

Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
A Look in the Mirror
Racism hurts students throughout the college admissions process, leading scholar tells meeting of admissions counselors.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/09/15/speaker-implores-nacac-attendees-change-practices-he-believes-are-racist
By Rick Seltzer
College admissions officers and high school guidance counselors regularly engage in racism, keynote speaker Shaun R. Harper told thousands of attendees at the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s national conference Thursday, imploring them to change their ways. “Your profession is 80 percent white,” said Harper, a professor at the University of Southern California’s school of education and executive director for the university’s Race and Equity Center. “It’s even whiter when we get to those who are at the top levels. It sure would be nice if a mostly white professional association and its members more powerfully, more responsibly and more loudly advocated for racial justice on behalf of those who don’t have the resources that they deserve in high schools across our nation.”

www.pbs.org
Tennessee is investing in a program that helps adults finish their college degree. Will it boost the economy?
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/tennessee-investing-program-helps-adults-finish-college-degree-will-boost-economy/
BY LAURA SANTHANAM
… Tennessee Reconnect, spearheaded in part by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, is being piloted to different extents across the state. It will be available to all community college students in Tennessee next August. The program zeroes in on the financial burden of college — one of the biggest reasons Tennesseans give when asked why they didn’t finish their education — by covering tuition and mandatory fees for residents who don’t already have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. It could ultimately help roughly 900,000 adults across the state finish their college degrees — and, advocates say, potentially attract more employers to Tennessee while boosting the state’s economy.