University System News:
www.onlineathens.com
Arthur Blank foundation donates $1.5M to UGA
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-10-02/arthur-blank-foundation-donates-15m-uga
By Lee Shearer
University of Georgia students in UGA’s College of Pharmacy and from Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods will benefit from a $1.5 million gift from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The foundation designated $1 million for the College of Pharmacy to support pharmacy students facing financial hardships. The remaining $500,000, matched by $500,000 from the UGA Foundation, establishes another endowment that will fund five need-based scholarships annually for students from Atlanta Westside neighborhoods — English Avenue, Vine City and Castleberry Hill.
www.diverseeducation.com
Georgia State Backed Up Analytics With Support System
http://diverseeducation.com/article/102425/?utm_campaign=DIV1710%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20OCT3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
ATLANTA — The predictive analytics system that administrators here at George State University implemented five years ago has gotten a lot of positive publicity for how it helped the institution become what one administrator describes as the only public university without an achievement gap. But the other part of the story, says Dr. Timothy Renick, vice provost and vice president for enrollment management and student success, was the university’s decision to hire 42 academic advisors to act on the information gleaned from the predictive analytics. In short, the predictive analytics system at GSU is one that triggers an alert to advisers when students exhibit any one of the 800 risk factors that could derail the student’s academic success. Those risk factors can range from getting a mediocre grade in a prerequisite for one’s major to dropping a course mid-semester. “What we’ve found is the real challenge is not coming up with the data,” Renick said. “But once you have all these thousands of risk factors identified, do you have a system to take those alerts, put them into action and have mediation so that students can be helped?”
www.wtvm.com
ABAC holds 17th Annual ‘Ag Classic’
http://www.wtvm.com/story/36487352/abac-holds-17th-annual-ag-classic
By Ashley Bohle, Reporter
TIFTON, GA (WALB) – Golfers across Southwest Georgia hit the links for a cause, Friday. About 15 teams participated in the 17th annual Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College ‘Ag Classic’ Golf Tournament, at ABAC’s Forest Lake Golf Course. …Marcus Pollard, And Chairman of the Agriculture Alumni Council, said the funds raised go towards scholarships for students studying agriculture and natural resources.
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
A UGA professor of education asks: Why is school so boring?
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/10/02/a-uga-professor-of-education-asks-why-is-school-so-boring/
Peter Smagorinsky teaches in the University of Georgia’s College of Education and is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. He is a frequent contributor to the AJC Get Schooled blog. In this essay, he addresses a question asked by students for generations: Why does school have to be so boring? By Peter Smagorinsky I’m writing from Guadalajara, Mexico, where I work with the Universidad de Guadalajara developing and teaching a graduate program in literacy education. Yesterday’s reading and discussion focused on the experience of being an adolescent, especially in school. The authors of the reading, Sam Intrator and Robert Kunzman, pose a question that is agonizing for educators to answer: “What do youth have to say about their curricular experiences? Boring, Boring, Boring.” I have long defended public education in this space, but must acknowledge this criticism has too much merit to ignore. As an educator, I must ask, “Why is school, which is designed to advance kids toward citizenship and prosperity, so tedious to the point of undermining its own goals?” This observation has characterized the classroom experience for many generations. When I asked the teachers here in Guadalajara if the same is true of kids’ experiences in Mexico, they unanimously said “yes.”
www.ajc.com
KSU fraternity issued cease and desist after student misconduct allegations
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/ksu-fraternity-issued-cease-and-desist-after-student-misconduct-allegations/61vDggBwylGuyr9ODn6g8J/
Ellen Eldridge The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A fraternity on Kennesaw State University’s campus is under investigation after allegations of student misconduct, officials said Monday. Kennesaw State’s Division of Student Affairs issued a cease and desist order to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity while officials investigate allegations that members of the fraternity violated the university’s Student Codes of Conduct, according to a statement released by Vice President for Student Affairs K.C. White. …A fraternity on Kennesaw State University’s campus is under investigation after allegations of student misconduct, officials said Monday. Kennesaw State’s Division of Student Affairs issued a cease and desist order to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity while officials investigate allegations that members of the fraternity violated the university’s Student Codes of Conduct, according to a statement released by Vice President for Student Affairs K.C. White.
www.gainesvilletimes.com
Confederate monuments revisited at UNG’s Gainesville campus
https://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/confederate-monuments-revisited-ungs-gainesville-campus/
Nick Bowman
A month and a half since the protest in Gainesville’s downtown square, the question of Confederate monuments has returned to the area. On Monday, the subject was raised by a panel discussion at University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus. The event was attended by more than 100 students and faculty and was the first of three panels at UNG’s campuses intended to cool the rhetoric around Confederate monuments. After the Gainesville campus, panels will be held on the Oconee and Dahlonega campuses to continue the discussion, called “The Power of the Image: Placing the Debate over Public Confederate Monuments in Context.” The panels were organized by Michael Kemling, a professor of art history at UNG.
www.onlineathesn.com
Georgia unveils renovated Stegeman Coliseum
http://onlineathens.com/sports/dogbytes/local-news/2017-10-02/georgia-unveils-renovated-stegeman-coliseum
By Nicole Saavedra
Before Lady Bulldogs basketball coach Joni Taylor left for a month of recruiting in July, she’d stop by the University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum to sneak peeks at the progress of the facility’s renovations. When she returned in August, it looked completely different. The second phase of the $8 million renovations were finished in September, and Taylor and assistant athletic director for facility operations Melvin Robinson unveiled the facility to media members Monday. The women’s volleyball team will be the first to use the updated facility against Tennessee on Oct. 11. The men’s basketball team will host its home opener against Valdosta State on Nov. 2, and the Lady Bulldogs will play Wofford on Nov. 12. The Gym Dogs will compete in the venue against Oklahoma on Jan. 12. The updates include black seats, an improved LED lighting system and sound system, and updated graphics of past teams and retired jerseys. The focal point is the new center-hung scoreboard.
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
Georgia Democrats call for new gun restrictions after Vegas massacre
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/10/02/georgia-politicians-react-to-las-vegas-shooting/
Greg Bluestein
Georgia politicians offered a mix of condolences and outrage on Monday after a gunman at a Las Vegas hotel killed at least 58 people and injured hundreds more when he opened fire on an outdoor concert late Sunday. Two leading Democratic candidates for governor called for new firearms restrictions to prevent a repeat of Sunday’s carnage. Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams urged lawmakers to summon the “political courage” to support more background checks. And ex-state Rep. Stacey Evans pushed for the end of “loopholes” that she said allows dangerous people to buy guns.
www.myajc.com
Georgia gun laws, like Nevada’s, are among weakest in the nation
http://www.myajc.com/news/georgia-gun-laws-like-nevada-are-among-weakest-the-nation/Eh4S74DXDophH5bpqMb5XL/
By Rhonda Cook – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Historically, Georgia has been known as a gun-friendly state, usually earning failing scores by groups that advocate for tougher laws. Because of those lax laws, Georgia has been a key source for guns shipped up Interstate 95, or the “iron pipeline,” to more restrictive states in the Northeast. And three years ago, Georgia added to its reputation for welcoming guns when the General Assembly approved a law which significantly expanded the number of places where firearms could be carried. There are now 1 million people permitted to carry handguns in Georgia. Here is a look at the laws that govern gun sales and use in Georgia and Nevada:
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Scholars Renew Calls for U.S. to Fund Research on Gun Violence
Mass shooting in Las Vegas is latest incident to raise question of why federal agencies avoid studies that might illuminate policy.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/10/03/mass-shooting-las-vegas-leads-renewed-calls-lift-limits-studying-gun-violence?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=47acf31ec2-DNU20171003&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-47acf31ec2-197515277&mc_cid=47acf31ec2&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Scott Jaschik
In 2013, dozens of scholars organized by the Crime Lab of the University of Chicago released a letter calling for Congress to lift restrictions that have led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies to avoid funding research on gun violence. The letter noted that in a 40-year period, the United States had experienced 400 cases of cholera and that the National Institutes of Health had funded 212 grants on cholera. The 1,337 cases of diphtheria had led to 56 NIH grants. But more than four million firearms injuries? The NIH funded only three grants on that topic. This week’s horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas is prompting scholars — particularly in social science groups — to once again to call for shifts in federal policy to resume support for research on gun violence.
www.chronicle.com
The Trump Administration Says Colleges Are Suppressing Free Speech. How Should They Respond?
http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Trump-Administration-Says/241359?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=2a3d789110db43448f0641a62b4c39eb&elq=28f082d067ff4753b5b7344bc02f220b&elqaid=15875&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6837
By Sarah Brown
When a controversial speaker comes to a college campus, administrators want to ensure students’ safety as well as free discourse for both the speaker and the students. And all eyes are on colleges, including the federal government’s, if anything goes wrong. So how should colleges get those tricky situations right? Some experts say campus leaders should acknowledge that colleges can improve their handling of free-speech issues without using language that would encourage stereotypes like “coddled students.” Administrators should also start honest campus discussions about what free speech means and how it can be supported, the experts say. In this article, Sarah Brown examines how colleges can be more proactive in protecting free speech.
www.diverseeducation.com
McCaskill Asks to Speak With Trump About Campus Sexual Assault
http://diverseeducation.com/article/102391/?utm_campaign=DIV1710%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20OCT3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill wants to speak with President Donald Trump about campus sexual assault policy. In a Monday letter, McCaskill both criticized his administration’s handling of the issue so far and asked to talk with him about working together on new policy. McCaskill said Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ decision to roll back former President Barack Obama’s administration policy on investigating campus sexual assaults is confusing for colleges. McCaskill says it also fails to offer needed support for survivors of sexual assault.