University System News:
www.ajc.com
Judge hopes to rule soon on campus carry injunction demand
http://www.myajc.com/news/local-education/judge-hopes-rule-soon-campus-carry-injunction-demand/XyvSIu6ARt1xvrLlXyY2DM/
By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A team of attorneys made their case before a judge in Fulton County Superior Court Monday to stop Georgia’s public colleges and universities from continuing the state’s new campus carry law. The attorneys, representing several Georgia professors, argued state lawmakers overreached the state’s constitutional boundaries when they passed the controversial bill that Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law. They’ve also argued the law, which allows guns on some parts of campuses, creates a more dangerous environment for students and faculty. Lawmakers who filed the bill, though, said it was needed to give students with weapons licenses the opportunity to protect themselves on campus. Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams asked the defendants’ attorneys several questions during the 45-minute hearing, including one about the “proliferation of guns” on college campuses, citing active shooter incidents in other parts of the country.

www.usnews.com
Learn Which Top-Ranked Colleges Operate Most Efficiently
Limited financial resources didn’t hold these schools down in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings.
https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-rankings-blog/articles/2017-11-27/learn-which-top-ranked-colleges-operate-most-efficiently
By Robert Morse and Eric Brooks
With rising administrative costs among the leading causes of tuition increases nationwide, colleges have as much incentive as ever to operate efficiently. Some universities are worthy of distinction, since they have controlled their spending while still keeping students enrolled through graduation, maintaining a high academic reputation for excellence and fostering an engaged alumni network. By those standards, in an exclusive U.S. News analysis comparing per-student expenditures and educational quality, Ohio’s Miami University—Oxford is the most efficient school among National Universities, and Minnesota’s College of St. Benedict is most efficient among National Liberal Arts Colleges. The lists below are based on operating efficiency, which U.S. News has defined as a school’s per-student spending on education-focused activities divided by its overall 0-100 score – the basis U.S. News uses to determine schools’ numerical ranks in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. Schools on these lists achieved high ranks relative to the amount of money they spent. …National Universities …University of Georgia – Rank 54 (tie); Overall score 62; Financial resources rank 121; Spending per student for each point in the U.S. News overall score $484.40

www.chronicleaugusta.com
Deal announces $35 million expansion for cybersecurity center
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2017-11-27/deal-announces-35-million-expansion-cybersecurity-center
By Joe Hotchkiss Staff Writer
Phase two of a multimillion-dollar cybersecurity training center taking shape downtown is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday an additional $35 million in funding for the Hull McKnight Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center. The second facility will be an incubator hub for technology startups and a training space for state cybersecurity initiatives and workforce development programs. “We’re excited about this,” said Calvin Rhodes, the state’s chief information officer and the executive director of the Georgia Technology Authority. “This is just huge for the state.” …The center is aligned with Augusta University’s Cyber Institute and AU’s recently launched School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. The center will anchor AU’s Riverfront Campus.

www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
MGA’s Border State Tuition Waivers Extend to Cochran Campus
http://middlegeorgiaceo.com/news/2017/11/mgas-border-state-tuition-waivers-extend-cochran-campus/
Middle Georgia State University is now offering in-state tuition to prospective students from bordering states who take classes on the Cochran Campus. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the move, which takes effect immediately, at its November meeting. Middle Georgia State asked to be able to offer in-state tuition to prospective students living in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Earlier this year, the Regents authorized MGA to charge in-state tuition for Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina residents enrolled in its Aviation programs, based on the Eastman Campus. (Tennessee was recently added.) The latest out-of-state tuition waiver is specifically for students from all four states who take their courses on Middle Georgia State’s Cochran Campus.

www.thebrunswicknews.com
Despite protests, college has veterans at heart
http://thebrunswicknews.com/opinion/daily_editorial/despite-protests-college-has-veterans-at-heart/article_49599b25-302f-54ee-97d8-8205af5f4b6e.html
By The Brunswick News
Much has been recently about the decision by some players on College of Coastal Georgia’s basketball teams to kneel during the national anthem. Many local people see the act as disrespectful to the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to keep us safe and protect our freedoms abroad by serving in the military. It is an understandable reaction to a protest that for months has been making headlines and evoking strong emotions. A national veterans publication, Military Times, however, sent a message recently that shows the basketball players’ decisions are not indicative of how the college treats the veterans who attend there. In fact, the newspaper called CCGA one of the best institutions in the country for veterans, putting the college in its “Best for Vets” list for the third consecutive year. Coastal ranked as the No. 5 school for vets in Georgia and No. 70 in the U.S. That is impressive out of more than 600 colleges considered. …When it comes to the administration and leadership at College of Coastal Georgia, they deeply care about veterans. This most recent ranking, the third in a row, proves yet again that CCGA understands how to take care of veterans.

www.valdostadailytimes.com
VSU students discover ‘wonder material’
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/vsu-students-discover-wonder-material/article_643dd5ef-dc34-5777-8333-a5c3b47a0ed8.html
Physical chemistry students at Valdosta State University are working to develop a new and more efficient method of producing graphene, a material that has the potential to revolutionize everything from electronics to medicine, a VSU spokesperson said. The students expect to file a patent by the end of the fall 2017 semester. They have researched and experimented with graphene since August. “We’re taking a different approach than what people have done in the past,” said Kory Burns, the lead student researcher for the project. He is a chemistry major from Atlanta, Georgia, and expects to graduate in December. “People have tried to synthesize graphene with almost the exact same procedure that we’ve been doing, but we’re applying some twists to it to see if we can make the process easier and more efficient.”

www.ajc.com
Crash kills brothers returning to Georgia Southern after Thanksgiving break
http://www.ajc.com/news/traffic/another-tragedy-georgia-southern-students-from-metro-atlanta-killed-crash/80xY3R4wXjKSR7OVYTqtWN/
Lauren Foreman  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two Georgia Southern University students from metro Atlanta were killed in a fiery crash with a wrong-way driver on I-16 in Laurens County, authorities said. Jack “Deacon” Harris and Garrett Harris were heading east in a Saturn L200 when a Toyota Avalon hit them about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, the Georgia State Patrol told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The Saturn was engulfed in flames and the occupants succumbed to their injuries,” the GSP said. GSP officials said the driver of the Toyota, Jared Adler, 27, of Sandy Springs, was taken to Navicent Health Medical Center in Macon with injuries. His condition is unknown at this time. According to The George-Anne, the university newspaper, the brothers were returning to the Georgia Southern campus after Thanksgiving break in metro Atlanta. …Their father played football at Georgia Southern when he was a student there. “Our hearts are broken,” he told the newspaper. “But we’re so thankful for what Georgia Southern meant to us over the years, especially now.”

www.ajc.com
Kennesaw State student now accused of raping 2nd woman in dorm room
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/kennesaw-state-student-now-accused-raping-2nd-woman-dorm-room/mlje5LRs4wnXaoqcFJyLBP/
Ben Brasch  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Alpharetta man is now accused of separately raping two women in his Kennesaw State University dorm room. Benjamin David Wainscott had been in Cobb County jail nearly two weeks on a rape count when police charged him with a second rape, according to a Nov. 20 warrant. The alleged incident that brought on this second charge predates the count that originally put Wainscott in jail on Nov. 9.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
Georgia Southern promotes Lunsford to head coach
http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/2017-11-27/georgia-southern-promotes-lunsford-head-coach
By Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern President Jaimie Hebert, Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein and the Georgia Southern Board of Regents announced Monday that Chad Lunsford has formally accepted an offer to become Georgia Southern’s head football coach. He becomes the 10th full-time coach to lead the Eagles in the modern era. “The search committee went through an extensive process and evaluated a number of candidates nationwide,” Kleinlein said. “In the end, it was hard to ignore the progress the team has made under Coach Lunsford both on and off the field. I’ve also had the opportunity to watch Chad go through three other transitions in my time here and have seen him develop professionally during that span. On behalf of the search committee, we’re thrilled to announce Chad Lunsford as our full-time head coach and look forward to seeing where he will take his program.”

See also:
www.statesboroherald.com
Chad Lunsford to be next head coach of Georgia Southern Football
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/3/article/82870/