University System News:
www.thebrunswicknews.com
CCGA presidential search committee holds first meeting
http://thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/ccga-presidential-search-committee-holds-first-meeting/article_ca5b7e6c-28ed-5989-b6db-5f05b7316fe0.html
By LAUREN MCDONALD
College of Coastal Georgia kicked off the search process Tuesday for its next president. The presidential search committee came together for the first time and received its charge from University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley. “This is your committee and your process, so I really, strongly encourage you to be very active and engaged,” Wrigley told the committee members. he 14-person committee, made up of college faculty, staff, CCGA Foundation trustees and a student, is tasked with recruiting, screening and selecting candidates for the position. The committee will select three to five candidates for a regents committee, which will make the final decision. “We really ask you to search and to screen and to make some tough choices along the way, because we want the very best three to five people that you can send us,” Wrigley said.
www.businessinsavannah.com
Armstrong named third in nation by Military Times
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2017-11-28/armstrong-named-third-nation-military-times
By Savannah Morning News
Armstrong State University has been ranked third in the nation among four-year schools by Military Times on its annual Military Times Best: Colleges 2018 rankings, formerly known as Best for Vets. It marks the fourth consecutive year Armstrong has been included on the list. In 2016, Armstrong was ranked fourth in the U.S. “We are extremely proud of our programs, services and campus culture, which provide members of the military, veterans and their families the opportunity to achieve their academic and professional goals,” said Phil Gore, Armstrong’s director of Military Education Outreach and Success.
www.myajc.com
Senate tax bill could aid booming Georgia film industry
https://www.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/senate-tax-bill-could-aid-booming-georgia-film-industry/kXSngD3EbkJEdExaB3cllJ/politicallygeorgia.html
By Tamar Hallerman – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this month, the Republican added language to the Senate tax plan approved by committee Tuesday that would let investors in film, television and live theater productions immediately write off their expenditures on their federal tax forms the year a project is made. Industry experts say the change would provide an incentive to financiers — those helping to underwrite everything from small independent films to blockbuster franchises — to invest in additional projects more quickly since they would receive their tax benefits in the first year, rather than spread out over several. Stephen Weizenecker, an entertainment tax lawyer in the Atlanta office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, said the change could free up investors to take more artistic risks in states such as Georgia since they’ll be seeing financial benefits sooner. …Georgia in recent years has developed one of the country’s most generous film and TV production tax incentive schemes, doling out more than $1 billion in credits over the past decade in order to attract studios to the state. But in order to do that, the state has forgone hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue a year. The tax credit program will cost $376 million this year, according to Georgia State University estimates.
www.gpbnews.org
DeVos Announces Plans For FAFSA App, Visits GSU
http://gpbnews.org/post/devos-announces-plans-fafsa-app-visits-gsu
By STEPHEN FOWLER
Georgia college students could soon be able to apply for federal student financial aid through an app on their phone. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says the existing system needs a reboot. DeVos made the announcement at a conference of student aid professionals in Orlando. “We’re in the process of moving toward updating the whole FAFSA experience and making it 21st century relevant,” DeVos said. This afternoon, she was in Atlanta for a roundtable discussion with students from Georgia State University. She wanted to learn more about GSU students’ experience with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Georgia State senior Donté Brown told DeVos the FAFSA was hard to do as a first-generation college student. “I couldn’t even ask my parents for help in how to figure out FAFSA because they have no idea. Especially when it comes to putting in the IRS information,” Brown said. Many people think the application is confusing and intimidating — especially for families that aren’t familiar with complicated tax information. Without FAFSA, students can’t apply for grants and loans to help pay for school. Almost all of the GSU students who met with DeVos at the roundtable said they would have loved to have a mobile app to help them apply for federal aid.
www.diverseeducation.com
Education Secretary DeVos Praises Senate Action on FAFSA Legislation
http://diverseeducation.com/article/105604/?utm_campaign=DIV1711%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20NOV29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Tiffany Pennamon
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has praised a Senate committee for moving forward with legislation to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). DeVos’ praise followed a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee about reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and proposals for simplifying the aid application. The hearing, led by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., featured testimonies from Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), among other key education professionals and advocates.
www.myajc.com
Cops: Stalker admitted he attempted to rape Georgia Tech student
http://www.myajc.com/news/crime–law/cops-stalker-admitted-attempted-rape-georgia-tech-student/OBN5jeSPA2lQKpS9NIM2iJ/
By Raisa Habersham – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An Atlanta police detective testified Tuesday that a sexual assault suspect was caught on video stalking a Georgia Tech student he attempted to rape, according to Channel 2 Action News. Surveillance footage that was revealed during a probable cause hearing showed Joshua Manns hiding in a hoodie and lurking around corners as he stalked the woman before attempting to rape her in an apartment, Atlanta police Detective William Walters said. Manns, 22, of Austell, was arrested Nov. 10 after Atlanta police said he followed the woman and tried to rape her at the Square on Fifth apartments, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Manns was released from jail two days before the alleged attack on multiple stalking charges.
Higher Education News:
www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Opinion: Don’t tax future scientists and engineers out of existence
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2017/11/28/opinion-dont-tax-future-scientists-and-engineers-out-of-existence/
The tax plan approved by the U.S. House earlier this month dramatically raises taxes for graduate students who earn tuition waivers in exchange for teaching or conducting research at their universities. The House plan would tax these waivers. The Senate version of the bill exempts tuition waivers from taxes. In my initial piece about this, posters argued the increase in the standard deduction within the House tax plan will offset the increased taxes grad students would face on their tuition waivers. However, that’s not true for most grad students, as this excellent analysis by Carnegie Mellon University grad students shows. In a guest column today, two Georgia Tech postdoctoral fellows explain why the House plan would lead to disastrous consequences for students, universities and the state of Georgia, which is in midst of pushing more students to earn undergraduate and advanced degrees in STEM disciplines.
www.chronicle.com
Graduate Students Mobilize ‘to Stop Something That Can Ruin Us’
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Graduate-Students-Mobilize/241901?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=071f3bd984d64dbb80fa212421af98f4&elq=6b4bc488eb124a339b9d2b2375f2c7f2&elqaid=16864&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7308
By Chris Quintana
Senate Republicans are expected to bring their tax-reform proposal to a vote this week, but the House Republicans’ plan — passed on November 16 — already has graduate students hustling nationally to protest. At the head of their complaints is a change that would tax graduate students for the value of tuition waivers they receive. The students have told local reporters and written columns for national publications saying that the change would be catastrophic to higher education, putting a strain on current students and building financial barriers to future ones. The Chronicle has reported that taxes for some graduate students could climb by hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars. Graduate students at more than 50 public and private universities in 30 states will spend part of Wednesday rallying to draw attention to what they perceive as the continued negligence of — though some have called it an attack on — the nation’s higher-education system.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia getting new lottery chief
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/11/28/georgia-getting-new-lottery-chief.html?ana=e_me_set2&s=newsletter&ed=2017-11-29&u=xw%2BDRjRaikB6EdaliSJBWQ0ae2f198&t=1511975507&j=79253041
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Gov. Nathan Deal Tuesday nominated two veterans of his administration to head the Georgia Lottery Corp. and the Technical College System of Georgia. Deal tapped Gretchen Corbin to serve as president and CEO of the lottery agency following the announced department of current lottery chief Debbie D. Alford. Corbin is currently commissioner of the technical college system and served previously as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and as a deputy commissioner with the state Department of Economic Development. “The critical programs funded by the Georgia Lottery, including the HOPE Scholarship and Georgia Pre-K, help millions of children across the state earn a quality education from start to finish,” said Deal. “Debbie’s leadership helped to secure the largest funding transfers on record in the 24-year history of the lottery, providing more students with a strong foundation for continued success both in the classroom and the future workforce.