University System News:
www.wtoc.com
A look back at the Georgia Southern, Armstrong State consolidation process
http://www.wtoc.com/clip/14009544/a-look-back-at-the-georgia-southern-armstrong-state-consolidation-process
By WTOC StaffCONNECT
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – A look back at the Georgia Southern, Armstrong State consolidation process

www.tiftongazette.com
Year in Review: A look back on local stories that shaped 2017
http://www.tiftongazette.com/news/year-in-review-a-look-back-on-local-stories-that/article_5220bf50-edb5-11e7-817c-5b4e01b97b27.html
By Eve Guevara
Here is a look back at the top Tifton Gazette stories from 2017.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College merges with Bainbridge State College
The University System of Georgia announced Jan. 6, 2017 that the Board of Regents would consolidate Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Bainbridge State College. ABAC President David Bridges and Bainbridge State College Interim President Stuart Rayfield held several press conference and town halls at ABAC to address concerns and questions. Since that time, an implementation team with representatives from both BSC and ABAC has been working to iron out the details of the consolidation so that it can provide the best service for the region and the state. BSC’s merger with ABAC was approved on Dec. 12 when the USG Board of Regents approved the prospectus for the merger. Coupled with the approval of the prospectus by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) on Dec. 5, all current BSC students will become ABAC students on Jan. 1, 2018

www.onlineathens.com
From the greenhouse to space: Two UGA students head to NASA for high-tech agriculture internships
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-12-18/greenhouse-space-two-uga-students-head-nasa-high-tech-agriculture-internships?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=e38b06bde5-eGaMorning-1_2_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-e38b06bde5-86731974&mc_cid=e38b06bde5&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Merritt Melancon
When the public thinks of NASA, the first images that come to mind are often rockets or satellites. In the future, images of greenhouses might also make the list. This spring, University of Georgia undergraduate students Ruqayah Bhuiyan and Niki Padgett will head to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for research internships focusing on ways to grow food in space. Bhuiyan, a horticulture student in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Padgett, a biology student in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, were selected from hundreds of applicants for NASA’s spring internship program.

www.onlineathens.com
Athens groups feeding homeless not feeling pinch as in some cities
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-12-28/athens-groups-feeding-homeless-not-feeling-pinch-some-cities?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=e38b06bde5-eGaMorning-1_2_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-e38b06bde5-86731974&mc_cid=e38b06bde5&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Lee Shearer
A recent move by some cities, including Atlanta, to crackdown on feeding the homeless in locations other than shelters seems not to be an issue in Athens. Georgia State University police cited Adele MacLean, a volunteer with the Atlanta chapter of a group called Food Not Bombs, as she distributed meals to homeless people in an Atlanta park last month. City officials later dropped the charge — serving food without a permit — but her attorney said the episode showed a callousness toward the homeless. Athens also has a Food Not Bombs group, and members share food with the homeless twice monthly in or near downtown. University of Georgia students formed a group nine years ago to distribute sack lunches with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless. Athens PBJ continues to meet at the corner East Clayton Street and College Avenue each Sunday, bringing food and the offer of fellowship for Athens area homeless. “We’ve never faced any pushback from the city or police,” said Joel Izlar, a UGA graduate student who volunteers with the Athens Food Not Bombs group.

www.griffindailynews.com
Renovation of Mule Barn expected to be complete in summer of 2018
http://www.griffindailynews.com/news/renovation-of-mule-barn-expected-to-be-complete-in-summer/article_69bdb83c-ed03-11e7-bbe7-1ffd362166f0.html
By Landra Larson
A ground-breaking ceremony will soon be held at the Mule Barn on the UGA Griffin campus as workers begin renovation on the historic building. The barn will be transformed into a cafe, thanks to a million-dollar donation from the Dundee Community Association.

www.accesswdun.com
UNG: New high-tech firearms simulator supports Public Safety Academy
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/1/620020/ung-new-high-tech-firearms-simulator-supports-public-safety-academy
By AccessWDUN staff
The University of North Georgia Department of Criminal Justice has opened a high-tech firearms simulator and forensics house, an addition to its Public Safety Academy embedded in the bachelor’s degree in criminal justice that provides training about proper use of force. “One of the key parts of police training is teaching them how to use firearms properly and making them understand why we have case law that sets standards for how we respond as police officers,” said Dr. Butch Newkirk, an assistant professor of criminal justice at UNG and a veteran of law enforcement. “So in our judgmental-use-of-force simulation lab, we’re able to put students in there and give them different scenarios. We don’t teach officers to shoot at everything, we teach them to respond to the threat.” In real life, responding to threats often means making life-and-death decisions in a split second.

www.bizjournals.com
UGA wins Rose Bowl, setting up historic Atlanta national championship matchup against Alabama
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/01/01/uga-wins-rose-bowl-setting-up-historic-atlanta.html
By Phil W. Hudson  –  Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University of Georgia Bulldogs will play the Alabama Crimson Tide for its sixth national championship in Atlanta, less than 100 miles from its Athens home in what could be the biggest college football game in history. Already home to the College Football Hall of Fame, the SEC Championship, the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, the annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the annual Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, Atlanta has been a stronghold for college football for years. But on Jan. 8, Atlanta will become the epicenter of the sport when it hosts the national championship as the game could have the biggest economic impact, the most expensive tickets and the greatest level of fan interest of any college football game ever played. Georgia won 54-48 against the Oklahoma Sooners in a historic, double-overtime Rose Bowl on Monday. With tonight’s victory, Georgia (13-1) ties a school record with its 13th win of the season (2002 team went 13-1). The Bulldogs are now 8-5 overall in overtime including 3-1 in bowl games. This was Georgia’s second-ever appearance in the Rose Bowl after posting a 9-0 win over UCLA in the 1943 Rose Bowl to win a national title. Georgia made its 22nd consecutive appearance in a bowl game and owns an overall record of 31-19-3 in bowl games.

www.onlineathens.com
Rose Bowl latest in long list of Uga firsts
http://onlineathens.com/sports/dogbytes/2017-12-31/rose-bowl-latest-long-list-uga-firsts?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=e38b06bde5-eGaMorning-1_2_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-e38b06bde5-86731974&mc_cid=e38b06bde5&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Mary Carr Mayle For Savannah Morning News
When it comes to college mascots, Uga — the four-legged embodiment of University of Georgia athletics – is in a class all his own. From Uga I’s almost accidental debut in 1956 to Uga X’s victory in the 2017 SEC championship football game, the generational line of white English bulldogs owned by the Seiler family of Savannah has each worn celebrity with the casual ease of a superstar. Uga III reigned during Georgia’s 1980 national championship season. Uga IV donned a tuxedo to attend Herschel Walker’s Heisman Trophy ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York, and Uga V graced the cover of Sports Illustrated – the first and only college mascot to be so honored. …On this New Year’s Day, Uga X – named the top college football mascot by USA Today in September — will make more canine history as the first in the storied bulldog dynasty to appear in the equally storied Rose Bowl, known as “the granddaddy of all college football bowls,” when Georgia plays Oklahoma in a College Football Playoff semifinal game. …That was in 1943, where Georgia legends Charlie Trippi and Frank Sinkwich led the team to a 9-0 shutout of UCLA, clinching the Bulldogs’ first national championship.

www.myajc.com
UGA researchers pioneer methods to save gopher tortoise
http://www.myajc.com/lifestyles/environment/uga-researchers-pioneer-methods-save-gopher-tortoise/CB61KA4IHPYRNapBbOmLQP/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=e38b06bde5-eGaMorning-1_2_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-e38b06bde5-86731974&mc_cid=e38b06bde5&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Charles Seabrook – For the AJC
The gopher tortoise, Georgia’s official state reptile, is North America’s largest land turtle and the Southeast’s only native tortoise. It digs its deep burrows in the sandy soil of its natural habitat — open, grassy upland forests, which once covered huge swaths of the Southeast’s coastal plain. More than 250 other species — including frogs, lizards, snakes, mice, skunks, foxes, beetles — also may use the burrows for shelter and nesting. Thus, the gopher tortoise is called a keystone species because so many other animals rely on it. …To learn about some of those methods, I recently visited the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab near Aiken, S.C. One method pioneered by SREL involves removing tortoises from areas where their habitat is threatened by development and then “translocating” them to protected preserves — and then helping them overcome their strong instinct to try to crawl back to their old homes. SREL researchers also have begun retrieving tortoise eggs from burrows, hatching them in incubators, rearing the hatchlings in special pens until they are a certain size, and then releasing them into the wild — another effort to enhance the animals’ survival chances.

www.onlineathens.com
Consider donating early, UGA, other colleges tell donors as tax law changes
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-12-25/consider-donating-early-uga-other-colleges-tell-donors-tax-law-changes?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=e38b06bde5-eGaMorning-1_2_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-e38b06bde5-86731974&mc_cid=e38b06bde5&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Lee Shearer
Donors to the University of Georgia should consider donating early, according to Kelly Kerner, UGA vice president for development and alumni relations. The tax reform bill the U.S. Congress approved this month removes some deductions for charitable donations taxpayers now have, Kerner explained in an email circulated among UGA’s more than 300,000 alumni. Donors with multi-year pledges should consider the possible tax advantages of moving up donations before Jan. 1, he wrote. One change will end the 80 percent federal income tax deduction for donations season football ticket buyers pay as part of a points system for seat placement or the right to buy tickets, Kerner noted. Such ticket donations are a large part of the athletic department’s annual budget. … Universities and university athletic departments across the country are sending out similar messages about the upcoming tax law changes.