University System News:
www.jacksonprogress-argus.com
Finalist named for Gordon State College presidency
http://www.jacksonprogress-argus.com/news/local/finalist-named-for-gordon-state-college-presidency/article_f75bb63b-4736-503b-ac7a-571a337d4d92.html
Special to the Progress-Argus
ATLANTA – Board of Regents Chairman Jim Hull and Chancellor Steve Wrigley on Monday announced that the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has named Kirk Nooks as the sole finalist for the position of president of Gordon State College in Barnesville. Nooks is currently president at Metropolitan Community College-Longview in Longview, Mo.

www.finance.minyanville.com
BestColleges.com Names America’s Best Historically Black Colleges & Universities
http://finance.minyanville.com/minyanville/news/read?GUID=35729110
BestColleges.com, a leading provider of independent college rankings and higher education trend reports, released today their rankings of the Best Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) for 2018 in recognition of Black History Month. The ranking highlights accredited, not-for-profit colleges and universities who have historically worked to serve the African American community and who continue to celebrate social and academic diversity. Of the 101 active HBCUs in America, 30 schools were recognized on the ranking based on affordability, academic quality, and student support and outcomes. …Our list seeks to honor and recognize HBCUs that have maintained excellent academic programs while continuing to develop and adhere to their historical legacy of social empowerment for all,” says Stephanie Snider, General Manager at BestColleges.com.
2018 Best Historically Black College & Universities (in alphabetical order):
Albany State University; Fort Valley State University; Savannah State University

www.tiftonceo.com
Sodexo Unit at ABAC Awarded Top Safety Award in Paris
http://tiftonceo.com/news/2018/02/sodexo-unit-abac-awarded-top-safety-award-paris/?utm_source=Tifton+CEO&utm_campaign=686f6e5faf-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b977a0f8f6-686f6e5faf-303871653
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
Safety is a top priority for all Sodexo employees who work at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.  That dedication to excellence was recently rewarded in an international setting when the Sodexo unit at ABAC received the Global Safety Award for Contract Site Performance from former Sodexo CEO Michel Landel in Paris, France. Dan Miller, the ABAC General Manager for Sodexo, traveled to Paris to receive the award along with ABAC Sodexo employees Margie Dove and Tomira Tucker. “We have a great employee family that is dedicated to looking for new ways to improve campus safety,” Miller said.  “This award wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our staff.”

www.tiftongazette.com
An Evening for ABAC offers student assistance
http://www.tiftongazette.com/news/an-evening-for-abac-offers-student-assistance/article_8aac50e0-06cf-11e8-8f88-d728c84f8902.html
TIFTON — When Rhythm Nation takes the stage at the annual An Evening for ABAC scholarship fundraising event on March 2, students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will benefit. The patrons at the annual ABAC Foundation-sponsored event will enjoy a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, dinner, and entertainment from Rhythm Nation, a group that blends elements of popular, timeless and recognizable music genres for music lovers of all ages. As the music winds down at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center on March 2, the student scholarship fund will grow so that freshmen can wrap themselves in the ABAC experience when they enroll in the 2018 fall semester. “An Evening for ABAC in 2017 was the most successful in the 46 years the ABAC Foundation has sponsored the event,” ABAC Interim Vice President for External Affairs and Advancement Paul Williams said. “We had over 500 alumni and supporters who helped us raise over $100,000 for student scholarships.”

www.forsythnews.com
Discovery Center coming to Forsyth County
Officials with UNG announced Friday the institution is partnering with Junior Achievement of Georgia to sponsor the Career Exploration Center
https://www.forsythnews.com/local/education/discovery-center-coming-forsyth-county/
Frank Reddy
A Career Exploration Center for children, scheduled to open August 2018 in Cumming, aims to serve 15,000-plus middle school students from Forsyth County and surrounding areas by providing a place to give young people the chance to explore different career options and education programs. Officials with the University of North Georgia announced Friday the institution is partnering with Junior Achievement of Georgia to sponsor the Career Exploration Center in the Mike and Lynn Cottrell Junior Achievement Discover Center at North Georgia near UNG’s Cumming campus. The Discovery Center is the third of its kind in Georgia and the first to have a Career Exploration Center sponsored by a university.

www.ajc.com
UGA says it’s close to creating flu vaccine for all strains
http://www.ajc.com/news/local/uga-says-close-creating-flu-vaccine-for-all-strains/w6PopWT479kD6ngMkH6yHI/
Local | WSBTV
Researchers at the University of Georgia tell Channel 2 Action News they are getting closer to human trials for a universal flu vaccine. Unlike current flu shots, which target specific flu strains, a universal vaccine would protect people from all strains. “What we want to do is come up with a method where we can have lots of different strains included in the vaccine,” said UGA infectious disease specialist Dr. Ted Ross. Ross and his team have been working on a universal vaccine for about a decade. They’ve had successful trials in mice and ferrets. Monday, he confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that they’re in the process of selecting candidates for human trials, which could begin in 2019.

www.bizjournals.com
Georgia Supreme Court hears open records case
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/02/05/georgia-supreme-court-hears-open-records-case.html
By Dave Williams  –  Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Georgia Supreme Court heard an open records case Monday that pitted a consumer watchdog group and the University System of Georgia against a private research organization that conducted a study on payday lending. At issue is a state open records request the Campaign for Accountability filed in 2015 seeking various communications between a professor at Kennesaw State University (KSU) and the Consumer Credit Research Foundation concerning a study the foundation conducted under a consulting agreement with the KSU Research and Service Foundation. The payday loan study was incorporated into a paper the professor published in 2014. The foundation sought to prevent release of the material, arguing the subject matter qualified as research material exempt from disclosure under tthe Georgia Open Records Act. But the trial court held the material could be released because KSU agreed to release it and was not prohibited by the law from doing so. The open records law permits government agencies to withhold information that falls under the law’s exemptions but does not require them to, Senior Assistant Attorney General Russ Willard, representing the university system Board of Regents, told the Supreme Court Monday.

Higher Education News:
www.philanthropy.com
Giving to Colleges Up 6% in 2017
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Donations-to-Colleges-Up-6-in/242441/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=2c6bf09634c54d2dbd804b6d68604c12&elq=231e2fc736d54ba0b53f6ad3b1e8396e&elqaid=17735&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7818
By Heather Joslyn
Giving to America’s colleges rose 6 percent in 2017, lifted by a surge in giving by alumni, according to data released Tuesday. In total, higher-education institutions raised $43.6 billion, the largest amount ever counted by the annual survey since it began in 1957. As in 2016, Harvard University topped the list, with $1.28 billion raised. Harvard is now in the final months of a capital campaign that has raised more than $8 billion far more than its goal of $6 billion.

www.chronicle.com
A Crash Course in Crisis Communication
https://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Crash-Course-in-Crisis/242443?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=1398a87e23374e59b3c844262f62e3f1&elq=231e2fc736d54ba0b53f6ad3b1e8396e&elqaid=17735&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7818
By David D. Perlmutter
At a conference in 2011 I was talking with several higher-education administrators about who we thought were the most successful college presidents. Graham B. Spanier of Pennsylvania State and Lou Anna K. Simon of Michigan State were both mentioned. Now their legacies have been eclipsed by the one thing they did not immediately and aggressively stop: the harming of innocent young people. Contrary to what you may have read, they fell not just because of a sclerotic bureaucracy, poisonous local sports cultures, CYA attitudes among administrators, or bad advice. They fell because they failed to pay heed to the essentials of crisis communication. …Leaders should be preparing a playbook for each plausible hypothetical and agree on a course of action.

www.chronicle.com
Who Should Oversee Athletes’ Academic Progress?
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Who-Should-Oversee-Athletes-/242351?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=9c049868d3a44420b799de0a781fb663&elq=231e2fc736d54ba0b53f6ad3b1e8396e&elqaid=17735&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7818
By Eric Kelderman
Soon Ohio University will have a brand-new building reserved for the academic support of its 425 athletes. The Perry and Sandy Sook Academic Center, expected to cost more than $6 million, is scheduled to be finished by fall. It has the look of a stadium, with high, arched entryways and a view of the football field. Inside will be more than 20,000 square feet for tutoring, group study, and computer labs. The center will replace a space about half that size. Ohio is one in a long line of colleges that have built facilities dedicated solely to providing academic support for athletes. But a group of faculty members is asking that those services be put under the control of an academic unit such as the provost’s office rather than the athletics department. They worry that the current system might cheat athletes out of a top-notch education and could invite scandal. The recommendations are in a report from Ohio’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The report argues that faculty should be responsible for the academic offerings and support of all students on campus, including athletes. The proposal is meant to prevent coaches or others from trying to pressure academic-support staff and faculty members to bend the rules to keep athletes eligible to play.