University System News:
www.dailycitizen.news
Margaret Venable: Dalton State prepares for ‘Momentum Year’
http://www.dailycitizen.news/opinion/columns/margaret-venable-dalton-state-prepares-for-momentum-year/article_7620f1b0-70b2-5157-bf9b-168b85ef7708.html
While this academic year has been a momentous one for Dalton State — we celebrated our 50th anniversary and finally crossed the threshold qualifying us for Hispanic Serving Institution status — it is also the time we have begun planning for the Momentum Year, a new initiative of the University System of Georgia designed to ensure that more incoming students are successful in their first semesters on campus, paving the way to a more productive college experience and timely graduation. The theory is that if students have a clearer vision at the outset of college, then there will be fewer obstacles along the way to divert them from the path to a degree. Spearheading the initiative is the USG’s new chief academic officer, Tristan Denley. Denley has traveled across the state to share the vision with faculty and staff members at each of the system’s 26 colleges and universities, and most recently hosted a Momentum Year Summit attended by each school’s president, vice presidents and key advisers and other faculty and staff who will implement the strategies on their respective campuses. Needless to say, this is a high priority for the University System of Georgia! There are five primary components to the Momentum Year plan:
www.northwestgeorgianews.com
GHC’s food pantry earns state award at the 25th Annual Georgia College Counseling Association Conference
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/education/ghc-s-food-pantry-earns-state-award-at-the-th/article_bbc72aa2-2aeb-11e8-9ac9-b38b5b165f71.html
From staff reports
A few years ago, Georgia Highlands College started a project called the Charger Food Pantry to help combat the nationwide problem of food insecurity among college students. GHC was recognized with the “Advocacy Award” at the 25th Annual Georgia College Counseling Association Conference, which brings together counselors from over 50 public and private universities across the state. The GCCA honored GHC’s Student Support Services team with the award.
www.dailycitizen.news
Dalton State College to house Bruner scholarship endowment
http://www.dailycitizen.news/news/lifestyles/dalton-state-college-to-house-bruner-scholarship-endowment/article_666b2a22-4b0a-57c3-9fc2-3f0f4f25acee.html
No one who knew John Bruner could ever forget his ear to ear grin or his passion for running. Bruner was a 2006 graduate of Dalton High School where he was captain of the cross country team and four-year letterman. He led his senior year team to the Region 7-4A championship and earned an athletic scholarship to Georgia College & State University where he was named to the traveling cross country team as a freshman. When Bruner died at 19 from an undetected heart anomaly while running the Missionary Ridge Road Race in Chattanooga, family, friends and fellow parishioners from Dalton’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Church rallied around the Bruner family to support them through the anguish of their sudden loss. Soon after, an idea emerged to honor Bruner’s love for his church, faith, family and friends with a 5K road race to raise money for college scholarships. Cathy Blevins, St. Joseph’s religious education director, approached the Bruners with the idea to bring together Bruner’s friends from the church, Dalton High School, Georgia College & State University and the Carpet Capital Running Club. The first Run for John was held in 2008, and in the years since then the annual event has raised and awarded more than $100,000 to more than 200 local college students. …The scholarship endowment fund generated by The Run for John’s proceeds over the years will be moved to Dalton State College.
www.savannahceo.com
Savannah State Gala Will Raise Scholarship Funds
http://savannahceo.com/news/2018/03/savannah-state-gala-will-raise-scholarship-funds/?utm_source=savannahceo&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
Staff Report From Savannah CEO
Savannah State University’s President’s Scholarship Gala will be held Saturday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. Net proceeds from the university’s premier fundraising event will support student scholarships. With the theme of “An Intellectual Renaissance,” SSU will celebrate the rich culture of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance while recognizing the scholars and community leaders of today. During the black-tie affair, the university will present Awards of Excellence in philanthropy, leadership, entrepreneurship, scholarship and service. Tickets and further information are available at savannahstate.edu/gala and by following #SSUGala.
www.mdjonline.com
AROUND TOWN: KSU group sits during pledge in Georgia House, outraging lawmakers
http://www.mdjonline.com/opinion/around-town-ksu-group-sits-during-pledge-in-georgia-house/article_93ff0272-296c-11e8-9cdd-2b9146688c32.html
STATE REP. SHARON COOPER, R-east Cobb, says a KSU professor and two KSU students embarrassed their university by failing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance while waiting to receive a proclamation in the Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday. Cooper, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee, said Dr. Ann Bennett, an assistant professor of Reading Education in the Department of Secondary & Middle Grades Education, and two students, were invited to the House chamber by Della Stoner, wife of former state Sen. Doug Stoner. Bennett and the two students are members of KSU’s Diabetes Network group, and they were at the Statehouse to accept a proclamation recognizing juvenile diabetes in Georgia that encourages more research and education on the disease. …Needless to say, the KSU delegation was not invited to the Speaker’s podium to accept the proclamation after their behavior was witnessed. Cooper acknowledged it’s a free country and people have a right not to stand on their own time, but “not when they are on university time or representing a specific group to do that kind of thing, and so I just think it was absolutely awful and disrespectful, and personally I think the faculty member should be fired and they should be disciplined, but I don’t run the university system.”
www.unionrecorder.com
Students curate antique map exhibit
http://www.unionrecorder.com/news/students-curate-antique-map-exhibit/article_7a04dc86-2965-11e8-b95c-7fd8eeee35e4.html
Will Woolever
Between a bevy of different countries, dozens of different owners, and the carefully built collection of a former dean, a group of antique maps have come a long way to the Georgia College Campus. “The title was something that we had bounced around, and we thought it was very fitting,” said GC museum studies student Laika McDermitt of the department’s “You Are Here”, an exhibit of antique maps of Georgia and the surrounding area. “Most of the maps in the collection feature Milledgeville as the capital, and they go up to the time period right before the capital changes to Atlanta, so we chose to kind of take that title and run with it.” Taken from the collection of former Arts and Sciences Dean Thomas Armstrong and his wife, former Russel Library Director Janice Armstrong, “You are Here” features more than three dozen 150+ year-old maps of Georgia and the surrounding area. Curated and researched by students of Professor Carlos Herrera’s museum studies program, the exhibit provides an opportunity for visitors to view maps of the American South as they would have been printed for an international audience.
www.walb.com
ASU student presented with $10K check to get service dog trained
http://www.walb.com/story/37752426/asu-student-presented-with-10k-check-to-get-service-dog-trained
By Emileigh Forrester, Anchor
The South Georgia community helped an Albany State University student take another step toward getting her dog trained as a service animal. Paws Patrol – Pet Partners Group presented Laura Golden with $10,000 Sunday. The 20-year-old has epilepsy, and her dog Bruno has been training to help when she has seizures. …Golden held a 5K last month, to raise the $10,000 that will now help pay for Bruno’s training.
www.atlanta.daybooknetwork.com
Atlanta Technical College and Georgia Film Academy Tout Success of Innovative Partnership
https://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2018-03-19/54389-atc-and-gfa/rss
Last year, Atlanta Technical College (ATC) President Dr. Victoria Seals signed an agreement with the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) to increase educational and professional opportunities for ATC’s students. The GFA Program provides students professional training in the film production crafts as well as opportunity to earn credits towards their Associate’s Degree at ATC. “Over the last decade, Atlanta has become known as the ‘Hollywood of the South,” said Dr. Seals. “We are extremely proud of our partnership with Georgia Film Academy and are working together to ensure ATC students have every opportunity for success in our dynamic film industry. We know that the future is bright for this particular sector of the economy, and we are very encouraged by the interest in our inaugural courses. This is truly just the beginning as we transform lives through the power of technical of education with the help of outstanding partners like the Georgia Film Academy.” After overwhelming demand for the inaugural courses this past January, ATC and GFA are currently working together to add additional courses for the remainder of the year.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia State University Astronomy prof back from South Pole
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/03/16/georgia-state-university-astronomy-prof-back-from.html?ana=e_mc_prem&s=newsletter&ed=2018-03-19&u=xw%2BDRjRaikB6EdaliSJBWQ0ae2f198&t=1521479088&j=80562671
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Stuart Jefferies, a physics and astronomy professor at Georgia State University, returned from the South Pole last month after leading a team of scientists that used various instruments to record high-resolution images of the sun. The group included scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the University of Hawaii and the European Space Agency. He told Atlanta Business Chronicle about the challenges of life in Antarctica and the team’s findings.
www.albanyherald.com
Honor Society installed at ABAC in Tifton
Nation’s oldest honor society now has chapter at ABAC
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/local/honor-society-installed-at-abac-in-tifton/article_dab9bf6c-57e7-53b6-a43c-8ab2ed538c5d.html
By Jon Gosa
TIFTON — The Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate society, installed its 346th chapter at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College this week. The society’s mission is “to recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” “The recognition and reputation of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College as a baccalaureate degree-granting institution has dramatically increased over the past 10 years,” ABAC Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jerry Baker said. “It is now time for ABAC to more formally recognize the achievements of our student scholars. To this end, we petitioned the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.” Phi Kappa Phi eligibility requires that an institution be a regionally accredited four-year college or university with an established reputation of excellence and express commitment to upholding the values of the society. “The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is pleased to welcome Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to its community of scholars,” Society Executive Director Mary Todd said. “ABAC’s focus on engaged learning and its groundbreaking interdisciplinary rural studies degree are exemplars of the growth the institution has seen since its transition from a two-year college over the past 10 years.”
www.athensceo.com
Dean Benjamin C. Ayers on the New Buildings for the Terry College of Business
http://athensceo.com/video/2018/03/ben-ayers-new-buildings-terry-college-business/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=0da0952718-eGaMorning-3_19_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-0da0952718-86731974&mc_cid=0da0952718&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
UGA’s Terry College of Business Dean Benjamin C. Ayers talks about the completion of the second phase of the business learning community and the new buildings that have been dedicated and are now in use on campus.
Higher Education News:
www.wsj.com
Should College Education Be Free?
Supporters of tuition-free higher education say it is an investment that benefits all Americans. But opponents say expecting taxpayers to shoulder the cost is unfair.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/should-college-education-be-free-1521425050
Rising tuition prices at colleges and universities and the relentless growth in student debt in the U.S. have fueled calls for tuition-free college education. Student debt stood at $1.4 trillion nationwide as of the fourth quarter of 2017 … Advocates of a nationwide program of free colleges say that giving everyone access to higher education not only would help individuals succeed and contribute to society but also would produce a better-qualified workforce for the evolving economy. But critics of the idea point to the burden it would place on taxpayers and question whether the goal of graduating more people from college is worth the investment.