University System News:
www.wgxa.tv
Patients pay more as Piedmont Healthcare and BCBS continue without new contract
http://wgxa.tv/news/local/patients-pay-more-as-piedmont-healthcare-and-bcbs-continue-without-new-contract
by Evan Watson
MACON, Ga. — Anyone with Blue Cross Blue Shield who go to Piedmont Healthcare facilities will have to pay more. Piedmont is now out of network, meaning that costs for healthcare at these locations have gone up. Gov. Nathan Deal said that Blue Cross Blue Shield and Piedmont Healthcare need to renew negotiations. In the meantime, the state will take on some of the costs. Deal said that the State and University System of Georgia will “absorb out-of-network claims for state employees for up to 30 days” to offer some financial relief this month. …Employees at Middle Georgia State University (MGSU) and other area colleges could be affected by this. The University System of Georgia is taking care of all complaints so far, however “they’ve been really forthcoming with information for all the employees, they’ve kept us very informed on what the negotiations are yielding or not yielding,” said Vicky Smith, director of human resources at MGSU.
www.ajc.com
Longtime philanthropists give UGA $5 million to start scholarship program
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/longtime-philanthropists-give-uga-million-start-scholarship-program/0b0wgwbHJDX5prOQuyxwJJ/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=6cdc90dbed-eGaMorning-4_6_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-6cdc90dbed-86731974&mc_cid=6cdc90dbed&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Eric Stirgus
The University of Georgia announced Thursday it has received a $5 million gift that will be used to start a scholarship for students with significant financial need. The gift is from prominent Georgia businessman and philanthropist A.D. “Pete” Correll and his wife, Ada Lee, both UGA graduates. The Correll Scholars Program will offer annual $7,000 scholarships to two dozen students starting the fall 2018 semester. Six students in their first, second, third and fourth years at UGA will be selected, the university said in a news release.
www.wfxl.com
ASU celebrates Founder’s Week with their annual cookout
http://wfxl.com/news/local/asu-celebrates-founders-week-with-their-annual-cookout
by Alexandria Ikomoni
Albany State University is celebrating its 115-year legacy. Joseph Winthrop Holley founded the university on April 6, 1903. Thursday was the annual “Founder’s Day Cookout” celebration. There was music, games and good food. ASU students say the cookout is an ongoing tradition because it follows Holley’s mission to bridge the gap between the school and community.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Center for Sustainability to host eighth annual “No Impact Week”
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_8203d2c4-65c2-52f9-b667-36a3a8faa088.html
By Shiann Sivell The George-Anne staff
The University Wellness Program and the Center for Sustainability will host the eighth annual “No Impact Week” from April 8 to April 15. The concept for the project came from Colin Beavan, a New Yorker who conducted a year-long experiment on the environment. A documentary called “No Impact Man” about the experience was made in 2009. Professor of Biology Lissa Leege, Ph.D., who is helping coordinate the event, said Georgia Southern University has been hosting No Impact Week longer than any university in the country. This year, each day will have a theme about environmental impacts on the planet. The Center for Sustainability will continue to add new events until the week begins.
www.thewestgeorgian.com
UWG Glowingly Ends the Spring Semester
By Michael Samurda
The University of West Georgia will not be hosting their annual spring concert in 2018 due to insufficient funds. However, UWG’s Student Activities Council will be using the money that they do have to celebrate the ending of the school year on April 18 for a beach themed party. This event will provide UWG students with an array of fun activities and free giveaways for the student’s efforts throughout the 2017-2018 school year.
www.fox28media.com
Sexual discrimination and retaliation latest claims to hit Savannah State University
http://fox28media.com/news/local/sexual-discrimination-and-retaliation-latest-claims-to-hit-savannah-state-university
BY ROBERT CATANESE
Savannah, Ga. — Arisa Burgest worked in the Savannah State University accounting department for almost 10 years. That was until 2017, when she says she was forced to file a federal lawsuit naming the University System of Georgia and Vice President of Business and Finance Edward Jolley Jr. of sexual discrimination and retaliation tacticts. The federal claim names both the Board of Regents as well as Jolley for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “Listen, there are problems, do something,” said Abda Quillian, an attorney with the Tate Law Group. Burgest told FOX 28 that she had started experiencing numerous encounters with then Controller of Fiscal Affairs Michael Strebler, including bias, retaliation and hostile work conditions. “It was a careless approach of management when it comes to handling staff,” said Burgest. Burgest said sexual discrimination and harassment went on for the last two years of her tenure at the university. She also said she brought the numerous incidents to the attention of Edward Jolley.
www.times-georgian.com
D&L records tell more than a story of business success
http://www.times-georgian.com/d-l-records-tell-more-than-a-story-of-business/article_a34d9c9e-394c-11e8-bf2b-b7ca4452445d.html
Erin McSwain-Davis/Times-Georgian
The University of West Georgia on Wednesday celebrated the opening of the Douglas and Lomason Company records for research at UWG’s Ingram Library. Douglas and Lomason was a leading worldwide supplier of automotive seating systems and was headquartered in Carrollton. “Milestones like these, anniversaries and openings, are opportunities to reflect on Carrollton’s history of socially engaged leaders,” said West Georgia Regional Library System Director Jessica Everingham. “It reminds us that the legacy of local business is so much more than economics and that we are responsible to those who have come before and invested in Carrollton to follow through with their vision of a thriving community.” Blynne Olivieri, UWG’s head of Special Collections for the Ingram Library, said at the celebration that it had been exactly one year ago that she received a telephone call from Krista Massell, the great-granddaughter of Douglas and Lomason Company founder Harry Lomason, about the company records.
www.mdjonline.com
KEVIN FOLEY: Lame duck Earl Ehrhart’s kangaroo court
http://www.mdjonline.com/opinion/kevin-foley-lame-duck-earl-ehrhart-s-kangaroo-court/article_c2a178c6-392a-11e8-806d-e3b1735d9a19.html
State Rep. Earl Ehrhart’s public comments about colleges and universities have routinely revealed contempt for academia, intellectualism, and the hard-working professionals responsible for providing higher education in Georgia. Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, frequently suggests he alone knows what’s best for Georgia’s public colleges and universities and, as guardian of the state’s higher education purse strings, he’ll do his level best to impose his will on them. Ehrhart is retiring, but last week he delivered a piece de resistance. As the legislature was preparing to adjourn, Ehrhart called KSU’s interim President Ken Harmon and Vice President of Student Affairs Kathleen White before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education he chairs.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
University Police trains first K-9 officer for Armstrong campus
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_bd313522-d8b0-5f4b-873a-de62367d45c6.html
By Brendan Ward The George-Anne staff
The Georgia Southern University Police Department is training a new K-9 officer in explosives detection for the Armstrong Campus. The new officer, named Bear, is a Belgium Malinois and will be the first K-9 unit assigned to the Armstrong campus. Bear is the second K-9 officer to be added to the UPD. The first being Deimos, who is currently assigned to the Statesboro Campus. Bear was obtained through a partnership with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and has worked as an explosive detection overseas for the Department of Defense. Bear has been training with UPD Patrol Officer Phillip Garza and the two will worked together at the Armstrong campus.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
‘Trauma Informed’ Approaches to Sex Assault Are Catching On. They’re Also Facing a Backlash.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Trauma-Informed-/243049?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=f4fdb8d412eb4f16bb779cca100ba77b&elq=1c8332f9bd6a49ff92832c25404ecc9a&elqaid=18497&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=8309
By Katherine Mangan
Certain details of her sexual assault at a fraternity outing remain fuzzy to this day. She couldn’t tell investigators how long it lasted, what time it happened, who was there right before and after the assault occurred, or how she got back to her room when it was over. The police refused to press charges, citing a lack of physical evidence and the test for a date-rape drug that came back negative. But, months later, a Georgia university panel whose investigators had been trained in the neurobiological effects of trauma came to a different conclusion. After giving her time to piece together the painful details and weighing the accounts of both students, the university scheduled a hearing, and the student accused of assault agreed to leave the institution. “Trauma informed” approaches toward investigating campus assault complaints are changing the way investigators interpret inconsistent reports or jumbled timelines.