University System News:
www.onlineathens.com
UGA’s Whitten named president at Kennesaw State University
http://www.onlineathens.com/news/20180615/ugas-whitten-named-president-at-kennesaw-state-university
By Lee Shearer
The state Board of Regents made it official this week, Pamela Whitten will be the next president of Kennesaw State University. Whitten, the University of Georgia’s senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost since 2014, will take over at the Cobb County university July 16. She replaces former state attorney general Sam Olens, who resigned amidst controversy in February. The regents had appointed Olens to the job a little more than a year earlier. The regents had named Whitten the sole finalist for the job earlier this month, and in the board’s monthly meeting this week formally approved her appointment. “It is an honor and privilege to join the KSU community,” Whitten said in a news release. “I am thrilled to be able to partner with the entire Owl Nation to champion our students, faculty and staff across Georgia and beyond.” Whitten becomes the president of the state’s third-largest university, and one of the fastest-growing. KSU’s fall 2017 enrollment of 35,846 was slightly fewer than UGA’s 37,606. Georgia State University, with more than 51,000 students, is the state’s largest. …UGA has not yet announced who will replace Whitten as interim provost pending a search for a long-term replacement.
www.albanyherald.com
Whitten officially becomes KSU president
Review period ends for Regents’ choice to take over at Kennesaw State
From Staff Reports
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia officially named Pamela Whitten president of Kennesaw State University last week. Whitten will begin her new position July 16. Whitten currently serves as senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at the University of Georgia, a position she has held since 2014. “Dr. Whitten brings a deep commitment toward building an outstanding academic experience for students, as well as an uncompromising dedication toward quality research and leadership that will serve KSU and its community well,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley said in making the announcement. “We are excited about the feedback from students, faculty and staff who participated in Dr. Whitten’s campus visits last week. I look forward to seeing KSU thrive as she takes this important role.” Whitten had been named the best-qualified for the position two weeks ago.
www.dailycitizen.news
Magaret Venable: Success metrics on upward trend
How does one measure the success of a college? Our goal at Dalton State College is to graduate educated young men and women armed with knowledge, skills and experiences that will allow them to join the workforce and become contributing members of society. But how do we know if we’ve succeeded in our mission? What measurements do we use to determine that what we do here is making a difference in individual lives and in the life of our community? We have an entire department (albeit a tiny one) devoted to measuring institutional effectiveness. Henry Codjoe, aided by student workers, collects and analyzes data that tell us how well we are doing — or not doing — at producing successful graduates ready to take on the world. This data shapes our decision-making and drives our thinking as we plan the future of Dalton State College. But numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Context is needed to provide a meaningful framework for evaluating those numbers. How is something measured? Is it trending up or down or remaining flat? Are there external forces that come to bear on whatever it is that is being measured? Consider, for instance, graduation rates.
www.georgia.growingamerica.com
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Receives Certification for Ag Education Program
After a positive vote from the members of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission at their recent meeting, the Agricultural Education Teacher Preparation program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is fully accredited, and ABAC is ready to help to fill the void of agricultural education teachers in the state. “Having our Agricultural Education program approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission as an Educator Preparation Provider and Educator Preparation Program is a major accomplishment for ABAC,” Dr. Mark Kistler, Dean of the ABAC School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said. “Our students can now be certified to teach agricultural education at the middle and high school level in Georgia.” Dr. Marcus Johnson, Education Department Head at ABAC, said that ABAC received approval from the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to offer the Agricultural Education bachelor’s degree in 2016. Since that time, ABAC faculty members and administrators have been working to ensure that the College is able to recommend candidates for teacher certification upon their completion of the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education degree program.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Major movie and television studio in Columbus also will be home for CSU film students
https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article213318569.html
BY TONY ADAMS
Taking a break Friday from production of his latest film, “My Brother’s Keeper,” now being shot in Columbus, Ty Manns expressed confidence that the city can become a thriving mecca of movie-making in the coming years. “Columbus has everything, the locations, so vast that you can make anything from a period piece here to a modern-day film,” said the writer, director and producer who lives in Phenix City and has made a name for himself with a series of faith-based movies. The Hollywood hopes of Columbus have long lacked a couple of critical pieces of the puzzle, however, as the economic impact of filmmaking in Georgia climbed in recent years to a cool $9.5 billion annually. But those missing pieces are about to be put in place. In a collaboration between Columbus State University and W.C. Bradley Co., a large movie production studio that will feature state-of-the-art sound stages — and include training space for the Georgia Film Academy production certificate offered by CSU — is poised to become reality.