University System News:
www.savannahnow.com
Editorial: Savannah poised for success as tech corridor
http://www.savannahnow.com/opinion/20180626/editorial-savannah-poised-for-success-as-tech-corridor
“Entering the Savannah Logistics Technology Innovation Corridor” will read impressively on a highway sign. The challenge now is to turn the fancy-sounding designation into a viable, sustainable and lucrative piece of the local economy — Starting with defining what a technology innovation corridor is exactly… A high concentration of logistics experts call Savannah home, and we have one of the world’s few dedicated logistics research centers, the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute, along with three well-regarded universities.
www.41nbc.com
“THERE IS HOPE HERE,” SAYS NEW FVSU POLICE CHIEF
https://www.41nbc.com/2018/06/26/hope-say-new-fvsu-police-chief/
By Michael Warrick
FORT VALLEY, Georgia – With a sexual misconduct lawsuit hanging over Fort Valley State University (FVSU), the new campus police chief is issuing words of reassurance and confidence in the police department. “When there is life there is hope and there is hope here and we are awesome,” FVSU Police Chief Anita Allen said. Allen, who began her duties at FVSU on June 1, says her number one priority is to keep students safe – but she’s also tasked with improving the relationship between the police department and the campus following a May lawsuit against a former FVSU officer, accused of sexual misconduct with a student. “[I want to] let the parents know that we are here for the children,” Allen said. “That we’re here to talk and network, whatever the case may be to make the student feel safe and do our job as far as giving more training, teaching officers how to keep the students safe.” Allen began her law enforcement career as a detention center officer in Dougherty County. She rose the ranks leaving the Albany State University Police Department to become the chief at FVSU. In her role as the chief of police at FVSU, Allen says she plans to institute a community policing initiative – encouraging her officers to be exposed on campus, talking with students and having an open-door policy.
www.insidehighered.com
From Community College to a Selective University
Many community college students with high grade point averages aren’t transferring to four-year institutions, new research finds, a fact some of the nation’s most selective universities want to change.
By Ashley A. Smith
Educators and researchers have known for some time that most students who enter community colleges with the intention to transfer to a four-year institution never do. For example, a 2016 report from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College found that of the nearly 1.1 million students who enroll at two-year institutions each year, about 80 percent indicate their goal is to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree. But only 14 percent earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. New research released today from the American Talent Initiative shows that even community college students with high grade point averages often aren’t transferring to universities. According to the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, each year more than 50,000 community college students are prepared to do well at a four-year university but fail to transfer. And 15,000 of those students have earned at least a 3.7 GPA and could transfer to selective universities. …Janet Marling, executive director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students at the University of North Georgia, said it’s a mistake to assume that every community college student intends to transfer and that many, even if they had plans to transfer, instead may find well-paying jobs instead. “Our four-year institutions need to be absolutely communicating with two-year partners … and to be, certainly, a little more equitable with regard to how credits are articulated for transfer students,” Marling said. … Marling points to barriers that don’t involve the two- or four-year institutions that may keep a high-achieving community college student from transferring, such as difficulty in understanding long-term earnings potential based on degree levels, the pressure of relocating from one community to another, finding the university too intimidating and the difficulty in explaining the benefits of more college to a student’s family.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
In Upholding Trump’s Travel Ban, Supreme Court Ratifies Worldview That Worries Colleges
By Karin Fischer
When President Trump, days after taking office, issued an executive order barring travelers, including students, from a half-dozen predominantly Muslim countries, it was like a chain-link fence hastily erected along the border. High and barbed and menacing, yes, but thanks to immediate legal challenges, it had an aura of impermanence, as if it could be torn down as abruptly as it was raised. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision on Tuesday upholding the travel ban, that fence is now a wall, hulking and durable. In siding with the Trump administration, the court, in a decision written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, ruled that the order fell within executive authority over immigration and national security, despite the president’s sometimes incendiary and bigoted rhetoric about Muslims and foreigners. The wall, however, wasn’t built overnight. For the past 17 months, bricks have been laid, one by one. …But for international students — those already studying in the United States and those thinking of coming here — those little-noticed rules changes and regulatory revisions have continuously ratcheted up anxieties first sowed by the travel ban. …The justices’ decision affirming the ban could cement the perception that America, Trump’s America, is no longer welcoming to outsiders. It could be the final brick in the wall.
www.diverseeducation.com
Colleges and Universities Express Concerns Over Travel Ban Ruling
by Walter Hudson
Colleges and universities across the nation are expressing concern following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that the Trump administration has the authority to implement a controversial travel ban. “Public universities remain deeply concerned about this misguided travel ban and the message it sends to all international students and scholars who have long been drawn to U.S. universities to undertake studies, conduct research and teach students at our world-leading institutions,” said Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities. “Decades of experience in the higher education community shows that these students and scholars provide countless intellectual, cultural and scientific contributions—not just to universities, but to our country as a whole,” said McPherson. “They discover lifesaving cures. They create businesses. They spread American values abroad. In short, they help advance our national interest.” In the 5-4 opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that President Donald Trump’s desired travel restriction fell “squarely” within the president’s authority and rejected as irrelevant claims that the ban was motivated by anti-religious sentiments toward Muslims.