University System News:
www.chronicle.com
U.S. Foreign-Language Enrollments Are Falling. Not at This University.
By Julian Wyllie
Henry Crawford had big dreams four years ago as a high-school senior at a 350-student Christian institution in Dalton, Ga. He would apply to the United States Military Academy, earn a degree in a STEM field, and maybe see a bit of the world while serving his country. West Point is a long shot for anyone, and Crawford, who goes by “Hutch,” instead landed 75 miles from home at the University of North Georgia at Dahlonega, his backup school. There he discovered an aptitude for learning Chinese, one of a trove of foreign languages the university offers. His interest in East Asia has already taken him to China, Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan, and he will return this summer for a second study-abroad visit to Beijing before collecting his diploma. At a time when many colleges are cutting back on language programs, North Georgia is moving in the other direction, adding Portuguese this fall to the dozen tongues it already teaches. The university has methodically built up its foreign-language offerings by tapping streams of money that flow from the U.S. Defense Department and foreign cultural foundations, treating each new grant as seed money for the next language in its master plan. …Christopher Jespersen, dean of North Georgia’s College of Arts and Letters, credits persistence, timing, and some luck for the university’s success in bucking the trend.
www.mdjonline.com
STACKING CREDENTIALS
Veteran merges experience in the Navy with high-demand certifications at KSU
Staff reports
Infrared detection, radar, laser technologies were part of Ken Danter’s nine-year Navy career. As he transitioned to civilian life, he began to seek opportunities that would complement his experience in the navy. He worked as an optical alignment technician before considering professional education, stacking credentials to build his experience and resume. Knowing the traditional four-year degree was not something he wanted to pursue, Danter found the Cisco Certified Network Associate credential was a perfect fit. The certification from Kennesaw State University’s College of Continuing and Professional Education seamlessly merged his experience in the Navy with a successful career in computer networking. “I am used to getting certificates in the Navy,” Danter said. “I came across CCPE and realized that the college offered VA benefits for industry recognized certifications. I took that (opportunity).”
www.albanyherald.com
ASU Honors students will participate in summer research programs
Officials say students’ experiences will prepare them for advancement in graduate-level programs
From Staff Reports
ALBANY — From exploring cutting-edge theories to addressing challenging health disparities, Albany State University Honors Students will be active this summer participating in programs at some of the country’s leading research universities and businesses. The experiences will prepare students for advancement in graduate-level programs and learning beyond the classroom. …Honors Students, along with summer research students and interns from other universities, will work closely with professors and advisors from each designated institution and business. Many of the programs cover transportation costs, lodging and food expenses. Some ASU students will also receive stipends ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. “The programs will substantially broaden their knowledge in the field, enhance their resumes and significantly strengthen their academic credentials,” Florence Lyons, director of the ASU Velma Fudge Grant Honors Program, said. “Since I reviewed and edited the application essays for the majority of the students, I know how hard they worked to prepare excellent applications, and I am overjoyed that they have been accepted.” Lyons initiated the partnerships between ASU and many of the universities in an effort to increase the number of research opportunities for university students.
www.daily-tribune.com
University System of Georgia selling Highway 20 property
http://www.daily-tribune.com/stories/university-system-of-georgia-selling-highway-20-property,19010
JAMES SWIFT
A seasoned real estate veteran like Mark Harris knows better than to say something is a “done deal.” “In the business, you never like to say that,” the H&H Realty LLC broker said. “It’s never a ‘done deal’ until you get up and walk away from the closing table.” Still, he said he’s very optimistic that a buyer for about 27 acres of undeveloped land along GA 20 has been found. The University System of Georgia (USG) chose his firm to bid on the listing, which sits between the Clarence Brown Conference Center and the Walmart Supercenter at Market Place Boulevard. The back end of the undeveloped parcel abuts Collins Pointe Apartments. It has frontages on Roving Road and GA 20, facing Georgia Highlands College (GHC). “This 27-acre property is a piece of a larger, approximately 300-acre property that was conveyed to the Board of Regents by the Georgia Institute of Genetics in 1977,” said USG Board of Regents Vice Chancellor of Communications and Governmental Affairs Charles Sutlive. “Given recent development of the adjacent parcels, including the Walmart and the Clarence Brown Conference Center, the USG feels it would be in its best interest and of economic benefit to Bartow County to enable private development of this property.” Harris said he’s had talks with a prospective purchaser to make sure the development plans for the property will benefit both GHC and the conference center. “They weren’t just going to sell this property to anybody or any entity. They wanted to have a say on how it was developed to make sure it was going to be a complement to the area,” he said. “So we’ve got to work through some potential protective covenants, if you will, that will ensure the Board of Regents that once they divest themselves of the title, that they still have some control over the quality of development — that is as important to them as it is selling.”
www.law.com
New Funding Fuels Boom in Public Interest Work for UGA Law Students
The number of law students awarded summer public interest stipends by the University of Georgia School of Law has more than doubled in two years.
By Meredith Hobbs
UGA Law has more than doubled the number of fellowships it grants for summer public interest jobs over the past two years, driven by increased interest from students and additional resources from alumni-supported funds and other sources. UGA Law has awarded stipends to 48 rising 2Ls and 3Ls for jobs this summer at groups ranging from the Atlanta Legal Aid Society to Boat People SOS in Thailand. That’s up from 22 students in 2016, when the law school started a push to support these endeavors. “Students took more initiative to look for positions in the public service sphere, knowing funds were available,” said Alex Scherr, associate dean for clinical programs and experiential learning. Students secured virtually all the jobs on their own, he added. Thanks to new funding sources, the law school was able to disburse $83,000 this year, an increase from $53,000 in 2016. Stipends range from $500 to $5,000, depending on the fellowship source, and the average grant was about $1,750, The law school was able to fund every eligible applicant in some amount, Scherr said, noting that stipends do not cover judicial externships.
www.ajc.com
What students want to study after winning the AJC Cup
By Kyle Nazario, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Winning the AJC Cup is a prestigious honor. It signifies that a student has won the respect of their teachers and accomplished outstanding feats in academics, athletics or community service. With those accomplishments fulfilled, many AJC Cup winners have already set their sights on how they’ll impact the world with their career paths. These remarkable students plan to study the gamut of subjects, from nursing to mathematics. Here are three trends among AJC Cup winners choosing what to study. …AJC Cup winners who listed the school they’re attending will study these subjects at a large number of schools. They plan to attend UGA, Georgia State University, Emory University, Georgia Gwinnett College, Spelman College and a few Ivy Leagues. This matches national trends, which found more than 33 percent of college students attend a school 50 miles or closer to their home.
www.ajc.com
UGA wins Ted Turner Drive Resilience Corridor Challenge
By Pamela Miller, For the AJC
One of Atlanta’s most historic corridors, named after one of its most prominent citizens, will undergo a redesign focused on emphasizing its culture, environment and economy thanks to the input of students from the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design, according to a press release. The students were part of a contest sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Resilience for proposals to shape the future of Ted Turner Drive that has been made possible by the recently passed T-SPLOST and portions of their design proposal will be implemented over the next several months. Focused on five key sustainable strategies, this challenge provided an opportunity for college students to develop a resilient street design to help shape the future of Atlanta in five key areas: water, energy, sustainability, social cohesion, and mobility. Under the guidance of university professors, teams spent five months conducting research, working on design implementation, and canvassing the community. Participating colleges included: Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Georgia Institute of Technology.
www.savannahnow.com
Editorial: Next Georgia Southern president must embrace Armstrong campus
Help wanted: Major public research university with three geographically distant campuses seeks visionary with a hands-on, lead-from-the-front style. Applicants must possess political savvy, marketing expertise and an appreciation for the potential inherent in operating a truly region-impacting university. Candidates looking for a waypoint along the way to a bigger job need not apply. The contract, while technically year to year, should be considered long term. For the record, that’s not the job ad for the Georgia Southern University president’s opening. The actual description is much more complex, full of language about fund-raising, faculty relations and other goals and prerequisites. But as the True Bluers begin the search for their fifth leader in a decade with the departure of Jaimie Hebert, the above classified is a syllabus for what’s ahead. Georgia Southern’s glacial evolution over the past century has accelerated. Plans developed and implemented in the short term – the next 10 years or less – will shape the school’s long-term future. The need for a high-caliber leader is almost a distress call. GSU’s current trajectory is worrisome, especially when it comes to incorporating the Armstrong campus into the fold.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Friends to roast Charlotte Nash, Dan Kaufman at Hi-Hope center fundraiser
By Curt Yeomans
Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash was hit with a moment of worry when she found out who would be sharing stories about her during a roast of both herself and Gwinnett Chamber CEO Dan Kaufman. …While Nash is a Gwinnett native who spent decades working in government, Kaufman is a former general who was Georgia Gwinnett College’s first president and now leads the chamber. “Dan Kaufman is a great American with impeccable integrity and we’re going to roast and toast him like the regional celebrity that he is,” said Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation Trustee Bill Russell, one of the event’s roasters and a longtime friend of Kaufman.
www.athensceo.com
UGA President Jere W. Morehead Elected to Southeastern Conference Executive Committee
Staff Report From Athens CEO
University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead has been elected to the Southeastern Conference Executive Committee. The election took place June 1 during the conference’s annual spring meeting in Destin, Florida. The seven-member Executive Committee is composed of three university presidents, two faculty athletics representatives, a senior woman administrator, and an athletic director. The primary responsibility of the committee is to oversee the financial and fiscal affairs of the SEC, including approving the annual operating budget of the conference.
www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech investigation dismisses claim basketball coach sexually assaulted woman
An investigation commissioned by Georgia Tech has found “no credible evidence” to support allegations that its head men’s basketball coach sexually assaulted a fan. A lawyer hired by Tech issued a lengthy report that the school says exonerated coach Josh Pastner. The coach had been accused by the girlfriend of a former friend of groping and inappropriately touching her numerous times between 2016 and 2017.
Higher Education News:
www.washingtonpost.com
How the Great Recession changed the job market forever for college grads
By Jeffrey J. Selingo
As this year’s college graduates transition from school to career, they are entering one of the healthiest job markets in decades for those with newly minted degrees. Compared with their counterparts from the Class of 2010 — who left college in the depths of the Great Recession, when the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent — this year’s graduates face unemployment of under 4 percent. When students graduate matters significantly to their earnings in the formative years of their careers, according to researchers. Generally, people who enter the job market during an economic downturn start with lower wages than those who graduate in better times, and it takes those who start behind a decade or more to catch up — if they ever do. But the legacy of the Great Recession for graduates goes well beyond that unlucky cohort who left college then. In recent weeks, two studies on the job market for college graduates landed on my desk. In reading them, one quickly realizes just how much the job market has shifted since the economic downturn ended.
www.washingtonpost.com
Another big-name university drops SAT/ACT essay requirement
The number of colleges that require applicants to complete the timed-essay portion of college admission tests is dwindling. On Friday, Yale University said applicants will no longer be required to submit an essay score from the SAT or the ACT. The policy will take effect for rising high school seniors who seek to enter the university’s Class of 2023. Yale’s action comes weeks after Harvard University and Dartmouth College dropped the requirement … “We hope this will enable more students who participate in school-day administrations of the SAT or ACT to apply to Yale without needing to register for an additional test,” Yale said in an email to counselors. Few schools now require applicants to take the tests with essays.