University System News:
www.albanyheraldcom
Albany State holds reorganization meeting at West Campus
Officials are designing new academic affairs structure at university
By Terry Lewis
Albany State University held a reorganization meeting with university personnel Wednesday at the West Campus. The media, however, was not invited to the gathering. “I plan to present or reorganization plans at a meeting with the deans, chairs, the faculty senate and any faculty who are available on Wednesday,” ASU interim President Marion Fedrick wrote in a memo obtained by The Albany Herald late Tuesday evening. “This reorganization will not eliminate or close programs. While the Darton College of Health Professionals will be affected by this change, it will not lose the Darton name. I honor the Darton legacy, and I encourage all of you to do the same.” A source said Wednesday that the general mood on both campuses is that some departments will be combined, and some chairs and administrative positions streamlined through attrition.
www.bizjournals.com
15 companies express interest in $61 million Georgia State University project
By David Allison – Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Fifteen companies have expressed interest in serving as the construction manager for Georgia State University’s planned Convocation Center. The state of Georgia recently issued a request-for-qualifications to identify the most qualified potential providers for the project, which will be a state-of-the-art, 200,000-square-foot facility located on the corner of Fulton Street and Capitol Avenue. The project has an estimated construction cost of $61 million. The proposed building is envisioned to be a multi-level facility with “an elegant presence” and include a large multi-purpose arena with a seating capacity of 8,000 to host athletic events, convocations, commencements, conferences, concerts and other major events “on a scale reflective of the University’s national and international stature in learning and research.” …The state has said it hopes to name finalists for the job by July 24. The state is also seeking to hire a design firm and a program management firm for the project.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
Kiwanis scholarship new to EGSC
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2018/07/kiwanis-scholarship-new-to-egsc/
by HALEI LAMB
The Swainsboro Kiwanis Club recently established the Kiwanis Club of Swainsboro Leadership and Legacy Scholarship at East Georgia State College. The scholarship will begin this fall term, and the monetary award will go to a full time student with a 3.0 or better GPA at EGSC. Students entering EGSC this fall may apply if they have a 3.0 GPA or better from their high school transcript.
www.myajc.com
Georgia Archives to celebrate 100th anniversary with August dinner
By Kenneth H. Thomas Jr. – For the AJC
The Georgia Archives was founded in 1918 in a small room in the State Capitol. On August 18, its centennial will be celebrated at a special dinner. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. at the Georgia Archives — now at 5800 Jonesboro Road in Morrow — with a reception, tours and an exhibit on Georgia’s earliest land records. Next, those attending will move across the plaza to the National Archives at Atlanta for the rest of the program, featuring a dinner and special speakers. The celebration is sponsored by the Friends of Georgia Archives and History. Governor Nathan Deal will speak, as will David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States. Also speaking will be Steve Engerrand, deputy state archivist, about the history of the Georgia Archives; Senator Valencia Seay; and Steve Wrigley, chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
www.ajc.com
‘Forcibly taken away’: UGA grad missing in Loganville, believed to be abducted
By Zachary Hansen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Police are searching for recent University of Georgia graduate, Alvin Ahmed, who hasn’t been seen since he finished his shift at a Publix pharmacy. Ahmed went missing Monday night after working his shift at a Publix pharmacy in Loganville, according to a post on the missing grad’s Facebook page, posted by his older brother Kalvin Ahmed. Loganville police are leading the search. Ahmed’s family believes he was abducted. The post stated Alvin planned to come home after his 9:15 p.m. shift ended, but his car was found unlocked in the Publix parking lot. It appeared that someone went through the car’s glove box, and groceries and his Pharmacist coat were left in the car. …“He graduated early from UGA, went to pharmacy school, and he studied for his exams,” he told Channel 2. “There was no reason for him to walk out.”
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
NAFEO Urges Continuing Affirmative Action Efforts in Higher Ed
by Lezli Baskerville
On Tuesday, July 3, President Trump rescinded seven guidance provisions from the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Division to discourage schools from achieving racial and ethnic diversity, including the Obama-era policies designed after successive Supreme Court decisions supporting the use of race among a number of other criteria to achieve excellence and diversity in education. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) and its 105 historically Black college and university (HBCUs) members – and approximately 80-member predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) – find deeply disturbing President Trump’s rolling back the progress this nation has painstakingly made in recognizing the educational value of diversity. Attaining the benefits of diversity in higher education is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race-conscious admissions policies, and which time and data have proven most often must include the use of race among other criteria.
www.chronicle.com
Student Debt Gets the Game-Show Treatment. Who Wins?
By Chris Quintana
Madeline Pilone is telling a studio audience why she would love to free herself from $41,222 in student-loan debt. She amassed her debt from studying anthropology at Davidson College. She wants to marry her boyfriend and move the two of them out of a “tiny, little loft apartment” and into a house with a yard. “That’s the real-life stuff that debt can be holding people back from,” chimes in a game-show host, a charismatic man in a stylish coat who once appeared in an underwear ad. “Let’s take care of it. Let’s do it right now.” It’s time for the lightning round. The clock starts ticking down. “What light, fluffy substance, found underneath the feathers of ducks and geese, is commonly used for jackets and pillows?” Down, Pilone says. She’s right. What “mile-high” city legalized the purchase of retail marijuana? “Minneapolis?” Zzzzst. It’s Denver. Five seconds left. “What standardized college-admissions test was originally adapted from an Army IQ Test?” “SAT.” Correct, seven of eight so far. The final buzz interrupts the last question. Pilone doubles over in frustration. But she is quickly beaming and pumping her fists when she realizes she will still take home $24,100, which includes her earlier winnings on the show. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think a game show was what was going to help me with my debt,” Pilone says later in an interview segment. Pilone was a contestant on Paid Off, on the cable channel TruTV, much-hyped as apparently the first game show to hand out prize money with the explicit purpose of paying down student debt. The existence of such a show is either odd or obvious, depending on whom you ask.