University System News:
www.albanyherald.com
Deal: Georgia Lottery transfers more than $1.14 billion to education
Record-breaking lottery profits fund HOPE Scholarship, Georgia Pre-K programs
From Staff Reports
ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal announced Thursday that the Georgia Lottery Corp. has transferred its fiscal year 2018 profits — more than $1.1 billion — to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education account. This is the largest annual transfer on record, bringing the total funding raised for education programs to more than $19.8 billion during the 25-year history of the Georgia Lottery. “Since 1993, the Georgia Lottery has funded critical education programs to prepare today’s students to succeed in the work force of tomorrow,” Deal said. “By providing more than $19.8 billion of total funding for education, the lottery has given millions of our youngest learners a head start in their education while also keeping the best and brightest students in Georgia after high school. With this year’s record-breaking profit transfer, the Georgia Lottery is continuing its exceptional work to help millions of children in Georgia attain a quality education from start to finish for a lifetime of opportunities.” The Georgia Lottery celebrated its 25th anniversary in June, commemorating 25 years of funding Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship program, Georgia’s Pre-K program and capital outlay projects including technological upgrades for schools and universities across the state. More than 1.8 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.6 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.
www.onlineathens.com
UGA students design proposals for landscape revitalization at Athens church
By Christopher James / University of Georgia
The 109-year-old campus of Young Harris Memorial United Methodist Church in Athens will be getting a face-lift with assistance from University of Georgia students. Students from the UGA College of Environment and Design assessed the 6-acre campus on Prince Avenue and drafted plans to update the grounds and facilities. Specifically, the church wants to expand its playground and enhance the presence of a community garden installed seven years ago. The students presented a range of possible designs, such as adding native plants and maintenance-free artificial turf in the community garden and incorporating symbols important to the Methodist heritage, including octagons that symbolize the Heptonstall Church in Heptonstall, England, one of the oldest Methodist churches in the world. John Adeyemi, a student in the landscape architecture design studio assisting with the project, said the group tried to keep in mind historical touches in designing a new playground and making the church courtyard less imposing. “It feels good to know you can have an impact on positive change in the community,” Adeyemi said. “UGA is incorporating the community into the university and it’s something I love to do.”
www.diverseeducation.com
Renowned Journalist Ed Gordon Named FVSU Visiting Lecturer
by Tiffany Pennamon
Emmy Award-winning journalist Ed Gordon will join Fort Valley State University in Georgia as a visiting lecturer for the Fall 2018 semester. As part of programming from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and Media Studies, Gordon’s “master classes” will cover topics such as the business of media, the impact of social media on the field and the fundamentals of writing a news story. Students in the courses will learn from Gordon’s insight into “historic, contemporary and emerging issues” related to the field of journalism, FVSU’s release said. “I am excited to become a member of the FVSU family,” Gordon said of the lectureship. “Being a visiting lecturer gives me a real opportunity to share my skills and some tricks of the trade with a new generation of aspiring journalists.”
www.forbes.com
Professors Are Often Asked ‘What Do You Teach?’ But They Do Far More
Marshall Shepherd, Contributor
In a few weeks, many colleges and university students will return to school. A few days ago at breakfast, a nice cashier in Athens, Georgia asked if I was a professor at the University of Georgia. I said yes. The next question was “What do you teach?” and what we do in the summer. This perspective is the classic and oft-encountered public misunderstanding of what a professor does. Herein, I offer some perspective on what professors actually do. I am a tenured Full professor at a major research-intensive university. Tenured or tenure track professors are competitively selected and typically have an appointment that is some combination of research, teaching, and service. There are also various types of adjunct professorships, lecturers, and temporary teaching positions. While critical to the university’s teaching mission, they usually do not have the same responsibilities as a tenured/tenure track professor. There have been important discussions on the plight of colleagues in such roles, particularly adjunct professors. I am strongly sympathetic and these issues need to elevated, particularly issues related to pay, work loads, and impact on academic careers. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning breaks down different categories of universities. This article is written from my perspective as a professor at a research-intensive or high-research activity (R1) designated university. I cannot accurately speak to the responsibilities of professors at liberal arts, minority serving institutions or smaller schools but I am certain there are similarities. The following responsibilities are pretty typical for a tenured or tenure-track professor at most research-intensive universities:
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
GGC’s Darin Wilson named conference AD of the year
From Staff Reports
Georgia Gwinnett College’s Darin Wilson has been selected the Association of Independent Institutions’ Athletics Director of the Year after leading one of the top NAIA athletics departments to new heights during the 2017-18 season. The award makes him eligible for NAIA national honors — recognition that he earned in 2012. “Congratulations to Dr. Darin Wilson on winning the A.I.I. AD award. We are fortunate to have Darin’s leadership at the conference level. He has his staff at GGC do a remarkable job,” said A.I.I. commissioner Ted Breidenthal. “Georgia Gwinnett College had a historic feat this past spring with three teams holding a No. 1 national ranking and a fourth program ranked No. 2 at the same time.”
www.edtechmagazine.com
Universities Partner with Cities to Boost Budgets for Technology Projects
Higher education institutions look to collaborate with cities to develop state-of-the-art innovation hubs.
byEli Zimmerman
Public-private partnerships are a growing interest for institutions looking to encourage student exploration into the latest technological innovations but do not have the budget to reach their goals. While endowments, loans or donations can be a good way to overcome financial obstacles, some universities are partnering with city governments to establish innovative campuses for the technologically curious. Across the country, university administrators and city officials are combining resources and knowledge to create technology centers, offering students the opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation and enticing entrepreneurial graduates to move to cities ready to become the next Silicon Valley … This is not the first partnership of its kind. Standing in midtown Atlanta, Technology Square is a symbol of the collaboration between the city and Georgia Institute of Technology to foster a new generation of tech-savvy graduates.
www.albanyherald.com
ABAC student participates in border protests
Kevin Joachin uses internship to become political activist
By Rachel Lord
TIFTON — While many have debated the immigration policies of the Trump administration and voiced their opinions on social media and with close friends and family, few have taken action beyond that. One ABAC student, Kevin Joachin, has done much more. Joachin interned with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights from the beginning of May to the end of June. With the internship, he had the opportunity to travel to Tornillo, Texas, and be a part of protests at the U.S.-Mexico border. Joachin said that the GLAHR is a grassroots organization that has worked for more than 20 years helping to fight for immigrant and Latino rights in Georgia. …While some may think that this movement is extreme, Joachin and many others say they believe it is necessary. He spoke of his time at the border and the experience of seeing buses carrying children past the port of entry. …Joachin said he knows it was not easy for them adjusting to a new country and life, but throughout his life he watched them improve their lives, and his, little by little, with them getting their own apartment, taking English classes and earning their GED from ABAC.
www.ajc.com
Texted slur stirs alarm at Georgia Southern
By Christina Maxouris, For the AJC
A student at Georgia Southern University shared an allegedly racist student text message that caused concern on campus. The student, in screening a new roommate, mistakenly sent out a text to the wrong person, in which she used the slur. The student apologized, saying she meant to type “triggerfish” but that was autocorrected by her phone to the slur. “I meant to say triggerfish, meaning like, you seemed really cool nothing that triggered a red flag! I’m so embarrassed I apologize,” Courtney Schaefer said by phone. Friday, university president Shelley C. Nickel sent a message to the community saying “the use of such racist comments is offensive” and doesn’t reflect university standards. But Georgia Southern students Marah Giddens and Alexandria Duvet feel a press release isn’t enough, and both said they wanted to know whether further action would be taken.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Who Lives in Education Deserts?
More People Than You Think
https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/education-deserts?cid=trend_right_a
By Ben Myers
For most college students, place matters. And closer is often better. In 2016, almost 40 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen reported that their colleges were less than 50 miles from their homes, a proportion that has held since the 1980s. Studying close to home, family, and community can be even more vital for the roughly one in four undergraduate students who are considered nontraditional — those who are older, have child-care duties, work full time, or attend college part time. But what happens when there’s no college nearby? That’s still the case in substantial pockets of the country. Areas where it’s difficult for placebound students to get to a college — commonly known as education deserts — have drawn more attention in recent years, but there’s still much to be learned about their breadth and their impact. We wanted to learn more. If colleges and policy makers fail to consider the impact of education deserts, they will fail to engage a large pool of potential students. That may reinforce the inequality that higher education hopes to solve.