University System News:
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$100 million cybersecurity center set to open in Augusta
By Eric Stirgus
A grand opening is scheduled Tuesday for a $100 million Georgia cybersecurity center, which officials say is the largest investment by state government in such a facility to date. The center, which is located on Augusta University’s Riverfront Campus, will include a secure briefing area and an incubator and accelerator to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, university officials said. The center includes two buildings, totaling 332,000 square-feet. Officials will celebrate the opening Tuesday of one of the two buildings, the Hull McKnight Building. Construction of the second building began in January and scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. More than 40,000 Georgia residents now work in the field, including about 13,000 in the Augusta area, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in January.
www.mdjonline.com
Kennesaw State student returns to class nearly one year after wreck left him in a near-vegetative state
By Robin Rayne MDJ Contributor
Michael Wolcott savors every day, grateful to be alive. Wolcott, 24, returned to classes at Kennesaw State University in May, nearly a year after an early-morning wreck left him dangerously close to what doctors call a “persistent vegetative state.” “He’s a walking miracle,” said his mother, Bambi Wolcott of Marietta. “I remember asking his doctors, ‘Is my son going to die?’ We didn’t know if Michael would ever wake up or recover.” Michael Wolcott was riding in a car with long-time friends Mickael Lemoine and Ian Wolff on an early-morning search for snacks on May 23, 2017. “We were in Mickael’s Malibu. I was in the back seat, Mickael was driving and Ian was in the front seat. We were at Mickael’s house just doing ‘guy stuff’ and left to get some food,” Wolcott explained. His voice was slow, slurred but deliberate from the lingering effects of his injury. “I don’t remember anything from the accident, so I only know what I’ve been told happened,” he said. “The two boys in front had seatbelts on. Michael is pretty sure he didn’t,” Bambi Wolcott said.
www.wuga.org
Free UGA Program for High-Achieving Students
By ALEXIA RIDLEY
This week, the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health is hosting high school students interested in health and medicine. Nearly two dozen students were selected from a pool of 300 applicants from diverse backgrounds to attend UGA’s first Pre-Collegiate Summer Institute. It’s headed by Professor Brittani Harmon, who says the free program provides several benefits. “The Pre-Collegiate Summer Institute is designed to give rising high school seniors who are high-achieving a chance to visit UGA, get exposed to public health in the medical and health care fields,” Harmon said. “But also to stay on campus and to understand UGA as a university.” Participants in the program interested in applying for undergraduate admission to UGA will have the cost of their application fee covered.
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UGA’s School of Law opens free legal clinic for veterans
By Fleming Smith, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATHENS — After six years of planning, the University of Georgia School of Law has opened a Veterans Legal Clinic that will provide a service they feel is sorely needed: free legal assistance for veterans in Georgia. The clinic helps veterans navigate a complex system as they file claims for pensions and compensation, often for service-related disabilities. According to law professor Alex Scherr, after the clinic opened on May 29, it received a lot of interest from the community. The clinic, which currently includes three law students and Scherr, has already looked into about 20 cases, and it is accepting cases from veterans all across the state.
www.bizjournals.com
GSU study: E-cigarettes not helping smokers quit
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
4 hours ago E-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) are not helping smokers kick the habit, according to a new study from Georgia State University. Tobacco researchers at GSU’s School of Public Health found “no evidence” that ENDS are effective at helping smokers quit, despite anecdotal reports that some smokers have found them useful. “Absent any meaningful changes, ENDS use among adult smokers is unlikely to be a sufficient solution to obtaining a meaningful increase in population quit rates,” the authors wrote in a recently released article in the journal PLOS ONE. “We observed no instance where ENDS users were more likely to quit [smoking cigarettes] than non-ENDS users.” The study analyzed 858 smokers who participated in an initial survey in 2015 and a follow-up a year later. It found that 90 percent of “dual users,” people who used ENDS and traditional cigarettes at the start of the study, were still smoking at the end of the study.
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Jail recordings suggest false sex assault claims against Georgia Tech’s Pastner
By Nicole Carr, Atlanta | WSBTV
ATLANTA — Jailhouse transcripts filed in an Arizona court Friday suggest the couple accusing Georgia Tech men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner of sexual assault made up the claims. The phone and video conversations are a part of a sanctions motion filed by Pastner’s legal team in Pima County Superior Court, where the coach’s defamation lawsuit against the couple was filed earlier this year.
www.griffindailynews.com
Georgia State signs radio contract with Entercom
ATLANTA — Entercom has announced a new exclusive broadcast partnership with Georgia State Athletics. As part of the agreement, 92.9 The Game (WZGC-FM) and News & Talk 1380 (WAOK-AM) in Atlanta will broadcast all Georgia State football, men’s and women’s basketball games. The partnership is effective at the start of the 2018-19 season. All football games will air on 92.9 The Game. News & Talk 1380 (WAOK-AM), the team’s ancillary broadcast outlet, will provide game coverage of select matchups. The news station will broadcast all men’s basketball games. All women’s basketball games will air on WSTR-FM HD2. As part of the partnership, 92.9 The Game will also host weekly interviews with Georgia State football coach Shawn Elliott on “Mornings with John and Hugh,” weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. Men’s basketball coach Ron Hunter will join “Dukes and Bell” in a weekly interview on weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m.