University System News:
www.albanyherald.com
Scholarship started in memory of Tifton teen
Sophia Ruth Fisher was killed while riding her bicycle
By Rachel Lord
This small south Georgia community was devastated by the death of Sophia Ruth Fisher on June 30, but in the wake of the tragedy, the ABAC Alumni Association has created a scholarship to honor the late teenager’s memory. Fisher was a senior at Tift County High and the daughter of Richard and Lynda Fisher. Sophia Fisher and her mother were riding their bikes and were hit from behind by a truck. The younger Fisher died at the scene. Niki Knox Vanderslice, the president of the ABAC Alumni Association, said that she and the vice president, Dan Hobby, decided that the organization needed to do something. …Vanderslice said she thought it was especially important for the Alumni Association to set something up in memory of Fisher because of how involved Fisher’s family has been with ABAC. Fisher’s mother, Lynda Fisher, is the director of the Alumni Association and a graduate of ABAC. Fisher’s older brother, Matthew, recently received the George P. Donaldson Award, an award given at ABAC to the top associate’s degree graduate participating in the ceremony. “[Fisher] loved the school just as much as the rest of her family, and so this was a unique opportunity,” Vanderslice said. …Because of the success of their efforts, Vanderslice said that now their goal is for the memorial scholarship to be endowed, meaning that the scholarship would be available every year. To get to that point, they would need to raise $25,000. Vanderslice said that she was not sure what the eligibility and requirements for the scholarship would be, as she and the rest of the Alumni Association want to leave that up to the Fisher family. The association plans to distribute the first scholarship this upcoming school year to a graduate of the class of 2019.
www.hypepotamus.com
San Francisco’s Revel Systems to Create 170 Tech, Sales Jobs in Atlanta East Coast Office
https://hypepotamus.com/news/revel-systems-opens-east-coast-office-atlanta/
BY HOLLY BEILIN
Another large West Coast-based technology company, which already counts a number of iconic Atlanta establishments as customers, has chosen Atlanta for their East Coast headquarters. Revel Systems, one of the largest iPad-based point of sale (POS) and business management platforms for restaurants and retailers, intends to hire more than 170 Atlanta-based employees over the next few years. Those employees will include a large team of software developers and engineers, as well as an Atlanta-based sales team. The regional office, which will be located in the Bank of America Plaza in Midtown, will be led by Revel Systems’ CTO, Erick Kobres… To access talent, Revel has partnered with Georgia Tech through the College of Computing’s Corporate Affiliates Program.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Tech sign logistics planning agreement
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/07/31/georgia-ports-authority-georgia-tech-sign.html
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
A new partnership between Georgia Tech, the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) and the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics is aimed at improving a logistics industry already rated world class. Representatives of the three parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday at the Port of Savannah. The goal of the MOU is to bring advanced research and evolving global logistics trends and analysis to Savannah.
www.unb.com
Georgia University professor meets UGC chairman
UNB NEWS
Dhaka, Jul 31 (UNB) – Professor Amrit Bart, Dean and Director of Office of Global Programme of University of Georgia in USA called on Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman of University Grant Comission (UGC) on Tuesday. Md AM Shahbuddin, Associate Professor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and Afshana Parven of Asian Institute of Technology assisted prof Bart. During the meeting prof Bart offered scholarship, training and internship opportunities to the Agricultural University’s students, said a press release of UGC. He also said they want to exchange students, faculty members and research collaborations with the universities of Bangladesh. In his speech, UGC Chairman said that Bangladesh has numerous problems in the agricultural sector that needs to be solved. “Our students and faculty members will be greatly benefited from the exchange offer. Besides, it will help us to enhance the quality of agricultural education”, he said.
www.tiftongazette.com
Luke-Morgan, Hall honored with NACTA award
TIFTON — Audrey Luke-Morgan, lecturer of agribusiness, and Kip Hall, assistant professor of forestry, were selected as recipients of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Teaching Award of Merit for the 2017-18 academic year at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “Being awarded the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit once is quite an honor, but to be the recipient for a second time is truly humbling,” Hall said. “I am surrounded by such extraordinary professors in ag and natural resources.” “I am humbled and honored to receive the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit,” Luke-Morgan said. “I appreciate the confidence and support of fellow faculty and administration to nominate and select me for this honor.”
www.moultrieobserver.com
ABAC on the Square gets new name, new director
Staff Reports
TIFTON, Ga. — Jena Willis believes exciting times are ahead for students enrolled in classes at the Moultrie location of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “We offer a wide variety of required core classes, right here in downtown Moultrie,” Willis, the new site director for ABAC classes in Moultrie, said. “We also offer a combination of day and night time courses, as well as online courses, to accommodate busy schedules.” Willis said the site also has a new name. “Since the site opened in 1997, it has been referred to as ABAC on the Square,” Willis said. “With ABAC’s recent merger with Bainbridge State College, Moultrie is no longer the only off-site location. To fall in line with our new sister sites, we will now be referred to as ABAC at Moultrie.” ABAC offers classes at its main campus in Tifton as well as in Moultrie, Bainbridge, Blakely, and Donalsonville.
www.douglascountysentinel.com
DCSS holding ‘launch party’ for teachers, other personnel
Thursday event at UWG coliseum comes ahead of Aug. 8 start of school
By Richard Grant FOR THE SENTINEL
School starts back on Wednesday, Aug. 8 and this year teachers and other school personnel will be headed to the University of West Georgia (UWG) coliseum in Carrollton on Aug. 2 for what is characterized as a ‘launch party’ prior to the start of classes the following week. According to Portia Lake, spokesperson for Douglas County Schools, who spoke by phone, the event is to motivate teachers and staff for the new school year. “The event will be open to all 3,500 employees in the Douglas County School System and is designed for all employees to see and hear the superintendent’s vision and expectations for the 2018-19 school year,” Lake said. “This event’s main purpose is to bring everyone together with the shared goal of helping every student graduate from our schools college and career ready.”
www.tiftongazette.com
Businesses, churches can sign up for ABAC Town and Gown
TIFTON — The 11th Annual Town and Gown Connection will take place on Aug. 13 from 4–6 p.m. at the Meadows on the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College campus. The event gives local businesses and churches an opportunity to welcome new and returning ABAC students to Tifton.
www.wrdw.com
WRDW preserves video archives through UGA libraries
30 Years Of News Is Being Preserved
By Laura Warren, Andrew Everett
ATHENS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Over the past 64 years, many of you or your family have appeared on News 12, as well as countless stories and events. All those memories are now being preserved for future generations. The WRDW archives show everything from old anchor signoffs, to James Brown interviews, to Masters coverage decades back. Now, we’ve donated those tapes to the University of Georgia in hopes of preserving all our history. Margaret Compton is a media archivist at UGA. Her job is to keep these cherished records safe for years to come.
www.savannahnow.com
Editorial: Hearts & Darts — July in review
http://www.savannahnow.com/opinion/20180731/editorial-hearts-amp-darts—july-in-review
Summer tends to be predictable in Savannah. Temperatures rise. Humidity spikes. Pools, beaches and waterways fill with recreation seekers. And news slows. July reflected all but the last point, so as we move into August, we give our monthly shoutouts to the best and worst of the prior month that we either failed to touch on previously or shortchanged.
…Government
Hearts to District Attorney Meg Heap for hiring Isaac Felton to head the End Gun Violence program. This initiative has helped curb Savannah’s gang-related violence — the rash of shootings over the past 10 days not withstanding — and choosing a native son (Windsor Forest, Savannah State) with a background in service programs locally to manage the program should contribute to continued success. Hearts to Georgia Southern University for bringing their annual summer watermelon-cutting celebration to the Armstrong campus. The tradition dates to 1948, and the event showed GSU’s new leadership — headed by interim President Shelley Nickel — understands that small initiatives make a big difference in helping students here in Savannah feel more a part of the Georgia Southern community.
…Community
Hearts to the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography for its 50th anniversary programs. The institute held an “open lab night” in July, one of 10 public events planned as part of the anniversary celebration. The next program is August 14 and is a lecture presentation on “Ocean acidification: The other carbon problem.” We will trust that it’s more interesting than the title suggests.
…Sports
Darts to Armstrong tennis. The Pirates built their national championship dynasty on the racquets of foreign-born players, and it should have come as no surprise to learn at least one of them had played professional tennis prior to coming to Armstrong. And while Armstrong State no longer exists, the school’s records do, and they need to be corrected. Hearts to Georgia Southern golfer Brett Barron, winner of the 97th Georgia Amateur Championship. He started the final round with a three-shot lead and won by four strokes. He joins a list of past winners that includes the great Bobby Jones and current PGA Tour standouts Russell Henley, Harris English and Savannah’s own Brian Harman.
www.mdjonline.com
Former Kennesaw State coach Tony Ingle closes long career on sideline
Adam Carrington
After nearly a half-century as a basketball coach, Tony Ingle announced his retirement Monday. Known for his ability to rebuild and relaunch programs, Ingle retires as a two-time national champion. His first came in 2004, when he led Kennesaw State to the NCAA Division II national championship. He then resurrected the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, Dalton State, in 2012 and needed just three seasons to turn them into an NAIA Division I national championship program. …Dalton State went 134-33 in five seasons under Ingle, who played there when it was Dalton Junior College. This past season, the Roadrunners went 25-9 and reached the second round of the NAIA tournament. Ingle finished with a 453-317 record over his college coaching career, which also included three years at Gordon College and one each at Alabama-Huntsville and BYU. Ingle also coached at the high school level and scouted for the NBA’s Utah Jazz. He was a four-time national coach of the year at different levels and has the distinction of being the only coach in Georgia who was named coach of the year at the high school, junior college and four-year college levels.