University System News:
www.albanyherald.com
Fedrick expected to be named full-time president at Albany State
Interim president replaced former President Art Dunning, who stepped down late last year
By Terry Lewis
The Albany Herald has learned that University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley plans to recommend to the Board of Regents next week that Marion Fedrick be named full-time president of Albany State University. In an email sent to The Herald late Wednesday, the USG Communications office said, “This will be an agenda item for next week’s Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday when the Chancellor will present the recommendation to name Ms. Fedrick as president of ASU for the full Board’s consideration.”
www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech to start online cybersecurity master’s degree program
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Tech announced Thursday it’s starting an online master’s degree program in cybersecurity, hoping to help fill what many labor economists say is a void of jobs in the field. The program will start in January, with Tech admitting 250 students. The tuition will be $10,000, which Tech officials say is lower than other nationally-ranked programs. Georgia Tech is partnering with edX, an online learning center created by Harvard University and MIT in 2012. The program is designed to serve working professionals who can study part-time and earn the degree within two to three years, Tech officials said. The United States will have 265,000 more cybersecurity jobs than skilled workers by 2022, according to the ISC Center for Cyber Safety and Education. Cybersecurity job postings have increased by 71 percent between 2012 and 2017. More than 40,000 Georgians now work in the field, state officials noted when it opened a cybersecurity center in July. Georgia Tech has put an emphasis on online learning in recent years, which has helped boost enrollment. Georgia Tech’s enrollment has increased by 36 percent since 2012, from 21,558 students in 2012 to 29,369 students last fall. The cybersecurity program is the third such program for the Midtown Atlanta campus. The others are in analytics and computer science.
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia Tech introduces online cyber security master’s degree
By Mark Meltzer – Executive Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Tech said it’s created a new cyber security master’s degree it will offer online for less than $10,000. The Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity is designed to address a severe global workforce shortage in the field. According to the 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study, the shortage is expected to reach 1.8 million people by 2022. Georgia Tech is the only nationally ranked Top 10 university to offer such a program at a tuition rate intended to increase higher education accessibility and affordability, the school said. The degree has existed on campus since 2002 and costs $20,000 for in-state students and $40,000 for those out-of-state. Applications for spring 2019 are open now until October 1. The cybersecurity program will launch January 7 with 250 students and will scale over time to meet demand and student needs.
www.thebrunswicknews,com
CCGA president hopes to continue building on college’s success
By LAUREN MCDONALD
The story of College of Coastal Georgia quickly drew Michelle Johnston’s attention. Johnston, who recently began in her new role as CCGA president, said Wednesday she was drawn to the position when she learned about the fast-paced growth and collaborative environment that exists at the college. “When I saw what was going on here at the College of Coastal Georgia, it was really unthinkable and unimaginable what had happened,” she said. “… In the last 10 years, transitioning to a four year institution, doing it that fast, that’s unheard of. And to do it with the grace and the finesse and the quality that’s it been done here, those are really, really impressive things.” Johnston looks forward to now having a chance to play a role in that story. She officially started in the new position July 23, and her first few weeks have been focused on meeting people, learning and listening.
www.statesboroherald.com
GSU arrives at latest ‘pivotal moment’
Student success the focus in competitive environment
AL HACKLE/Staff
Statesboro Herald
Georgia’s largest university south of metro Atlanta and now with three campuses, Georgia Southern University will focus on student success while facing increasing competition, its interim president and its new provost said during Wednesday’s convocation ceremonies. Shelley C. Nickel, who took the helm in the interim role July 1, became the first Georgia Southern president to launch an academic year with “State of the University” speeches to faculty and staff assemblies in two different cities. The Statesboro Herald covered the 9:30 a.m. version at the Performing Arts Center on the Statesboro campus. Nickel then traveled to Savannah for the 1:30 p.m. ceremony on the Armstrong campus, and at least one of the convocations was to be streamed online for the Liberty campus in Hinesville. She gave a brief history of the university’s pivotal moments and proclaimed that another has now arrived. In fact, “A Pivotal Moment” was printed on the program cover. She congratulated the faculty and staff on the work of consolidation that made the former Armstrong State University part of the new Georgia Southern and called it “done.”
www.statesboroherald.com
Nickel: No place for racism at Georgia Southern
Interim president references July texting incident
AL HACKLE/Staff
Statesboro Herald
Twice during her “State of the University” speech Wednesday to faculty and staff on the Statesboro campus, interim Georgia Southern University President Shelley C. Nickel declared that bigotry and racism have no place here. The first time, about two minutes into her less-than-20-minute speech, Nickel gave no specific context for her declaration. But it was provoked by a July exchange of text messages among students, as confirmed by her second statement nearer the end of her speech. That text exchange brought the university some unwelcome attention, especially online. “This is an amazing time in Georgia Southern’s history. I believe the timing is perfect for us to make a remarkable impact on this region, and I believe that we can meet the challenges that we must face to be a world-class institution,” Nickel was saying, the first time. “But before I say anything else, let me be clear,” she said. “There is no place for bigotry or racism at Georgia Southern University.” Interrupted by applause from the crowd of mostly university employees in the Performing Arts Center, she then went on with a review of historical milestones at Georgia Southern and the former Armstrong State University.
www.accesswdun.com
GBI: Alpharetta man charged with threatening UNG professor, others
By Rob Moore Reporter
An Alpharetta man faces charges in Lumpkin County after allegedly threatening gun violence toward a University of North Georgia professor and others. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles explained more about the incident and how the GBI came to be involved. “It came about because the University of North Georgia Police Department requested the GBI to assist them in an investigation,” Miles told AccessWDUN. “There were some threats made of violence to one of their university professors. Those threats included threats by email and letter, and also involved a threat of gun violence against the professor, other staff, as well as students if that professor did not resign.” The request from University of North Georgia Police Department for GBI assistance was made on Wednesday, Aug. 1. “That investigation has resulted in the arrest of Jose Gomez of Alpharetta,” Miles said.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
ServSafe class coming in September
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2018/08/servsafe-class-coming-in-september/
by HALEI LAMB
UGA Extension will conduct a ServSafe managers training class on September 18 and September 19 at the Sudie Fulford Community Learning Center at East Georgia State College in Swainsboro. Full registration fee is $140, and the deadline is Friday, August 31. This nationally recognized course is certified through National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and includes the course book, ServSafe Manager 7th Edition. This is the only acceptable book for this course. By taking the class, participants will receive 10 hours of instruction by experienced, ServSafe certified instructors from the University of Georgia Extension. Upon passing the exam, participants will receive a ServSafe Food Protection Manager’s Certificate from the National Restaurant Association.
www.timesenterprise.com
UGA Cooperative Extension puts SNAP Education into action
By Merritt Melancon
While many people know that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides resources for millions of Americans in need of food assistance, most are less familiar with SNAP Education (SNAP-Ed). SNAP-Ed teaches Americans in SNAP how to lead healthier lives at home, in school and at work, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will choose physically active lifestyles and make healthy food choices. The Cooperative Extension System and land-grant universities have long had an important role in implementing the SNAP-Ed program nationwide. In Georgia, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension helped more than 8,600 Georgians maximize the nutritional impact of their food budgets last year through the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences-administered SNAP-Ed program and its sister program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). That outreach represents more than 28,000 hours of food budgeting workshops, physical activity programs, and cooking demonstrations at farmers markets and Extension offices. UGA Extension employees are part of their communities and are skilled at building trust with their audiences. That trust is key to keeping participants engaged and motivated, and it is vital to the effectiveness of health outreach efforts across the state. In addition to USDA programming, UGA Extension Family and Consumer Science educators reached 50,000 additional Georgians through traditional Family and Consumer Sciences nutrition programming. They reached more than 1.3 million Georgians through online learning programs covering nutrition and healthy lifestyles.