University System News:
www.gov.georgia.gov
Deal, Lt. Gov. Cagle and Speaker Ralston make appointments to the ATL
Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston today announced appointments to the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL). Deal appointed Charlie Sutlive to serve as the board chairman, effective immediately. Cagle appointed Teddy Russell and Mark Toro, effective immediately. Ralston appointed Charlotte J. Nash, effective immediately, and Rep. Earl Ehrhart, effective upon the conclusion of his service in the Georgia General Assembly in January 2019.
www.wired.com
Underwater Drones Track Hurricane Florence’s Trajectory
https://www.wired.com/story/hurricane-florence-underwater-drone-slocum-glider/
A new tool called a Slocum glider measures the ocean heat that fuels super-storms like Florence, filling in data gaps to help make forecasting more accurate. When Hurricane Florence makes landfall on the North Carolina coastline this week, Catherine Edwards will be hoping the super-storm doesn’t veer toward her home in Savannah, Georgia. But even if Florence maintains a safe distance, Edwards will still have an intimate view of the weather: she’s tracking the hurricane’s path with a remote-controlled underwater ocean glider. Edwards, an assistant professor of marine sciences at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, is one of dozens of marine scientists who are gathering data about hurricanes with a new tool: a six-foot long underwater drone, known as a Slocum glider, which carries sensors to measure ocean heat, salinity, and density.
www.bizjournals.com
UGA Launches Scholarship Program for Rural Students
The University of Georgia has launched a scholarship program aimed at exceptional students from rural Georgia. The ALL Georgia scholarship will provide financial aid for six outstanding UGA students from rural areas of the Peach State each year, renewable for up to eight semesters. To qualify, students must come from counties classified by the U.S. Census as predominantly rural. About 3,700 students are eligible for the program.
www.griffindailynews.com
Students Learn About Agriculture During Annual Farm Day Event
First-graders from Griffin-Spalding County schools attended University of Georgia’s Spalding County Extension Office’s annual Farm Day on Tuesday, Sept. 11 and Wednesday, Sept. 12.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
Grant Allows College Students to Purchase Cutting Edge Technology
College of Coastal Georgia is the proud owner of a new piece of technology that will significantly change the research opportunities for students on campus.
www.statesboroherald.com
Georgia Southern Opens $33.6 Million Building
Students and faculty started meeting for classes Monday in Georgia Southern University’s new $33.6 million Interdisciplinary Academic Building.
www.reason.com
Speech Code Hokey Pokey How Campus Speech Codes Could Rebound
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/09/12/speech-code-hokey-pokey-how-campus-speec
In May, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, a First Amendment lawsuit filed by a student (represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom) against Georgia Gwinnett College. Uzuegbunam was stopped from distributing religious literature on campus because he didn’t have a permit to do so outside of two small free speech zones. The district court found that Uzuegbunam’s claims for injunctive and declaratory relief were moot — in part because the school had modified its policy, and in part because Uzuegbunam had graduated before the case had come to trial.
Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Scholars Believe Supreme Court Likely to End Affirmative Action with Kavanaugh
https://diverseeducation.com/article/126121/?utm_campaign=DIV1809%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20SEP14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
Scholars from coast to coast expect the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh – and they expect him to help end affirmative action by ruling against it in cases that reach the high court. Affirmative action programs and policies, enacted by U.S. public and private institutions dating back to the 1960’s, have always been controversial, dividing the public and politicians as they grant some preference to Blacks, women and other groups to remedy past discrimination and counter continuing discrimination.
www.diverseeducation.com
Conversations Continue on the State of Free College
As conversations continue about the benefits and challenges surrounding free college programs throughout the nation, institutions, states and the federal government have an opportunity to improve college affordability and move towards equitable free college programs, according to education policy experts and college completion leaders featured on “The State of Free College” panel hosted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
www.diverseeducation.com
Panelists at CBCF Slam White House Education Policies
Trump administration education policies are hostile to civil rights and are intentionally dismantling protections intended to help students, and the efforts must be countered by voting and other civic involvement. That was the overarching message of educators on a panel Thursday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 48th Annual Legislative Conference at the Walter Washington Convention Center.
www.diverseeducation.com
Research Design Flaws Identified in Study Suggesting That Chief Diversity Officers “Hurt” Diversity
Last week, numerous media outlets highlighted a working paper submitted to the National Bureau of Economic Research contending that Chief Diversity Officers have no influence on faculty diversification and that their presence inversely influences the diversity of tenured faculty.
www.reason.com
Speech Codes and Twisting Title IX
https://reason.com/volokh/2018/09/13/speech-codes-and-twisting-title-ix
One of the many surprises of working to defend freedom of speech on college campuses over the last 18 years is how frequently harassment rationales have been used to justify clearly unconstitutional campus speech codes — and how little this is known outside of relatively small circles. For example, it’s not uncommon for Greg talk to lawyers who are familiar with the rise of “politically correct speech codes of the late 1980s and early ’90s,” but who are seemingly unaware virtually all of those codes were presented as anti-harassment codes.