University System News:
www.ajc.com
As HOPE marks 25 years, some say changes could aid more students
By Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was Skylar Huggett’s second chance, and she knew she had to get it right this time. Huggett earned a HOPE Scholarship to attend Armstrong State University but, as she put it, she “enjoyed the social aspects of college a little too much.” Huggett’s grades fell below the eligibility requirements — a B average — for the program, and she lost her scholarship in her first semester. Two years ago, Huggett enrolled at Savannah Technical College. She paid her tuition through a HOPE Career Grant,a different program created to train students for high-demand careers. She wanted to be a welder, like some of her family members. Huggett completed the 18-month program last year with a 4.0 grade-point average. “I pushed myself,” Huggett, 27, of Savannah, explained. “I knew I had to get this. I knew it was my last option.” State officials want to see more stories like Huggett’s and are investing millions of dollars a year to encourage more students to take a first or second chance at HOPE. This month marks the 25th anniversary of the first scholarships offered through the HOPE program, funded by Georgia Lottery proceeds. While state data shows six consecutive years of more money awarded in scholarships, some say there are issues that must be addressed to make the HOPE program more beneficial to students and cost-effective.
www.albanyceo.com
ASU President Announces New Leadership Appointments
Staff Report From Albany CEO
Albany State University President Marion Fedrick has announced changes to her executive leadership team. Patrice Buckner Jackson will serve as the University’s new vice president of Student Affairs. The appointment is effective Oct. 1. Kenyatta Morrison Johnson will serve as the vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success, effective Sept. 1. “It is my pleasure to welcome Dr. Jackson to Albany State University. Her broad experience and leadership in Student Affairs will greatly benefit the institution as we work to enhance the overall student experience through enhanced student programs and strategic student engagement initiatives,” Fedrick said. As vice president of Student Affairs, Jackson will oversee a wide range of activities, programs, and services that support student welfare and development. Jackson brings nearly 20 years of service in higher education. She previously served as a member of the ASU transition team; the associate vice president and dean of students at Georgia Southern University; assistant dean of students for student conduct at GSU; …“Mrs. Johnson has proven to be an effective leader for our students and the entire ASU community,” Fedrick said. “Under her guidance as my chief of staff and interim vice president for the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, the ASU Enrollment Management team has greatly improved financial aid, admissions and student registration processes.” Johnson previously served as a member of the Albany State University transition team and as executive director for enterprise risk management at the University System of Georgia (USG). In the latter role, she was responsible for assisting management with visualizing, assessing, and managing significant risks that may adversely impact the attainment of key organizational objectives and providing program management support for USG consolidation efforts. She also served as the director for information technology audit for the System.
www.athensceo.com
UGA President’s Innovation District Task Force Presents Recommendations
Staff Report From Athens CEO
The University of Georgia’s Innovation District Task Force has delivered its final report to President Jere W. Morehead. The report outlines a strategic vision and corresponding action steps to create a hub—or district—on campus to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and industry collaboration. Morehead has endorsed the task force report and assigned a launch team to oversee the initial stages of the innovation district project. “The future success of this institution—and of all public land-grant universities, for that matter—lies in its ability to find solutions to pressing challenges; to develop new ways of thinking and doing; and to support the jobs, companies and industries of the 21st century,” said Morehead. “Those are the top-line objectives of this important university initiative, and I am excited to get the project underway.”
www.ledger-enquirer.com
$3 million grant will help Columbus State prepare more minorities for STEM careers
https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/education/article217927820.html
BY MARK RICE
The National Science Foundation has awarded Columbus State University a $3 million grant to lead a regional effort to prepare more underrepresented minority undergraduate students for careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The grant will fund a scholar program for 140 STEM students during the next five years at six institutions in southwest Georgia. Along with CSU, the participating institutions are Columbus Technical College, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Georgia Southwestern State University, South Georgia Technical College and Valdosta State University.
www.athensceo.com
UGA to Partner on $10M NSF Grant to Cultivate a More Diverse and Inclusive STEM Faculty Nationwide
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
The University of Georgia is one of six partner organizations that will receive a total of $10 million over five years from the National Science Foundation to develop bold, new educational models that broaden participation in STEM programs and fields. Awarded under the NSF INCLUDES program, the new initiative will be called the National Alliance for Inclusive and Diverse STEM Faculty, or NAIDSF. NAIDSF is co-led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Joining the lead institutions and UGA in the new alliance are Iowa State University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Texas at El Paso. These universities are partnering with dozens of other universities, two-year colleges and organizations across the country to scale practices aimed at diversifying the nation’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics college educators and grounding them in inclusive teaching practices.
www.wgauradio.com
ATHENS LIBRARY RECEIVES GRANT TO BECOME “TRAUMA INFORMED.”
By: Logan Booker
The Athens-Clarke County Library will become one of the first libraries in the nation to become “trauma informed.” The library, teaming with the University of Georgia School of Social Work, has gotten a two-year, $150,000 “Community Catalyst Initiative” grant to develop two related programs.
www.albanyherald.com
Google engineers present company, jobs at Albany State University
Job opportunities at Google are open to all majors
By Jada Haynes
Albany State University hosted two Google speakers Thursday afternoon who told students about opportunities any major could apply for at the technology giant. Florence Lyons, the director of ASU’s honors program, said she was inspired to invite Google speakers to the school after seeing a Google program in action at another university. “I first heard about a program that they have at Howard University called Google in Residence, and that permits a Google engineer to teach an introduction to computer science course at their institution free of charge,” she said. “So I said, ‘We’ve got to get that at Albany State.’” Lyons went on to say that after contacting Google and submitting all relevant information, the university is now waiting for a Google in Residence of its own. Joi Troutman, HBCU (Historically Black College and University), HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) and women’s college outreach manager at Google, and Google HBCU Outreach Specialist Lauren Walton told attendees of all majors about internships, jobs and residencies with Google.
www.ajc.com
Clayton State hosting job fair for ex-offenders
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/clayton-state-hosting-job-fair-for-offenders/MZFPwgZ0oUpdTv8aawnxdP/
By Joshua Sharpe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clayton State University is hosting a job fair for people who’ve recently been released from jail or prison. The 3rd Annual Job Fair for Returning Citizens will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the college, located at 2000 Clayton State Boulevard. …The event is hosted by the Henry County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in collaboration with Clayton State University and the Zeta Mu Nu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
CSU and WRBL celebrate downtown news bureau, partnership
https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/business/article217930870.html
BY MIKE HASKEY
Columbus State University welcomed Thursday morning a new WRBL-TV 3 News Bureau to its new home in CSU’s Carpenter Building, part of the RiverPark campus in downtown Columbus. “The thing that is extremely exciting to me this morning is that this news bureau is embedded into our department, in our building, “ said Danna Gibson, chairwoman of the Department of Communications at Columbus State University. David Hart, vice president and general manager for WRBL, said the bureau will not only be a home where their journalists will work, but it will also be an opportunity for a minimum of two interns from CSU to work alongside WRBL professionals.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Deaf library worker comments on university’s lack of accessibility resources
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/features/article_5cecbee8-b1a5-11e8-9ff5-270136ee4a8a.html
By Shiann Sivell, The George-Anne staff
Hidden between the countless shelves of books in Henderson Library is Lionel Orlando Parker. Patrons may notice him going in and out of his office behind the circulatory desk, or on the third-floor shelving returned and borrowed books. They may also notice that Parker is quiet, a tad reserved and just a bit aloof. Those who try to approach him will indeed be surprised when he brings out his cellphone or a sheet of paper and indicates for them to write out their questions. This behavior is simply because Parker is deaf, a condition brought on by a high fever he contracted when he was three. He has since used sign language, finger spelling and everyday technology to communicate with a world where roughly 28 million Americans, about 10 percent of the population, have some degree of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. …During his duration of his employment at Georgia Southern University, Parker has known only a few people who know sign language. …“I try to communicate with people, but they don’t want to communicate with me because they won’t try to learn sign language,” Parker said via typed message. …When asked about employee accommodations, the Henderson Library redirected The George-Anne to Jennifer Wise, GS marketing and communication director, who said in an email, “The university cannot comment on personal matters.” …An American Sign Language (ASL) club was introduced on campus in 2013, but lack of attendance and leadership had the club on and off hiatus, said Scott. The club became an official student organization in 2017, but was subsequently put on another hiatus in Spring 2017 semester following the graduation of the former club president Dontonio Thomas. …Less than 20 colleges in the United States offer ASL as a course of study, excluding Georgia Southern.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Parents of student injured in Sigma Chi fall say she may never walk again
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_6fda2597-f8a3-5286-998e-39c6e14edabc.html
By Matthew Enfinger and Brendan Ward, The George-Anne staff
The parents of a Georgia Southern University student who suffered major injuries after falling out of a second story window at the Sigma Chi house on Greek Row on Aug. 31 said she may never walk again. The Statesboro Police Department responded to a call of an injured female on Olympic Boulevard around 12:30 a.m., Madison Warren, SPD community information specialist said. The student was later identified as sophomore Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority member Danielle “Elle” Kolb. Roberta and Richard Kolb, parents of Danielle, said via email that just after midnight Kolb was invited to visit Sigma Chi by member Gard Zeringue, a GS junior. “Due to causes yet to be determined, Elle fell from a second-story window at the Sigma Chi fraternity house, suffering an L-2 burst fracture of her spine, rendering her unable to walk,” Kolb’s parents said via email. Kolb was life flighted to Memorial Hospital in Savannah where she underwent a nine-hour surgery to stabilize her spine and has been hospitalized since the incident, Kolb’s parents said via email. “She is facing a two-year rehabilitation program to sustain maximum recovery, but it is unclear if she will ever walk again,” Kolb’s parents said via email.
www.ajc.com
After missteps and criticism, UGA to honor memory of slaves on campus
By Brad Schrade, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Last spring, as student leaders at the University of Georgia prepared a resolution urging school officials to honor slaves who helped sustain the campus, they met with a senior member of President Jere Morehead’s staff. Jessica Douglas, one of the students, said the message from the administration was clear: What you’re doing could harm the university’s reputation. The proposed resolution pressed the university to acknowledge the institution’s ties to slavery and called for the placement of a permanent campus monument that honored the slaves and their contributions to the university. The resolution also called for a separate memorial to be installed at Baldwin Hall, which had been constructed in 1938 on top of a slave burial site. Douglas, a junior from Kennesaw, said the administration’s effort to sway Student Government Association leaders failed to stop the senate from adopting the resolution last March after a contentious debate. But weeks later, in the final days of the school year, the outgoing student president vetoed the measure. Behind-the-scenes pressure from Morehead’s administration laid the groundwork for the veto on procedural grounds, Douglas said, a charge Morehead’s office denies. Now, after nearly three years of missteps that led to criticism from faculty, students, the Athens community and academics across the country, the state’s flagship institution is set to do something later this fall that just months ago seemed far off, if not altogether unlikely:
www.savannahnow.com
Raised on Skidaway, loggerhead sea turtle released on Wassaw
http://www.savannahnow.com/news/20180906/raised-on-skidaway-loggerhead-sea-turtle-released-on-wassaw
By Mary Landers
At three years old and more than 30 pounds, Lefty the loggerhead sea turtle had just about outgrown his 1,600-gallon tank at the University of Georgia Aquarium at Skidaway. So on Thursday he made a trip to the ocean. Aquarium Curator Devin Dumont carried Lefty to the dock, holding him with a firm grip on both sides of his shell, and handed him off to Assistant Aquarium Curator Lisa Olenderski who lowered him gently onto a beach towel in a plastic tub on the floor of the waiting skiff. From there it was a short but bumpy ride out to the northwest tip of Wassaw.
www.mdjonline.com
New charges for KSU student who had gun on campus
Jon Gargis
Kennesaw State University Police have announced additional charges on the student found with a gun on campus last week. Kenneth Alvin Glover of Covington was previously charged with carrying a weapon within a school safety zone following an Aug. 29 incident outside the Commons Dining Hall of KSU’s Kennesaw campus, according to a Cobb County arrest warrant, taken out by KSU police But Glover now faces a second arrest warrant on four additional felony counts — three counts of terroristic threats and one count of aggravated assault — after police were provided with video of Glover making threatening comments about several individuals. The new charges were announced in a news alert posted by campus police Thursday.
www.ajc.com
Kennesaw State cheerleader sues officials over national anthem protests
By Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Kennesaw State University student has filed a lawsuit accusing university and elected officials of violating her civil rights during a dispute over her decision and other cheerleaders to kneel during the national anthem at football games last year to protest police brutality and racial discrimination. Tommia Dean, a sophomore, said in her complaint, filed Wednesday, that the officials conspired against the cheerleaders by keeping them off the field during the anthem after the first protest. She accused two elected officials, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, of attempting to stop the protests because of her race. Dean and the other cheerleaders who protested are African-American. Ehrhart and Warren are white. The university later reversed itself and allowed the cheerleaders on the field during the anthem. The other defendants in the lawsuit are former university President Sam Olens, and two athletics department officials, Matt Griffin and Scott Whitlock. Olens resigned in February amid complaints about how he handled the protests.
www.ajc.com
Ex-Fort Valley State officer arrested in sexual misconduct investigation; student seeks $4.8M
By Chelsea Prince, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A former Fort Valley State University police officer was arrested Friday, months after the GBI opened an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a student. Wilbur Bryant, 52, turned himself in at the Peach County Sheriff’s Office on two counts of violating his oath as an officer and one count of bribery, both felonies, according to the GBI. Additionally, he was arrested on a misdemeanor simple battery charge. The now-former student, who demanded $4.8 million Friday from the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, reported Bryant to the Peach County Sheriff’s Office, which requested the GBI’s assistance in April. She previously filed a lawsuit against Bryant, the university and the Board of Regents in Peach County Superior Court.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Study: 1 in 5 College Students Has Weighed Suicide
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
One in five college students reported thoughts of suicide in the previous year, according to a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is associated with Harvard Medical School. The report, published in the journal Depression and Anxiety (abstract available here), includes responses from 67,000 college students from more than 100 American institutions. Racial, sexual and gender minorities are particularly vulnerable to suicidal thoughts, the study found. It relied on data from the annual survey conducted by the American College Health Association. About one in four students reported being diagnosed or treated for a mental health condition, according to the findings, with one-fifth thinking about suicide and 9 percent of the students surveyed attempting it.