University System News:
Albany Herald
BARBARA RIVERA HOLMES: Business, education form Deal’s legacy
GUEST COLUMN: Region has benefited from governor’s pro-business policies
By Barbara Rivers Holmes
During the last eight years, we have seen Georgia evolve into the nation’s top state for business, which can be evidenced by our economic growth and our population boom. We can attribute much of our state’s success to the leadership of Gov. Nathan Deal, a two-term governor whose vision for a better Georgia and whose administrative execution of the policies that support that vision have allowed for transformative investments in economic development, education, criminal justice reform, infrastructure and transportation. … Albany-Dougherty County and the Albany area have been beneficiaries of the pro-business policies of the last eight years, including increased investments and a renewed focus on creating a work force that meets the demands of business through efforts such as the High-Demand Career Initiative, which provides a pathway from school to industry in some of the state’s fastest-growing business sectors; increased investments in K-12 education, so that schools can do more with more and not more with less; Complete College Georgia, enabling more University System of Georgia students to graduate on time; and tax reform such as the elimination of manufacturers’ sales tax on energy, which lessens the burden on these job-creating industries.
Statesboro Herald
GS enrollment drops by 1,051 students after consolidation
More incoming freshman among hopeful signs, but Armstrong campus took a hit
AL HACKLE/Staff
Statesboro Herald
Georgia Southern University’s enrollment dropped by 1,051 students, from a total of 27,459 in fall 2017, including what was then Armstrong State University, to 26,408 for fall semester 2018, which concluded last week. The consolidation of Armstrong’s two campuses into the Georgia Southern brand was well underway in fall 2017, but formally took effect last Jan. 1. So fall 2018 was the first time the consolidated three-campus “new Georgia Southern” started an academic year. A dip in enrollment often – but not always – occurs with university and college consolidations, as interim GS President Shelley C. Nickel has said. In her prior role as the University System of Georgia’s executive vice chancellor for strategy and fiscal affairs, she was involved in other mergers as the state system has reduced from 35 to 26 institutions.
Albany Herald
Albany State holds fall commencement for 700 graduates
Graduation was first since Hurricane Michael ravaged southwest Georgia in October
By Terry Lewis
Albany State University honored more than 700 graduates and also awarded 170 certificates at its fall commencement ceremony Saturday morning at the Albany James H. Gray Sr. Civic Center. The graduation was the first held since Hurricane Michael ravaged southwest Georgia in October. “I am honored to be here today. … You can now breathe a sigh of relief,” Albany State President Marion Fedrick said to the newly minted graduates. “We all pulled together and cared for each other and you are now marching forward. Please remember your alma mater and come back and visit us often — and especially remember to be proud of being a Golden Ram.”
WTOC
Sudanese refugee receives doctorate from Georgia Southern
By Dal Cannady
More than 1,000 Georgia Southern University graduates walked across the stage in Statesboro on Friday, and others will follow suit Saturday. Every graduate on the field, no doubt, has a story of how they or their family sacrificed for their education, but not quite like one in particular. Abraham Deng Ater walked to get his seat like 1,000 other graduates, but his path here – from Africa to Arizona to Atlanta – was like no one else’s.
Marietta Daily Journal
KSU to graduate 2,600 next week
MDJ Staff
It’s that time of year again — when college students who spent years of their lives studying textbooks and sitting through endless lectures strut across the stage in their caps and gowns and graduate once and for all. Kennesaw State University will graduate 2,600 students next week at five commencement ceremonies planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Athens CEO
UGA Commencement to Mark New Beginning for 2,799 Students
Staff Report From Athens CEO
The University of Georgia will welcome its newest alumni Dec. 14 as 1,575 undergraduates and 1,224 graduate students—for a total of 2,799—have met requirements to walk in the university’s fall Commencement ceremonies. The undergraduate Commencement ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum, and tickets are required. The graduate ceremony, which doesn’t require tickets, will follow at 2:30 p.m. In the interest of public safety, the 2018 fall Commencement ceremonies will follow the Southeastern Conference Clear Bag Policy. …Eleven students will be recognized as First Honor Graduates during the undergraduate exercises for maintaining a 4.0 cumulative GPA in all work attempted at UGA as well as all college-level transfer work prior to or following enrollment at the university.
Tifton CEO
Ashburn Freshman Earns ABAC Foundation Scholarship
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
Mary Grace Lavender from Ashburn has been awarded the Captain D’s scholarship from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation for the 2018-2019 academic year. A freshman early childhood education major, Lavender hopes to earn her specialist degree in early childhood education and become an elementary school teacher. …The ABAC Foundation has over 250 scholarships and endowments valued at $11 million that support ABAC and its students. An Evening for ABAC, the annual ABAC Foundation scholarship fundraiser, is set for Feb. 23.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College touts $464 million economic impact on Gwinnett
By Curt Yeomans
Georgia Gwinnett College is continuing to have a big impact on Gwinnett County’s economy, according to new data from the University System of Georgia. In fact, that economic impact in fiscal year 2017 pushed ever closer to nearly half a billion dollars. The university system had the economic impact study done by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. All schools in the university system were looked at and the study showed Georgia Gwinnett College had an impact of just over $464 million between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. “GGC continues to be an economic engine for our community,” GGC President Stas Preczewski said in a statement. “Including our capital outlay for construction projects, we have surpassed $3.26 billion in cumulative economic impact since GGC has been included in the USG study.”
accessWDUN
University of North Georgia contributed $620M to area economy last year
By AccessWDUN Staff
The University of North Georgia had a $620 million economic impact on a 17-county area of north Georgia during fiscal year 2017. An annual study of the University System of Georgia’s economic impact measures direct and indirect spending that contributes to the university’s service region. “This study is a timely reminder of the significant role UNG has in advancing economic growth and prosperity in the areas we serve,” UNG President Bonita C. Jacobs said. “The report complements our ongoing work with industry and community partners to increase educational attainment and regional economic development efforts that enhance this region.”
The Brunswick News
International exchange students explore American culture while studying at Coastal Georgia
By LAUREN MCDONALD
It’s with bittersweet feelings that a group of international exchange students will soon leave Brunswick and return home. On the one hand, they’ll miss the temporary home they’ve made here in the Golden Isles the past several months, studying at the College of Coastal Georgia and exploring the area and its culture. But on the other hand, they’re returning to their families and bringing home a new set of skills they’ve gained during their time studying abroad, including a new sense of independence and a familiarity with the American Southern accent. Six international exchange students have studied at Coastal Georgia this past semester and lived on campus. Three students from Pakistan will return home this week, while three others from Tunisia will continue to study at Coastal Georgia until May. The students came to the United States through exchange programs offered in their countries. They went through competitive application and interview processes before they were selected to participate in the programs. Saman Khawaja, from Pakistan, said she applied to the program hoping for an exciting new experience.
13WMAZ
Jones County High School gets $3M grant for college and career program
The Jones County High School College and Career Academy will benefit from the grant. It helps students with dual enrollment.
Author: Suzanne Lawler
Kids looking to nail down a career in Jones County just got a big boost. Here’s how people there hope a new $3 million grant for a career readiness academy will pay big dividends for the county’s future. …Students can earn dual enrollment certificates through the Jones County High School College and Career Academy. …Laura Rackley is the CEO of the academy. “Right now, in terms of dual enrollment, we have 346 unique students participating earning over 600 credits at the various colleges, our primary partner is Central Georgia Technical College, we also have a partnership with Middle Georgia State University,” Rackley said.
The Brunswick News
Local student takes part in highly-competitive research program
By LAUREN MCDONALD
Olivia Husted climbed to nearly the top of Mount Baker in Washington state and looked out over the trees, all the way to Mount Rainier miles away. She marveled over snow turned pink by bacteria. She stood under a waterfall of glacier freshwater. These experiences all came during just one week of Husted’s 10-week Research Experience for Undergraduate summer program that she completed earlier this year. Husted, a senior biochemistry major at the College of Coastal Georgia, beat incredible odds to earn acceptance into the program at the University of Tennessee, through which she was able to live like a graduate students for a few months. “It kind of gets you hands-on laboratory experience, as if you were a grad student, so you basically spend 10 weeks in someone’s lab with a grad student,” Husted said. “… You kind of shadow them, and you got put on a project. You did your own research.” The REU program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, aims to give undergraduate students experience in graduate school-level research.
GPB
Number Of International Students at Georgia Colleges Is Up
By J. CINDY HILL
The number of new international students attending United States colleges has declined in the last two years, but not in Georgia. Numbers from the Institute of International Education show more than 22,000 foreign students are attending college in Georgia. That’s up nearly 6 percent from last year. Thirty percent of those students are from China, and Georgia Tech, Savannah College of Art and Design and Emory University are the state’s top recruiters.
Savannah Morning News
Natural Georgia: Work continues to save our venerable gopher tortoise
By Dirk J. Stevenson
An unnamed sand road snakes for miles before scaling a mild rise and ending at a gate, beyond which lies an austere, longleaf pine-turkey oak ridge. Even before I exit my truck, I see their work in the distance — a landscape pocked with mounds of soft yellow sand marking entrances to deep cavernous burrows — the burrows of our state reptile, the gopher tortoise. In the field, I join Lance Paden, Research Professional II with the University of Georgia — Odum School of Ecology, Applied Wildlife Conservation Lab, to learn more about an exciting gopher tortoise translocation project. Over the last three years, Paden and colleagues have moved 450 tortoises from harm’s way, from a mining site located in Georgia’s Brantley and Charlton counties (managed by Southern Ionics Minerals LLC) to areas of prime habitat found on state wildlife management areas near the Altamaha River.
The burrows of adult tortoises average 6-8 feet deep and 15-25 feet long! To capture adults from the depths of their subterranean lairs, Paden noodles long sections of PVC tubing down the tunnels to help guide a skilled operator working a mini-excavator. Smaller juveniles and subadults can be dug by shovel, if you have serious shovel muscles and time on your hands.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia investment community is still wary of film industry
By Doug DeLoach – Contributing Writer
Sometimes, being No. 2 is as good as winning. Even as the banner headline proclaimed, “Georgia no longer No. 1 in feature film production,” as noted in the Aug. 13 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the state was ranked second in the world based on delivering 15 top box office earners in 2017, outpacing California (10 films), New York (6) and Louisiana (5). Georgia trailed only Canada, which was credited with 20 of the year’s most profitable film productions. The business of producing films and television programs has proven to be a major economic boon for the state ever since the first in a series of tax incentive measures was passed by the General Assembly and signed by then-Gov. Roy Barnes in 2002.In August 2018, Gov. Nathan Deal announced that film and television production in Georgia generated an economic impact of more than $9.5 billion including $2.7 billion in direct spending in fiscal year 2018. …Since 2010, more than 300 new businesses have relocated or expanded in Georgia to support the production growth. …Panel participants lauded the presence of educational institutions, such as Georgia State University, Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) and the Georgia Film Academy, which are feeding young talent into the entertainment industry. Additionally, Georgia now boasts critical infrastructure components, such as professional sound stages and backlots at Pinewood Studios, Eagle Rock Studios, Blackhall Studios, EUE/Screen Gems Studios, Atlanta Metro Studios and Tyler Perry Studios, with more complexes in the proposal stage. …One condition necessary for sustaining film and television production is genuine interest on the part of the broader investment community. Most traditional lending institutions and investors here still view the film industry with a wary eye. “The skepticism is understandable,” said Stephen G. Weizenecker, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg, who was also scheduled to take part in the panel. “This is a different type of asset class, which they don’t completely understand, so they aren’t immediately drawn to it.”
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
The Power of Guaranteed Admissions
A close look at the percent plan in Texas suggests that high-talent, low-income student are encouraged by such policies to apply to competitive institutions. Could these approaches be more effective than holistic admissions?
By Scott Jaschik
The focus of much admissions discussion this fall has been holistic admissions, in which applicants are evaluated based on the entirety of their application — grades, test scores, essays, background, opportunities — without any formula that assures admission to those with a certain combination of grade point average and SAT score. Harvard University has made holistic admissions central to its defense of the lawsuit charging the university with discrimination against Asian American applicants. Holistic admissions, the university has argued, makes it possible to spot talent in a disadvantaged applicant who didn’t take as many Advanced Placement courses or score as high on the SAT as a more privileged applicant. Holistic admissions, Harvard has said, is consistent with Supreme Court rulings and promotes diversity in higher education. Last week, however, a study was published about the advantages — in promoting diversity — of guaranteed admissions programs. The study doesn’t criticize holistic admissions but points to the benefits — in achieving diversity — of having applicants know that certain achievements will assure them of admission to top colleges and universities.
Inside Higher Ed
Slight Dip in Ph.D.s Conferred
Are numbers of doctorates awarded finally starting to reflect the poor academic job market? New data show decline in nonscience and engineering degrees. Women continue to make gains.
By Colleen Flaherty
The number of U.S. doctorates awarded in 2017 fell slightly year over year, to 54,664 from 54,862, according to a new report based on data from the federal Survey of Earned Doctorates. As in years past, science and engineering doctorates made up the vast majority of degrees awarded — and actually increased in number by 249, to 41,438. But the number of non-science and engineering degrees awarded in 2017 fell by 356, to 13,226, the lowest figure since 2012. It is the latter category of disciplines in which job market has been tightest for years. Taking a longer-term view, science (including social science and psychology) and engineering doctorates climbed from 58 percent of all doctorates awarded in 1977 to 76 percent in 2017. The number of non-science and engineering doctorates awarded in 2017, meanwhile, was slightly lower than the number awarded in 1977.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Bridging the Gap Between Science and Government
By Julia Piper
Research universities rely on government agencies for funding, but the latest word on those agencies’ science policies doesn’t reach campuses instantly. That’s why a few universities have created senior leadership roles dedicated to communicating between Capitol Hill and campus research laboratories. “You can’t really have a loud bell go off and have everybody change their behavior across the country” in response to new policy directions, says Keith Yamamoto, who three years ago became the University of California at San Francisco’s first vice chancellor for science policy and strategy … The need for a job like Yamamoto’s comes in part from the “crippling blow” federal support for biomedical research experienced over 12 years beginning in 2003, he says.