University System News:
Gwinnett Citizen
Rotary’s desire to prevent and treat disease
Leigh McIntosh
December is a good time to reflect on some of our accomplishments. In Rotary Club of Lawrenceville this year, we have volunteered for and given grants to deserving charities. Some of these include $1,100 to support Alzheimer’s, $1,540 to Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministries, $3,028 to support a student for a year at Georgia Gwinnett College …$1,000 to Georgia Gwinnett College,
Global Atlanta
Q&A: How to Balance Security, Sustainability and Profit in International Space Policy
Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School counts among its many experts Mariel Borowitz, a researcher fresh off a stint with NASA in Washington
TREVOR WILLIAMS
In a city like Atlanta blessed with an abundance of universities, the global expertise contained within their halls can sometimes get overlooked. That’s often the case at institutions like Georgia Tech and its Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, where world-renowned scholars are addressing issues vital to 21st-century global governance and national security — often behind closed doors or in esoteric journals. The latest example was a Dec. 5 luncheon featuring Mariel Borowitz, who researches international space policy issues during an age when satellites have become integral not only to civilian and commercial communication but also to military readiness. (Q&A follows)
Politico
Changes may be ahead for criticized Georgia election system
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Georgia’s outdated election system has drawn criticism from cybersecurity experts and voting integrity advocates, and now a commission tasked with examining potential replacements is preparing to make recommendations to lawmakers … Georgia Tech computer science professor Wenke Lee, the only computer and cybersecurity expert on the commission, told his fellow commissioners that technology evolves quickly and investing in an expensive, tech-heavy system could leave Georgia with an outdated system again within just a few years. He recommended hand-marked paper ballots read by optical scanner. “From a cybersecurity point of view, that’s the best available solution,” he said at the meeting. “Now, if you say we don’t want that, you need to justify why.”
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Federal Shutdown Includes Agencies Supporting Research
Grant checks from NSF and other funders won’t go out. Meetings on grant applications won’t take place. Impact will grow with length of standoff. Trump threat on border with Mexico alarms some Texas campuses.
By Scott Jaschik
Numerous federal agencies that are important to higher education were shut down when a standoff over President Trump’s proposed border wall was not resolved. Trump has vowed not to sign a measure to keep the government fully functioning unless more than $5 billion is included for the wall. Democrats have refused to provide the votes to do so. The shutdown applies to agencies that are not covered by appropriations bills already signed into law. The bill for the Education Department has been signed into law, and so that agency and the student aid funds it provides should not be affected. That same bill also includes the National Institutes of Health, a major provider of research grants.
The Hechinger Report
OPINION: Failure to seal the financial aid deal is bad business for schools and students
3 questions that college presidents should ask about their own procedures
by GREGG SCORESBY
Each year, higher-education institutions spend significant revenue on recruiting and enrollment, only to see their pipeline of admitted students evaporate … Here are three questions that university leaders should ask to ensure they aren’t losing students in the financial aid process … Here are three questions that university leaders should ask to ensure they aren’t losing students in the financial aid process. 1. How many students are struggling with our procedures? … 2. Is financial aid verification creating a barrier to college access? … 3. Do our aid processes have a disparate impact on low-income and minority students?
Wall Street Journal
Welcome to College. Now Take a Year Off
New gift to Duke will support gap-year projects before students enroll as freshmen, with aim of opening up option beyond affluent students
By Melissa Korn
Colleges are offering financial aid to entice admitted students to stay away for a year. Gap years, long popular in Europe, have gained ground in the U.S. not just for wealthy teens who can afford a lengthy vacation, but also for students of modest means who want to pause before jumping into academic endeavors. Incoming freshmen at Tufts University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Florida State University and Princeton University can get financial support to defer their enrollment for a year and travel, volunteer, or pursue other passions. This fall, Duke University announced it will begin giving $5,000 to $15,000 to a few dozen admitted students with particularly compelling plans.