University System News:
Middle Georgia CEO
Middle Georgia State University is one of five institutions joining forces with the U.S. Army Cyber Center at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., to help fill more than 11,000 cyber job openings around the state. The University System of Georgia (USG) and the Cyber Center have signed an agreement that will give active duty military and reservists the opportunity to earn a degree for a career in cyber fields while serving in the Army at Fort Gordon. In the case of Middle Georgia State (MGA), prospective students in those categories would be able to pursue bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees in information technology. Of the five institutions involved, Middle Georgia State is the only university offering the master’s degree option. MGA’s master’s and bachelor’s degrees in IT are available fully online.
AccessWDUN
University of North Georgia, U.S. Army working to fill cyber security jobs in Georgia
By AccessWDUN Staff
The University System of Georgia and the U.S. Army Cyber Center in Augusta are working together to help fill the more than 11,000 current cyber job openings around the state. The two organizations signed an agreement in mid-January that will give active duty military and reservists the opportunity to earn a degree for a career in cyber fields while serving in the Army. “The agreement enables service members stationed at Fort Gordon to pursue their degrees through select USG cybersecurity programs across the state,” said Chancellor Steve Wrigley. “It provides support to the Army and enhances the close collaboration with our military and workforce partners. I look forward to building on the success of this program as we continue to work to meet the needs of the cyber industry.” Columbus State University, Middle Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, the University of North Georgia and Augusta University, all designated as National Security Agency Centers of Academic Excellence, are included in the agreement.
The Daily Caller
UGA BECAME THE BIRTHPLACE OF PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION 234 YEARS AGO
Neetu Chandak | Education and Politics Reporter
The University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, became the birthplace of public higher education on Jan. 27, 1785 — 234 years ago. This was the first time an educational system was run by the state rather than by a religious institution. The General Assembly of Georgia earmarked 40,000 acres of land to be endowed for an institution of higher education in 1784, according to UGA’s website. Yale University graduate Abraham Baldwin was UGA’s first president and was part of drafting the charter in 1784.
WGAUradio
FOUNDERS DAY LECTURE TODAY AT UGA
By: Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia’s annual Founders Day Lecture is set for 1:30 this afternoon in the Chapel on UGA’s North Campus. The speaker is Freda Scott Giles, associate professor emeritus of theatre and film studies and African-American studies, University of Georgia. The Founders Day Lecture recognizes the university’s anniversary as the nation’s first state-chartered institution of higher education. The lecture has become a Founders Day tradition, drawing alumni, students, faculty, esteemed guests and members of the community.
WALB
GSW president hosts first-ever university podcast
By Bradford Ambrose
There’s a new podcast going around on Georgia Southwestern State University’s campus and its hosted by the university’s president. President Neal Weaver wanted a way to reach as many people as possible around campus and that’s his goal with this new podcast. “We can send out emails, we can send out text messages, we can send out newsletters, but very seldom do you get a chance, in more of a conversational tone, to talk about some of the issues and some of the topics of discussion on campus,” explained Dr. Weaver. One of the topics discussed during these podcasts will be what the university is doing to help students succeed.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UPDATE: Campus speech group urges UGA to end inquiry of teaching assistant
An organization that monitors college campus speech issues across the nation on Friday wrote a letter to the University of Georgia demanding it end its inquiry into an African-American teaching assistant whose comments about whites and racism have sparked outrage among some and support from others. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said in its letter to UGA President Jere Morehead that the comments by the teaching assistant, Irami Osei-Frimpong, are “protected by the First Amendment.” UGA on Tuesday condemned his remarks, which have included “some white people may have to die for black communities to be made whole in this struggle to advance to freedom.” Critics say his comments are racist and violent. The university has asked the Georgia Attorney General’s office for guidance since his comments have largely been made in social media posts, not in the classroom.
WALB
By Bradford Ambrose
This Saturday, one South Georgia university will welcome one of the largest groups of perspective students the university has seen in the recent past. Georgia Southwestern University will hold its Preview Day, where incoming students will meet with faculty and student organizations. Gaye Hayes, with the university, said it’s important for students to see what life is like on campus before they make their final decision.
The Augusta Chronicle
All S.C. residents to be eligible for in-state tuition at Augusta University
By Sarah Leblanc
Students who have lived in South Carolina for at least a year will be eligible for in-state tuition costs.
Residents of South Carolina are now eligible for a significant discount at Augusta University. Starting in the fall, the university will offer in-state tuition to those who have lived in South Carolina for more than a year. That means students in South Carolina won’t have to pay the out-of-state tuition costs, which add up to an additional $60,000 over four years. Tuition for Georgia residents at Augusta University is about $17,814 per year, including housing and meal plans. Provost Gretchen Caughman said the decision has been in the making for years. This year, Caughman said, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia agreed to offer in-state tuition to South Carolina to help Augusta University continue to grow.
Albany Herald
GSW student receives broadcasting scholarship
Americus native Hallie Turner was ‘born to be a broadcaster’
From Staff Reports
Hallie Turner, a rising junior at Georgia Southwestern State University, was one of six students from across Georgia to receive the 2018 E. Lanier Finch Scholarship from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. “I am extremely thankful and blessed to receive this scholarship,” Turner said. “I have wanted to be a broadcast journalist from the time I was a little girl, so this scholarship is very humbling.” The $1,500 scholarship, named for GAB President Emeritus the late “Lanny” Finch, provides financial assistance to deserving students who will carry on the tradition of excellence and professionalism in Georgia’s broadcasting industry.
Albany Herald
Despite development, urban blight remains in Albany
City officials talking with developers about downtown properties
By Carlton Fletcher
B.J. Fletcher has been involved in efforts to revitalize Albany’s downtown district for the better part of two decades, first as a business owner in the district and now as its representative on the Albany City Commission. She’s put “my money where my mouth is,” opening restaurants in the district and working with other entrepreneurs to bring various businesses downtown. She’s enjoyed limited successes and endured failures. Now, though, Fletcher has claimed ownership of downtown for her colleagues on the Albany City Commission, boldly proclaiming that any future success or failure can be laid at the feet of that board. …“I still believe in downtown — and I think the new leadership at Albany State (University) could be key in rebuilding the momentum. Albany State downtown would be huge for the city. Stewart and I have been looking at properties in the district, because we believe the momentum will grow. You never know, but at some point, the right place will open and people will say, ‘We’re going to make downtown boom again.’ I believe that can happen.”
Athens CEO
UGA’s Grady College Unveils Virtual Reality Lab
Staff Report From Athens CEO
Students at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication can now have hands-on experience with virtual and augmented reality. Grady College has opened the Virtual Environment Room and Gaming Experience lab to allow students and faculty members to engage in the VR world. “VERGE allows students to experience a state-of-the-art lab and be able to better discuss what audiences and target markets are experiencing,” said Grace Ahn, advertising associate professor and VERGE co-director. The lab features 15 immersive stations that allow up to 20 students to experience virtual reality at the same time. Some stations are capable of full body tracking. Others simply require wearing goggles.
GPB News
Changes To Hospital Approval Process Could Affect Patient Care
By J. CINDY HILL
Georgia lawmakers are considering changes to the way the state approves new hospitals and medical facilities. GPB’s Cindy Hill spoke with Charles Owens, professor of health policy and management at Georgia Southern University, to learn more about what this means for patients.
Valdosta Daily Times
Academic Support Center open for tutoring
By Katelyn Umholtz
Valdosta State University’s Academic Support Center is now open for tutoring services and extra study spaces. After months of construction, the Academic Support Center has transformed the second floor of the Odum Library from rows of bookshelves to modern and collaborative seating and digital-friendly study and tutoring rooms. Dr. Rodney Carr, vice president of student success, said the new center was designed with students in mind — and with their direct input. “(Our students) truly told us what they wanted in a space,” Carr said. “What they kept telling us what they wanted was collaborative space. They wanted extra study space. By having the Academic Support Center here, there are no more barriers of walking to that building.”
Athens Banner-Herald
Credit union, UGA partnership to provide free tax help
By Staff Reports
Georgia United Credit Union recently announced its partnership with the Internal Revenue Service and the University of Georgia to provide the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program to the Athens community. VITA offers free tax filing assistance to individuals with low to moderate income. Program sessions will be held at GUCU’s Athens branch at 190 Gaines School Road.
Albany Herald
Hundreds participate in Georgia Southwestern State University math tournament
Winners recognized in Georgia High School Association and Georgia Independent School Association
From Staff Reports
For the 45th consecutive year, high school students from across the state travelled to Georgia Southwestern State University to compete in the annual Jay Cliett and Bill Kipp High School Mathematics Tournament. More than 350 high school students from Georgia participated in the tournament. Hosted by the GSW School of Computing and Mathematics, the tournament is the longest-running competition of its kind in the state and is one of the largest held each year. Formerly the High School Mathematics Tournament, the event was renamed in honor of Kipp, a professor emeritus, and Cliett, a late professor emeritus, who have been instrumental in the success of the tournament since its inception in 1974.
Times Herald
Eighth-graders explore Coweta careers
By Rebecca Leftwich
Coweta County students who say there’s not much to do around here may have a different opinion after this week. For three days, local eighth-graders took turns exploring career “worlds” with the people who work in them during the second annual Coweta Works career expo. Approximately 1,600 students tried their hands at everything from utility work and precision manufacturing to perfecting their on-camera poise at the Central Educational Center, which hosted the second annual event. Coweta Works brings in business and industry partners to set up hands-on, interactive displays to spark the interest of Coweta eighth-graders. The effort is aimed at students in the county’s private and charter schools as well as the school system’s six middle schools. …“Our community is fortunate to have the chamber, the Coweta County School System, the Central Educational Center along with West Georgia Technical College and the University of West Georgia working together to provide bright futures to our teens and young adults,” Bennett said.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Underrepresented Students, Unintended Consequences
Two prominent researchers say some selective colleges have responded to pressure to hit national benchmarks for enrolling low-income students — in ways that hurt other needy students who are equally academically worthy.
By Doug Lederman
For the last five years, efforts to assess and “shame” selective colleges based on their enrollment of low-income students have worked — perhaps too well, two top economists of higher education assert in a new paper. The study, a version of which was published late last week in Education Next, was conducted by Caroline Hoxby and Sarah Turner, economists at Stanford University and the University of Virginia, respectively. (Another version of the paper was released today by the National Bureau of Economic Research.) The studies assert that recent efforts by researchers and think tanks to rank colleges and universities on enrollment of low-income students, while well intentioned, have both unfairly judged some colleges’ performance and led institutions to alter who they enroll in ways that disadvantage some low-income students, even as they help others.
The Hechinger Report
As jobs grow hard to fill, businesses join the drive to push rural residents toward college
Companies need more people with degrees but struggle to find them
by MATT KRUPNICK
… Educators and policymakers started raising alarms about low levels of college-going among people in places like this after frustration from rural Americans over limited opportunities and incomes spilled over into national politics in 2016. Now growing demand for college-trained workers has brought a powerful new voice to the chorus: businesses desperate to fill increasingly complex jobs at a time of almost nonexistent unemployment. With worker shortages hitting industries nationwide, their companies — and many states’ economies — depend on it … The employee shortage, and concern about people having the right skills, is acute in other parts of the country where fewer rural high school graduates and older workers go to college.