University System News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia makes progress on medical education, but more work needed, report says
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia education leaders are on pace to exceed their goal to create new residency positions at teaching hospitals, but the state is still far below the national average, according to a new report. The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts report also warned more medical residency positions are needed south of metro Atlanta. State lawmakers have committed $19 million toward creating more positions with help from the state’s Board of Regents (BOR). Georgia last year had about 21 residency positions per 100,000 residents, an improvement from 18.5 positions per 100,000 in 2013. The national average, though, is 34 positions per 100,000 residents, the report said. And not many of those positions are in rural Georgia. “Of nine teaching hospitals funded under the plan, most were located in North Georgia and in metropolitan areas…Efforts to establish more residency programs in the rural, underserved areas of Central and South Georgia were impeded by a lack of hospitals capable of meeting BOR’s patient case mix criteria,” the report said. The report mirrors recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution coverage that found a doctor shortage in rural Georgia. Sixty-four of the state’s 159 counties have no pediatrician. Nine counties have no doctor, period. The University System of Georgia began work several years ago to create 400 new Graduate Medical Education (GME) residency positions by 2025. The report found the University System has thus far created 262 positions and is on pace to exceed that goal, creating 613 positions by 2025.
13WMAZ
Middle Georgia State increases enrollment
Middle Georgia State increases enrollment
The Brunswick News
College students receive Emory Dawson Scholarship
By LAUREN MCDONALD
The Elks Lodge 691 of Brunswick recently awarded two College of Coastal Georgia students with the annual Emory Dawson Scholarship. Sierra Bryant and Julia Cieszeski became the 39th and 40th students to receive the $1,500 scholarship, which is awarded every academic year. The scholarship recognizes students with disabilities who have demonstrated strong academic performance.
Albany Herald
Stefano Gobbo graduates with master’s degrees from University of Georgia, University of Padova
By Merritt Melancon and Clint Thompson
University of Georgia graduate Stefano Gobbo made history for UGA and the University of Padova in Italy when he received his master’s degree. Gobbo is the first UNIPD-based graduate of the dual master’s degree program in sustainable agriculture offered jointly by UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environment Sciences Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and UNIPD’s Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment. He completed his coursework at UNIPD and conducted his thesis research at UGA, earning master’s degrees from both universities. A few months ago, Tifton native Logan Moore was the first UGA-based student to complete the program after conducting his research at UNIPD. The dual master’s program between the two universities is the first of its kind for CAES and for UGA. UGA and CAES have long supported international study, but the university did not offer a dual master’s degree until 2016 when this program was established.
Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern, Savannah State, Savannah Tech invite Virginia College students to info session
By Will Peebles
Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University and Savannah Technical College are teaming up to help Virginia College students consider all of their options as they work to find the next steps in furthering their education and career. At an information session on Thursday, at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus, students will be able to speak with Admissions, Financial Aid, Military Services and more from all three schools and find out how to enroll as early as this January, GS spokeswoman Jennifer Wise said.
Savannah Tribune
10th Annual Student Success Expo to Take Place January 5, 2019
By Savannah Tribune
Join us for the 10th Annual Student Success Expo and STEM Festival on Saturday, January 5, 2019, at the Savannah Mall from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. In addition to college and career information, attendees will enjoy interactive displays and learn about all public school options across the district while gaining valuable information related to program pathways. …Other District program highlights include: Performing Arts, Engineering, Welding, Aviation, Cosmetology, (Hair, Nails and Barbering), Culinary, Medical & Allied Health, Construction, Automotive Repair and Collision, Public Safety, and Logistics – just to name a few. Students and parents will find a wide range of educational pathways that are sure to inspire the thirst for knowledge and higher learning. Students will also have an opportunity to apply and speak to college representatives from Harvard, Georgia Southern, University of Georgia, Savannah State University, Savannah Technical College, Morehouse, Spelman, St. Leo and other major colleges and universities! The Student Success Expo and STEM Festival is a signature event for the District and continues to draw thousands of participants each year to learn about the seamless transition from elementary, middle, and high school to post-secondary education.
Savannah Business Journal
Georgia Southern University recognized for research focus with latest Carnegie ranking
Georgia Southern University is now ranked as an “R2” high research institution, placing it in the top 6% of all institutions ranked by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The “R2” designation, the second-highest classification for research institutions, was unveiled in late 2018. Carnegie ranked 4,424 universities and colleges — public and private, both for profit and not for profit. Of those, 120 were classified as R1 or Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity, and 139 — including Georgia Southern — were designated as R2 or Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity.
Albany Herald
Movie inspires unique ag research
UGA student allowed to conduct space-age experiments
By Merritt Melancon
…Today Bhuiyan is a senior studying horticulture in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She’s interested in controlled and low-resource farming systems. But her goals for controlled growing systems are more earthbound than the space garden in the movie. She wants to produce more food using less resources for people in environmentally restricted parts of the world. This spring, she was able to meld science with science fiction by interning with NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seeing technology that seems like something from the future applied to real problems was a great exercise in imagining all of the factors that go into growing food in a controlled environment on Earth. …NASA provided the experimental concept and space, and Bhuiyan maintained and recorded observations of the growth responses of each variety tested during the course of the trials.
Savannah Business Journal
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Georgia Southern University’s latest Economic Monitor, which analyzes Q3 2018 data and identifies trends affecting the regional economy, reports signs of weakness are emerging more clearly in Savannah’s three-county metro economy. Electricity sales and boardings at the airport lifted the economic index, while port activity remained strong and unemployment faded. “Consumer confidence in the south Atlantic states has been volatile for about two years but generally rising while oscillating between ups and downs,” stated Michael Toma, Ph.D., Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics, and director of the Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research (CBAER). “Overall, the regional economy’s growth phase is expected to further weaken in early 2019.”
Fox News
PETA calls on Texas, Georgia to end live mascot use after Sugar Bowl incident
By Ryan Gaydos | Fox News
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called on the University of Texas and the University of Georgia to end the use of live mascots after an incident before their Sugar Bowl matchup on Tuesday. Bevo, the Texas Longhorns’ steer mascot, charged Uga, the Georgia Bulldogs’ dog mascot, before the game, creating a brief moment of chaos for the people around the animals. The pre-game kerfuffle caught the attention of the animal rights organization. “It’s indefensible to subject animals to the stress of being packed up, carted from state to state, and paraded in front of a stadium full of screaming fans, PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s no surprise that a skittish steer would react to a perceived threat by charging, and PETA is calling on the University of Texas and the University of Georgia to learn from this dangerous incident, retire their live-animal mascots, and stick to the talented costumed mascots who can lead cheers, react to the crowd, and pump up the team”
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
College leaders often aren’t the top hindrance to campus protests that have proliferated in recent years — holiday breaks, finals week and graduation tend to be the biggest challenge for student activists.
By Emma Whitford
Student activists’ biggest opponent often is the rhythm of college itself. The traditional academic calendar, with built-in holiday breaks, busy finals schedule and months-long summer leaves little uninterrupted time for organizing. And students’ temporary stay on campus all but guarantees setbacks when student leaders graduate. The calendar dictates a rise and fall of momentum behind student movements. Chris Gannon, vice president for the United States Student Association, a national student organizing group, calls it the “student energy cycle.” “When you get students coming in the fall, they have more time, they haven’t started their exams and they get really fired up in September and October,” Gannon said. “In November and December, students might not be doing as well in their classes and have to focus on that. They start to lose interest.” The cycle repeats in the spring when classes resume. Angus Johnston, a history professor at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York, who writes about student activism, said that students are typically more successful in the spring because they laid the groundwork for their organizing in the fall. Summer break serves as a “reset” button, as seasoned student leaders graduate while underclassmen leave campus. It also gives administrators an opportunity to regroup after protests and demonstrations.
Inside Higher Ed
Could Lotteries Be Better Than Grant Applications?
By Scott Jaschik
Two scientists have used economic theory to suggest that the current system of awarding federal research grants is fundamentally broken. The scientists argue in an article in PLOS Biology that the rates at which scientists win grants from federal science agencies is now so low that it may no longer make economic sense for scholars to put in the effort to write the best possible application. They argue that a better system might be a lottery of all applications that make it over a certain bar. This would relieve some of the pressure on scientists to focus on grant writing.