University System News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Deal reappoints three Georgia Board of Regents members
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday reappointed three members to the Board of Regents, likely marking his final major action on the state’s public higher education system. Deal reappointed Dean Alford, Donald Leeburn Jr. and Richard Tucker to the board. …The terms of all three members were set to end in January. The Regents set policy for the University System of Georgia, which oversees the state’s largest public colleges and universities. A spot on the 19-member board is considered one of the plum appointments in state government.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, whose second and final term in office ends next week, will soon have a new title: Professor. The state’s Board of Regents voted Wednesday to appoint Deal as a Regents Professor. Deal will hold occasional lectures at the University of Georgia, effective March 1 for at least three years. Deal pitched the idea. He wants to lecture to undergraduate students, focusing on political science and law. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to learn from a former governor,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley.
Statesboro Herald
Regents name finalist to lead Georgia Southern
University of West Georgia President Kyle Marrero picked to be next president at GS
From staff reports
The president of the University of West Georgia was named Wednesday as the sole finalist to become the next president of Georgia Southern University.
Albany Herald
Georgia Southern presidential finalist named
Kyle Marrero is currently the president of the University of West Georgia
From Staff Reports
ATLANTA — Board of Regents Chairman Don L. Waters and University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley announced Wednesday that Kyle Marrero is the lone finalist for the president’s post at Georgia Southern University. Marrero currently serves as president of the University of West Georgia, a position he’s held since 2013. “During his tenure at West Georgia, Marrero oversaw record enrollment growth, fostered and strengthened ties within the community, and implemented strategic initiatives aimed at increasing student and academic success,” Wrigley said. “Kyle’s devotion to student success, innovation and growth are evident and will serve Georgia Southern students, faculty and staff well. I’m grateful for the diligent efforts of the campus search committee and am thrilled to name Dr. Marrero as our finalist.”
See also:
Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern announces sole finalist for university president
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Regents to fill top post at Georgia Southern from within university system
WJCL
Finalist named for Georgia Southern president position
Dr. Kyle Marrero has been named a finalist for the role of president at Georgia Southern University, the university announced Wednesday.
WSAV
Finalist named for president of Georgia Southern University
Savannah Tribune
Donovan Thompson, Georgia Southern University 40 Under 40 2018 Honoree
By Savannah Tribune
Dr. Donovan L. Thompson, a Savannah native was inducted into Georgia Southern University 40 Under 40 Class of 2018. Out of 120,000 living alumni, nearly 50,000 are under 40 years old. He joins 80 other alumni that have been recognized for their noteworthy achievements since 2016. He is a graduate of Savannah High School. He obtained a BS in Chemistry from Georgia Southern University and a Master’s & Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Florida.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta named 7th best city for STEM professionals
By Fiza Pirani, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are rapidly growing in popularity across the United States, thanks to their high salaries and fewer threats to job stability. But being a STEM professional doesn’t mean you have to restrict yourself to Silicon Valley. Analysts over at personal finance website WalletHub sought to find America’s best STEM markets in the country’s 100 most populated metros. They compared the cities across three key dimensions: professional opportunities, STEM-friendliness and quality of life. The dimensions were further evaluated using 17 relevant metrics, such as job openings for STEM grads, demand for STEM jobs by 2020, annual median wage, housing affordability, disparity of women and men in STEM and more. …The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro came in seventh on the list. …Atlanta was also previously named one of the top 5 up-and-coming tech meccas in the nation by Forbes Magazine and was listed among America’s “Tech 25” by global firm Cushman & Wakefield. It’s also one of the five U.S. metros where tech salaries tend to go furthest, according to Indeed’s Hiring Lab. The metro is home to the fourth largest tech hub in the United States (Atlanta Tech Village) and multiple prominent universities within a 400-mile radius, including Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University and University of Georgia.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Three Atlanta construction companies finalists for $53M UGA project
By David Allison – Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The state of Georgia has selected three construction companies as finalists for a $53 million renovation of a high-rise student tower at The University of Georgia. Atlanta Business Chronicle in October reported that UGA is proposing a comprehensive renovation of Brumby Hall, an approximately 214,000-square-foot high-rise residence hall that was constructed in 1966 and contains 950 beds and primarily serves first-year students. The renovation would reduce the number of beds to 938. The University System of Georgia now says its top choices to win the work are 1) Turner Construction Co. of Atlanta; 2) New South Construction Co. of Atlanta; and 3) Juneau Construction Co. LLC of Atlanta, in that rank. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the ranking at its Jan. 9 board meeting.
WALB
Reconstruction begins on ABAC Carlton Center
Live recording to VOD.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College received $17.7 million State funding for a new fine arts building and rehabilitation of the Carlton Center.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawrenceville approves $31M downtown arts center project
By Amanda C. Coyne
Lawrenceville City Council approved a $31 million project to expand the downtown arts complex anchored by Aurora Theatre at its Monday meeting. The project will include a 500-seat theater, educational space and a small cabaret theater in addition to office space and room for future development in the city’s downtown, according to a city release. The expansion will facilitate a partnership with Georgia Gwinnett College’s Cinema and Media Arts program and bring more students downtown, part of Lawrenceville’s goal to be the “college town of tomorrow,” as stated in its 2040 comprehensive plan. The city will split the cost of the project with “the city’s arts and education partners,” including Georgia Gwinnett College and the Aurora Theatre.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia State economic report tempers positive news with concern over interest rates
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia’s economy continues to hum along with low unemployment and growth in personal income, the Fiscal Research Center at Georgia State University reported Tuesday. However, a policy brief the center prepared in advance of the start of this year’s General Assembly session next week also expressed concern over rising interest rates. The report found both Georgia and the nation enjoying unemployment rates below 4 percent. Personal income in Georgia grew by 4.6 percent during the last year, according to the most recent quarterly data, and 4.3 percent nationally. “Georgia’s economy is creating significant job opportunities for the state, and this is translating into growing incomes for Georgia’s families,” wrote Ken Heaghney, the center’s director and the report’s author. But Heaghney went on to warn rising interest rates could dampen economic growth.
Athens CEO
UGA-bred Blueberry Plants Now Grow across the Globe
Sharon Dowdy
A tried and true Georgia “boy,” University of Georgia blueberry breeder Scott NeSmith takes pride in creating new blueberry varieties for farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast. Now he can boast that blueberry varieties he’s bred through the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have gone global. Two southern highbush blueberry varieties bred by NeSmith in research plots on the UGA Griffin campus are grown in territories in Europe and several countries in Africa, including Namibia and Zimbabwe, he said. These UGA-bred blueberry plants grow well in the Southeastern United States and will now be grown by African farmers “primarily for export to Europe and some parts of Asia,” said NeSmith, who was named UGA Inventor of the Year in 2013. Partnerships like this one benefit consumers by extending the amount of time fresh blueberries are available on supermarket shelves. …NeSmith says his work fulfills UGA’s mission while strengthening and expanding global demand for blueberries.
The Conversation
Rotating black holes may serve as gentle portals for hyperspace travel
Author Gaurav Khanna
One of the most cherished science fiction scenarios is using a black hole as a portal to another dimension or time or universe. That fantasy may be closer to reality than previously imagined. Black holes are perhaps the most mysterious objects in the universe. They are the consequence of gravity crushing a dying star without limit, leading to the formation of a true singularity – which happens when an entire star gets compressed down to a single point yielding an object with infinite density. This dense and hot singularity punches a hole in the fabric of spacetime itself, possibly opening up an opportunity for hyperspace travel. That is, a short cut through spacetime allowing for travel over cosmic scale distances in a short period. …My team at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and a colleague at Georgia Gwinnett College have shown that all black holes are not created equal. If the black hole like Sagittarius A*, located at the center of our own galaxy, is large and rotating, then the outlook for a spacecraft changes dramatically. That’s because the singularity that a spacecraft would have to contend with is very gentle and could allow for a very peaceful passage.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Tax Law’s Effects on Colleges Unfolding
Colleges have more information about complying with the new tax law than they did a year ago. That means new bookkeeping practices, new taxes on highly paid employees and, maybe, eliminating reserved parking spaces.
By Rick Seltzer
When President Trump at the end of 2017 signed a Republican-backed tax-reform package into law that included significant changes for colleges and universities, higher ed leaders were left waiting for answers. They wondered about rules for calculating a new tax on endowments. They sought guidance regarding a tax on parking and transportation benefits for employees. Questions circulated about a new tax on highly compensated nonprofit employees that had drawn criticism while the tax law was still being drafted. And leaders also wondered about the tax law’s effects on human behavior. For instance, how would an increase in the standard deduction affect donor behavior? Would alumni newly covered by the larger standard deduction be less likely to give to colleges and universities because they wouldn’t be itemizing their taxes? About a year later, some answers have become clearer, while others remain clear as mud — and still others can be addressed by mucking around with pages of guidance from the Internal Revenue Service. The Treasury Department and IRS have been rolling out interim guidance giving colleges an idea of how to handle technical issues like how to group separate lines of business subject to a new unrelated business income tax or how to handle parking and transportation benefits subject to taxation. …So it is possible today to take stock of key developments on tax reform issues that captured attention. The guidance issued so far could also prompt some interesting behavior and unexpected effects. For instance, don’t be surprised if some colleges pull up signs designating parking spots for employees or redraw the lines in lots in order to dodge the parking tax.
Inside Higher Ed
Shutdown Headaches for University Researchers
Prolonged shutdown delays funding timeline for federal research grants and disrupts travel plans for many scientists. But the worst for research institutions could be ahead.
By Andrew Kreighbaum
… The ongoing federal shutdown is already creating headaches for scientists by hindering research planning and putting an abrupt halt to travel for some academics. But its worst effects will materialize in the coming weeks, should a stalemate between the White House, Republicans and congressional Democrats continue, researchers and university leaders said. Lawmakers last year passed legislation funding the majority of federal agencies, including the Education Department and the National Institutes of Health. But they left town before resolving a dispute over a border wall demanded by President Trump and without funding several agencies that are big supporters of research at colleges across the country — among them the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Atlantic
Millions of College Students Are Going Hungry
A new government report highlights just how pervasive the problem is.
ADAM HARRIS
As the costs of college have climbed, some students have gone hungry. When they’ve voiced frustration, oftentimes, they’ve been ridiculed. Ramen is cheap, or, just eat cereal. But the blight of food insecurity among college students is real, and a new report from the Government Accountability Office, a non-partisan congressional watchdog, highlights the breadth of those affected. There are potentially millions of students at risk of being food insecure—which means they do not have access to nutritious, affordable food—the report says. It is the first time that the federal government has acknowledged food insecurity on campus in a significant way. The federal government spends billions of dollars on higher education each year, and this report finds that some students are at risk of dropping out because they cannot eat, although there aren’t good data on just how many.
HBR
Does Higher Education Still Prepare People for Jobs?
Tomas Chamorro-PremuzicBecky Frankiewicz
We often hear employers and business leaders lament the unfortunate gap between what students learn in college and what they are actually expected to know in order to be job-ready. This is particularly alarming in light of the large — and still growing — number of people graduating from university: above 40% in OECD countries, and nearly 50% in America … While tertiary degrees may still lead to higher-paying jobs, the same employers handing out these jobs are hurting themselves — and young people — by limiting their candidate pool to college graduates. In an age of ubiquitous disruption and unpredictable job evolution, it is hard to argue that the knowledge acquisition historically associated with a university degree is still relevant … universities could substantially increase the value of the college degree if they spent more time teaching their students critical soft skills.
The Hechinger Project
OPINION: Engineering programs still exclude black students — 4 ways to change this
Inclusion in STEM is vital to our economy and success
by KARL REID January 8, 2019
Black men and women are significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Black men receive under 9 percent of STEM bachelor’s degrees, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. Black women receive just 1 percent of engineering degrees … Here are four things we can do to turn this tide and create a more inclusive and diverse population of engineers: 1. We must create an inclusive culture … 2. We need to provide opportunities for young students to experience STEM … 3. We must provide ongoing support for students of color through college and career … 4. We must improve financial-aid programs and policies, both at the federal and state levels.