University System News:
ASBN
By Atlanta Small Business Network
The ASBN team was recently on-location at the 2019 Fintech South Conference with Art Recesso, Chief Innovation Officer at Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia eCampus, who discussed the new Georgia FinTech Academy. FinTech is incredibly important to Georgia’s economic development, but over the past few years, TAG (Technology Association of Georgia) has identified a serious demand for talented employees in the sector. They enlisted the help of the University System of Georgia, who conducted a talent demand analysis which revealed a need for 5,000 FinTech ready professionals. Through their partnership with TAG, FinTech Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the University System managed to break down the talent demand into five key domain areas:
Emanuel County
Regent Marsh to speak at EGSC Commencement Ceremony
by KATELYN MOORE
East Georgia State College will hold their 60th Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 10, 2019 at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium on the Swainsboro Campus. Commencement Speaker will be Regent Laura Marsh, while Zahnay Smoak will serve as student speaker and EGSC alumna Harley Strickland will serve as alumni speaker. Commencement speaker Laura Marsh is a member of the law firm Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes, Marsh & Hodgin, LLC in Statesboro, Georgia. She began her legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City and worked as an investment banker and counsel to the capital markets group at Lehman Brothers, Inc.
WALB
5 GSU nursing students killed in I-16 crash in 2015 receive posthumous degrees
By Dal Cannady
This weekend means graduation for thousands of Georgia Southern University students, and a somber memorial for five young women lost. From Savannah to Statesboro, the five nursing students killed in a 2015 crash touched so many lives. The university honored their legacy with degrees in their memory. Families of the five girls walked to the stage to receive their posthumous degrees to show they may be gone, but never forgotten.
WABE
CANDACE WHEELER
38:25: After surviving a serious car accident in August of last year, Queen Hightower had to post-pone her college graduation, which was originally scheduled for December. This spring, however, Hightower will finish her associate’s degree in business administration after experiencing the crash just a semester before. She joins us in studio to share her journey. Queen Hightower, a graduating senior at Atlanta Metropolitan State College
WABE
CANDACE WHEELER
…41:32: We continue our conversations with area graduates with Christina Day and Lindsey Rogers from Clayton State University. Day shares her future plans with her degree in health and fitness management, and Rogers talks her aspirations for a career utilizing her degree in criminal justice.
Columbus CEO
CSU Communication Students Learn While Helping Local Nonprofits
Staff Report From Columbus CEO
A class of 34 students at Columbus State University recently used their communication skills to help local nonprofits. The class, Group Communication, taught by Dr. Danna Gibson, challenges students to work together in groups to sharpen a variety of skills including group decision making, leadership, and conflict management. “This has been a very rewarding experience for the entire group,” said Sydney Collier, a student in the class.
Northwest Georgia News
Retired Educators give $1,000 scholarships
The Floyd/Rome Retired Educators Association gives annual scholarships to local students based on students’ being an education major, having a good academic record, good citizenship and a recommendation from students’ colleges or universities. Four $1,000 scholarships were granted to Madison McGinnis, Shorter University, Misty Blasengame, Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Sydney Anderson, Georgia Highlands College/University of West Georgia, and Wesley Walker, Berry College.
Patch
University Of North GA Named A ‘Best Value College’ By Forbes
UNG is one of only four in Georgia selected, along with University of Georgia, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology.
By Kathleen Sturgeon, Patch Staff
The University of North Georgia (UNG) was ranked one of the nation’s Best Value Colleges by Forbes magazine in its fourth annual listing. It marks the second time UNG has been named to the list, with 2018 being the first. UNG is one of only four Georgia universities selected, along with University of Georgia, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. “Our faculty and staff are committed to student success, affordability, and academic excellence, and that combination creates a powerful educational value for students,” UNG President Bonita Jacobs said in a release. “Such national recognition contributes to UNG’s growing reputation as a leading regional university.”
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Power planning solar demonstration project on Fort Valley State campus
By Dave Williams
Students at Fort Valley State University soon may be getting hands-on experience with solar technology. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents will take up a proposal Tuesday to lease 107 acres on the Fort Valley, Ga., campus to Georgia Power Co., which plans to build and operate a 10.8-megawatt solar demonstration project. The project is part of a planned collaboration between the Atlanta-based utility and the university to offer hands-on educational and research experience to Fort Valley students. The students will shadow Georgia Power personnel and gain insight into the decisions involved in integrating renewable energy into the commercial power grid. The lease will run for up to 35 years, at an annual cost to Georgia Power of $53,500. When the lease expires, the plant would be decommissioned and restored to its original condition.
WTOC
Millions of dollars sit in reserves as HOPE covers less tuition
By Wright Gazaway
Thousands of Georgians are drowning in student loan debt. Some didn’t even get the degree they borrowed thousands of dollars to get. According to the non-profit watchdog, Student Borrower Protection Center Nationwide, 44 million Americans have student loans. A fourth of them are behind on their payments. Even more shocking, the outstanding loan debt across the country is around $1.5 trillion. Georgia has a special scholarship for in-state students called HOPE, but is the Georgia Lottery Commission doing all it can? At least one lawmaker thinks they can give more. Some would say Georgia has one of the best scholarship programs in the country. The HOPE scholarship, on average, covers about 60 percent of tuition. However, not long ago, it covered closer to 100 percent. There is renewed debate now at the Capitol about how to restore it to full funding. Ishin Baniya is set to graduate college in a year. He is one of thousands of students who chose to come to what-was-Armstrong for a cheaper education. “The education that you receive at like a private college and public, it’s not much of a difference, but the loans you have and the interest and the years that it takes to pay it back later on, that makes a lot of difference,” said Baniya, an international student from Nepal. Of course, Armstrong is now part of Georgia Southern, but the affordability is the same. The state’s merit-based HOPE scholarship is funded by the lottery. However, despite increasing revenue, it covers less tuition for students than it did just a few years ago.
The George-Anne
By Matthew Enfinge
Up to 31 Georgia Southern University limited-term faculty will be made into regular faculty and 12 may remain limited-term in fall 2019, Provost Carl Reiber said. According to documents by GS, as of spring 2019 GS has 121 limited-term faculty employed across all three of its campuses. In an article by Savannah Morning News in April, current limited-term faculty members expressed their concerns with how GS’ budget cut, caused by reduced enrollment, could jeopardize their jobs with the university.
The Red & Black
The President’s Task Force seeks ways to evaluate and improve UGA’s performance
Gracen Pace | Contributor
As the University of Georgia’s student body changes, the policies, curriculum and technology must adapt with it. The President’s Task Force is a group of 20 UGA faculty members that was assembled to “advance the institution’s longstanding commitment to excellence in undergraduate education,” according to its 2017 Report of Progress and Recommendations released in December and its updated report released in March 2019. The objective of the task force was to evaluate UGA’s performance as a whole and observe what improvements should be made. The initiative was co-chaired by Vice President for Instruction Rahul Shrivastav and Vice President for Student Affairs Victor Wilson. …The report consists of 12 initiatives concerning student affairs, changing curriculums, and making UGA a site of “active learning,” which is an effort to introduce innovative lessons and activities in the curriculum. The task force spent a year looking at ways to improve the educational environment at UGA and “elevate it beyond what it was,” Shrivastav said. Since the final report was released, most of the initiatives have been approved, aside from the first two recommendations listed: “Emphasize Writing Skills in the Curriculum” (#1) and “Make Data Literacy a Core Part of Undergraduate Education” (#2), as they must receive the University Curriculum Committee’s approval, but Shrivastav said he expects them to be approved in fall 2019.
The Dahlonega Nugget
MONDAY CYBERSECURITY SUMMER PROGRAM NOW OPEN TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
BY: Clark Leonard
The National Security Agency’s GenCyber Program has awarded the University of North Georgia a grant of $99,381 to host its fourth annual GenCyber Warrior Academy on June 20-29. Thanks to the grant, UNG can offer the 10-day cybersecurity course for free to 40 high school students which features nine days in the classroom, a day trip to the NSA’s Fort Gordon offices in Augusta, and lodging on the Dahlonega campus. Students may apply on UNG’s GenCyber Warrior Academy website at (ung.edu/cyber-operations-education/national-cyber-warrior-academy). Also, a $40,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will allow UNG to teach cyber skills to another 60 students this summer as part of Upward Bound, a program helping high school students learn more during their summers.
WTVM
Columbus becomes home to new major film production starring Bruce Willis
By Alex Jones
The Columbus Film Commission has announced that a major film project starring Bruce Willis has selected Columbus as its backdrop. The film starring Bruce Willis is entitled “The Long Night.” Pre-production is expected to begin in the area on May 13, but there is no word yet on when filming is slated to begin. …Watch the full press conference featuring the announcement of the film below.
WTVM
CSU students working on new film starring Bruce Willis
By Samantha Serbin | May 10, 2019 at 6:33 PM EDT – Updated May 13 at 9:36 AM
Bruce Willis is coming to town this summer for a new movie. Quite a big production crew is joining him, including some of our very own community members. Ten hard-working Columbus State University students working toward their film certificate will get the amazing opportunity to work alongside industry professionals this summer while Bruce Willis is in town. “Our students are hungry for this opportunity to be given this chance to work on set with these professionals,” said Dr. Danna Gibson. Gibson is the chair of the communication department at Columbus State University. She said CSU’s partnership with the Georgia Film Academy gives students the chance to work on major productions like the one coming to town this summer.
Savannah Morning News
New Amazon Prime series highlights on-the-ground workers of Georgia’s film industry
By Zach Dennis
As the film industry continues to grow and mature in the state of Georgia, work may be easier to find in the Peach State than on the West Coast but it doesn’t come with any less drive or passion. That was the case for Sheena Wiley and Frank Anderson, who moved to Atlanta looking for a chance to work in the industry and became as inspired with the worker ants as they were with the people in front of the camera. “We always were creators at heart and we always knew we wanted to produce and create content but not necessarily be in the big wheel of Hollywood,” Wiley said. The result? Georgia Box Office. The show began on YouTube before forming into an Amazon Prime series that debuted earlier this year. In the show, Wiley traverses around the Atlanta area and meets the people making the magic of the movies happen, and talks with them about what led them to Georgia because they have similar answers to her and Frank — there’s good work here. “It seems like (the industry) is a lot more open. Actors like to talk about the right to work here (in Georgia) and not having to be in the guild,” Wiley said. “From talking to my actor friends and from my own experience, it is a lot easier to luck into a speaking role and then, bam, you’re SAG-eligible because it happened to me. There’s so much opportunity.” …For Anderson, he said the turning point for the film industry in Atlanta probably had to be when Marvel came in and established Pinewood Studios. The site of just about every Marvel movie, Pinewood changed the game in Atlanta and accelerated it into the hub of blockbuster movie-making.
Albany Herald
3 production companies say they won’t film in Georgia after abortion law signed
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
Hollywood has been outspoken against a controversial Georgia abortion law, and now the heads of three production companies are saying they will not film in the state. Christine Vachon, chief executive officer of Killer Films; David Simon, creator of “The Wire” and “The Deuce” who heads Blown Deadline Productions; and Mark Duplass of Duplass Brothers Productions have come out in opposition to a newly signed law that would ban abortions in the state if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the “heartbeat bill” into law Tuesday, and the American Civil Liberties Union has said it will challenge the new law in court. The law is set to go into effect January 1. Georgia has been the location for the filming of multiple television shows and blockbuster films, including one of Marvel’s biggest hits, “Black Panther.” Such films and the production of wildly popular TV series including “The Walking Dead” and “Stranger Things” have resulted in an estimated $2.7 billion pouring into the Southern state from direct spending via 455 productions, the governor’s office announced last year. …A representative for the Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the five major film studios, said in a statement to CNN that it is monitoring legal efforts to reverse the controversial law.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Possible slave cemetery on UWG campus stirs debate over buried history
By Ernie Suggs
Lord knows how many times in the 113-year-old history of the University of West Georgia that students have picnicked, played Frisbee or casually walked across a small, grassy plot of land in the middle of the campus. The school, 50 miles west of Atlanta, was once the home of Thomas Bonner, one of the 19th century’s largest Carroll County slaveholders. In 1906, the former Bonner Plantation was turned over to the state where it eventually became the core of what today is the university. Few visible remnants of the plantation remain, most notably the Bonner House, which serves as the university’s welcome center. But recent archaeological tests suggest the long-forgotten remains of Bonner’s slaves might be buried here. If true, UWG will be added to a long list of colleges and communities who find themselves challenged with questions on how to deal with newly discovered remains of former slaves and Reconstruction-era African Americans.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
After Ethical Lapses, Georgia Tech Surveyed Campus Culture. The Results Weren’t Pretty.
By Lindsay Ellis
The responses flooded in.
More than 1,200 employees said they did not believe the actions of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s leadership always aligned with its stated values — and more than 500 said they felt their supervisor did not engage in ethical business practices. Several hundred said they feared that nepotism played a role in promotion and advancement. The newly released survey findings suggest a level of distrust that exceeds the realm of an ethics scandal that shook the campus last summer. Georgia Tech had discovered that four employees had improper relationships with vendors, wasted university time, and insufficiently disclosed conflicts of interest. The four employees were all supervisors, and one was an executive vice president. Each was fired or resigned after the revelations.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Food service provider laying off 278 after losing contract at Georgia Tech
By David Allison – Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Food service provider Sodexo plans to lay off 278 workers after losing a contract at the Georgia Tech student center. Georgia Tech has told Sodexo that effective June 30, it will no longer use Sodexo to perform contract food services for campus dining and athletics, according to a notice filed with the state of Georgia. “Thus, on or about June 30, 2019, Sodexo will close its operations at this facility and the employment of individuals there will be discontinued,” Sodexo said. The company goes on to say, however, that Georgia Tech has told it that “Aramark and Proof of the Pudding will be providing these services. As has been communicated to Sodexo, the intention is that all of the frontline employees will have employment opportunities with these contractors.”
Savannah Morning News
Editorial: Debate raging over historically black college governance
Separate but equal is perhaps the most contradictory term in America’s history. Segregation was anything but equal and left a stain that still marks us here in this city and this state more than a half-century after its abolishment. Recently, several Georgians, including state Sen. Lester Jackson (D-Savannah 2), identified an inequality when it comes to the state’s public historically black colleges and universities. And they are employing a counter-intuitive protest tool — a resegregation of sorts. Sen. Jackson has proposed forming a separate public university system specifically to govern Georgia’s three taxpayer-funded HBCUs. He introduced a bill on the next-to-last day of the 2019 legislative session that would create the Georgia Agricultural and Mechanical University System, to be comprised of Savannah State University, Fort Valley State University and Albany State University. The measure would carve the three schools away from the other 23 public higher ed institutions, establish a Board of Regents to govern them and provide for a separate budget line item to fund them. The move has roiled higher ed stakeholders across the state, including Jackson’s peers on the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and administration and alumni leaders at the HBCUs.
Valdosta Daily Times
SGRL hosts state library conference
Amanda M. Usher
Georgia’s 62 library systems were recently represented in Valdosta for the first time at the spring public library directors meeting. The South Georgia Regional Library System hosted the conference at the Willis L. Miller Library Thursday through Friday. Pre-meetings took place Wednesday. About 80 people registered for the event that gathered library staff and directors to collaborate on projects, according to organizers. Wendy Cornelisen is the assistant state librarian for library innovation and collaboration at the Georgia Public Library Services. “This is really a continuing education event for them and a chance to share the work that GPLS has been doing in the last few months and also hear from them, as well,” she said. Meeting topics concerned strategic partnerships, personal values card sort, assault in the library and navigating public assistance after a disaster. Faculty from Valdosta State University led a workshop that provided information on how to prepare new Georgia public librarians. …The directors meeting is hosted three times per year and is a unit of the Board of Regents, University System of Georgia, according to organizers.
Higher Education News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
NEW REPORT: Record wage gap between teachers and other college grads
The Economic Policy Institute issued a recent analysis that found teachers were paid 21.4% less in 2018 in weekly wages than similar college graduates after accounting for education, experience, and other factors. A nonpartisan think tank, EPI describes the percent by which public school teachers are paid less than other college-educated workers as the “teacher wage and compensation penalty.” The report said the penalty reached a record high in 2018. The analysis finds the Georgia gap is even larger than the national average; in Georgia, the pay gap between teachers and similar college graduates last year was 25.4% — which gave us the 9th largest gap in the country.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Colleges Need a Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
By Michelle Marks and James Sparkman
As colleges and universities in the United States adapt to new financial and competitive challenges, partnerships with the private sector are playing an expanding role. A recent survey of presidents, provosts, and chief financial officers by The Chronicle and P3•EDU found that 83 percent of respondents said partnerships between their institutions and private companies had increased (with virtually none of the respondents citing a decrease in such relationships). Public-private partnerships, or P3s, are growing not only in number but also in type. Traditional P3s for student housing and building development continue, as do new ways to raise capital through the sale of long-term branding agreements and service rights around parking and energy. In addition to these traditional administrative partnerships, a whole new group of academic P3s is now in place to grow online programs, recruit international students, and improve student success. The same survey of public-private partnerships found, for example, that partnerships for expanding online programs were second only to partnerships for development of campus infrastructure as areas of the most interest on today’s college campuses.