University System News:
11alive
Gov. Kemp signs several bills into law | Here’s the breakdown
He signed eight bills ranging from education to child abuse.
Author: LaPorsche Thomas
Gov. Brian Kemp signed eight bills into law Thursday morning at Wheeler High School in Marietta. Let’s breakdown the bills
…3. House Bill 218 will extend eligibility for the Hope Scholarship from 7 to 10 years. …7. Senate Bill 60 will classify the children of active duty military members as in-state students. This will allow (dependent) children to pay in state tuition and fees for schools under the University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia.
The Augusta Chronicle
Medical College of Georgia changes aim to get more doctors to rural areas
By Tom Corwin
In order to get more doctors to rural underserved areas of Georgia, the Medical College of Georgia is looking to shorten their time in school, get them into primary care and offer tuition forgiveness if they practice at least six years in one of those areas. To Augusta University President Brooks Keel, it is a “very bold” initiative that will transform the school’s medical education and serve the state better. For Medical College of Georgia Dean David Hess, it is a new direction for the school that will address the state’s doctor shortage and expand what MCG can offer prospective students. In order to get more doctors to rural underserved areas of Georgia, MCG is looking to expand its class by up to 50 students, shorten their time in school, get them into primary care residencies and offer tuition forgiveness if they practice at least six years in one of those areas. Keel refers to it as the “3+3+6” initiative. “That’s a very bold and unique and innovative way of trying to help these young people in medical school” serve those areas debt-free, he said.
WTOC
Georgia Southern works to fill spots as US experiences nursing shortage
By Zach Logan | May 6, 2019 at 8:17 AM EDT – Updated May 6 at 8:18 AM
Those looking for a career change may want to consider nursing. Multiple reports say the United States is under a nursing shortage and it isn’t expected to go away anytime soon. Georgia Southern University says it’s working to help fix the shortage by teaching students and training them to become well qualified nurses. School officials at GSU’s Armstrong Campus say the school’s recent addition of the Waters College of Health Professions, which includes the School of Nursing, will help with the nation’s shortage.
Tifton CEO
ABAC School of Arts and Sciences Sends Graduates to Medical and Law Schools
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
When graduates of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College walk off the stage after the spring commencement ceremony on May 9, they will spread across the United States to take the next steps in their career paths. For some of those graduates from ABAC’s School of Arts and Sciences, the road to the future involves medical school, law school, and vet school as well as graduate programs in a variety of curriculums. “Our faculty are committed to helping our students while they’re enrolled at ABAC and beyond,” said Dr. Jordan Cofer, Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “Whether it’s helping them get into graduate school or job placement, we do a great job preparing our graduates for life after ABAC.”
WSB
80-year-old earns degree decades after putting education on hold for her family
An 80-year-old woman who put her education on hold for her family is now a college graduate. Ruth White walked across the stage at Clayton State University on Saturday, earning her degree in psychology. “I took one class per semester and took summers off and raised a family of seven children. And here I am today finished with a degree,” White told Channel 2 Action News.
All on Georgia
Georgia Southern receives grant to create new, bilateral study abroad experience
Georgia Southern University is one of 18 higher education institutions that will soon implement a new academic exchange program to provide students unique learning opportunities thanks to a grant from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Competition. As an Innovation Fund grant winner, Georgia Southern will provide access to short-term exchange and training opportunities in the United States and Latin America to students who traditionally lack the resources or are underrepresented in international mobility programs. These Innovation Fund grants, with generous support from MetLife Foundation, will facilitate nine partnerships between universities and colleges in the United States with higher education institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
Macon Telegraph
This college student won scholarship to attend an Apple conference – and other awards
BY JENNA EASON
A Middle Georgia State University student will be attending the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, but he just didn’t get selected by a lottery system like most of the other attendees. Michael Koohang, a graduating senior, is one of 350 people who won a scholarship to attend the conference, according to a news release. “Words cannot describe how thankful I am for my MGA professors for teaching me the skills I needed in order to make the submission,” Koohang said, in the release. “My family and friends supported me through the entire process, believed in me and knew that I could achieve this very special goal of mine. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should road to college be paved with dual enrollment, AP or IB courses?
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Higher ed expert says it may depend on campus your child hopes to attend
If you spend time around parents of high school students, you’ll often hear debate over whether teens should enroll in courses at local colleges under Georgia’s dual enrollment program or stay put and sign up for their high school’s most challenging classes. Today, Sonya Shuler-Okoli offers insights into that discussion. A former college dean and university professor, she is immediate past president of the Georgia Higher Education Alliance. Her work spans parent education consulting, urban school reform, community partnerships and youth advocacy. …By Sonya Shuler-Okoli The road to “Destination College” is filled with twist turns, bumps and a few bruises. Subsequently, many parents and students get to the bitter end feeling like they just stepped out of a boxing ring. Some parents harbor regrets, wishing they could make a call to father time to request a “redo” of their child’s high school matriculation.
WALB
‘Homework’ project helps formerly homeless
By Ashley Bohle
Students will show off their multi-functional artwork at a silent auction in Americus Friday night. A Georgia Southwestern college project titled “Homework” will help many people transitioning out of homelessness. The GSW Department of Visual Arts initiated the project in 2016 in collaboration with the Americus Sumter County Transitional Housing Ministries and the local Fuller Center for Housing. The project asks students to work collectively to use their skills in a way that would benefit a family in need, specifically the need for those preparing to move from homelessness to their own homes.
WFXL
‘Homework’ art exhibition and fundraiser on display in Americus
by Kailey McCarthy
An art exhibition is raising funds for the Fuller Center for Housing in Americus. Over a dozen pieces of art, ranging from sculptures to wall art, are on display now at the Huss Foundation Artists’ Gallery in Americus. The art exhibition and fundraiser officially opened on Tuesday and will remain open until May 10. …100 percent of the proceeds raised will go directly to the Fuller Center for Housing. The non-profit organization will use the proceeds to help a family transitioning into their first home and out of homelessness. Some of the work being auctioned off was created by Georgia Southwestern students, other sculptures were donated by several glass artists who recently visited Americus for the Hot Glass Craft Beer Festival. Project Facilitator and GSW Professor Justin Hodges says he has enjoyed seeing the student’s excitement and watching everything come together.
WUGA
UGA Aims for Record Year During Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster and Donate Campaign
By ALEXIA RIDLEY
The University of Georgia is hoping to break records with year-end recycling goals aimed at keeping still-usable items out of the landfill. Thousands of UGA students are packing up and moving out during the next several days. Most, if not all, are going to leave a little something behind. This year’s Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster and Donate campaign hopes to keep tens of thousands of pounds of those items the landfill. Christy Tweedy is the housing Sustainability Coordinator. “Our goal for this year’s move-out is to have our residents be able to easily donate their items from their residence halls,” We bring local nonprofits onto our campus in order to collect the donations.”
Griffin Daily News
Collaboration leads to new SCTC entryway plans
By Jennifer Reynolds
STAFF WRITER
University of Georgia engineering students, through the Archway Partnership program, worked with Southern Crescent Technical College to help design a new entryway concept for the SCTC-Griffin campus.
Albany CEO
GSW’s Sandra Fowler on Listening to Employers for Student Skills
Director of Career Services at Georgia Southwestern State University Sandra Fowler discusses how they are listening to employers in the region in order to help prepare students for the workforce.
Coastal Courier
Buddy Carter to host veterans forum
“Georgia’s First Congressional District is the proud home to four major military installations and it is a privilege for me to represent all five branches of the military,” Congressman Buddy Carter said in a news release. Carter will host a Veterans Forum Monday, May 13, at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Center ballroom, 13040 Abercorn Street in Savannah.
Carter said the forum will bring together experts from veteran service organizations and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss issues that impact veterans and to offer assistance.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA bars professor from campus amid sexual misconduct investigation
By Eric Stirgus
The University of Georgia has barred a longtime math professor from campus as investigators review several sexual misconduct complaints against him. The university said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Friday that its Equal Opportunity Office is investigating allegations against the professor, William Kazez, who’s been a faculty member at UGA for about three decades. It also presented a campus police report from one woman who accused him of sexual harassment. At least seven women — students and faculty members — have come forward in recent months with complaints going back several years of unwanted touching, groping and sex acts by Kazez, according to Lisa Anderson, a Decatur attorney representing two of the women who said she’s working with the others. She said the claims from women at the University of Georgia go back at least to 2014.
See also:
Fox News
Georgia professor barred from campus amid complaints
Inside Higher Ed
Georgia Professor on Leave Over Allegations
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Gainesville Times
UNG “likely” on its way to becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution
Joshua Silavent
Nataly Morales Villa is just one of thousands of new students from Hispanic immigrant households who have enrolled at the University of North Georgia in recent years, particularly at the school’s Gainesville campus. But her reasons for enrolling may not be the same as her peers, and so Villa is on a quest to discover just what opportunities and advantages are luring Hispanic students to UNG. University of North Georgia -Gainesville student Nataly Morales Villa has prepared a report on Hispanic enrollment trends at the school and how UNG could become a Hispanic serving institution which would open up new grant and funding opportunities, student services and curriculum to meet this demographic’s needs.
Kiplinger
12 Cheapest Small Towns in America
By Dan Burrows, Contributing Writer
… 7. Statesboro, Ga.
As home to the flagship campus of Georgia Southern University, Statesboro offers many of the benefits of college-town living but at exceedingly affordable prices. Thanks to its status as an academic hub, cultural attractions tied to the local university include a performing arts center, symphony, museum, planetarium and botanic gardens. …Although the university is the area’s largest employer, manufacturing jobs also play an important part in the local economy.
Statesboro Herald
Otis Redding family members to help launch GS ‘Museum on Main’ exhibit
Reception 5:30-7 p.m. Monday at SCVB welcome center
AL HACKLE/Staff
Along with other family members, Karla Redding-Andrews plans to attend the opening Monday of an exhibit about her father, renowned soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, curated by the Georgia Southern Museum in the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau welcome center at 222 South Main St.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Inspired by Siri? CSU students create an app solution for visually impaired learners
BY MARK RICE
They didn’t start out as computer science majors, but two students who caught on to coding and programming have developed a high-tech tool to help disabled students. Called ChemAid, the tool uses a smartphone app and QR codes to help visually impaired students be more independent in a chemistry lab. And its creators are hoping an investor will take their ideas to the next level. Mary Harrell, a 23-year-old Columbus High School graduate, and Hannah Turner, a 22-year-old Whitewater High School of Fayetteville graduate started at Columbus State University pursuing different careers, but switched after taking a computer science class.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Fort Daniel, other historic sites highlighted during Georgia Archaeology Month observances
By Curt Yeomans
Georgia State University student Van Forbes likes to get a little dirty when it comes to studying history. Forbes is an archaeology student at Georgia State — so he gets to play in the dirt a fair bit — and he recently made his first trip to the Fort Daniel site in Buford to participate in archaeological research at Hog Mountain. He helped carefully scrap up dirt into shovels, pour the dirt into buckets and then pour those buckets into screeners which were used to shake and sift through the dirt. …The work being done at the Fort Daniel site, as well as archaeological sites across Georgia, is in the spotlight right now because May is Georgia Archaeology Month. The annual observance is organized by The Society For Georgia Archaeology as way to educate the public on what goes on at archaeological sites around the state.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA professor to co-lead female National Geographic expedition
A University of Georgia researcher will help lead an international, all-female expedition team to study plastic pollution in one of the world’s most iconic waterways — the Ganges River. The “Sea to Source: Ganges” river expedition, in partnership with the Wildlife Institute of India, the University of Dhaka and WildTeam, is part of National Geographic’s journey to better understand and document how plastic waste travels from source to sea and to fill critical knowledge gaps around plastic flow, load and composition. The expedition will offer an unprecedented and unique opportunity to scientifically document plastic waste in a watershed and develop holistic and inclusive solutions. I am so excited to co-lead this expedition along with an amazing international team of incredible researchers in one of the most iconic rivers on the planet,” said Jenna Jambeck, a professor at UGA and a National Geographic Fellow. …Two other UGA College of Engineering researchers will join the National Geographic team on the expedition: Amy Brooks, a doctoral student in environmental engineering, and Kathryn Youngblood, a research engineer.
Athens Banner-Hearld
Glenn Burton: UGA scientist who led a ‘Green Revolution’
By James Hataway
This story is part of a series, called Georgia Groundbreakers, that celebrates innovative and visionary faculty, students, alumni and leaders throughout the history of the University of Georgia and their profound, enduring impact on our state, our nation and the world. You may never have heard the name Glenn Burton before, but you’ve almost certainly seen his handiwork. In a career spanning more than six decades, most of which was spent as a professor at the University of Georgia’s Tifton campus, Burton established himself as one of the world’s most prolific agricultural scientists, and you don’t have to search long to find one of his creations. From championship golf courses and international venues like the Olympics and the World Cup to the turf that adorns the playing surface in the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, Burton created new grass varieties that have become the international standard for excellence in the sporting world.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeKalb County studies impact of new, expanding cities
By Tia Mitchell
A first-of-its kind study in DeKalb County will analyze the impact that cities have on county services and finances. A steering committee consisting of legislators, county officials and city leaders met for the first time Wednesday, spending most of the time debating what should be included in the report due in December. The county will pay the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government $84,000 for the study. …The Vinson Institute will study the long-term effects that cityhood has on existing county services and tax rates, and it will analyze the best way for existing cities to annex homes and businesses from unincorporated DeKalb.
Higher Education News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ga. board proposes plan to plug $25 million dual enrollment shortfall
By Eric Stirgus
State officials pitched a plan Thursday to plug a potential $25 million budget gap in Georgia’s popular, but increasingly expensive, dual enrollment program by not paying for books and fees for the upcoming school year. The budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1, is about $100 million. Georgia Student Finance Commission officials estimate program costs will be about $125 million. The commission’s president, Caylee Noggle, said its leaders explored temporary solutions with other state officials and came up with this idea. “That single action will cover most of the budget shortfall,” Noggle told board members at a meeting Thursday. Colleges and universities will likely be responsible for funding those fees and books, although Noggle noted many institutions offer online classes, which may help cut costs.
Science Mag
Analysis: U.S. science adviser has a vision for cutting research red tape, but details are scarce
By Jeffrey Mervis
U.S. academic scientists and university officials have long complained about how much time they must spend complying with the many rules relating to the federal dollars they receive. But since President Donald Trump assumed office, most scientists have refocused their angst on the president’s proposed large spending cuts to basic research and his administration’s seeming indifference to combatting climate change. What is known as the administrative burden issue has largely fallen off their radar, in large part because they fear that any changes by the Trump administration might make matters worse rather than better.