University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘CSI Effect’ fuels college courses in science of sleuthing
By Eric Stirgus
The fall semester begins for most Georgia colleges and universities this month and each year school administrators introduce courses and programs they hope will excite students and fill classrooms. Georgia State University, for example, will have a new course this semester focused on the business career of star rapper/actor Ludacris. One field of study that has increased in popularity, locally and nationally in recent years, is forensic science. Some call it the CSI Effect. The number of programs accredited by the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission has increased from 40 to 49 in the past five years, said Nancy Jackson, the commission’s accreditation coordinator. Among those schools is Albany State University. Jackson said television shows like “CSI” and movies glamorizing forensic science have helped draw students to the field. When the state’s Board of Regents visited Savannah in April for its monthly meeting, Savannah State University was asked to do a presentation on its forensic science program. Karla-Sue Marriott, interim chair of the university’s chemistry and forensic science department, said enrollment in the program has increased from six students when it started in fall 2011 to 102 students for this fall. One student, she said, was recruited by the FBI. Another student is currently in the Savannah Police Department’s academy.
WGAU Radio
UNG, UGA LAND TOP SPOTS IN MAGAZINE RANKINGS
By: Tim Bryant
Money Magazine ranks the University of North Georgia as one of the top five public universities in Georgia: UNG joins the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and Georgia College and State University at the top of the Money rankings. The University of North Georgia begins its fall semester classes next Monday. “This ranking is one more indicator that UNG is committed to providing a high-quality, affordable education,” UNG President Bonita C. Jacobs (pictured above) said. “We are proud of the educational value and experience UNG provides its students.”
Albany Herald
ABAC starts semester with overflowing residence halls
From staff reports
With fall semester classes kicking off on Tuesday, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College approaches the 2019-20 academic year with residence halls jammed to capacity and more students studying to be nurses and agricultural education teachers. Chris Kinsey, the college’s director of Residence Life, took a few moments from Freshman Move-In Day last week to confirm that ABAC Place and ABAC Lakeside are at capacity. “We are completely full,” Kinsey said as parents and new students enjoyed the helping hands of ABAC students, faculty and staff during the move-in process. “That puts us at 1,322 students living on campus this fall.
WRDW
‘Good problems’: With more growth comes housing, parking challenges for AU, says president
By Alexa Lightle
Augusta University says they are expecting to set another record for their freshman enrollment. With more students comes more challenges, two of those challenges are housing and parking. Haroon Alam graduated from Augusta University and is now back for Medical School. “It’s a great program,” Alam said. “I love it here and Augusta is a great city.” Alam has lived on campus in a residence hall for the past several years. “It’s just very convenient,” Alam said. “It’s easy to walk over, and I love doing that.” Augusta University said last year their residence halls were at 104 percent capacity. This year they say they’ll be at 100 percent or above, which is why they want to add another hall. …Parking is a big problem on AU’s Health Sciences campus. For Alam, it’s not too much of a problem. He gets to park on-campus because he lives in the residence hall. But he says parking is an issue for his friends who don’t live here.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Move-in day at Georgia Gwinnett College filled with excitement, heavy lifting for new students
By Curt Yeomans
As soon as Johns Creek resident Jaelyn Patrick and her family arrived at her dorm room at Georgia Gwinnett College Monday morning, her mother immediately set about moving all of the furniture around. The two large carts filled with stuff for the freshman’s room, as well as a couple of plastic cases filled with clothes and photos stayed in the common room of the dorm suite while Patrick, 17, and her mother, Jovonni Patrick, tried to figure out how to arrange the room. …With the fall semester beginning Wednesday, the school began letting its new students move in to the college’s residence hall Monday. It’s part of the school’s Grizzly Days orientation offerings for new students. Georgia Gwinnett College officials anticipated at least 611 students will move into on-campus housing over the course of Monday and Tuesday. They said the number could be as many as 867 students. For new students, like Patrick, and their parents, the moving in process brought a lot of heavy lifting to get settled in as well as an array of emotions about starting college.
WTOC
Georgia Southern preparing to welcome students this week
By Zach Logan
Georgia Southern University is gearing up to welcome students for a new semester. Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 19, but this week students will begin moving-in to dorms on campus. Students at the Armstrong campus will move into their dorms on Thursday, while students in Statesboro will begin moving in on Friday. There are special circumstances for early arrival. For more information, please click here. The director of University Life and Housing at the Armstrong campus says his office gets busy towards the end of July. His staff is trying to get ready for the students who are moving in. This year, the university is hosting “Weeks of Welcome”, which means the first few days of the semester will include several events to get students acquainted with the campus.
Valdosta Today
VSU Ready for First-Year Student Move-Ins
Valdosta State University will celebrate Move-In Day for first-year students from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, when students begin moving into their home away from home in Langdale Hall, Georgia Hall, Reade Hall, Patterson Hall, Lowndes Hall, Brown Hall, Centennial Hall, and Hopper Hall. Approximately 350 students are scheduled to arrive on campus every hour. More than 700 volunteers have registered to help. The move-in process will impact normal traffic around VSU’s Main Campus, especially along Baytree Road, Oak Street, Georgia Avenue, Patterson Street, Brookwood Drive, College Street, and Williams Street.
WTOC
New Statesboro to Savannah shuttle service begins for Georgia Southern staff, students
By Zach Logan
Georgia Southern University is rolling out a new shuttle service for its students, faculty and staff. The shuttle service begins Monday, Aug. 12 and will run from the Statesboro campus to the Armstrong campus in Savannah, and then back. The new shuttle can carry up to 24 passengers. It will operate each day that university offices are running. The shuttle will make two rounds trips per day.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Jann Joseph finds a fit at GGC, built to expand educational opportunities
By Taylor Denman
Jann Joseph wants to look deep into data. Before she began her tenure as the third president of Georgia Gwinnett College in July, she said the institution was already a leader in supporting its diverse student body. Now she wants to take a closer look at what that means. She said she wants the campus to identify groups of students who may be underperforming and the variables that influence to their performances and tackle it deliberately. That doesn’t mean she’s cooped up in her office pouring over spreadsheets. On Wednesday, Joseph said she met with members of on-campus communities and organizations to share her vision for the college, listen to their thoughts and concerns and engage in a “professional day of success talks.” “The responses have been overwhelming, as I would say, nurturing and supportive,” she said. “As I have given to them, they have given back to me tenfold.”
Gwinnett Forum
BRACK: GGC president focuses on students, seeking campus filled with joy
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) third president, Dr. Jann Joseph, is dynamic and not bashful in her support of students, their achievement, and in particularly wanting her students to be even more successful over time. She came to GGC on July 1, after serving as executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, and then as interim chancellor of Indiana University – South Bend. After six weeks on the job now, she has found “No place so open and unapologetic to the idea of caring for students from different circumstances.” Her plans for GGC are to “Look deeply into underperforming students, and deliberately go about means to help them. We want to scale them up here at the college,” she says with energy. “These students come here to invest in their future, and we want to help them as much as we can.”
Albany Herald
ASU sees continued ‘significant demand’ for housing
From Staff Reports
For the third consecutive year, Albany State University has experienced an increased demand for on-campus housing, officials with the university said. As a result, all available rooms in 13 residence halls are filled. “Collectively, we have a targeted focus on improving our retention efforts for current students while also addressing the unique needs of incoming freshmen,” ASU President Marion Fedrick said in an ASU news release. “As some institutions face lower enrollment, ASU is stepping into its destiny with the opposite experience.” ASU has a focused process to fill rooms that may become vacant. As cancellations from individuals with reserved rooms are received, ASU is offering rooms to those on a waiting list. The first-come, first-served approach to the allocation of available room spaces and wait list management is similar to the process at institutions across the country. In March, Housing and Residence Life staff members began communicating with all students on the waiting list to remind them that the institution is unable to guarantee housing.
Tifton CEO
Freshman Class at ABAC to Give Back to Community August 12th
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
Freshmen at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will pull on their work boots and reflective vests for an afternoon of giving back to Tifton on Aug. 12 from 1:30-5 p.m. This will be the second year that ABAC freshmen have participated in serving their community. Students who participate will meet new people and represent ABAC within the community. “Last year over 400 students participated in the project,” Dr. Brian Yost, Associate Professor of English, said. “We hope to grow that number this year.” Students will work in areas such as painting, carpentry, gardening, lifting heavy objects, and cooking. Students will also be project site coordinators. Those who participate will receive a t-shirt for their efforts.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: Student loan forgiveness isn’t a gift to lazy millennials
Georgia professor says young people today stuck paying higher college costs and shouldering crippling debt
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Matthew Boedy, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, shares a milestone with us; the final payment of his student loans at age 40. In a guest column, Boedy explains how the cost of college is much higher today for students due to decreasing public support, leaving too many students with crushing debt. By Matthew Boedy
WGAU Radio
STATE DEPT GRANT TO HELP UGA STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS
By: Stacey Casuccio,
The Office of Global Engagement, as a division of the University of Georgia, has been selected to receive a grant as part of the U.S. Department of State’s 2019 Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad. UGA, along with 20 other colleges and universities, was selected from over 120 applications to create, expand and diversify American student mobility overseas in support of foreign policy goals. The Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad is a program of the U.S. State Department with funding provided by the U.S. government and supported in its implementation by World Learning.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett County’s economic advisor, UGA professor Jeffrey Dorfman, named State Fiscal Economist
By Curt Yeomans
The University of Georgia professor who has been providing Gwinnett County commissioners with economic advice for several years has been picked to build economic forecasts for the state government. Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that he has appointed Jeffrey Dorfman to be Georgia’s new State Fiscal Economist. The longtime college professor, economist and author will be tasked with creating economic forecasts that are based on Georgia’s tax revenues and work with bond revenue agencies to track trends in revenues and the economy. He will also be responsible for drafting estimates on the fiscal impact of tax-related proposals in the Georgia General Assembly.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Q&A with Georgia Film Academy’s Jeffrey Stepakoff, 2019 Most Admired CEO
Atlanta Business Chronicle just named our list of Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs of 2019. They are scheduled to be honored on Aug. 22 at an awards event at The Fairmont. Here’s a Q&A with one of the honorees, Jeffrey Stepakoff, executive director of the Georgia Film Academy.
Q: What can other CEOs can do to win such great admiration from their stakeholders?
A: In my experience, teams work best when every member has a clear sense of shared purpose and works in an environment where he or she can realize full potential. So I work hard every day to make sure that I am constantly articulating our organization’s mission as well as creating and maintaining a culture in which we can all participate in getting us to it. I also believe in doing a lot of listening, particularly before talking!
Athens CEO
UGA Idea Accelerator Cohort Kicks-Off September 12th
Staff Report From Athens CEO
Four Athens, in partnership with Athens made, is excited to announce that the 11th Cohort of the UGA Idea Accelerator will launch on September 12, 2019, and that Wells Fargo has selected the upcoming cohort for a $5,000 economic development grant. In addition to supporting the program’s 8-week curriculum centered on guiding teams through the customer discovery process, the grant funds will be used to increase community participation and encourage a greater connection between teams and Athens-area economic development resources.
Daily Report
GSU Law Starts First Immigration Clinic in Georgia
The asylum grant rate from the Atlanta Immigration Court is one of the lowest in the country, making legal representation for those facing deportation even more critical, said the leader of the new GSU Law clinic.
By Meredith Hobbs
Georgia State University College of Law is starting the state’s first immigration law clinic, thanks to a $450,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation.
Athens CEO
Creating a Skilled Workforce is Ongoing Challenge for Georgia Industries
Fran Putney
Communities and business districts looking to grow know that economic development and the availability of a skilled workforce go hand in hand. In Georgia’s tight labor market, new ways to attract employees are as important as ever. “When you talk to employers, economic developers and chamber executives, talent is the top thing on their mind right now,” said Greg Wilson, public service assistant at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIG) at the University of Georgia. “Businesses and chambers and communities and the state are all looking for new strategies for preparing talent and new strategies for building talent pipeline.” To address those concerns, the Institute is hosting the Innovating Georgia’s Workforce Pipeline Conference on September 26. It is expected to convene up to 90 partners in workforce development, education, business and economic development, and will focus on effective strategies to support students transitioning from education to career.
Albany Herald
UGA brings new small business accelerator series to rural Georgia
Accelerate Your Marketing: Grow Business and Build Loyal Customers will be in Camilla on Thursday
From Staff Reports
The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center is bringing its Accelerate Your Business series to different cities across the state. As part of the series, Accelerate Your Marketing: Grow Business and Build Loyal Customers, will be held at Mitchell EMC in Camilla from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Accelerate Your Marketing is an interactive course designed to teach small business owners and key employees how to market more effectively and efficiently. In one day of accelerated training, attendees will get up to speed on their marketing knowledge to develop innovative marketing strategies that build loyal customers and grow business.
Griffin Daily News
The UGA New Faculty Tour visited Griffin on Wednesday, and participants toured the Griffin campus. The annual tour takes new faculty members who have been at UGA for no longer than two years, across the state to “look for ways they can use their teaching and research to address challenges in Georgia communities.”
Fox 5
Link between drumming and drop in chronic pain
By Beth Galvin, FOX Medical Team
After years of chronic back and shoulder pain, Keith Rider says he doesn’t hurt as much these days. The 56-year-old Lumpkin County, Georgia native says he hurt his back in a machine shop accident, which led to years of pain medication. “Prescriptions, in the long run, it makes it worse,” Rider says. “You get weaker, you get dependent on the medicine, and you think you’ve got to have it all the time.” So, when Rider heard about a University of North Georgia study to see if a drumming circle could help people with chronic pain, he was curious about it. A few months later, Rider says the drumming seems to be easing his pain.
WSB
College student seriously injured in hit-and-run crash
A college student hurt in a hit-and-run crash is in the hospital with serious injuries. The accident happened Friday night at the intersection of Maple Street and South Street. 22-year-old Alma Beauvais has broken bones in her legs and a long road to recovery ahead. Her mother said she had just walked to a friend’s house and was walking back to the University of West Georgia campus when she was hit. Witnesses rushed to help her after the driver of the truck didn’t stop.
Gainesville Times
Investigation details UNG fraternity hazing, attempts at coverup; no charges
Nick Watson
An investigator tasked with exploring potential hazing by a University of North Georgia fraternity said they believe restrictive sanctions are warranted.
Gwinnett Daily Post
GGC’s Hodges featured in Sports Illustrated
From staff reports
The success Georgia Gwinnett College’s tennis program has built over the past six years has garnered its head coach some national attention. Chase Hodges being featured in latest edition of Sports Illustrated, which has been available since Thursday, in the national magazine’s popular Faces in the Crowd section. Since 1956, the weekly Faces in the Crowd feature has been highlighting the personal milestones of amateur athletes and coaches. Hodges has guided the men’s tennis program to a 109-match winning streak and six consecutive NAIA national titles. The women’s tennis team also captured a national championship during the 2019 season.
Sports Illustrated
The Greatest Mascots in College Football History
By Torrey Hart
Whether they are real-life animals or fake inanimate objects, mascots have become engrained in college football culture. In honor of the 150th anniversary of college football, herewith an all-time ranking of the best mascots in the sport.
- University of Georgia: Uga