University System News:
Donalsonville News
New Children’s Digital library now available
The Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is proud to launch eRead Kids, a new digital library available through all 407 public libraries in the state. The collection of almost 15,000 electronic and audio books is for children from pre-k through fourth grade. “Kids will build confidence and reading skills – and have fun – through eRead Kids,” said State Librarian Julie Walker. “eRead Kids will empower libraries to support young readers by offering a format convenient for traveling and entertaining kids, while growing their reading skills.” The collection is a mix of fiction and non-fiction ebook and audio book titles that can be downloaded onto computers, tablets and smartphones. All Georgia families now can freely check out electronic books for their devices, encouraging the early reading that is so important to educational success. GPLS has worked with children’s librarians across the state to select titles and identify the most advantageous offerings and pricing. eRead Kids is made possible by funding proposed by Gov. Brian Kemp and approved by the Georgia General Assembly.
Albany Herald
Equipment company donates use of tractor to ABAC program
From Staff Reports
Tidewater Equipment Company in Tifton will give students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College an opportunity for hands-on experience with a Case IH Magnum 180 tractor during the upcoming 2019-20 academic year. Mark Kistler, dean of the ABAC School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the tractor will be on a one-year loan at the J.G. Woodroof Farm at ABAC. “We are very appreciative of our new corporate partnership with Tidewater Equipment Company,” Kistler said. “The use of the Case IH Magnum 180 tractor will enhance our farm operations, along with allowing our students the opportunity to learn about and use the latest in agricultural technology in their courses and laboratories. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Tidewater.”
Tifton CEO
ABAC Arts and Culture Preview Open to Public on August 8th
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
The Office of College Advancement at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will host a special preview of 2019-20 Arts and Culture events at ABAC on Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture Conference Center. This preview event will highlight the new additions and spotlight the returning series such as the ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series, the First Tuesday concerts, An Evening for ABAC, the Baldwin Players’ productions, the Georgia Poetry Circuit, the ABAC Lecture Series, and all musical performances at the college. New to the Arts and Culture events at ABAC this year are the ABAC at the Tift concerts which will spotlight popular music and bands from the past in the historic Tift Theatre, now managed by ABAC.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Intown upgrade: Georgia Tech, GSU, Emory expansion projects are reshaping Atlanta
Emory, Georgia State and Georgia Tech are growing their urban footprints and together the three universities are transforming Atlanta.
By Douglas Sams – Commercial Real Estate Editor
In Atlanta’s SoNo district, Emory University recently unveiled plans for a $500 million cancer center near the city’s former homeless shelter.
A few blocks north, Georgia Tech, one of the country’s top research and engineering schools, anchors the new Coda building. The $400 million project soars over Midtown’s Technology Square. And, in the shadow of the former Turner Field, now the home of Georgia State University football, new restaurants are opening up in long-vacant buildings on Georgia Avenue. Such scenes from Atlanta’s ongoing urban renaissance are painted by many hands — popularity of the Beltline, relocations of Fortune 500 headquarters, a young, talented labor pool. But, behind it all are the city’s three largest universities, which are contributing billions to Atlanta’s development boom.
The Augusta Chronicle
Longtime Paine College president Julius Scott dies
By Tom Corwin
Dr. Julius Scott, who served as president of Paine College and Medical College of Georgia among seven presidencies he held during his career, has died, Paine College confirmed Thursday. His longtime friend and fellow educator Ellis Johnson said Scott passed away Thursday morning. He and his wife, Anne, had just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary the previous weekend, said Johnson, who was friends with Scott for over 50 years. …Scott served as president of Paine twice, from 1975 to 1982 and then again from 1988 to 1994. He also served as president of Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and served as interim president a number of times, twice at Albany State University, once at MCG and at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. ″“I learned a lot in each of these encounters,” Scott said in 2005, when he agreed to his last interim appointment at Albany State. “The more you do, the more you learn.” He served as interim president of MCG in 2001 after the retirement of Dr. Francis Tedesco, a longtime friend, and before Dr. Daniel Rahn took over as president. …“We are deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Dr. Julius Scott, a notable Augusta leader and a longtime friend to Augusta University and its health system,” AU President Brooks Keel said. “Dr. Scott served with great distinction as the interim president of the Medical College of Georgia long before consolidation and was an active member of our health system board for 10 years. …Scott had actually retired after his last stint at Paine in 1994, but then kept getting calls to come back and serve as interim president when the University System of Georgia needed him or other places called.
The Columbusite
Meet Jori Kent : Artist Behind a New Uptown Restaurant’s Stunning 60-Foot Mural
This Summer, in the space that was formerly 12th Street Deli, a new restaurant is in the works that has put art and culture at the top of its priority list. Vertigo Fusion Kitchen will be brought to Columbus by the same team behind The Black Cow and Smoke Bourbon and BBQ. Though not open just yet, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Vertigo’s new show-stopping 60-foot mural by local artist and CSU student Jori Kent. If Jori Kent isn’t a name you’re familiar with yet, buckle up. The artist’s contribution to the restaurant is a standout among a growing number of public murals popping up around Uptown. Kent’s talent is on full display, and we’re thrilled to bring you the story behind her debut piece.
WSAV
Georgia Southern suspends starting quarterback, defensive end after arrests this week
Two Georgia Southern Football players were arrested this week and suspended from all football-related activities until further notice, according to head coach Chad Lunsford. Shai Werts, the junior quarterback from Clinton, S.C., was arrested Wednesday in Saluda, S.C. and charged with speeding and misdemeanor possession of cocaine after residue was discovered on the hood of his car. Quan Griffin, the junior defensive end of Glen Saint Mary, Fla., was arrested in Baker County, Fla. and charged in conjunction with a domestic dispute.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Philosophy Degrees and Sales Jobs
New data on the first three jobs held by graduates of six popular majors show career pathways are a swirl rather than a straight line, and that college degrees typically do create a foundation for entering the workforce.
By Paul Fain
Defining the value of a college major is tricky, in part because students typically aren’t fully rational when picking one. Likewise, career paths are increasingly hard to predict, with a growing number of job changes for graduates looming in the fast-moving knowledge economy and automation also playing a bigger role. New data from Emsi, a labor market analytics firm that is part of the Strada Education Network, sheds light on the career tracks for graduates of six relatively common academic programs, with widely varying levels of perceived applicability to jobs: languages and philosophy, the social sciences, business, communications, engineering, and IT. Not surprisingly, the typical path is more of a swirl than a straight line.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
As Competition Mounts, 2U Signals Big Changes for Online Education
By Steven Johnson
In the minds of many college administrators, as 2U goes, so goes online education. Since the company’s founding, in 2008, it has locked down contracts with some of the country’s top colleges to start — and rapidly expand — dozens of online master’s programs. That era appeared to end this week. The company helped pioneer a model that offered traditional colleges a way to recruit and enroll online students. But students have more online options than ever before, the company said. Now it’s diversifying away from its bread-and-butter market — professionally focused graduate programs — and pursuing shorter courses, nondegree programs, and tech-focused boot camps.
Inside Higher Ed
Debt Collectors Lose Court Battle With Education Department
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Private debt collection agencies lost a legal battle with the Department of Education this week over their role in an overhauled student loan servicing system, dubbed NextGen by the Trump administration. The debt collectors last year protested a solicitation for NextGen that would have discontinued contracting with companies solely for collection of defaulted loans. But a federal judge ruled this week that the solicitation, while flawed, was not illegal.