University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp wants Georgia agency heads to skip budget hearings
By James Salzer
Georgia legislative leaders scheduled meetings later this month to hear how state agencies plan to respond to Gov. Brian Kemp’s call to cut their budgets, but they may spend that time talking to each other. Legislative plans are to send out letters to state agency directors asking them to copy House and Senate leaders on their proposals to deal with the 4% budget cuts Kemp is requiring this year and 6% next year. House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, said he hoped to invite department heads to attend the Sept. 26-27 hearings to discuss what they propose to cut. But the Kemp administration will tell agencies to ignore those requests, saying it wants to consider the proposals like it would any other budget plans, without legislative interference.
Albany Herald
Ahead of Hurricane Dorian, Kemp expands state of emergency to nine more counties
Nine Georgia counties added to emergency declaration
From Staff Reports
Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order this morning expanding the state of emergency declared on Thursday to include Appling, Bacon, Bulloch, Clinch, Echols, Evans, Screven, Tattnall and Ware counties due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Dorian. Currently, there are 21 Georgia counties under a state of emergency declaration. They are Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Echols, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Ware and Wayne counties.
The George-Anne
Georgia Southern classes cancelled through Thursday
By Nathan Woodruff
Georgia Southern University announced in a University Alert that all classes on all three campuses will be cancelled through Thursday, Sept. 5. “As of today, we are unsure about our ability to resume regular operations on Friday (Sept. 6) until we know the full extent of Dorian’s impact,” the University Alert reads. Landrum dining hall will be open until 8 p.m. with brown bag meals being passed out from 6-8 p.m. Students must bring their Eagle ID to receive one. All dining halls be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.
WJBF
Augusta hospitals prepare to help those escaping the coast
Augusta hospitals are preparing to help those evacuating from the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. Some patients have already been transported to receive care in our medical community. Four little babies came from the NICU in Savannah. The infants are now being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. Augusta hospitals tell us that they are ready to take in more patients from coastal cities if needed. AU Emergency Management Director Joe Webber says the real planning happens on blue sky days so when the gray skies come, they are ready. “We know that bad things are going to happen and we need to be in a position to respond effectively to those bad things when they do,” Webber explains. AUMC sends personnel to the shelters to treat those who were forced to leave their homes and routines. “In order to keep them from having to come to the hospital to receive that additional care. We have medical doctors that go to the shelters, we have pharmacists, we have nursing staff. We have a lot of our nursing students,” Webber points out. As for Augusta University students– as of Monday, classes are scheduled to happen per usual the first week of September.
The Augusta Chronicle
Hurricane Dorian evacuees start arriving in Augusta
By Erika Wells
Hurricane Dorian evacuees from Chatham County on Georgia’s coast started arriving in Augusta on Monday, and the Richmond County school system shut down to help take them in. Local emergency response officials prepared the city to support the evacuees after Gov. Brian Kemp ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal communities. Residents who needed transportation and have medical needs arrived first at the shelter at Westside High School. Trinity On The Hill United Methodist Church opened as a shelter for evacuees who were able to transport themselves. Additional shelters at locations including Butler and Glenn Hills high schools will be opened if needed, Augusta Fire Chief Chris James said. …The city can accommodate up to 3,000 evacuees, James said. Local hospitals are taking in patients who require round-the-clock attention at a medical facility. University Health Care System planned to receive patients from Savannah Memorial Hospital and nursing home residents from Savannah. Four pediatric patients were set to arrive at AU Medical Center, which is using its Critical Event Preparedness and Response office to assist at shelters.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Numerous college fairs coming to metro Atlanta
By Ty Tagami
High school students with their eyes on college will have more than a dozen opportunities to attend information fairs across metro Atlanta. More than a hundred colleges and universities, mostly from the southeast region, will be represented at Probe College Fairs at high schools, colleges and other sites across Georgia starting this week. Attendance is free. The metro Atlanta fairs are on these dates and at these locations:
Sept. 6 in DeKalb County: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Georgia State University – Perimeter College …Oct. 8 in Clayton County: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Clayton State University …Nov. 8, in the City of Atlanta: 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Atlanta Metropolitan State College student center …A full calendar and more information here.
Athens CEO
Three-peat for UGA in Economic Development Awards
Kelly Simmons
For the third year, three University of Georgia programs have been selected as finalists for national awards recognizing innovation in economic development. UGA is the only university that has had three finalists for three consecutive years. The Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, both units of UGA Public Service and Outreach, and the New Materials Institute, a component of the UGA Office of Research with roots in the College of Engineering, are among the 24 finalists for the University Economic Development Association 2019 Awards of Excellence. UGA’s finalists are in different categories and will not compete with one another. UEDA represents higher education, private sector and community economic development stakeholders across North America.
WGAU Radio
MARY FRANCES EARLY TO SPEAK AT UGA
The Black Faculty and Staff Organization at the University of Georgia will host its 17th annual Founders’ Luncheon on Sept. 25 from noon-1:30 p.m. in Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center. This year’s luncheon will be an intimate conversation with Mary Frances Early, who in 1962 became the first African American to graduate from UGA. …Proceeds from the luncheon will be used for BFSO activities and the scholarship program, which awards scholarships to outstanding undergraduate, graduate and professional students at UGA. …BFSO is honored to have Early as the speaker for this year’s luncheon, according to Susan M. Williams, BFSO president. “Mary Frances Early’s legacy as UGA’s first black graduate is a monumental act of determination and perseverance from which the UGA and Athens communities can receive valuable nuggets of courage, social justice and community,” said Williams, who also is a faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Her quiet determination in difficult and turbulent times serve as inspirations to the work of BFSO. We are excited and thrilled she has accepted our invitation to inspire our luncheon guests.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech to honor pioneering black students
By Ernie Suggs
In September of 1961, nine months after protests and violence greeted the first two black students to integrate the University of Georgia, Ralph A. Long Jr., Lawrence Williams and Ford C. Greene quietly, and uneventfully, enrolled at Georgia Tech. A year later, Ronald Yancey followed and in 1965 would become the first black student to graduate from Georgia Tech. “The school and the community of Atlanta embarked on this challenge to integrate, and the students were determined that they were not going to embarrass Tech,” Long said Tuesday. On Wednesday, Georgia Tech will honor the four students with the dedication of two bronze sculptures on campus.
The Augusta Chronicle
UGA legal clinic offers helping hand to Athens entrepreneurs
By Aaron Hale
The life of a budding entrepreneur can be thrilling and inspiring, but it can also be overwhelming. Finding reliable counsel, especially the free variety, is almost always welcome. Just ask Andy Okala, winner of the 2017 UGA Idea Accelerator and the co-founder of the Athens-based startup Uzo. Uzo is an on-demand student staffing service.. …Okala came up with the idea as a UGA student looking to earn spending money with random jobs, like helping people move. He and his partners developed the idea and won the fall 2017 UGA Idea Accelerator competition.
Gainesville Times
Upcoming REED Summit at UNG spotlights these business issues
Kelsey Richardson
It’s no secret that many of North Georgia’s manufacturers, distributors and technology industries are thriving. Adding more tinder to the growing economic flame, the University of North Georgia plans to hold its second annual Regional Education and Economic Development Summit on Tuesday, Sep. 10. The public event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Convocation Center on the university’s Dahlonega Campus. Bobbi Larson, the university’s director of economic development, said the summit “brings together economic development professionals, business and community leaders, legislators and representatives from state agencies, educators and students to showcase educational pathways and high demand career opportunities in the region.”
Albany Herald
ABAC ag museum to host Girl Scout Day
From Staff Reports
Girl Scouts of all ages and their families are invited to Girl Scout Day at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture on Sept. 28. The event will feature an assortment of interactive experiences, many of them relating to a Girl Scout badge or award. GMA staff have planned a variety of hands-on sessions to engage Girl Scouts such as gardening, woodworking in the Variety Workshop, and creating their own book in the Print Shop.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA faculty becoming more female, less black
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia’s faculty is becoming more gender-diverse, but statistics show that the percentage of UGA faculty members who are black is actually smaller now than 15 years ago. In 2003, 90 of the University of Georgia’s 1,684 faculty members were black, 5.3 percent, according to statistics maintained by the University System of Georgia. That increased to 5.7 percent in 2014, but fell to 4.9 percent by 2018 — 96 African American faculty members out of 1,960. That’s half the percentage for the University System of Georgia as a whole — 9.8 percent, or 1,171 out of 11,974 faculty members, up slightly from 9.1 percent in 2003. …UGA’s decline in black faculty is in line with national trends, according to a recent report from the Hechinger Report, a national nonprofit newsroom that reports on education.
The Red & Black
UGA breaks ground on new projects at State Botanical Garden
Hunter Riggall | News Editor
Three new projects are coming to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The Center for Art and Nature Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum, the Discovery and Inspiration Garden and a new entrance all broke ground on Aug. 23, according to a University of Georgia news release. All three are expected to be finished in 2020. “None of this would have been possible without the generosity of many people,” UGA President Jere Morehead said at a groundbreaking ceremony. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of the donors whose gifts are bringing these projects to life—those who are with us today and those who are celebrating with us from afar.”
Athens Banner-Herald
Dooley Field naming an event that will span the generations
By Marc Weiszer
It’s hard to upstage a Georgia football home opener, but the pregame festivities Saturday may just do that. After all, naming the field after a Hall of Fame coach and former athletic director whose career at the school spanned 40 years will draw quite a crowd. As many as 800 people are expected Friday night for a reception at the Tate Center for lettermen who played for Vince Dooley. Among those expected this weekend are Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and All-Amercian safety Terry Hoage. The captains of all 25 teams Dooley coached from 1964-88 will join him and family members on the field at about 3:30 p.m. for a ceremony dedicating Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium before the game against Murray State.
Saturday down South
Just in time: Notable landmark to re-open for Georgia’s first home game
Keith Farner
A popular destination for Georgia fans following football wins, and other special occasions and accomplishments around campus is set to re-open this week. The University of Georgia Chapel Bell, which sits on North Campus just off of downtown and near the Arch, has had “extensive repairs and maintenance.” It’s still closed, but a sign that hangs over the bell said it should be open on Saturday ahead of Georgia’s home opener against Murray State, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
‘Nudging’ Looked Like It Could Help Solve Key Problems in Higher Ed.
Now That’s Not So Clear.
By Becky Supiano
Getting to and through college requires navigating a tangled bureaucracy. Students must prepare for college-level courses, apply, and decide where to go. The financial-aid process is a maze in its own right. Once they’re on campus, students have to make sure their academic work adds up to a degree and contend with a host of administrative tasks. All of this is harder, of course, for students who are figuring it out without high-touch, expert guidance. One increasingly popular strategy for helping these students is to “nudge” them. Nudging, which is grounded in behavioral economics, uses low-cost, low-touch interventions to encourage, but not require, people to take a particular action. Putting healthy food at eye level in the cafeteria is a nudge. So is having employees opt out of, rather than into, a retirement-savings plan. The strategy was developed and popularized about a decade ago by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, and helped make them famous. Governments around the world soon embraced nudging and applied it to policy areas like health and finance. The Obama administration created a Social and Behavioral Sciences Team under the National Science and Technology Council, and in 2015 the president signed an executive order directing federal agencies to apply behavioral insights to their programs by, for instance, streamlining processes and improving the way information is presented. Higher education took note.