University System News:
11Alive
GA University System Agrees to Cover Transgender Healthcare
Former ‘Queer Eye’ hero credited for policy change after filing federal lawsuit
Author: Andy Pierotti
Transgender employees who work at universities in Georgia will now receive healthcare under the state university system’s insurance plan. The policy changes come after Skyler Jay, a catering manager at the University of Georgia, filed a federal lawsuit against the University System of Georgia last year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA employee says settlement is step forward for transgender rights
By Eric Stirgus
A transgender University of Georgia employee and his legal team are hailing a lawsuit settlement they hope will encourage employers to expand health care benefits to transgender workers statewide. …Under the settlement, transgender employees in the University System are covered for medically necessary expenses. It removes exclusions for sex change services and supplies and drugs for sex change surgeries. The University System does not track how many employees are transgender. The changes took effect Sept. 1, about three weeks before the case was closed. …The University System said in a statement it was a “a mutually agreeable resolution with our employee and the applicable exclusions have been removed” by its health care providers.
The Brunswick News
College to offer data science degree next semester
By Lauren McDonald
College of Coastal Georgia announced Tuesday that a new degree in data science will be offered next semester. The college will launch a Bachelor of Science in Data Science beginning in Spring 2020, to help meet the needs of one of the most in-demand career paths available.
Marietta Daily Journal
Hackathon links Kennesaw State students with local industry
In its largest event to date, more than 150 students in Kennesaw State University’s College of Computing and Software Engineering competed in the third annual Hackathon, providing participants a unique opportunity to utilize their computing skills to solve problems faced by Atlanta area companies. The Hackathon is designed to showcase student talent while connecting them with industry partners across the metro area. Throughout the event, students applied the knowledge they have gained inside the classroom to real-world problems posed by sponsoring companies.
Growing Georgia
UGA-Tifton Hosts STEM in AGtion Event
The University of Georgia Tifton campus hosted STEM in AGtion, an event that allowed 90 high-achieving students to learn about STEM-based careers in agriculture on Sept. 11. STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has been a major push in high schools across the country in recent years, according to Katie Murray, admissions counselor at UGA-Tifton. The event was designed to introduce students to a variety of STEM-related job opportunities available in agriculture.
Athens CEO
ShowCAES Event to Recruit Students for UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Maria Sellers
The University of Georgia Tifton campus and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) are providing high school and college students the opportunity to explore a career in agriculture at the upcoming ShowCAES recruitment event. According to Katie Murray, admissions counselor at UGA-Tifton and one of the event’s coordinators, ShowCAES provides all of the information potential students need about CAES in one place. Potential students can visit UGA-Tifton and get information about UGA admissions, as well as explore CAES majors and programs. “ShowCAES is our one stop shop for all things UGA and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences here in south Georgia,” Murray said.
Albany CEO
State Approves $3M for Renovation of Georgia Southwestern’s Historic Florrie Chappell Gymnasium
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is pleased to announce the renovation of Florrie Chappell Gymnasium, the University’s oldest unoccupied building, thanks to the inclusion of $3 million in House Bill 31 of Georgia’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget. This year marks the 80th anniversary of construction for the “old gym,” as some so fondly remember. Completed in early 1939 at a cost of $65,000 (approximately $1.2 million today, adjusted for inflation), the gym served as GSW’s primary athletics facility for decades, with a basketball court and auditorium space that seated 1,000 on the main level. It was the site of many concerts and graduation ceremonies, with the first held in June 1939. The basement contained a swimming pool and large recreation room used for dancing, games, and PE classes such as fencing and badminton.
earth.com
New zinc test developed to detect malnourishment
By Chrissy Sexton
Earth.com staff writer
Today’s Video of the Day from the Georgia Institute of Technology describes an experimental zinc test that was designed to detect malnourishment. The test may ultimately expose widespread zinc deficiencies, which are responsible for about half a million deaths each year.
Physics World
Optical imaging monitors brain blood flow in children with sickle cell disease
A team of US-based researchers has demonstrated how low-cost, non-invasive diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) can improve the assessment of cerebral blood flow in children with sickle cell disease – a genetic blood disorder that can have a substantial impact upon the brain. DCS is an optical technique that employs near-infrared light to relate intensity fluctuations of multiply scattered reflected light detected at the tissue surface to a blood flow index (BFI) in the underlying tissue. The researchers, based at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, used DCS to quantify brain blood flow in 11 children with sickle cell disease along with 11 healthy controls. As expected, they found that BFI was significantly higher in subjects with sickle cell disease than in the control group (Neurophotonics 10.1117/1.NPh.6.3.035006).
Tech Republic
How emissions from 3D printers pose a potential health hazard
by James Sanders
You can move manufacturing out of traditional plants with 3D printers, but emissions continue to be a concern. A UL study found 216 different VOCs released through the use of 3D printers.
The advent of 3D printing allows for an hours-to-days turnaround time for rapid prototyping and production of parts, by bringing manufacturing abilities closer to the engineers designing the parts being produced. The commodity cost of 3D printers, likewise, has led to their inclusion in schools as part of a broader push for STEM education. However, air quality is likely to suffer as a result—a 3D printer is essentially a miniature manufacturing plant, in form and function, and is often deployed in facilities, such as standard office buildings, not properly equipped for ventilation. Volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in air increase with the use of 3D printers, with a two-year study by UL and the Georgia Institute of Technology finding 216 individual VOCs released into indoor air through the use of 3D printers.
WTOC
Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools honors ‘teacher of the year’ with ceremony
Local teachers were honored on Monday with a flag raising ceremony. The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System honored its Teacher of the Year at the Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts. Kathy Whitney was the recipient of the award. She teaches gifted students at Garrison K-8. …Whitney was crowned Teacher of the Year back in February. Both she and her grandmother graduated from Savannah High School and Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Savannah CEO
Parker’s President Jeff Bush Honored as a “Future Leader of Convenience” by Convenience Store News
Parker’s, an award-winning convenience and food service leader headquartered in Savannah, Ga., recently announced that President Jeff Bush has been named a “Future Leader of Convenience” by industry-leading publication Convenience Store News for his career accomplishments and achievements. Bush is one of 15 industry professionals who will be recognized at the CSNews Future Leaders in Convenience Summit on Nov. 6 in Chicago. “At the age of 33, Jeff is already leading a complex multi-million-dollar company and playing a pivotal role in the expansion of our corporate footprint into the metro Charleston, S.C. market,” said Parker’s founder and CEO Greg Parker. “In the years to come, he will expand our idea of innovation and success through his thoughtful leadership, strategic analysis and powerful dedication to serving others.” …Recognized as a leader in his community and in the industry, he has been honored as a Savannah Morning News’ Generation Next Rising Star of Business, included on the Convenience Store Decisions list of 40 Under 40 Leaders to Watch and inducted as a member of the Georgia Southern University Alumni Association’s 40 Under 40 class of 2018.
Higher Education News:
Forbes
Michael T. Nietzel Senior Contributor
Early data on college enrollments for fall, 2019 are beginning to be tallied. This year’s numbers will be closely watched to see if several years of declining U.S. college enrollment will continue. Among Forbes Top 25 Public Colleges, more than half have now reported either tentative or final enrollments for the fall. … Over the next few months, final fall figures will be released by most public and independent institutions. Based on the early numbers, it’s not yet clear where overall national enrollment will end up, but it’s likely that most major public universities will not experience declines and may even see moderate upticks in enrollments.
The Hechinger Report
The students disappearing fastest from American campuses? Middle-class ones
Anxious about diversity and their bottom lines, more schools offer money to the middle
by JON MARCUS
…The proportion of middle-class students like Scicchitano at colleges and universities has been quietly declining, sharply enough that some institutions — worried about the effect on campus diversity and their own bottom lines — have started publicly announcing special scholarships to cover all or most of their tuition. It may seem counterintuitive to hear that efforts to increase diversity include enrolling more students from the middle class, as opposed to those from families with the lowest incomes. In fact, the proportion of students on college campuses from the lowest-income families is going up, the Pew Research Center reports, while the share of students from the middle has fallen in the last two decades from 48 percent to 42 percent at private, nonprofit institutions, and from 48 percent to 40 percent at public four-year universities.
Inside Higher Ed
Texas A&M System to Ban Vaping
By Paul Fain
John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M system, on Tuesday called for all of the public university system’s 11 campuses to ban the use of e-cigarettes and vaping as soon as possible. Sharp said the system should not take any unnecessary chances, given recent findings about serious illness and deadly lung disease that is associated with vaping.