University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: UWG changes, int’l enrollment drop, Blank’s big check
By Eric Stirgus
The primary job of a college or university is to teach students about a potential career and help them graduate. Several local colleges and universities announced progress in recent days on that front, with assistance from big-time donors. Here are details about some of this, changes at the University of West Georgia, and a new report on an enrollment decline in one key area in the latest AJC On Campus:
Busy times at the University of West Georgia
International student enrollment decline
Georgia State students help with debate set up
Anti-abortion group vs. Georgia State
College Scorecard changes
UGA increases emergency financial support for graduate students
Clayton State’s financial campaign update
Finance Yahoo
Ocelot, the nation’s leading provider of financial aid and financial literacy educational content and related technologies for higher education, has been selected by the University System of Georgia (USG) to provide all 26 public colleges and universities in the system with access to its customizable online video library. USG’s “Know More. Borrow Less.” (KMBL) initiative is a comprehensive plan aimed at reducing barriers to financial aid, improving students’ understanding of borrowing and reducing student debt. “We are excited to provide all institutions in the USG system with access to Ocelot’s online educational content,” said Dr. Tristan Denley, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer for USG. “Ocelot’s educational videos will be embedded in electronic communications, accessible on school websites, and displayed on monitors and through other venues on campus.”
11Alive
Interim University of West Georgia president to resign after budget cut protest
Micheal Crafton is stepping down after campus protests over possible faculty layoffs because of budget cuts.
Author: Associated Press
The interim president at the University of West Georgia is resigning in December, with the state university system sending another interim leader to replace him until the school gets a new permanent leader. The University System of Georgia announced Wednesday that Micheal Crafton’s resignation is effective Dec. 16, the end of the fall semester.
See also:
Athens Banner-Herald
West Georgia university leader to resign after budget cut protest
The Times-Georgian
Crafton resigns as interim UWG president
Augusta CEO
Augusta University Welcomes Largest Freshman Cohort in University History
This fall, Augusta University welcomed its largest first-time, full-time freshman cohort in the university’s history. A record-breaking 1,084 full-time freshmen have enrolled at AU, making this the sixth consecutive year the university has experienced an uptick in freshman enrollment. This group also includes the university’s largest number of first-generation college students, with a more than 7% jump from last year.
The VSU Spectator
USG students experience decrease in state funding
“I didn’t know,” Jabarri Bradley, a junior majoring in mass media, said. “It upsets me because they don’t understand that they are setting us up for failure. Putting us more in debt will not help anything.” Since 1987, the state support of VSU has decreased by 22.9%, inconveniencing VSU students by raising the tuition. The state support as a percentage of overall revenues went from 60.6% to 37.6% at VSU from 1987 to 2012. Along with the 22.9% decrease of support, VSU went from being the 10th on the list (out of 11 institutions for Georgia Master’s colleges and universities) to the second in receiving the highest amount of state support, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. So, why did VSU go from the bottom of the state support list to the top?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Student leads her campus to give hope to hurting kids
By Laura Berrios
Heather Callahan-Williams is a survivor of childhood cancer who could have put all of that past pain into the rear-view mirror when she headed off to the University of North Georgia four years ago. Instead, the Smyrna native will graduate in December after having led her campus in raising more than $100,000 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the hospital she credits with saving her life. …On her very first day on the Dahlonega campus, she started an organization to support CHOA families and raise money for the hospital through the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).It was a small group at first; just her, her roommate and a few other friends. They called themselves Hope at UNG, a name that held much meaning for Callahan-Williams.
The Brunswick News
CCGA opens food, clothing pantry for students
By Lauren Mcdonald
Research has shown that more than 30 percent of college students across the United States suffer from food insecurity. That percentage is even higher on College of Coastal Georgia’s campus, according to recent surveys completed by the Student Government Association. Nearly 66 percent of students who responded to a CCGA survey reported previously experiencing or currently experiencing food insecurity. So the college’s SGA took action and on Wednesday officially opened its new food and clothing pantry called “The Deck.”
Fox5 Atlanta
UGA student wounded in robbery creates ‘TateTough’ Foundation
By Claire Simms
even months after he was critically injured by an armed robbery suspect, a University of Georgia student spoke publicly for the first time about the ordeal and his recovery. …Wednesday, he and his father, Dobbin Prezzano, announced the creation of the TateTough Foundation. The organization is their way of making something good out of the tragedy. The foundation will create two scholarships in Tate Prezzano’s name–one for a UGA lacrosse player and another for a student-athlete at Cambridge High School, where Prezzano attended. They also plan to use the foundation to promote increased safety and awareness on college campuses.
The Times-Georgian
Holder named Woman of the Year
By Michael O’hearn
Kim Holder, an economics educator with the University of West Georgia, was named the 2019 Woman of the Year at a luncheon Wednesday hosted by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and its Women’s Business Alliance at the Carrollton Center for the Arts.
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Georgia Southern listed among ‘Green Colleges’ for ninth consecutive year
For the ninth consecutive year, The Princeton Review ranked Georgia Southern University as one of the 413 most environmentally responsible colleges in the country. The education services company known for its test prep, tutoring services, books and college rankings features Georgia Southern in its free book, The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2019 Edition. The Princeton Review chose schools based on a survey conducted in 2018-19, which asked administrators at hundreds of four-year colleges about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta hospitals reach out to improve health
By Tom Corwin
As part of their assessment of community health needs, University Hospital and AU Health System are pushing their service out into the community to take on health problems like maternal mortality.
AllOnGeorgia
Georgia Southern Signs More Comprehensive Agreement with Robins AFB
On Nov. 6, leaders from Georgia Southern University and Robins Air Force Base publicly signed an Educational Partnership Agreement to provide more educational opportunities to students, faculty and staff in the areas of research, development and engineering. “It’s critical for our institution that we develop partnerships that will expand our presence in southeast Georgia, particularly with Robins Air Force Base, to connect military with advanced educational opportunities,” stated Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “We couldn’t be more proud to be signing this agreement.” Specifically, the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and the Air Force will collaborate in the education of graduate and undergraduate students and faculty and staff with defense-related projects and development in aerospace research and technology, including materials, information technology, computer science, flight dynamics, aero propulsion and power, electronics, avionics, aging aircraft issues, manufacturing, and environmental issues.
Multi-Housing News
Construction Underway at Georgia Student Housing Community
The 628-bed development, located across the street from the University of West Georgia, is slated for completion in fall 2020.
By Adriana Marinescu
After recently opening a 96-unit student community in Daytona Beach, Fla., Mallory & Evans Development has launched construction at Bellamy Carrollton Student Apartments, a 156-unit, 628-bed student housing project in Carrollton, Ga. Montgomery Martin Contractors is heading up construction at the development, which is slated for completion in fall 2020. …The six-building community will offer three- and four-bedroom apartments as well as five-bedroom, two-story townhomes. Floor plans at the property will range from 1,134 to 1,949 square feet. In-house amenities will include flat-screen TVs, kitchens with stainless steel appliances and smart home technology. Common-area amenities will feature a swimming pool, fitness center, computer lounge and study rooms, as well as a tanning studio.
11Alive
Georgia’s dividing line: past results show future fight in 2020 elections
Perhaps it seems easier than ever to paint our state with a political tint.
Author: Matt Pearl
Perhaps it seems easier than ever to paint our state with a political tint. Certain parts vote blue. Certain parts vote red. Perhaps you think like Dr. Douglas Young of the University of North Georgia: “In America now, we’re in the midst of a nonviolent civil war.” Young continues: “The right and left are so far apart, not just politically, but at a deeper-rooted level, religiously and culturally.”
Her Family
New immune cells found in breast milk make it completely irreplaceable
Trine Jensen-Burke
We all know at this stage how breast milk is the ultimate first food for babies, and that everything else is just a runner up. And mind-blowingly, scientists are still discovering new things about just how amazing mum’s milk is for her babies. Recently, some reseachers found a brand new set of immune cells in women’s breast milk, reports Science Daily. And these immune cells are act like a defence force, all set to take out invaders like bacteria. In fact – they say the presence of this SWAT team of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells, or ILCs, in human breast milk is more evidence of the benefits of breastfeeding. …”We were looking for the source which can provide immune protection to the baby while it develops its own immune system,” Dr. Jack Yu, chief of pediatric plastic surgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, explains. “We think these cells help provide frontline immune protection for the baby,” says Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chief of the Section of Neonatology and vice chair of clinical research in the MCG Department of Pediatrics. The researchers found all three known classes of ILCs present in fresh human mother’s milk, and parallel mouse studies show that the cells not only are transferred to baby by nursing but that they survive in the baby’s gut for at least several days.
Valliant News
‘Project Runway’ fashion designer Mychael Knight dies
Written by Robert Smith
Georgia fashion designer Mychael Knight, who was a finalist on the popular TV competition show “Project Runway,” died Tuesday at age 39. Knight died outside Atlanta surrounded by family and friends, said friend Jerris Madison, the editor and photographer of Obvious Magazine, a fashion, lifestyle and cultural publication. …Knight spent his childhood in Montgomery, Alabama, but graduated from Washingtonville Senior High School in Washingtonville, New York, in 1996. Later that same year, he began his freshman year of college at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. In 2001, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in apparel design and merchandising. After completing his undergraduate studies, Knight broke into the fashion industry in Atlanta by working as an intern at Wilbourn Exclusives in 2001 before becoming a fashion stylist in the music industry in 2002.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Summit Puts Qatar’s Education Efforts in Global Spotlight
by Jamal Watson
While the United States is largely considered an international leader in higher education, when it comes to access, diversity and affordability, college officials in the U.S. may want to take a closer look at the kinds of bold education reforms that this country of nearly 2.7 million people has implemented. It’s an effort to reposition the Arab country known for its breathtaking skyscrapers and modern architecture, as a key player in educating its citizens and those from nearby countries. Some of those efforts were on display this week at The Wise Summit, where more than 3,000 educators, policy makers and social activists gathered in the country’s capital—Doha—to exchange ideas, experiences, and perspectives on what quality education is, what it means, and how it must sustain and evolve into the future. The three-day gathering, founded by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser a decade ago, has emerged as a destination for education reformers, drawing in stakeholders who share a basic belief that a quality education from kindergarten to college should be a necessity for all.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Policy Brief Recommends Changes to Federal Aid Requirements
by Sarah Wood
More than one million students default on loans each year with student loan debt reaching $1.5 trillion, according to a policy brief released by Higher Learning Advocates. With the rise of student debt, the brief “Outcomes-Based Accountability: Holding Institutions Accountable for Successful Student Loan Repayment” recommended improvements to the current federal aid requirement system. Each year, $120 billion in federal student aid goes through eligible higher education institutions to help students pay for college, according to the report. The current federal requirements of cohort default rates (CDR), accreditation and financial responsibility scores are designed to hold institutions accountable. CDR is a measurement that notes how many students default on federal student loans within three years of leaving school. Post-secondary institutions are required to maintain less than a 40% CDR for a single year or 30% for any three consecutive years to qualify for financial aid programs. However, the research brief also found that CDR’s metric system has flaws when fully assessing student loan repayment outcomes.