University System News:
WJBF
Student paper diagnoses Professor’s daughter’s illness
by: Ashley Flete
One mother wondered for years what was going on with her daughter. It was not until one of her students wrote a paper that helped diagnose her issue. Alicia Elam is an Associate Professor at Augusta University. In 2017 Elam and student Allison Miller worked on a research paper for Miller’s masters project. “Looking at what she was discussing. The EOE, I hadn’t known what it was, hadn’t heard of it and I had not dealt with it,” says Elam. As Elam worked to edit Miller’s paper, she realized the symptoms Miller wrote about were the same ones her daughter had. After almost three years of trying to figure it out, Elam finally had an answer. “Eosinophilic Esophagitis,” says Elam.
The Red & Black
Flipped around: UGA students reflect on effectiveness of inverted classrooms
Foster Steinbeck | Enterprise Reporter
After her experience as a part of the University of Georgia’s inaugural class of “Fellows for Innovative Teaching,” psychology professor Kacy Morris decided to “flip” her introductory psychology class in fall 2015 — swapping in-class lecturing for interactive activities and having students learn the material outside of class. “I will say that when I made that switch, grades improved,” Morris said, “And it did feel to me that students were more engaged.” As part of a “national trend,” Morris said more professors are flipping their classes to promote active learning in their classrooms. In a “flipped” or “inverted” classroom, students teach themselves the material outside of class time. In lieu of lecturing, the professor actively engages students with the material using practice problems, group worksheets or group discussions.
Valdosta Daily Times
Cameron named Ag American Star
Courtney Cameron of the Lowndes High School FFA chapter was named The American Star in Agriscience at the recent National FFA Convention held here. Lowndes County Schools’ FFA members won five more national competitions and two earned American degrees as well. …She is now a University of Georgia Center for Undergraduate Studies Research Scholar where she was the lead researcher on a team that identified and named a new fungal pathogen of pecan trees, FFA officials said. … Dawson Peek won the prestigious outdoor recreation proficiency award indicating that he has the best outdoor recreation SAE in the nation, FFA officials said. Peek is a freshman at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a member of the Lowndes High School FFA. His award was for his SAE conducted at Southwinds Sporting Clays and Quail Hunting. He competed against three other national finalists with outstanding similar SAEs. …The national FFA organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education, FFA officials said. Today, there are 700,170 FFA members, aged 12-21, in 8,612 chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Gainesville Times
UNG testing waters on student housing in Gainesville
Jeff Gill
For the past year or so, private developers have scrambled to supply off-campus housing for the ever-growing University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus.
The Times-Georgian
UWG forced to make staff, budget cuts
BY Ken Denney
University of West Georgia administrators have been forced to reduce staff and make budget cuts to contend with a loss of enrollment that threatens to persist into next year.
The extent of the financial problem is unclear at the moment, and administrative staff at UWG declined an invitation by the Times-Georgian to further explain the matter. But others who have contacted the newspaper label the situation as a “crisis” that has rippled like a shockwave through the sprawling campus. It is also unclear as to how much of the situation on campus has been shared with Carroll County civic leaders, those who have a vested interest in the economic health of one of the county’s largest employers. Those who were contacted by the newspaper on Wednesday were unwilling to speak until they had studied the matter further.
The Times-Georgian
UWG students plan protest of faculty cuts
By Stephanie Allen
Students at the University of West Georgia have joined together to support several faculty and staff members who received a letter stating that their contracts to teach may not be renewed. Due to budgetary issues from low enrollment numbers, up to 25 faculty members have received notification that their contracts might not be renewed, and another wave of cuts are expected come January. Students are uniting to protest the staff reductions with two simple demands: autonomy and respect.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech worker sends personal student data to 1,100 students
By Eric Stirgus
A Georgia Tech employee sent personal information, such as student identification numbers, to approximately 1,100 students, officials confirmed Thursday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The disclosure is similar to a July 2018 situation where someone at the university mistakenly emailed personal information of nearly 8,000 College of Computing students to fellow students. Georgia Tech has about 33,000 students. In both cases, the information included student names, identification numbers and grade-point averages.
Marietta Daily Journal
KSU marks 30th anniversary of Berlin Wall collapse
By Thomas Hartwell
Thirty years after the fall of the militarized wall that for decades split German families and communities in two, Dorte Schmieta, 51, stood before a Berlin Wall art piece created by Kennesaw State University students and painted in red letters the phrase, “Ich war dabei!” or “I was there!” On Wednesday, KSU’s School of Government and International Affairs marked the approaching 30th anniversary of the Nov. 9, 1989, collapse of the Berlin Wall with a commemorative ceremony.
WTOC
Georgia Southern, Air Force partnership to give engineering students new learning opportunity
By Dal Cannady
University leaders and military developers sat together to sign a deal. Now, Georgia Southern engineering professors and students could be taking on research projects for the Air Force. “Our students are doing practical experiential learning. The research is hands on. So, they finish their degree and have the experience to help them apply it into the work force,” Georgia Southern President Dr. Kyle Marrero said. The research could be in a range of fields to help the Air Force push the envelope on development. …That research could raise Southern’s stature in engineering circles and bring more projects their way.
Douglas Now
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Margaret Edson will visit SGSC in November
South Georgia State College’s Theatre Productions and School of Nursing will present Margaret Edson’s touching and intimate Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Wit. The production opens Nov. 14 and continues nightly until Nov. 16 beginning at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance will be held Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. All performances are in McGouirk Auditorium, located in Peterson Hall (100 West College Park Drive), on the Douglas campus. SGSC Theatre Productions and the School of Nursing are honored to have the playwright Margaret Edson in attendance for the Saturday, Nov. 16 performance. …The cast is comprised of a number of SGSC students.
Herald Courier
Writing workshop project hosts panel discussion on opioid crisis
By Carolyn R. Wilson
One of the biggest health crises facing the country today will be the topic of a panel discussion at Emory & Henry College this week. “Talking Our Way Out” will allow participants to share stories and solve problems concerning the opioid epidemic. The panel discussion, open to the public, is 7 to 8 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Kennedy-Reedy Theatre at the McGlothlin Center for the Arts on campus. …Those attending the discussion will include a combination of local high school students, Emory & Henry College students, parents and teachers who will be invited to engage in panel conversations. Counselors will be available for high school students who may want to talk privately. …In addition to Krosoczka, other panelists include Dr. Art Van Zee, a physician in Pennington Gap, Virginia, who is considered to be among the very first professionals to sound the alarm about the opioid addiction problem; Dr. William Kanto, a native of Norton, Virginia, who is professor emeritus in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia School and currently serves as a physician consultant at Augusta University Health System;
Emory Wheel
Emory Hosts 20th Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference
Posted by Gabriella Lewis
Local Latino teachers, parents and middle school, high school and college students gathered at the Emory Student Center for the 20th annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference on Nov. 2. The event was hosted at Emory and organized by the Latin American Association (LAA), a Georgia-based organization dedicated to empowering the Latino community. The event began with performances by Atlanta rapper Alfredo Corona Jr. and his hype man, breakdancer BBoy Melvin. Corona performed two songs, intermixed with inspirational words about celebrating one’s identity and reclaiming one’s power. Corona also contemplated the definition of Latino identity. …Janet Gembe, a student from the University of West Georgia who served as a “mentor guide” during the conference, discussed the impact the conference had on students. “Honestly, this is pretty amazing. I think this is such a great resource, especially for college students, to be able to be leaders … [in] the future,” Gembe said. “I think conferences like this make a huge impact to the younger ones, and that’s necessary.”
WJBF
IYN | The Clubhou.se: An innovators playground
By: Jenna Kelley
Start ups, networking events, and product branding are some of the things you can find at The Clubhou.se down at the Georgia Cyber Center.
Bloomberg News
Neglected Sickle Cell Patients Finally Get a Break and New Drugs
Michelle Cortez, Bloomberg News
Gloria Thomas was three years old when she was diagnosed with sickle cell disease, an inherited condition that causes bouts of pain that she says feel “like little pieces of glass going through you.” She’s spent a lifetime in and out of hospitals. That all changed in the past year. Thomas, now 50, hasn’t been hospitalized since she enrolled in a study of Novartis AG’s crizanlizumab, set to become the first approved drug to specifically target the blood disorder that affects as many as 100,000 Americans. Thomas, who lives in the tiny town of Toccoa, Georgia, takes a two-hour ride each way to Augusta every month to get an infusion designed to keep her red cells slippery, so they don’t clump together to form painful bottlenecks that choke off the flow of oxygen-rich blood. It’s not a panacea — she still relies on a daily pain pill — but she has been able to ease back on fentanyl skin patches. …“Patients have been waiting for improved treatments and are very interested in new therapies,” said Abdullah Kutlar, director of the Sickle Cell Center at Augusta University in Georgia and Thomas’ doctor, who led one of the studies of Novartis’s crizanlizumab.
SG Press Centre
RESEARCHERS FIND LINK BETWEEN EYE DISEASE AND DEGENERATION OF THE BRAIN
A scientific study of African populations discovers that the beta-amyloid gene is associated with an increased risk of the most common form of glaucoma
SINGAPORE – A global research team led by scientists from Singapore and the United States has discovered new evidence that there is an underlying link between degeneration of the eye and brain. They found that genetic variation at a beta-amyloid gene was significantly associated with increased risk of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The association was identified specifically in people with African ancestry. The high-risk variant was common in African populations (around 20%), but essentially absent in all other ancestral groups. The findings from this research confirmed a common suspicion that glaucoma may not simply be an eye disease, but also linked to degeneration of the brain. …The authors of the paper are: …Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, James & Jean Culver Vision Discovery Institute, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, Center for Biotechnology & Genomic Medicine, Augusta University, Augusta, GA
PR Newswire
2019 Research Grant Recipients Announced by the VHL Alliance
Global Research Program Supports Curing Cancer through VHL
The VHL Alliance (VHLA) today announced the 2019 recipients of the VHLA Competitive Research Grant Program. This year, three grantees were chosen. Scientists are increasingly aware that curing von Hippel-Lindau disease, a genetic form of cancer – is a key step to curing cancer, leading to a significant increase in the quality of research grant applicants in the program year after year. Nearly 40 top VHLA researchers from across the US, Canada, and Europe were involved in reviewing and selecting those projects which have the greatest potential to make advances toward Curing Cancer through VHL. In response to the increase in quality applications, the VHLA Board of Directors voted to expand next year’s research grant budget to $325,000. …VHL Alliance Grant Recipients
Augusta University’s Barbara Mysona, PhD, will utilize her pilot grant to study how the cells that make up hemangioblastomas alter blood vessel formation and why the blood vessels in hemangioblastomas behave in abnormal fashion. While hemangioblastomas are not malignant, they allow fluid to leak into surrounding tissue. Pressure from either the tumor itself or the surrounding fluid can cause life-changing and life-threatening damage.
Under Technology
Can a cat improve your grandma’s life?
A collaborative study out of Athens is trying to determine if having a pet can improve the mental state of older adults. Foster cats are being placed with people 60 and older, and researchers are evaluating the impact of the companionship. Research has shown that seniors with pets are 36% less likely to report loneliness than non-pet owners, experience reduced stress, have fewer doctor visits, have reduced blood pressure and risk for heart disease, and develop a sense of purpose that comes with helping a homeless cat. “Much suffering among older people living alone is the result of boredom, and feelings of helplessness and loneliness,” said Dr. Sherry Sanderson, an associate professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, who is conducting the study. “Animal companionship is a known antidote to loneliness.” The Foster Cat Research Study is a collaboration between the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, UGA College of Public Health, UGA’s Institute of Gerontology, Athens Community Council on Aging, Athens Area Humane Society and Campus Cats Rescue. This study is funded by the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute, with supplemental support from Purina PetCare.
Latech.edu
Artistic alum celebrates 50-year class reunion and puts on a show
Fifty years after graduating from Louisiana Tech, Jim Wilson returns to campus this week to share his latest class project.
Wilson, who earned a BS in Commercial Art with additional studies in the biological sciences in 1969 at Tech and a MS from the Medical College of Georgia in 1974, will have an exhibit in Marbury Alumni House beginning Wednesday and running through Homecoming Saturday and most of November. The show, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and the University’s VISTA Center, will feature his artwork from the time he was a student through his career as a medical illustrator; he’ll also be celebrating his 50-year class reunion during this Homecoming Week. …Immediately following graduation, he was named Chief of Medical Illustration Services at the Medical College of Georgia and Assistant Professor in the Medical Illustration Graduate Program.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Addiction Support Goes Mainstream
Recovery programs that help students with alcohol and drug problems are more welcome as campus leaders try to help students overcome social barriers that prevent them from earning degrees.
By Marjorie Valbrun
…Three sober years later, Cafran is now the coordinator of the university’s newly launched Collegiate Recovery Program, or CRP, one of 136 such programs at colleges and universities across the country and part of a growing effort in higher ed to help students with drug or alcohol problems. While public health officials and policy makers have been focused on stemming the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic, higher ed institutions have directed attention to tackling alcoholism and drug addiction among students. College leaders and student affairs administrators are increasingly embracing on-campus recovery programs and centers among their expanding initiatives to meet the social and emotional needs of students and help them overcome barriers that keep them from earning degrees.
Inside Higher Ed
Discrimination Influences Student Activity and Mood
Students who reported being discriminated against for various reasons changed their activity levels and showed indications of depression, University of Washington researchers found.
By Greta Anderson
Various types of discrimination can lead to changes in college students’ daily activities and sleep quality and heighten their feelings of anxiety and depression, according to new research by the University of Washington. The chronic mental and physical health implications of stress caused by discrimination have long been known by psychologists. But faculty members and doctoral students at Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and the university’s Information School sought to determine whether “unfair treatment” based on aspects of students’ identities impacted their day-to-day life, said Jennifer Mankoff, an engineering professor and co-author of the report released Nov. 4, “Passively-Sensed Behavioral Correlates of Discrimination Events in College Students.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Scandal-Ridden U. of Southern California Will Shrink Its Board. So What?
By Jack Stripling
A good number of higher education’s biggest scandals in recent years have had the University of Southern California as a sun-drenched backdrop. Included in that list are a medical-school dean who led a drug-fueled double life, a campus gynecologist who has been charged with abusing his patients, and a handful of athletics coaches and officials who’ve been accused of taking bribes to help wealthy students gain admission to the university. After so many debacles, skeptics could be forgiven for doubting whether a few changes to USC’s governing board, which the university announced on Tuesday, would change much of anything. But Rick J. Caruso, the board’s chairman, said it’s a good start. By cutting the board’s membership by nearly half and shaking up the executive committee, Caruso said, trustees will be more likely to catch a problem before it happens or demand accountability when it does.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Wayne State U.’s Board Can’t Even Agree On Whether It Fired the President
By Lindsay Ellis
Wayne State University’s embattled president sat in his office on Wednesday, but whether he still has a job depends on whom you ask. A hurried attempt late Monday night to fire the president, M. Roy Wilson, has cracked apart an eight-member governing board, which has been at loggerheads for nearly a year. The fallout from the vote, which followed the president’s bungled announcement of free tuition for Detroit high-school graduates, reveals that members of the Board of Governors disagree not just about Wilson’s performance but also about the nature of the board’s own responsibility. Defenders of the president say the actions of his board opponents will harm Wayne State’s ability to recruit future talent — perhaps even Wilson’s replacement. His opponents argue that the other four governors are “cheerleaders,” favoring Wilson as an individual over the university at large.