University System News:
13WMAZ
By Sarah Hammond
The base is partnering with Mercer University and Middle Georgia State University to open those centers. Prep work began back in October on the center in downtown Macon next to Capricorn Studio on Martin Luther King Boulevard, and they are scheduled to open early next year. MGA opened their center in Thomas Hall on December 5th. “They’re going to be working with an actual faculty member. Students can come in, members of the community can come in, and they can work together to solve problems, software issues, that they might be experiencing in their business,” said Miner. They’ll also be developing software and solving problems for Robins Air Force Base.
Georgia Trend
CSU’s new cybersecurity degree program
By Mary Ann DeMuth
CSU’s Cybersecurity Nexus degree includes six eight-week terms over the course of a year. Instruction will take place five days a week for half a day, resulting in 18 credit hours. Two experiential, hands-on apprenticeships will enable students to gain real-world experience. To complete the full degree, an additional 42 hours of general education is required, however a Nexus Certificate is available for those not pursuing the full degree. In creating the program, CSU received feedback from industry partners. Participating students will be trained to step into roles employers are desperate to fill.
WSAV
Coast Guard fireman surprises sister at Georgia Southern graduation
By WSAV Staff
One Georgia Southern student had an extra special graduation ceremony in Savannah on Friday. Nolan Swaim was overwhelmed with emotion when her older brother, Morgan, was waiting for her as she crossed the stage. Morgan is a Coast Guard fireman and surprised his sister by taking leave from his station in the Caribbean to see her graduate.
Nano Technology Now
Tiny magnetic particles enable new material to bend, twist, and grab
A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and The Ohio State University has developed a soft polymer material, called magnetic shape memory polymer, that uses magnetic fields to transform into a variety of shapes. The material could enable a range of new applications from antennas that change frequencies on the fly to gripper arms for delicate or heavy objects.
Associated Press
Vandal who drew swastikas at U of Georgia won’t face charges
University of Georgia officials determined a Clemson University-bound student visiting the Athens campus was responsible for drawing swastikas on student doors inside a residence hall last month. He won’t face criminal charges, officials noted in a statement. The university didn’t identify the student in its statement last week, but confirmed he was banned from all University of Georgia system campuses.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University graduates its fall 2019 class
By Miguel Legoas
After more than 10 years of homework, classes, loaded backpacks and full agendas, it all led to this. Now, Augusta University’s fall 2019 graduates had three small tasks left: keep calm, smile for the camera and don’t trip on the stage.
Livingston Ledger
Americans less eager to slim down even as poor diet claims more lives
Obesity is becoming more socially accepted in America, even as poor diet has been established as culprit of almost half the deaths from heart disease, two new studies show. Fewer overweight Americans have attempted to lose weight in recent years, to researchers at Georgia Southern University, who have published a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
WMAZ
Middle Georgia State University hosts Regional LEGO League Robotics Tournament
Middle Georgia State University hosted the First Regional LEGO League Robotics Tournament for elementary and middle school students on Saturday. Over 200 elementary and middle school students from across central Georgia fired up their circuits to compete in the event, which started around 8 a.m. The competition tested about 18 teams in all sorts of science skills – from robotics to coding.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
UNC-Chapel Hill Has a New Chancellor. He’s Already Got Critics.
By Michael Vasquez
Kevin M. Guskiewicz was named on Friday to the job permanently after 10 months as the interim head. His former faculty colleagues have faulted his response to the controversial deal over Silent Sam.
American Association for the Advancement of Science
NIH clarifies meaning of ‘disadvantaged’ in bid to boost diversity in science
By Jeffrey Mervis
Wonder Drake knows how being poor can hinder someone’s dream of becoming a biomedical researcher. Raised in rural Alabama by a single mother who never graduated from high school, Drake overcame those obstacles by finding mentors willing to take her under their wing. Now a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Drake has repeatedly returned that favor by participating in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program aimed at improving the diversity of the biomedical workforce.
Inside Higher Ed
By Paul Fain
The U.S. Department of Education is poised to create an experimental program through which a limited number of colleges would take on students’ federal loan debt, with students then repaying the institution for the loan balance, potentially based on their future earnings.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Virginia Governor Releases Free Community College Plan
By Sara Weissman
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam proposed a plan to make community college free for residents from low- or middle-income backgrounds going into particular fields with skilled labor shortages in Virginia. He announced his $145 million proposal – “G3” or “Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back” – at Northern Virginia Community College’s Annandale campus on last Thursday, The Washington Post reported. Northam plans to bring his overall budget plan before the Virginia legislature on Tuesday.
The Hechinger Report
What 2018 PISA international rankings tell us about U.S. schools
Column by Jill Barshay
In 1967, on the first international comparison of educational achievement in math, the United States ranked 11 out of 12 nations. Students in Germany, England, France and Japan all scored ahead of students in the U.S.. The only country behind the U.S. was Sweden. No one was surprised. A Washington Post news article explained that U.S. teachers weren’t as well trained in math pedagogy and that American society didn’t value mathematical achievement as much as other countries. After the release of the latest 2018 rankings by the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, earlier in December 2019, there was considerable hand wringing and consternation but the result wasn’t much different.