University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp names Gwinnett GOP leader to Georgia Board of Regents
By Eric Stirgus
Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a Gwinnett County resident with strong Republican Party ties to the state Board of Regents. Rachel Little will replace Dean Alford on the 19-member board, which oversees the operations of the University System of Georgia.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
New 2-Year Degree Promises Gen-Ed Basics and Fast-Track Career Skills
By Alexander C. Kafka
What if an associate degree had a fling with a certification? Their progeny might look like the “nexus degree.” Created by the 26-institution University System of Georgia, the new credential will make its debut in January at Columbus State University, with programs in financial cybersecurity and film production. It will produce work-ready graduates with skills that are in high demand, and will give employers an early shot at hiring them. A dozen other state university systems are monitoring the results of Georgia’s experiment, says Tristan Denley, the Georgia system’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, whom colleagues credit with the idea. The nexus is similar to an associate degree in that it is a two-year, 60-credit-hour commitment that includes 42 credit hours of general-education requirements. But it differs from an associate degree in that its remaining credit hours include 12 in specialized, upper-level coursework and six more in a paid professional internship. “It’s a new, modern, nimble kind of credential,” says Denley. The nexus, the first new degree type in the United States in more than 100 years, Denley believes, is a hybrid that is intended to compete with certifications and other so-called microcredentials by efficiently combining academic fundamentals with advanced niche skills that employers need now.
WGXA
Gordon College program to let parapros earn degrees, get certified while staying employed
by Claire Helm
Middle Georgia paraprofessionals will soon have easier access to getting their teacher certification. By the fall 2020 semester, Gordon State College’s School of Education will offer a program for paraprofessionals to earn their bachelor’s degree and teacher certification — and it’s 75 percent online. A spokeswoman for the college says paraprofessionals can run into problems finishing their four-year degrees because often, they’re required to resign from their school system to complete student teaching. But Gordon State College’s program will allow interested paraprofessionals to become certified teachers while staying employed.
WGXA
Georgia State University launches teacher residency program in Middle Georgia
by Mallory Huff
Teachers in Middle Georgia will now have the chance to participate in a new residency program at Georgia State University. According to a press release, Georgia State University’s College of Education and Human Development is expanding its program to rural parts of the state with its new ‘Network for Urban and Rural Teachers United for Residency Engagement Project (NURTURE)’.
WGAU
Students get early admit notifications from UGA
By: Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia says more than 7,000 students have received their notices of early admission to UGA. “The University of Georgia congratulates the stellar group of young scholars admitted to the Class of 2024 through early action,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “We look forward to welcoming them to our extraordinary academic community next fall.” Nearly 17,000 students applied for early action admission to become members of the Class of 2024, a 25% increase compared to five years ago. This year’s applications came from 39 countries, 50 states and 3,450 high schools.
Center for First-Generation Student Success
GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY, ARMSTRONG CELEBRATES FIRST-GEN DAY
Corine Ackerson-Jones
From Monday, November 4 through Friday November 8, 2019, Georgia Southern University’s TRIO Student Support Services (SSS), Armstrong/Liberty Campuses celebrated first-generation faculty, staff and students in honor of National First-Generation College Celebration.
Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern opens center in Ireland
Georgia Southern University leaders traveled to Ireland last week to officially open its learning center in Wexford. The ceremonial event attracted the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland and led to a meeting with Ireland’s president – the first official meeting between a Georgia Southern president and a foreign head of state. The attention underscored the fact that Georgia Southern University is the first public university in the United States to open an outreach learning facility in Ireland. The new Irish learning center grew from the long-time partnership between Wexford and Savannah, and Georgia Southern’s Center for Irish Research and Teaching.
Albany Herald
ABAC Fine Arts presents Christmas celebration
From staff reports
TIFTON — Sounds of the season will ring throughout the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Dec. 3 when the Department of Fine Arts presents its annual Holiday Music Christmas Celebration. Susan Roe, head of the Department of Fine Arts, said the concert will begin at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths on the ABAC campus. …All proceeds will go toward music scholarships for ABAC students. Seating is limited. “The entire community is invited to join ABAC faculty, staff and students for a night of holiday cheer,” Roe said. “This concert is perfect for every member of the family.”
WGAU
UGA launches latest Campaign for Charities effort
By: Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia has launched its 2020 Campaign for Charities drive. The University says next year’s goal is to raise $400,000. …For the past 19 years, UGA has been recognized for our generosity for having the highest contribution per employee for a state organization with at least 9,000 employees. To build upon this past success, UGA has established two campaign goals for 2020: to raise $400,000 and to achieve a 15% participation rate.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State student reaches settlement over anthem protest lawsuit
By Eric Stirgus
A Kennesaw State University student has reached a settlement with several defendants she accused of violating her civil rights after she and other cheerleaders kneeled during a football game to protest police misconduct and other issues. The student, Tommia Dean, settled the case last week with four of the five defendants: former university president Sam Olens, former state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, deputy athletics director Matt Griffin and senior associate athletics director Scott Whitlock. Dean’s case against Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, who didn’t choose to enter settlement discussions, will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals, said Randy Mayer, an attorney for Dean.
Inside Higher Ed
Professor Under Investigation by Homeland Security Resigns
By Colleen Flaherty
Jamie Monogan, a former professor of political science at the University of Georgia, resigned his position, effective Dec. 31, amid an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Tifton Gazette
Brian Griffin was sworn in as one of Georgia’s newest attorneys on Monday, Nov. 4, by Judge Bill Reinhardt. Griffin is a graduate of Tiftarea Academy, Georgia Southern University, and the University of Georgia School of Law.
Machine Design
Stretchable Electronics, Polymer Layers Key to Wearable Multifunction Medical Patch
By combining layers of stretchable polymers with a tiny circuit board, researchers developed a rugged, comfortable skin patch that wirelessly reports raw data for EKG, respiration rate, pulse rate, etc.
Bill Schweber
Stretchable, flexible electronics are an attractive component for skin-attached sensors and monitors. A team at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has developed these electronics mounted on a substrate that can stretch with the medical film in which they’re embedded. Connected to gold, skin-like electrodes through printed connectors, the patch monitor can transmit electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate, respiratory rate, and motion activity data up to 15 meters for the data analysis/reduction algorithms that extract these parameters from the sensed signals. Because the device conforms to the skin, it avoids noise and artifact issues that normally occur due to the motion of the typical metal-gel electrodes across the skin. The device can even provide accurate signals from a person who is walking, running, or climbing stairs.
The Journal
Music Coding Competition to Award Recording Kits, Amazon Gift Cards
By Sara Friedman
Amazon is teaming up with Georgia Tech for a new competition to teach students how to remix music using code through its Amazon Future Engineer program. Students will use Georgia Tech’s EarSketch, a learn-to-code with music platform, to compose an original remix of recording artist Ciara’s song “SET” for her latest album “Beauty Marks” using Python. The competition is open to high school students nationwide. The top 100 finalists will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. The top 10 winners will get a PreSonus Audiobox 96 Studio and an invitation to Georgia Tech’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in March 2020.
WABE
UGA Scientist Prepares For A Winter Trapped In Arctic Ice
Molly Samuel
A scientist from the University of Georgia is preparing to spend a few months on a ship trapped in the ice in the Arctic. He’s one of hundreds of researchers from 20 countries, working on what’s being billed as the largest polar expedition ever. To prepare for the unique setting, UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography research associate Chris Marsay has trained for sea survival, how to prevent hypothermia and what to do if he encounters a polar bear. “I would like to see a polar bear, but not too close,” he said. The international project, called Mosaic, is already underway; the German icebreaker serving as the center of activities and home to the research team is currently stuck in the ice near Siberia.
WSAV
Climate change affecting black gill in Georgia shrimp, researchers say
by: Martin Staunton
Researchers believe the recent rise of black gill in Georgia shrimp in recent decades may be linked warmer winters caused by climate change. Scientists at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography have utilized the research vessel Savannah to gather information about the condition. Initially, six years ago, very little was known about black gill. But eventually, it was identified as a parasite responsible for a $20 million hit in the Georgia shrimping industry back in 2014. Today, evidence is pointing to climate change as a driver for the condition.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia communities honor black American veterans who died during WWI
By Jeremy Redmon
Database lists Georgians who gave their lives during the Great War
Most were buck privates who succumbed to infections or pneumonia. Some are buried in France. All 21 were African American troops from Laurens County who died in uniform during World War I or soon after it ended. They are among the 43 veterans of the Great War on a new courthouse plaque in Dublin that will be featured at an upcoming ceremony. It replaces a United Daughters of the Confederacy plaque from 1921 that listed only white troops. …Smith and Thompson were aided in their research by Lamar Veatch of Johns Creek, a former state librarian who volunteered with Georgia’s WWI Centennial Commission. Last year, Veatch completed a publicly searchable database of more than 4,000 troops from the Peach State who died during WWI or in the months after the armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. It includes nearly 1,300 African Americans. Veatch spent two years inspecting death records and state archives. …More than a dozen black veterans were lynched in their uniforms in the South after they returned from the war, said John Morrow Jr., who teaches about the two world wars at the University of Georgia and who co-wrote a book about Johnson’s famed combat unit, the “Harlem Rattlers.” Morrow said Dublin’s new plaque “begins to set the records straight that these men served just as their white counterparts did, shed their blood, died for this country.” Relying on Veatch’s research, Jefferson County, located southwest of Augusta, unveiled a new granite monument in May.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
The Education Department for the first time has released earnings data for thousands of college programs at all degree levels. What do they show?
By Lilah Burke
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education released data on first-year earnings for thousands of different college programs. The data are both limited and flawed in some ways, but they are also some of the most accurate outcomes information currently available about different academic programs and majors. Among the limitations: many programs are missing from the data set because the department chose to withhold information on those with small enrollments to safeguard students’ privacy in those programs. The debt information also only illustrates federal student loan debt taken on by students themselves, not private debt and not any loans taken on by parents. The debt and earnings information was also taken from different student samples — debt information collected from those who graduated in 2016 and 2017 and earnings from those who completed in 2015 and 2016. Finally, the earnings data are only for the first year after graduation. For graduates in many fields, the first year in the workforce is not entirely indicative of lifetime earnings.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
New Education Dept. Tool Allows Students to See Federal Debt Total Before Borrowing More Money
By Danielle McLean
Students and their parents will soon see how much they owe in federal student debt before agreeing to borrow more money to pay for a degree. Collectively, 45 million borrowers owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loan debt and default at a rate of over 10 percent. Students are often in the dark on the total amount of federal debt they will have accrued when they start making payments. Last week the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office announced that its new “Informed Borrower Tool” will try to bring transparency to the process. Beginning in July, colleges will be required before disbursing a federal loan to inform parent and student borrowers how much they already owe. Borrowers will also be required to acknowledge that they’ve seen the full debt total.
CNBC
As US college costs soar, some students find bargains overseas
Jessica Dickler
For high-school seniors, the world is their oyster. In fact, a growing number of college-bound students are completing their bachelor’s degrees in foreign lands. Rather than just studying abroad for a semester or two, about 50,000 U.S. students are currently pursuing full degrees abroad, with a little more than half of them studying in the U.K. and Canada, according to data from the Institute of International Education. Benjamin Caldarelli, the co-founder of Princeton College Consulting, said he has helped many students attend college outside the U.S. “You are going to see more and more of this,” he said. Aside from satisfying wanderlust, there is another notable advantage: cost.
Inside Higher Ed
Lawsuit challenges program that lets international students temporarily work in the U.S. Colleges say ending the program would harm students’ education and recruitment abroad.
By Elizabeth Redden
More than 100 U.S. colleges signed on to an amicus brief opposing a lawsuit that seeks to end the optional practical training program, which allows international students to work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduating while staying on their student visas. Colleges say that ending the program would severely harm the ability of U.S. universities to attract international students. Other countries with which the U.S. competes for international students such as Australia and Canada offer poststudy work programs — the United Kingdom recently announced plans to expand poststudy work rights for international students — and research has documented a positive relationship between policies that allow students to work on a temporary basis after graduating and international student growth rates. The lawsuit, brought by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, a labor union, argues that the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its regulatory authority in creating the OPT program, effectively establishing a large-scale foreign guest worker program without congressional approval.
Inside Higher Ed
DeVos Will Move Ahead With Title IX Plans
By Scott Jaschik
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will move ahead with controversial regulations on Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, “including a provision requiring universities to allow cross-examination of those alleging sexual harassment or assault,” The Washington Post reported.