University System News:

 

Albany Herald

Partnerships vital to UGA’s Poultry Science department

By Gwen Venable

During this season of gratitude, the faculty and students in the University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science are no doubt thankful for the partnerships that have helped make UGA’s poultry science program one of the best of its kind in the nation. Chief among these partnerships is the long-term relationship between UGA poultry science and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the U.S Poultry & Egg Harold E. Ford Foundation.

 

Albany Herald

CAES students prepare for experiential learning

By Chad Cain

While classrooms offer important skills and opportunities, not all lessons fit within four walls. Real-world experiences can be more valuable to a student’s education than hours spent in lecture halls. The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Ratcliffe Scholars Program allows students to expand their education off-campus by offering $5,000 experiential learning scholarships. The program helps support students who want to participate in out-of-classroom experiences, including internships, study-abroad programs, research opportunities or other experiential learning activities.

 

Augusta Chronicle

Good news for jobs, health care

By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff

Again, by the numbers: Georgia added 6,500 jobs last month, for a total of 4.64 million jobs. That’s a 69,000-job increase from the same time last year. The areas showing strong annual job growth included education and health services; the leisure and hospitality industry; trade, transportation and utilities; and construction. Georgia’s workforce grew by 5,980 last month, bringing the total to more than 5.1 million people – more than 34,000 for the year, thanks to several months of consecutive workforce growth.

 

Augusta Chronicle

‘Triple Dawg’ Bethany Harris finds the perfect job

By Sharon Dowdy

Bethany Harris, a native of this middle Georgia community, has found the perfect job using her entomology and horticulture education from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. As assistant director of education at Callaway Gardens, Harris truly works out in the field, overseeing the butterfly center and educational gardens, managing more than 200 volunteers, and teaching workshops for the public. A 2009 graduate of Griffin Christian High School, Harris earned a bachelor of science degree in environmental resource science in 2013, a master of science degree in entomology in 2015 and a doctoral degree in horticulture in 2018, all while taking most of her upper-level courses on the UGA Griffin campus.

 

Marietta Daily Journal 

Johnny Isakson Q&A: ‘Hope … is what’s kept me in politics’

By Dave Williams

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., retires at the end of this month after 45 years in public service. He leaves Congress as the only Georgian ever to serve in the state House of Representatives, the Georgia Senate, the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. After helping build the state Republican Party as Georgia House minority leader, Isakson went on to serve as chairman of the state Board of Education. In Washington, he spent six years in the House representing a district in Atlanta’s northern suburbs and 14 years in the Senate, including a stint as chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

 

The Tifton Gazette

A look ahead: 2020 legislative session

By Riley Bunch

Lawmakers have recommended multiple changes to Georgia laws, here are just a few:

• A study committee looking at agriculture, forestry and landscape workforce availability recommended the General Assembly pass resolutions urging Congress to update guest worker programs and asks the Georgia Department of Labor and Georgia Department of Agriculture create programs to help producers navigate the programs.
• A study committee looking at disparities between white and black K-12 student success recommended updating Georgia’s longtime funding formula to add an “opportunity weight” for schools who serve low-income students.
• A study committee looking at e-scooter use recommended adopting laws for e-scooters — like bicycles — including a three-foot passing law and defining “e-scooters” in statute for future regulation.

 

The Washington Post

Colleges want freshmen to use mental health apps. But are they risking students’ privacy?

By Deanna Paul

TAO Connect is just one of dozens of mental health apps permeating college campuses in recent years. In addition to increasing the bandwidth of college counseling centers, the apps offer information and resources on mental health issues and wellness. But as student demand for mental health services grows, and more colleges turn to digital platforms, experts say universities must begin to consider their role as stewards of sensitive student information and the consequences of encouraging or mandating these technologies. The rise in student wellness applications arrives as mental health problems among college students have dramatically increased.

 

Higher Education News:

 

Inside Higher Ed

529 Savings for Loans

By Madeline St. Amour

Student loan borrowers may soon be able to pay down their debt using money from 529 savings accounts. President Trump is expected to sign a spending bill that includes this provision Friday. The amendment would let those with 529 spending plans use the money toward expenses related to registered apprenticeship programs as well as qualified education loan repayments. Currently, funds in 529 savings plans can be used toward expenses accrued from attending a qualified higher education institution, like tuition, housing or books.

 

The News & Observer

Dream achieved: NC State grad breaks record for longest space flight by a woman

By Ashad Hajela and Kate Murphy

Forty-year-old Christina Koch broke Peggy Whitson’s record on her 289th day in space. She is expected to stay in space for 328 days, according to NASA. “No one told me I had a crazy dream,” Koch told previously told The News & Observer in an interview from the International Space Station. “No one told me I couldn’t do it. And so that dream kept right on growing and growing.” Koch obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering and physics from NC State in 2001 and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2002.

 

U.S. News & World Report

How Students, Grads Use TikTok and YouTube to Pay for College

By Emma Kerr

Creators can earn hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars monthly on these platforms to cut college tuition costs and pay off student loans. College students and graduates like Lacy Young are turning to YouTube and TikTok to find relief from rising college costs and student loan debt. “This is the generation of side hustles, in part because of the amount of debt we’re in,” she says. Young graduated in 2018 from Wake Forest University in North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy, and she has $100,000 in student loan debt. But as her subscriber count goes up – today she has about 7,000 subscribers and more than 380,000 views on YouTube – the amount of debt she’s in is slowly going down.