University System News:
The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia House signs off on fiscal 2021 state budget
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia House of Representatives adopted a $28.1 billion state budget Tuesday that would restore many of the spending cuts Gov. Brian Kemp proposed in January. The fiscal 2021 budget, which passed 134-35 and now heads to the state Senate, would soften the impact of spending reductions to state education, health-care programs and public safety services House Republican leaders argued are vital to Georgia taxpayers. “There may be more changes in this document than any budget you’ve ever seen,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England told lawmakers before Tuesday’s vote. To achieve the budget savings needed to restore the spending cuts, the House among other things cut in half the teacher pay raise the governor recommended, from $2,000 per teacher to $1,000. But House lawmakers still found enough money in the budget for 2% merit pay raises for all state employees and targeted increases of 2%, 4% and 5% for workers in state agencies suffering high turnover rates.
WTVM
UGA professor joins U.S. Senate race
By Alex Jones
A University of Georgia professor is making his announcement that he is running for U.S. Senate in the Fountain City. Richard Winfield has started his campaign for the special election to fill the seat previously held by Johnny Isakson and currently held by Kelly Loeffler.
Savannah Tribune
Savannah State Student Earns University System Honors
J’zaria Simpson is a junior biology major
Savannah State University (SSU) student J’zaria Simpson will be honored by the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents as SSU’s 2020 Academic Recognition Day Scholar on Tuesday, Feb.11, in Atlanta, Ga. “I am very proud of J’zaria and the work she is doing in the classrooms and laboratories to garner this academic achievement,” said Kimberly Ballard Washington, interim president of SSU. “Thanks to Savannah State’s strong STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – programs, our students have a multitude of opportunities to develop and hone their research and research presentation skills, which are vital for their success in graduate school.”
WTVM
Columbus High School senior receives $23K CSU scholarship
By Olivia Gunn
A Columbus High School senior was surprised with a scholarship Monday afternoon. Columbus State University presented the CSU Honors College Presidential Scholarship to Cynthia Short. The scholarship is for $23,000. Short said she’s excited to attend CSU and plants to study abroad. She was also accepted into CSU’s Servant Leadership Program.
Growing Georgia
High School Students Can Explore ABAC During Stallion Day on April 4
High school seniors will have a chance to win a $500 tuition waiver and much more on April 4 during the Spring Stallion Day at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Registration begins at 8 a.m. in the Donaldson Dining Hall. Stallion Day kicks off with campus tours guided by the ABAC Ambassadors from 8-8:45 a.m. followed by Club Connections in Gressette Gymnasium where visitors can explore over 50 different clubs and organizations on the ABAC campus. Breakout information sessions will follow on topics ranging from Financial Aid, the Honors Program, and Student Engagement Programs.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Creates New Department of Education and Wellness
Staff Report
Students who want to become teachers now have a home in the newly created Department of Education and Wellness in the School of Arts and Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Dr. Jerry Baker, ABAC Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the new department fits perfectly with the plan to have more students majoring in education at ABAC. “Our goal was to create a unit to give this group a home,” Baker said. “We have moved them around a lot but now they have their own department and a lot more visibility.” Dr. Matthew Anderson, Dean of the ABAC School of Arts and Sciences, welcomes the new department which also includes the faculty members in the physical education area.
WTOC
Georgia Southern police warn students about job scam
By Dal Cannady
We’ve all heard “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” The latest scam making the rounds involves an email with a fake Georgia Southern address. It lets people know about job openings and listings at the university. It also offers a big check if you’ll send them some money back in return. University Police say it’s all too easy to “spoof” or counterfeit an email address these days and send hundreds of emails with something like job listings. Police say the scam is sending the person a check to deposit and asking them to mail back a check for a smaller amount. The first check bounces and the person is out of hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Columbus CEO
CSU Makes Impression at Graphic Design Competition
Staff Report
Six Columbus State graphic design students and alumnae were recently awarded 17 American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) during the American Advertising Federation’s (AAF) Montgomery regional advertising and design competition. It was only CSU’s second time competing in the competition. Below are the awards received.
Athens CEO
CCSD Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator Dan Smith Named AthFest Theme Artist
Staff Report
AthFest Educates, the nonprofit that puts on the AthFest Music & Arts Festival and the AthHalf Half Marathon and 5K, announced that Dan Smith will be the theme artist for both events in 2020. Smith has been making and teaching art in Athens for decades, using the moniker SEEDANPAINT for his artwork. In addition to making art that can be seen all around town, including several pieces at The World Famous downtown, Smith taught art at local elementary and high schools for twenty years. Currently, Smith is working on a PhD at the University of Georgia in Art Education and works as the Fine Arts and Physical Education Curriculum Coordinator at the Clarke County School District.
Griffin Daily News
Regional workforce summit coming up
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, Gordon State College and the Barnesville-Lamar County Industrial Development Authority will host a Regional Workforce Pipeline Summit in an effort to tackle the challenges of improving the education and workforce pipeline.
The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia House taking coronavirus precautions
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia House of Representatives is taking note of coronavirus. House Speaker David Ralston announced Tuesday that the chamber will limit who can be on the House floor starting Thursday, the next day the General Assembly is in session. Until further notice, there will be no House pages, the school-age young people who carry messages back and forth to lawmakers. Also, the House will not bring guests to the floor for “invite resolutions,” which honor Georgians from around the state for accomplishments from high school sports champions to beauty pageant winners. “Out of an abundance of caution … the floor of the House will be limited to members, authorized staff and the media subject to the House rules,” said Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. The speaker said the visitors gallery above the House floor will remain open to the public. But he urged those who want to follow the progress of the House to do so online. “We’re not trying to be alarmist,” Ralston said. “We’re trying to be cautious and protect the people who need to be here so we can continue our work.” The Georgia Senate is taking a different approach. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who presides over the upper legislative chamber, announced Tuesday the Senate will remain open for public access while monitoring the situation.
The Augusta Chronicle
AU outlines coronavirus facts, plans
By Tom Corwin
Augusta University and AU Health officials held a town hall meeting Tuesday to provide information on the novel coronavirus and plans to address it. Augusta University President Brooks Keel had a simple message Tuesday at a town hall meeting to address the coronavirus. “Stay calm and wash your hands,” he said. “We are all going to continue to be over-prepared so none of us has to overreact.” University and AU Health System officials held the meeting to provide detailed information on the virus and to answer questions and concerns, although some left the meeting not satisfied with the answers. As of Tuesday morning, Georgia had 17 confirmed or presumed positive patients but none in the Augusta area, said Dr. Phillip Coule, the vice president and chief medical officer for AU Health. Worldwide, there were more than 118,000 cases and more than 4,200 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, which has a running count on its website.
MSN
Laura Warren
We continue to dig deeper into what the coronavirus could mean for our area as our I-Team is working to spread facts, not fear. Our local hospitals are already taking precautions to control the spread of coronavirus if we start seeing cases here at home. With the Masters around the corner, the possibility of a lot of patients at once is on plenty of minds. You come into the hospital with one problem, and while you’re there, you contract something else — possibly even worse. The CDC calls it a “health care-associated infection.” The CDC says 1.7 million patients in the United States will acquire some type of infection while being treated for other health issues. The I-Team found one in 17 of those patients will die from that issue. It’s a risk patients have to consider for surgeries that may not be life or death. With the area’s only level one trauma center, it’s an issue AU Medical Center deals with a lot. “We are taking care of the sickest of the sick, so facilities that won’t operate on someone because it’s too complex or because they are going to develop complications, those patients get transferred to us,” Dr. Phillip Coule from AUMC said. The I-Team combed through the most recent Medicare data for hospitals across the country. We looked at AU Medical Center’s rates for health care-associated infections. This data includes infections spread from equipment or from patient to patient after contact with an infected person or surface.
WJBF
Augusta University hosts town hall on the Coronavirus
Augusta University is taking action and communicating with the public about the virus. Today, the infectious disease team will be answering questions at a town hall meeting in the Lee Auditorium on their Health and Sciences Campus. The meeting was in a smaller location but they had to move it to the Lee Auditorium because the town hall is peaking a lot of people’s interests. AU President, Brooks Keel says they’re trying to help people understand how his team is prepared for the outbreak and how you can prevent it. Doctors say the vaccine will not be available any time soon, but researchers are working towards one. For right now, they are hoping to see more test kits come their way.
Valdosta Daily Times
VSU reworks study-abroad projects due to virus
By Terry Richards
Valdosta State University has cancelled one study-aboard program and is modifying another due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The College of the Arts was scheduled to host a study-abroad experience in Italy May 11 through June 5, said Jessica Pope, university spokeswoman. That trip was primarily for art and music majors and has been cancelled, she said. The university’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration was scheduled to host a study-abroad experience in international business in Italy and Croatia May 24 through June 9. That itinerary is being modified, with the Italian destinations replaced with visits to sites in neighboring countries, Pope said. This trip remains subject to more changes based on future Centers for Disease Control travel warnings regarding the outbreak, she said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘The dorms are cruise ships’: 50+ universities cancel class or go virtual amid coronavirus concerns
By Lane Elder
Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Ohio State, Stanford, Vanderbilt and others temporarily close their doors
More than 50 American universities (and counting) have changed policies to favor a longer spring break, online classes or no school at all due to the growing number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. As institutions of higher education close their doors, we see life being disrupted in yet another prominent way because of COVOID-19. “The dorms are cruise ships,” an unnamed Harvard University official told MSNBC about the school’s decision asking students to move out of dorms by Sunday. …Other scholars fear their institution isn’t being cautious enough. A petition circulating at Georgia State University garnered 6,300 signatures in six hours, according to The Signal. “Keeping the school open is reckless and is bound to spread the virus unnecessarily,” the petition reads. “It is time to be proactive and assume that the lack of testing does not mean a lack of cases. They are out there around us, and they are spreading the virus.” “When I said this semester would be the death of me this isn’t what I meant GSU,” one student commented on the post. A similar petition is circulating at Georgia Tech amid increased student speculation about whether classes will be canceled. Many Georgia universities have altered study-abroad program plans, but no Georgia schools have switched to remote learning yet.
Patch
GA Coronavirus: Here’s What Colleges Are Telling Students
More cases of coronavirus are being confirmed in Georgia daily. Here is what Georgia colleges and universities are doing to prevent it.
By Kathleen Sturgeon, Patch Staff
Colleges and universities in Georgia have not yet reported any cases of coronavirus in students as of Tuesday afternoon, but they are preparing for the worst, especially in light of upcoming or current spring break trips. As of Tuesday morning, there are six presumed positive cases of the coronavirus, and 11 confirmed cases of the disease in Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. …Here are developments surrounding the coronavirus at some Georgia colleges and universities: University of Georgia; Georgia Tech; Emory University; Georgia State University; Kennesaw State University; University of West Georgia; University of North Georgia; Georgia Southern University
Aiken Standard
Shepeard in ‘urgent’ need of donations at local blood drive
By Kristina Rackley
The Shepeard Community Blood Center will host its 14th annual Donate for Life blood drive in Aiken this week as the center’s local blood supply once again dwindles to a critically low amount. Shepeard, which provides blood to local hospitals across the area, has an “urgent” need of all blood types after a hard-hitting flu season drained reserves in February, according to a news release. Although the center regularly experiences a seasonal impact in its blood supply due to influenza, this year the threat of a potential COVID-19 outbreak has placed Shepeard under additional pressure to restock its supply quickly as the new coronavirus continues to spread across the United States. …Donors with Type O negative or Type O positive are especially needed. All blood donations made to Shepeard go directly to local medical facilities such as Aiken Regional Medical Centers, Augusta University Medical Center and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
WTOC
Economic effects on Savannah from coronavirus
By Jessica Savage
The coronavirus has caused uncertainty among investors. We saw that play out Monday with a plunge in the global stock markets. So how much of a chill could we feel on our local economy? One of the many questions we’ve heard. For the answer, we sat down with an economics professor at Georgia Southern University. Here in Georgia we’re expected to feel some of the economic effects of the coronavirus. Economics Professor Michael Toma with Georgia Southern University said a big factor is China – one of our largest trade partners.
Genetic Literacy Project
Rapid genome sequencing streamlines efforts to safeguard global food supply against salmonella
Researchers from Cornell University, the Mars Global Food Safety Center in Beijing, and the University of Georgia have developed a method for completing whole-genome sequencing to determine salmonella serotypes in just two hours and the whole identification process within eight hours. Determining salmonella’s serotype makes it easier for food safety sleuths to find the source of bacterial contamination, which can occur in a wide range of foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, cereal, infant formula and pet food.
Medical Daily
Why Feeding Wildlife Is Discouraged
By Jan Cortes
Feeding wildlife has always been a common practice for many people, especially for those that live near the countryside, where deer and birds strutting and flying around their backyard is an everyday occurrence. For others, it’s tradition, for some, it’s therapy, while for others, the act of feeding animals is just an everyday part of life. With that being said, however, a team of researchers hailing from the San Diego State University and University of Georgia stated that the practice of wildlife should not be recommended because they can be more detrimental to animals than previously thought.
Higher Education News:
The Augusta Chronicle
Editorial: Cultivate free campus speech
By Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff
Georgia Sen. William Ligon is right, and he’s hardly alone. The Brunswick Republican in the General Assembly is just one of the latest in a string of state lawmakers across the country trying to stake out better-defined and better-protected territory for free speech on college campuses. Currently, too many universities treat acts of free expression like coronavirus cases – to prevent their spread, they create quarantine areas. Those areas are called “free speech zones.” But the zones sound far from free if you’ve seen the restrictive requirements a lot of schools expect regarding activities’ time, place and manner. Recognizing this, Ligon drafted Senate Bill 318, which if passed would prohibit Georgia’s colleges and universities from designating these free-speech zones to individuals and groups. The Augusta area’s two Republicans in the Senate, Lee Anderson and Jesse Stone, are among the bill’s 15 co-authors. As stated in the bill, colleges across the country “are failing to provide adequate safeguards for these constitutional rights of their students leading to a stifling of expression on campus.”
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
AACC, Other Conferences Cancelled Amid Coronavirus Crisis
by Shailaja Neelakantan
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Hours after the American Council on Education (ACE) on Monday canceled its annual conference, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) followed suit, canceling or postponing their own annual events in the face of the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). This is only the third time in its 100-year existence that AACC has canceled its annual meeting, said a report on CCDaily, a publication of AACC. “The other two times — in 1943 and 1945 — were due to World War II.” AACC’s decision may have been influenced by ACE’s decision to cancel its upcoming annual conference.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
AAUP Expresses Concern As Classes Move Online Due to Coronavirus
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said on Tuesday that decisions to close campuses or move to an all-online instructional model for the short term due to the threats posed by the coronavirus “are being made without adequate faculty involvement in decision-making.” AAUP also said college administrations should provide their appropriate faculty bodies with up-to-the-minute information about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on enrollments, revenues, hiring and renewals. “In the spirit of the AAUP’s One Faculty campaign, we encourage our chapters to be especially sensitive to how these closures and any future curtailment of programs could affect our colleagues on full-time non-tenure-track or part-time contingent appointments,” said AAUP in a statement.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Ask Students to Leave Campuses
A roundup of how the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on higher education.
By Elizabeth Redden
Amid growing concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus, colleges across the country are telling students to go home. Harvard University, in Massachusetts, was one of a rapidly growing number of colleges that announced on Tuesday it would transition from in-person to online instruction and ask students to depart campus in an effort to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus, which causes a respiratory illness known as COVID-19. Harvard instructed students not to return after spring break, which starts this weekend, and said students would complete their coursework remotely “until further notice.”
Inside Higher Ed
As universities across the country move instruction online to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, they’re also trying to curtail student activities and interactions outside of classrooms that can contribute to community spread.
By Greta Anderson
Campuses are quickly emptying as colleges opt to move instruction online and encourage social distancing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But for institutions that are still occupied and still have full residence halls, administrators and student leaders are working together to keep students from interacting too closely — even though socializing is a large part of the college experience. Parties, talks by guest speakers, seminars and various other events that normally bring students together have all but disappeared on many campuses, helped in part by the arrival of spring break and decisions by a growing number of colleges to ask students not to return to their campuses after the break and to take classes online instead.
Inside Higher Ed
Spring Break Conundrum: Stay Home or Travel?
With COVID-19 cases growing abroad and at home, some U.S. colleges are urging students, faculty and staff to ditch personal travel plans, while other institutions are requiring those that do travel to report possible exposure to the coronavirus.
By Elizabeth Redden
As the coronavirus has spread to additional countries and American states, many colleges and universities are continuing to cancel all institutionally sponsored international travel, and some are restricting domestic travel by air. But the arrival of spring break at campuses across the United States will likely present new logistical, and possibly health, challenges for these institutions, as significant numbers of students, faculty and staff travel independently, leaving colleges reliant on them to self-report possible exposure to the virus. As a result, a wave of universities have announced plans to shift instruction online after the spring vacation, and some colleges — including Harvard University and Amherst College in Massachusetts — have asked students not to return to campus after the break and to complete their classes remotely. Other institutions have urged students to reconsider traveling during the break. Amherst’s president, Biddy Martin, noted the risk posed by students traveling for break in announcing the decision to move to remote learning after spring break.
Inside Higher Ed
Crowdsourced Google Doc of Shutdowns
By Paul Fain
A crowdsourced Google spreadsheet features a running tally of colleges and universities that are closing campuses or suspending in-person instruction and moving online or to distance delivery. The sheet includes dates of closures and program delivery changes as well as details about institutions. One sheet features a map of closures around the U.S., with representations of the numbers of students who are affected. It is being regularly updated. Bryan Alexander, who created the sheet, is a futurist, researcher and senior scholar at Georgetown University. He focuses on how technology transforms education. Alexander has seen a surge in interest from collaborators who want to help develop it and submit information. For example, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg, manager of surveys and research at Ithaka S+R, contributed data and formatting additions.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
New Research Studies Challenges Facing Women Working in STEM
by Sarah Wood
Women remain concerned with underrepresentation and gender bias within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related fields, according to new research. The Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) study titled, “Explore, Focus and Grow: A Technology Career Journey in Michigan,” aimed to understand females’ motivations and interests in pursuing a career in STEM fields as well as challenges associated with it. Researchers interviewed around 500 females for the study. They included girls in grades 5-8 who were attending summer technology camps, female university students, professional women and HR professionals.