University System News:
Albany Herald
Tornado Watch issued for Albany area until 6 p.m.
From staff reports
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch Wednesday morning for South Georgia, including counties in the Albany area. The Watch was issued at 10:15 a.m. for Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Calhoun, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Glynn, Grady, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, Mcintosh, Miller, Mitchell, Pierce, Seminole, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Ware, Wayne, and Worth Counties in Georgia. The Tornado Watch is in effect until 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
Albany Herald
South Georgia under Flash Flood Watch issued for Wednesday morning through Thursday evening
From staff reports
South Georgia is included in a Flash Flood Watch the National Weather Service in Tallahassee has issued for south Georgia, southeast Alabama and the Florida panhandle from 1 a.m. Wednesday morning through Thursday evening. Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to occur Wednesday through Thursday evening, with the highest amounts expected to begin late Wednesday and taper off Thursday afternoon. The Watch area includes Quitman, Randolph, Terrell, Lee, Worth, Turner, Ben Hill, Clay, Calhoun, Dougherty, Tift, Irwin, Early, Baker, Mitchell, Baker, Colquitt, Cook, Berrien, Miller, Seminole, Decatur, Grady, and Thomas Counties in South Georgia.
Marietta Daily Journal
Georgia lawmakers put new limits on dual enrollment program
By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service
A popular program allowing dual enrollment in high school and college classes in Georgia would get new restrictions under legislation that gained final passage in the General Assembly on Tuesday. Supporters of House Bill 444, introduced by state Rep. Bert Reeves, say the amount the state spends for high school students to take an array of college classes has grown too large to keep the program financially afloat. Reeves, R-Marietta, has pointed out costs for the program allowing high school students to take post-secondary classes swelled from around $23 million when the program launched in 2015 to around $140 million in 2018. During that time, Reeves said the program has stretched far beyond the boundaries of its original intent, which was to better prepare Georgia students for higher learning and professional training.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia House to take up paid parental leave for state workers
By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service 16 hrs ago 0
Nearly 250,000 state employees, including 132,000 educators, would be able to take up to three weeks of paid parental leave under legislation introduced into the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday. The bill would apply to parents following the birth of a child of their own, an adopted child or a foster-care placement. It’s modeled after a policy the House adopted for its employees last summer and since embraced by the state Senate, House Speaker David Ralston said. Any state employee with six months of creditable service would be eligible, regardless of gender.
Albany Herald
Albany educational institutions agree to ease students’ path to advanced degrees
By Alan Mauldin
Albany State University and Albany Technical College on Tuesday formalized a relationship that they say will provide additional educational and economic opportunities for Dougherty County and the region. Albany State President Marion Fedrick and Albany Tech President Anthony Parker signed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions during a ceremony at the Albany State West Campus. “It’s a great day to be a Titan and a Ram,” Parker told the audience. “Albany Technical College and Albany State University provide much of the economic fuel for Dougherty County. …The purpose of the agreement is to “establish a cooperative relationship between ASU and ATC to facilitate mobility of students who have completed their associate’s degree and desire to complete a baccalaureate degree,” the institutions said in a joint news release.
Athens CEO
Dance Marathon Raises $1.2M for Children’s Healthcare
Marilyn Primovic
Hundreds of students danced nonstop for 25 hours this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of UGA Miracle’s Dance Marathon, which raised $1,251,410.20 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “[Over the years], UGA Miracle has raised more than $9.8 million for Children’s,” said Lydia Stinson, senior program coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “They have truly helped make miracles in our hospital by kids being able to walk again or ring the bell from finishing their cancer treatment.”
The amount raised supports Children’s Rehab Services and the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. UGA Miracle helped fund the construction of Children’s new aquatic therapy pool, which is home to one of the only pediatric aquatic therapy pools in the Southeast. When they first raised $1 million, the large gym on the inpatient rehab floor was named the UGA Miracle Gym.
Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb’s educational institutions are a magnet for residents and ambitious students
By Thomas Hartwell
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY (2nd article)
Kennesaw State University, the Peach State’s third-largest university and one of its fastest-growing, also calls Cobb home. With nearly 38,000 students on campuses in Marietta and Kennesaw, the university in fall 2019 welcomed its largest freshman class in history at nearly 6,500. That number represents a 6.7% increase, or 2,387 students more than the fall 2018 enrollment. KSU leaders say their university has striven to make education more affordable by providing more scholarships and financial assistance to prospective students, been placed among the top 6% of universities across the nation recognized for prestige in research and introduced a football team that has consistently dominated its division, among other accomplishments. Meanwhile, the university continues to look for opportunities to expand.
LER Magazine
Master of Science in P&O Program Approved for Kennesaw State
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has approved a Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) at Kennesaw State University. It will be housed in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Management in the WellStar College of Health and Human Services.
The Augusta Chronicle
Smart bed at Augusta’s University Hospital helps prevent falls and improve safety
The Centrella smart beds at University Hospital include a lot of technology to reinforce patient safety measures and also make it easier for nurses like Rimmer to do her job. University Hospital bought 100 of those beds last year and its board voted last week to add 100 more at a cost of $1.6 million.
Union Recorder
Georgia College a center for new ideas in undergraduate research
It’s always been part of Georgia College’s DNA. But — with undergraduate research now officially dubbed a “transformative experience” and part of GC Journeys’ high-impact practices — investigative opportunities at Georgia College are gathering even more momentum. After 23 years of its own annual research conference on campus— the university last year started a new state program called, “Posters at the Capitol.” It has published the only national book on student mentorship and, next year, will launch a new national journal of undergraduate research, the first of its kind. Georgia College was also an early adapter of bringing the arts into research. Add this to the fact that more than 20 percent of Georgia College undergraduates participate in research from all disciplines — and a picture begins to emerge of this small, rural, public liberal arts school. It is an image of idea-making that’s feisty and bold.
Free Code Camp
610 Free Online Programming & Computer Science Courses You Can Start This March
Dhawal Shah
Founder of Class Central.
Eight years ago, universities like MIT and Stanford first opened up free online courses to the public. Today, close to 1000 schools around the world have created thousands of free online courses, popularly known as Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs. I’ve compiled this list of 610+ such free online courses that you can start this month. For this, I leveraged Class Central’s database of over 15,000 online courses. I’ve also included each course’s average rating. …
Introduction to Computing using Python from Georgia Institute of Technology ★★★★★(3); Computer Networking from Georgia Institute of Technology ★★★★☆(6); Software Development Process from Georgia Institute of Technology ★★★★☆(5)
WICZ Fox 40
Georgia College team creates virtual reality ‘field trips’
Technology helps teachers engage students
A Georgia College professor and graduate student have created a new YouTube channel that brings-to-life tourist locations across the state, allowing students of all ages to enjoy field trips— without leaving the classroom. “The end game is to have sites from all over Georgia. From state parks to museums, we hope to make these sites available to K-12 teachers and students, as well as the general public,” said Dr. Chris Greer, Instructional Technology in Georgia College’s Department of Learning and Innovation. His YouTube channel, Virtual Reality Georgia, is one of the first to highlight locations in Georgia using virtual reality (VR). So far, field trip sites include the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds and Tubman Museum in Macon, Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion and Andalusia in Millegeville, Smithgall State Park in Helen, Pebble Hill Plantation and Lapham-Patterson House in Thomasville, Flint RiverQuarium in Albany, Hardman Farm in Sautee Nacoochee and Dungeness Ruins on Cumberland Island.
Georgia Hollywood Review March/April 2020 issue
Innovative film and television programs at Grady College elevate students at UGA (page 12)
Athens CEO
UGA Department of Management Ranks No. 1 for Research Productivity
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
2019 was a very good year for the Department of Management at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. The college’s management faculty was ranked No. 1 for research productivity in its field out of 150 U.S. business schools, tied at the top with Michigan State University. “The Terry College is incredibly proud of the relevance and impact of the research conducted by our management faculty,” said Dean Benjamin C. Ayers. “Having one of the premier management departments in the country bodes very well for the opportunities afforded Terry undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the state of Georgia and beyond.” The TAMUGA Rankings – named that because the research rankings are compiled every year by scholars at Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia – provide a survey of the articles published in eight top-tier management research journals.
WGAU
UGA again Top 5 in getting products to market
By: Michael Terrazas
Research at the University of Georgia led to 50 new products being introduced to the market in fiscal year 2018, ranking UGA No. 2 among all U.S. universities and colleges for this important metric. This is the sixth year in a row that UGA has ranked among the Top 5 universities—including a No. 1 ranking for FY2017. This ranking is based on annual survey data from AUTM, a nonprofit organization that tracktechnology transfer activity in higher education.
News Medical
Visceral fat gives signal to the brain that damages cognition
Excessive weight around our middle gives our brain’s resident immune cells heavy exposure to a signal that turns them against us, setting in motion a crescendo of inflammation that damages cognition, scientists say. It’s known this visceral adiposity, characterized by an apple-shaped physique, is considered particularly bad for our bodies and brains. But Medical College of Georgia scientists have shown for the first time one way visceral fat is bad for brains is by enabling easy, excessive access for the proinflammatory protein signal interleukin-1 beta, they report in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
GPB News
Aging Septic, Rising Seas Threaten Georgia Waterways
By Emily Jones & Mary Landers
When you flush the toilet, it goes either to your local sewer system or into a septic system on your property. Without a sewage treatment plant, septic systems rely on having plenty of soil and space to filter out the harmful stuff. But as sea levels rise, septic systems are running out of space. …Water from the toilets, showers and sinks in the Scotts’ house all goes into a septic tank. The solids stay in the tank, where bacteria break them down. Then the still-contaminated water, called effluent, flows into specially-engineered pipes and soil, called a drain field. “You have to maintain a certain level of separation between the septic drain field and the groundwater table so that the effluent flowing to the drain field has space to percolate through the soil and be treated by all the microbes in there,” said Scott Pippin of UGA. But sea level rise will reduce the separation. …But ten miles away, Marc Frischer with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has shown there is bacteria from human waste in the Vernon River. “We could distinguish E. coli bacteria that came from a septic system from those that came from the sewer system,” he said. So Frischer and his team simulated a leaky septic system. They found leaks probably end up in the waterway long before you would notice a problem at home.
Growing Georgia
Vermeer Loans Dual Wheel Drive Hay Wrapper to ABAC Farm
Students using the forage equipment at the J.G. Woodroof Farm at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be utilizing one of the top pieces of equipment on the market thanks to the loan of a BW 5500 13 HP dual wheel drive hay wrapper from Vermeer. The piece of equipment has a remote steering engine start and stop. …”Vermeer is proud to partner with ABAC,” Bryan Setzer, regional manager of Vermeer, said. “Hosting ABAC students at our headquarters and having Vermeer equipment on the ABAC Farm is a great way for our corporation to invest in ABAC’s efforts to educate the next generation of leaders in agriculture.”
WGAU
By: Tim Bryant
As early voting continues in Athens, the University of Georgia works to train poll monitors: a training session is set for 6 til 7:30 at UGA’s Hirsch Hall.
From the University of Georgia master calendar…
UGA Law’s American Constitution Society invites those interested in volunteering as a poll monitor to learn more. Volunteers assist voters at polling places around the state, ensuring that every eligible voter can successfully cast a ballot.
Savannah Morning News
News from U.S. Rep. Rick Allen
Youth leadership summit (2nd article)
Registration for the 2020 Youth Leadership Summit is open for junior and senior high school students in Georgia’s 12th District. The event will be hosted at the Georgia Southern University Nessmith-Lane Center on March 19. Schools may send up to 10 students and two chaperones. Participants are encouraged to register U.S. Rep. Rick Allen’s website by March 6.
Marietta Daily Journal
Argyle Elementary wins Georgia Tech Buzzer Reader Competition
From the Cobb County School District
Students at Argyle Elementary School recently read 495,499 pages to claim the title of the Elementary School winner of the Georgia Tech Buzzer Reader Competition. Not only was their nearly half a million reading total a record for the competition, but it was also the second year in a row that Argyle students out read the competition. …Argyle Elementary School and the individual Argyle winners were recognized for their reading skills in the competition during a halftime celebration at a Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball game inside the McCamish Pavilion.
WALB
ATC chief speaks on coronavirus preps
By Bobby Poitevint
Two confirmed cases of coronavirus have been identified in the Peach State, and health departments and Southwest Georgia colleges are taking the spreading coronavirus seriously.
NOTE: When we conducted our interview with Dr. Parker Monday afternoon the two coronavirus cases had not been reported. Governor Brian Kemp held a press conference on the two cases at 10:00 p.m. Monday evening.
President Dr. Anthony Parker said they continue to take steps to protect their staff and faculty “so certainly with people as mobile as they are, I don’t think you can be afraid of what’s happening in one location.” …Albany State University said all advisories on COVID-19 are being coordinated through the University System of Georgia. The University System of Georgia has been closely monitoring the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.
Athens Banner-Herald
Georgia universities, colleges advised to close foreign exchange programs
By Lee Shearer
The University System of Georgia has posted advice from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising colleges and universities to consider shutting down student foreign travel on account of the coronavirus’ global threat, and bring back those students already studying in foreign countries. “Given the global outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) institutes of higher education (IHE) should consider postponing or canceling upcoming student foreign exchange programs. IHE should consider asking current program participants to return to their home country. Those overseeing student foreign exchange programs should be aware that students may face unpredictable circumstances, travel restrictions, challenges in returning home or accessing health care while abroad,” according to a notice from the CDC posted on the University System website. The University of Georgia and other University System schools have already called back students from three countries where the new coronavirus has spread: South Korea, Italy and China, where COVID-19 emerged and where the vast majority of cases have been confirmed.
Gainesville Times
How local schools and universities are responding to coronavirus
Kelsey Podo
With the two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, in Georgia, local school districts and universities are hastily updating their practices and protocols. Hall County Schools issued a new COVID-19 statement on Tuesday, March 3, with requirements for students, faculty, staff and others associated with the district. Students and staff members, who have traveled to a country designated at level two or higher in the past 14 days are required to stay home and self-monitor for 14 days. They must be fever free for 14 days before returning to their respective school. …China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea are currently designated level three and are high risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Japan is marked as level two. …The Georgia Department of Education has provided a set of guidelines for public schools to follow when faced with the novel coronavirus. Their protocols range in severity from zero to seven. …Local universities The University of North Georgia has canceled its study abroad spring programs to countries level three or higher, which include China, South Korea, Italy and Iran. Sylvia Carson, UNG’s communications director, said the university will evaluate other exchange or study abroad programs on a case-by-case basis. She said the University System of Georgia has recommended guidance from the CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health. The system asks that students returning from countries at a level three or higher, to self-monitor for 14 day prior to returning to campus. If they show any COVID-19 symptoms during this period, they’re advised to contact the Department of Public Health.
WTOC11
First 2 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Georgia
By Paige Phillips
Governor Brian Kemp held a news conference late Monday night confirming the first two cases of coronavirus in Georgia. Governor Kemp spoke with Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey at 10 p.m at the state capitol. …The CDC recommended that universities consider postponing or canceling foreign exchange programs. Georgia Southern University leadership is discussing future programs, but states only seven students who are currently abroad and confirmed only one was in an area currently designated Level 3. The university states it is reaching out to students to provide guidance and assistance if needed.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s U.S. senators say the state is prepared to handle coronavirus
By Tia Mitchell
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler spent much of Tuesday receiving updates on the coronavirus outbreak. She is a member of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee that held a hearing about the public health emergency in the morning, and she also had a private meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo where the deadly respiratory disease was among the topics they discussed. Over lunch, Loeffler and other senators met with Vice President Mike Pence who is leading the coronavirus task force. “The government has reacted quickly and appropriately and we’re working on additional funding to start addressing all the countermeasures that we need to undertake,” Loeffler said. “So, whether its testing, vaccinations or treatment, all of that work is going on.” Loeffler said that includes work at the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which she learned is partnering with Georgia Tech on an initiative to improve the sharing of coronavirus data and analysis.
Forbes
Coronavirus And Hurricane Sandy – An Odd Connection Reveals The Need To Prioritize Science
Marshall Shepherd Senior Contributor
Science
As a leader within the field of atmospheric and related sciences, I spend a great deal of time thinking about ways to improve weather prediction, messaging, and preparation for inevitable hazards. Over the past several decades, the weather enterprise (federal, private, and academic) has significantly advanced our ability to prepare for hurricanes, tornadic storms, heatwaves, or flooding. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 killed an estimated 6000 to 10000 people. There were numerous reasons for this tragedy, but one of the most obvious factors is that the storm happened in an era before weather satellites and numerical weather modeling systems. It is simply hard to imagine being caught off-guard by a large hurricane today. In 2012, the U.S. East Coast faced a hurricane that earned the title of “Superstorm” after it transitioned to a non-tropical cyclone. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a global crisis, and nations are responding to the threat. However, the current pandemic threat and events after Hurricane Sandy reveal critical lessons about prioritizing science now and going forward.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
NAFSA Weighs In on CDC Travel Guidance
By Elizabeth Redden
The president of NAFSA: Association of International Educators issued a statement Tuesday in relation to a guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention telling colleges to “consider” canceling upcoming exchange programs and to “consider” asking current program participants to return to their home countries in light of the global spread of the new coronavirus. The CDC statement was ambiguously worded, causing some confusion and concern among international education professionals. While many colleges have canceled programs in specific countries with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, the CDC statement advising colleges to re-evaluate all their exchange programs caught some by surprise. NAFSA’s president, Ravi Shankar, said that NAFSA had “confirmed with the CDC that the guidance issued on March 1 is not intended to apply to international students studying in the United States, rather the guidance is meant to inform decisions related to American students studying abroad.”
Inside Higher Ed
Race for a Vaccine
By Lilah Burke
Universities across the country are part of the urgent effort to research the virus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, together colloquially called the coronavirus. Globally, the virus has infected over 90,000 people and resulted in over 3,000 deaths, including nine in the United States. After receiving approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have received vials of the virus for study. The Center for Vaccine Research at the university, where Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, will be working on a potential vaccine candidate. Paul Duprex, director for Pitt’s Center for Vaccine Research, told the Pittsburgh Business Times that the research may require hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. “Making vaccines [is] not cheap,” he said. A team at the University of Texas at Austin also is working on new coronavirus research.
Inside Higher Ed
Senator Lamar Alexander says a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act should pass the education committee in about a month, to give it time to get through Congress this year.
By Kery Murakami
Senator Lamar Alexander is seeing time ticking down on passing a rewrite of the nation’s main higher education law this year, and during his career. Though he didn’t say it is a drop-dead deadline, the Tennessee Republican and chair of the Senate’s education committee said in little-noticed remarks two weeks ago before a group of community college trustees that he wants to have a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act passed by his committee by the end of March — or only about a month from now. The goal was in recognition of the fact that even after it passes the committee, the first revamp of the law since 2008 would have a long path to reach President Trump’s desk by the end of the year. “I think we can make some progress if we get out of our committee by the end of March,” he said of working with Washington senator Patty Murray on the bill, according to a transcript made available by his staff of his Feb. 11 remarks at the Association of Community College Trustees’ annual legislative summit.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
College Completion Rates Rise Across State Lines But Racial Gaps Persist
by Sara Weissman
A new study shows cause for optimism about college completion trends, though racial gaps persist. According to a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, completion rates rose in 43 states. The study analyzed state-level data from the last five cohort years in 45 states, echoing national trends from a report in December. The executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Dr. Doug Shapiro, said two major factors account for the rise: students are getting younger and enrollment is growing leaner.
Inside Higher Ed
Groups Urge Debt Forgiveness for Disabled Borrowers
By Kery Murakami
A coalition of more than 30 higher education, consumer and veterans’ groups on Tuesday called on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to discharge the student loans of about 350,000 disabled borrowers. Under the Higher Education Act, student loan borrowers with total and permanent disabilities are entitled to apply for a discharge of their outstanding debt. The Education Department already plans to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding loan debt for roughly 25,000 disabled veterans in July, without making them apply for relief. The move came after data showed few veterans who are eligible for forgiveness applied for it, perhaps because they didn’t know they could.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Who Holds America’s $1.5-Trillion Student-Loan Debt?
By Jacquelyn Eelias
Methodology
The story of who holds America’s student debt is told — by necessity — using data from a variety of sources. Information on federal loans comes from data published quarterly by the Federal Student Aid office in its Federal Student Loan Portfolio as well as from The Chronicle of Higher Education’s FOIA requests to the Department of Education. The debt calculator at the end of the presentation is calculated from the growth rate of the federal student debt from the fourth fiscal quarter of 2018 to the same period in 2019. …This presentation relies on the most recent data available at publication. Because of rounding, timing, and system differences, the sums of these figures may differ slightly across statistics.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Unraveling the Complexity of America’s Student-Loan Debt
College debt in the United States doubled, to $1.5 trillion, in the decade following the Great Recession. Whether that’s a problem depends on your perspective.
By Don Troop, Bennett Leckrone, and Danielle McLean
Q: America’s student-loan debt is:
- An out-of-control juggernaut.
- A large sum to be sure, but one that is manageable for most people.
- Both of the above.
The answer is — well, read on and decide for yourself.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
For colleges that gambled on international enrollment, now what?
By Karin Fischer
…”A lot of campuses have gotten into international recruitment and are doing a good job,” says John K. Hudzik, a senior fellow at NAFSA: Association of International Educators and a former vice president for global engagement at Michigan State University. “And a lot have stepped off a cliff and asked, How deep is this hole?” With the coronavirus outbreak halting travel from top-sending China, the fear is much deeper. For colleges that went all in on international, can they dig their way out? And how can they avoid making similar missteps in the future?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Do Graduate Assistants Earn a Living Wage? Not in These Cities
By Dan Bauman
Graduate teaching assistants continued striking across the University of California system this week, even as administrators began to crack down on them. Tensions between labor and management have intensified since the institution said on Friday that it would fire 54 teaching assistants on the Santa Cruz campus for refusing to submit final grades. Strike supporters argue that the monthly stipends earned by grad assistants at Santa Cruz have failed to keep up with the area’s cost of living. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in the U.S. Commerce Department, the cost of living in the Santa Cruz metropolitan area was 27.6 percent higher than the national average. To offset rising costs, particularly for housing, labor organizers have asked that the assistants’ monthly stipends be increased by at least $1,400, from the current $2,200. …In the Atlanta metro area, the median-wage estimate for grad assistants was $18,500. On the basis of projections from MIT, the median grad assistant would need to earn an additional $10,000 to make a living wage.
Inside Higher Ed
When Is a Learning Community Not a Learning Community?
A leading educator asserts that some colleges use the “high-impact” educational practices in name only — and a group of learning community advocates largely agrees. What’s their plan?
By Doug Lederman
If you’re a fan of learning communities — a “high-impact” educational practice that more and more colleges and universities are adopting — Steve Mintz’s blog post on the subject on Inside Higher Ed late last year could have felt like a punch in the gut. The essay, headlined “The Truth About Learning Communities,” mostly explored the various approaches colleges and universities take to learning communities, an increasingly popular student success strategy. The approach engages groups of (typically) first-year students in a set of educational and co-curricular experiences (and sometimes living arrangements) around a common theme, question or career goal. But in addition to laying out the learning communities landscape, Mintz’s essay opened and closed with the warning: calling something a rose doesn’t make it one. His conclusion said:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Despite Passage of FUTURE Act, HBCUs Still “Woefully Underfunded,” Says UNCF President
by Sara Weissman
One could argue it’s been a victorious year for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The FUTURE Act – legislation sustaining federal funding for minority serving institutions – made a fraught, winding journey to President Donald J. Trump’s desk, where it was signed into law in December. But on Tuesday, Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), discouraged unbridled optimism. “I cannot stand before you here today and say only that the state of HBCUs is strong or only that HBCUs remain resilient,” he said at the organization’s second annual “State of the HBCU Address” where HBCU leaders and allies gathered in Washington D.C. “As you know, those truths are only part of the story.” He argued that the permanent annual $255 million in federal funding for minority serving institutions, with $85 million designated for HBCUs, marks progress, but it isn’t enough to solve the “HBCU paradox” – the fact that HBCUs enjoy broad bipartisan support but continue to be “woefully underfunded.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
We Analyzed 200 College-President Job Ads. Nearly All of Them Wanted This Skill.
By Audrey Williams
Acollege president’s responsibilities are many: Balance the interests of multiple stakeholders. Be a visionary leader. Guide campuses through crisis and controversy. But arguably the president’s most important duty is raising money. According to the 2017 American College President Study, nearly 60 percent of presidents said fund raising was one of the main things that occupied their time.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Govt. Orders Sweeping Changes at USC After its Failure to Investigate Sexual Abuse Cases
by Sarah Wood
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) plans to order sweeping changes to the University of Southern California’s (USC) Title IX practices after the school “failed to protect students” from sexual abuse by former employee Dr. George Tyndall, according to a resolution agreement released Thursday. On May 24, 2018, OCR began an investigation, for which it assessed more than 20,000 pages of documents and interviewed over 90 current and former university staff members as well as former student patients. “In terms of the numbers of witnesses interviewed, generally speaking, this has been one of our biggest cases and one of the most disturbing,” said Mark Mansour, deputy press secretary at the Department of Education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
At This Texas Campus, Sexual Harassers Can Now Expect to Be Fired
By Katherine Mangan
Firing will be the “presumptive punishment” for faculty and staff members at the University of Texas at Austin who commit sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, or interpersonal violence, the university’s president, Gregory L. Fenves, announced on Monday. In addition, information will be made publicly available about those who are found to have committed such acts but whose jobs are spared because of mitigating circumstances, the president said. Pressure has been building on colleges to toughen their responses to sexual harassment, but it’s unusual for a campus to spell out firing as the expected response. “Termination may be the practice for more and more schools, but putting it in writing as policy is an uncommon step, so far,” Brett A. Sokolow, president of the Association of Title IX Administrators, wrote in an email. He said this is the first such policy he’s aware of.
Inside Higher Ed
Professor Charged With Making False Statements on Ties to China
By Scott Jaschik
Anming Hu, an associate professor of mechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, was arrested Thursday on a federal indictment and charged with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements. The indictment alleges that beginning in 2016, Hu defrauded the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by concealing his affiliation with Beijing University of Technology, a university in China. Federal law prohibits NASA from using appropriated funds on projects in collaboration with China or Chinese universities.
Inside Higher Ed
Separate but Equal at the MLA?
The Modern Language Association planned separate panels for scholars of color and their white colleagues.
By Colleen Flaherty
The Modern Language Association clarified Tuesday that a pair of 2021 meeting panels “designated” for people of color and white people, respectively, are open to everyone. “We shouldn’t have used the word ‘designated’ and we’ll revise the wording” of the calls for papers, said Paula Krebs, the MLA’s executive director. “All sessions at the convention are open to all members, of course.” The roundtables in question, planned for next January, are both on decentering whiteness in academe. Whiteness studies examines topics such as structural racism and the white supremacist underpinnings of society.