The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp, Southern governors talk coronavirus reopening strategies
By J. Scott Trubey, Greg Bluestein and J.D. Capelouto
Gov. Brian Kemp is exploring a coordinated effort with other Southern states to jumpstart the regional economy, as some critics push back on government-imposed restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus. Kemp said he spoke Saturday with five governors, all fellow Republicans, about how to “safely reopen our states.” Kemp is expected to outline details at a Monday press conference with House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan… Pinar Keskinocak, a professor of industrial and systems engineering and the director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems at Georgia Tech, said shelter-in-place orders acted as a brake on the virus’ spread.
Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta man tapped for ABAC award
By Staff Reports
Joshua Dawson of Valdosta has been selected as the 2020 Miles A. Drummond Rising Star Award recipient by the ABAC Alumni Association at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The award is normally presented at the alumni awards luncheon at homecoming each April but was postponed due to the pandemic, college officials said in a statement. The event will be rescheduled, possibly during the fall term. The Miles A. Drummond Rising Star Award is presented annually to ABAC alumni 29 years of age or younger who have distinguished themselves through professional achievement, community service and service to the college. This is the third year for the award, which is dedicated to the memory of Miles A. Drummond, a former ABAC Alumni Association board member, who passed away in 2018.
Savannah CEO
Georgia Southern University Names Stuart Tedders as Dean of Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
By Staff Reports
Georgia Southern University has tapped Stuart Tedders, Ph.D., as the next dean of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. Tedders, a professor of epidemiology who started his career at Georgia Southern and has become a widely respected rural health researcher, has been serving as the college’s interim dean since July 2019. His appointment is effective immediately. Tedders will lead one of the University’s most productive colleges by expanding its influence on community health-related issues in the areas of undergraduate, graduate and public education. He will also expand the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health’s research portfolio and impact on our citizens, said Carl Reiber, Georgia Southern’s provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Jackson Progress-Argus
Gordon’s State College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program becomes fully accredited
By Katheryne A. Fields
The Georgia Board of Nursing (GBON) reviewed the 2019 NCLEX scores for the first time writers of Gordon State College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) pre-licensure degree and voted full approval for the program through December 31, 2024. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing develops the NCLEX exam to test the competency of nursing school graduates. Students who graduate from the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) and the BSN pre-licensure programs are eligible to take the NCLEX exam. Passing the NCLEX allows a student the opportunity to practice as a registered nurse in Georgia.
Augusta Chronicle
AU Health to test 3D-printed swabs at nursing home
By Jozsef Papp
Augusta University will be testing new 3D-printed nasal swabs to help ramp up testing for the novel coronavirus statewide. The testing will be done at Windermere Health and Rehabilitation Center in a partnership with the Georgia National Guard. As of Friday, 74 patients had tested positive for the virus at the nursing home, with four deaths reported. If proven effective, the swabs can be used by Georgia health officials as testing ramps up throughout the state, according to AU.
Marietta Daily Journal
New health care degree to be offered at Kennesaw State
By Staff Reports
A new degree program is being offered at a Georgia college for those looking to enter the healthcare industry. A Bachelor of Science in Integrated Health Science has been approved for Kennesaw State University’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Services by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the school said in a news release Tuesday.
Dalton Daily Citizen
‘A lot of imagination’: Dalton State transforms for distance learning
By Ryan Anderson
Like so many other schools, Dalton State College had to alter instruction considerably when the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic prevented students and staff from gathering on campus — and do so quickly. Because “we had our spring break before all this happened, we only had a week to figure out how to run a college and educate students without people on campus,” said Margaret Venable, president of Dalton State. Though the college for years had plans in place to continue learning in case of a disruptive event like a natural disaster, those assumed only a week or two absence from the campus, as well as the possibility of using other locations. However, during this protracted shutdown, no one is allowed to gather in groups anywhere, Venable said. “We had some things in place, but we had to ramp up on very short notice, and (while) it hasn’t been easy, I’m impressed by how our faculty and staff has converted to (the virtual) format.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Virus’ impact on state government could be worse than Great Recession
By James Salzer
The Great Recession forced state governments across the country to lay off or furlough millions of workers and cut services to everything from schools to parks, but some warn the coronavirus pandemic could cause even more economic pain. Predictions are that states could combine to face up to a $500 billion shortfall over the next few years without more federal aid as unemployment remains high and businesses shutter or struggle to regain their footing… Georgia State University fiscal researchers came out with a report last week saying the state and local governments could see up to a $1.27 billion loss in sales tax revenue from a few key sectors of the economy this year because of the coronavirus shutdown and its aftermath. University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley said last week that financial losses are accumulating from an abrupt systemwide closing of campuses that triggered $200 million in reimbursements in student housing and dining hall costs.
Higher Education News:
USA Today
Students are weary of online classes, but colleges can’t say whether they’ll open in fall 2020
By Chris Quintana
College students threatened to revolt if universities put another semester of classes online to avoid spreading the coronavirus – but that’s increasingly what campus leaders are considering doing. For Ryan Sessoms, a marketing student at the University of North Florida, the transition to online classes has been rocky. The thought of paying the same amount of tuition for another semester of lackluster classes is a nonstarter. It’s harder to find the motivation to complete his assignments, he said, when not surrounded by his peers. “Fall is my last semester as well,” said Sessoms, 24. “All my hard work I have put in, I’d prefer to walk across the stage and wrap up some last-minute connections on campus as well.
Inside Higher Ed
Students Turn to Courts for Refunds
By Greta Anderson
“Are you a college student who was forced to leave campus? You may be entitled to compensation,” a notice on collegerefund2020.com announces. The website was created by a law firm currently capitalizing on the growing anger and activism by students — and indignant parents, too — who believe they’re owed partial tuition and fee refunds for semesters cut short, courses moved online and off-campus, and unused housing and meal plans, among other disruptions that occurred at colleges and universities across the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The advertisement by the Anastopoulo Law Firm, which has offices throughout South Carolina, appears to have struck a chord. It is currently representing students in three class action lawsuits filed in the last two weeks against Drexel University, University of Miami and the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado, as calls from students for tuition and fee refunds grow stronger.
Augusta Chronicle
USC Aiken nursing student dies from COVID-19 complications
By Will Cheney
USC Aiken announced Saturday that one of its nursing students has died of complications from the novel coronavirus. First-year nursing student Joshua Bush died Friday afternoon, according to a statement from USC Aiken chancellor Sandra Jordan. He had been working part-time at a local health care facility and caring for patients since the COVID-19 outbreak began.
Chronicle of Higher Education
Major Cost-Cutting Begins in Response to Covid-19, With Faculty and Staff Furloughs and Pay Cuts
By Eric Kelderman
Weeks after colleges across the country shut down campuses in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, there is little to indicate that anything approaching normal will happen on most campuses through the summer and possibly into the fall. The only certainty is that the disruptions caused by the pandemic will lead to budget shortfalls and cost-cutting at institutions of all types, probably for many months to come. The institution taking the broadest steps, so far, is the University of Arizona, which is projecting a $250-million loss in revenue because of the coronavirus, including $66 million by the end of its fiscal year, on June 30. Arizona announced on Friday that it would offset revenue losses with furloughs or direct pay cuts for nearly all employees until the summer of 2021.
Other News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia governor to outline steps to reopen state’s economy
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to detail his plans Monday to reopen Georgia’s economy during the coronavirus pandemic, as he decides how quickly to ease restrictions that have shuttered businesses and required many of the state’s 10.6 million residents to stay at home. The governor will announce his plans alongside Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston at a 4 p.m. press conference at the Capitol as he faces new pressure to balance drastic efforts to contain the disease’s spread with the growing financial toll of the outbreak. Pilloried by public health experts and others for waiting for weeks before imposing a statewide shelter-in-place order, Kemp is now facing mounting pushback from critics who say he should immediately restart sectors of the economy that languished during the lockdown.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Report: Ga. budget shortfall may top $4 billion over next 15 months
By James Salzer
A new report out Monday says the state could face at least a $4 billion shortfall over the next 15 months without more federal aid, likely meaning layoffs and furloughs across the government in the coming year. For fiscal 2021, which begins July 1, the shortfall could top 10% of current state spending, which goes for everything from teacher salaries to prisons, health care to road-building. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute report said beyond the initial financial hit due to the coronavirus shutdown of the national economy, unemployment rates of 10% to 20% over the next year could raise serious questions about the state’s ability to adequately fund schools, health care and other programs.