University System News:
CBS46
Georgia colleges and universities forced to make budget cuts
Adam Murphy
All is quiet on the Georgia Tech campus in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, but mandatory budget cuts are sure to create some noise. “I know some classes have already been cut for the summer,” Georgia Tech student Tal said. Tal just completed her final semester at Tech and said changes are already in the works. The University System of Georgia is now working with its 26 colleges and universities across the state to develop a new spending plan for fiscal year 2021 which includes a 14% budget reduction due to COVID-19. “I’m sure that some students have their classes that they have to take in order to graduate and now they can’t take them because they might not be offered so it’s probably hurting some more than others,” Tal said. Here’s how the budget cuts will impact faculty and staff at every school.
See also:
Statesboro Herald
Regents authorize 10% pay cut for GS president, 4-8% for most employees
University system belt tightening follows previous year’s enrollment-driven cuts at Georgia Southern
Gainesville Times
UNG employees may face furloughs as part of 14% budget cuts
Times-Georgian
Universities weigh staff cuts, furloughs
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
CSU professor found a unique way to help hungry students after COVID-19 closed campus
By Mark Rice
After the Columbus State University campuses closed two months ago due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic, associate professor Michelle Folta learned while teaching her music education students online that some weren’t eating nutritious meals. The reasons why they couldn’t return home varied: A family member had compromised immunity. Couldn’t afford the travel expenses. No room back at home. Must stay in Columbus to keep the job that’s helping to pay for college. Then one of her students mentioned he was hungry for Folta’s famous Tex-Mex. During the five years she has been teaching at CSU, Folta has invited her students into her home for such a feast each semester, …COVID-19 restrictions meant that gathering was canceled for this spring, but Folta figured out a different way to continue serving her students. So she messaged that student back on Facebook, “I got you.” And the Porch Picnic was born.
The Newnan Times-Herald
UWG offering 10 free job skills courses online
Ten online courses will be offered by the University of West Georgia Continuing Education Department at no cost through June 30. The courses cover a mix of hard and soft skills needed in today’s job market. “This is a great opportunity for people to gain a new skill or build on skills they already have,” said Marty Davis, director of UWG Continuing Education. “Possessing the right skills and knowing how to utilize them is vital for both job seekers and those currently employed.”
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta nurses blessed and celebrated during their appreciation week
By Miguel Legoas
Morgan Masters and Rebecca Duncan stood with their fellow nurses outside Doctors Hospital in the cool Friday morning. As they raised their hands to be blessed by the chaplains, they were reminded why they do what they do. “It’s nice having that special recognition, just taking five minutes away from the floor to get something like that is nice,” Masters said. …This feeling was shared by many at the annual Doctors Hospitals Blessing of the Hands Ceremony. The ceremony was led by the hospital’s chaplains, Pauline Hughes and Robert Thompson, and served as a celebratory blessing for the nurses and the work they do. …The ceremony was one of multiple events in the Augusta-area celebrating Nurses Appreciation Week. Augusta University Medical Center treated its nurses to a Chick-fil-A breakfast on Thursday. BI-LO’s grocery stores are decorating their entryways with commemorative chalk art and are providing sweets for nurses in the area.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Gwinnett nursing students use virtual learning to finish class
By Amanda C. Coyne
When the coronavirus pandemic forced Georgia Gwinnett College to move all of its classes online, its 32 senior nursing students were halfway through their final semester of hands-on training in metro Atlanta hospitals. Hundreds of hours working with patients are required for a nurse to practice in Georgia, and the pandemic has put medical personnel in high demand. While Georgia Gwinnett’s future nurses couldn’t finish their semester working in the hospital, the school deployed technology that still allowed them to get the experience and hours needed to graduate on time and enter the workforce.
Statesboro Herald
GS provost: student interest in web-only summer encouraging after spring switch
COVID-19 has university officials planning for uncertain fall
Al Hackle
Spring semester, Georgia Southern University switched virtually all of its roughly 5,000 classroom course sections to an online-only format in midstream. Yet the number of students interested in the summer sessions, which will be taught exclusively online, has not suffered, said Provost Dr. Carl Reiber.
Americus Times Recorder
Georgia Southwestern to host Virtual Graduation Ceremony on May 15
By Nichole Buchanan
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) will hold its Spring 2020 Graduation Ceremony online Friday, May 15, 2020 celebrating nearly 300 graduating Hurricanes. Traditional commencement activities, originally scheduled for the same day on campus, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 restrictions that forced universities across the country to either cancel or postpone all large gatherings.
Middle Georgia CEO
FVSU President Hits the Phone Lines to Congratulate Nearly 300 Grads
Staff Report
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted many planned events and celebrations across the state and world, including in-person graduation ceremonies. Fort Valley State University will take a special approach to honor its spring and summer 2020 graduates. FVSU President Dr. Paul Jones will begin contacting nearly 300 graduates today to congratulate them on their achievement. In addition to a personal phone call from the president, each graduate will receive a letter by Jones and Dr. T. Ramon Stuart, FVSU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs congratulating them on their accomplishments. “Although the traditional ceremony scheduled for May is postponed, this is an opportunity for us to still celebrate our outstanding graduates who have worked hard this year,” Jones said. “These are uncertain times, but one factor we are certain about is that our students deserve to be recognized for this incredible milestone.” FVSU will also participate in, Graduate Together: America Honors the Class of 2020 on May 16.
Athens CEO
More Than 7,300 UGA Students Eligible for Graduation
The University of Georgia welcomes its newest alumni on May 8 as 5,958 undergraduates and 1,366 graduate students—for a total of 7,324—have met requirements to walk in the university’s spring Commencement, tentatively scheduled for the fall if federal and state health officials deem it safe. The undergraduate ceremony is planned for Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Sanford Stadium. Forty-four students will be recognized as First Honor Graduates during the undergraduate exercises for maintaining a 4.0 cumulative GPA in all work completed at UGA, as well as all college-level transfer work done prior to or following enrollment at the university. An estimated 218 doctoral candidates and 1,148 master’s and specialist degree students will be eligible to walk in the scheduled Dec. 18 graduate ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. To commemorate the May 8 graduation date, a congratulatory online message will be posted Friday, May 8, at 10 a.m. to recognize the Class of 2020 and acknowledge the conferral of degrees. The online message will be available at commencement.uga.edu.
The George-Anne
Georgia Southern recognizes graduates in virtual commencement ceremonies
Abby Fuller
Georgia Southern University held its first virtual commencement ceremonies on Friday and Saturday to honor the 4,300-plus graduates from the class of 2020. The ceremonies were divided up by colleges and held in two-hour intervals on both days. Each graduate was featured in a slide including their name, degree and – for those who submitted – a picture and a “thank you” message. Each name was also read by a faculty member, like a regular commencement. The ceremonies also included video messages from notable GS graduates and distinguished individuals with ties to the university, including Cole Swindell, country music star; Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A (’75); and Sonny Purdue, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former governor of Georgia. Governor Brian Kemp also had a special message for all of Georgia’s graduates.
Growing America
Canevari Named Alumni Award Recipient at ABAC Virtual Spring Commencement
Louis Mitchell Canevari received the ABAC Alumni Association award at the recent virtual spring commencement ceremony at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The award goes to the top bachelor’s degree student graduating this semester. An agriculture major from Lake Placid, Fla., Canevari maintained a 3.28 grade point average on a 4.0 scale during his four years at ABAC. He is the son of Louis Canevari and Jennifer Bush. A Dean’s List student, Canevari served as a member of the prestigious ABAC Ambassadors leadership organization and was selected as a senator with the Student Government Association. He was also elected president of the ABAC Cattlemen’s Association and was the Co-Director of the Inter Club Council.
Athens Banner-Herald
Athens-area colleges gear up for students’ return — or not
By Lee Shearer
Like other Georgia public and technical colleges, Athens Tech shut down its campus in March and converted to distance learning. But in less than a month, some students were back on the U.S. Highway 29 campus, said Athens Tech President Andrea Daniel. …Most classes and materials quickly moved online, but some meetings have to be face-to-face, such as labs for students studying to be registered nurses. …Daniel and representatives of three other Athens-area colleges said their schools are planning for in-person classes to resume this fall, bringing tens of thousands of students back to the Athens area for classes at Athens Tech, the University of Georgia, private Piedmont College and the University of North Georgia’s Oconee County campus. …Nearly half of graduate courses within the University System of Georgia, the state’s public college system, were online even before the pandemic. …At UGA, nine working groups are developing plans for a return to in-person classes, said UGA Community Relations Coordinator Alison McCullick. UGA planners have to solve the kinds of problems Athens Tech already has to ensure students and their parents that it’s safe to come back, such as how to safely conduct classes that must be in-person. …″“We are working together to prepare for every possible scenario,” said Cyndee Moore, executive director of the University of North Georgia Oconee Campus.
Valdosta Daily Times
Virtual Valdosta: VSU moves campus tour online
VSU moves campus tour online
By Desiree Carver desiree.carver@gaflnews.com Apr 28, 2020
For many families, piling into a car and hitting the road to visit prospective colleges is almost a tradition. So, what can be done when the campuses aren’t open? The University System of Georgia has closed all of its campuses until fall semester at least. For Ryan Hogan, director of Valdosta State University’s Office of Admission, closure has meant a lot of uncertainty in meeting and attracting prospective Blazers. Postponing the school’s open house was difficult but set the wheels in motion for creative solutions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Emory, Georgia Tech students compete in COVID-19 hackathon to win $10K
By Raisa Habersham
More than 650 Emory University and Georgia Tech students are participating in a virtual “hackathon” to come up with solutions for COVID-19 problems. Students will work in teams of six, with at least one member from each school, for the entire weekend, beginning Friday, according to the hackathon’s website. They will have until Sunday to submit their solutions. Judges will select finalists Monday. Finalists will then refine their designs and present them to judges Saturday, May 16 during a video teleconference.
Athens Banner-Herald
UNG to give online view of the rare corpse flower in bloom
By Wayne Ford
A rare 6-foot-tall plant that smells like rotting meat when it blooms has bloomed at the University of North Georgia campus in Dahlonega and school officials said Friday they will live stream the flower for people to view. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the public will not be allowed to gather at the university, but a live stream will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. UNG biology professor Ashlee McCaskill will explain details of the plant. The flower, a titan arum commonly called corpse flower due to the smell, takes seven to 10 years to bloom, UNG officials said. The last time one bloomed in Georgia was 20 years ago at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, according to the university.
Savannah Business Journal
MARGARET KILPATRICK honored by GSU Alumni Association with Outstanding Senior Award
Staff Report
he Georgia Southern University Alumni Association has awarded the Outstanding Senior Award to Honors Scholar Margaret Kilpatrick, who graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in Spanish. Kilpatrick earned the distinction upon completion of all of her coursework in residence at the University, with the greatest number of hours earned, and with the highest overall GPA during the 2019-2020 academic year.
The Augusta Chronicle
Nursery donates flowers to Augusta University Heath workers
By Will Cheney
A South Carolina nursery wanted to remind local healthcare workers of how much they’re appreciated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Costa Layman Farms, based in Trenton, S.C., has partnered with Augusta University for the last 15 years. Twice a year, AU Health provides healthcare outreach for Costa Layman’s 400 employees. This time, it was the nursery providing outreach as it donated more than 700 flowers to AU Health front-line workers. Alexandra Vega is the Human Resources personnel director for Costa Layman and she said it’s just a way to say thanks.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peach Bowl makes donation for COVID-19 screenings
By AJC Sports
The Peach Bowl has donated $1.09 million toward funding for COVID-19 screenings statewide in cooperation with Governor Brian Kemp, the college football bowl game announced Thursday. The donation will help scale the telemedicine screening mobile application AU Health ExpressCare, developed by Augusta University Health System.
CBS46
Augusta University Health begins antibody testing for COVID-19
Catherine Catoura
A Georgia university is gearing up to begin antibody testing research to detect whether people have previously been exposed to coronavirus and developed antibodies against it. According to Dr. Brandy Gunsolus, the Special Testing Laboratory Manager and Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Science at AU Health, the antibodies are an immune response to infection, and the presence of them suggests the person was infected with the virus whether they showed symptoms or not. “While the new antibody testing will initially only be open to patients at AU Health, there are plans to offer the testing to the general public within the next few weeks,” Dr. Gunsolus said.
Albany Herald
UGA researcher works on test to determine severity of virus
By Tyler Wilkins
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers across the world are looking not only for a vaccine to combat the virus, but also better testing resources to find out both who is infected and how serious those infections may be. Michael Tiemeyer, distinguished research professor in the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, is trying to determine if a saliva test could predict the severity of a coronavirus patient’s disease course.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Coronavirus live updates May 7: CSU wants to document your COVID-19 experience for history
By Joshua Mison
Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections is seeking submissions that document the changes in everyday life for those in the Chattahoochee Valley area affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone in the community is invited to participate. Submissions will be viewable online and kept permanently as part of the archive’s historical record. Individuals may choose to make their submissions anonymously though if they do not wish to be identified.
Express
Lifting lockdown for those who have recovered from COVID-19 could REDUCE transmission rate
PEOPLE who have caught COVID-19 and recovered from the disease may soon be encouraged to rejoin the general public to provide “shield immunity” according to findings from a new study.
By Grace Macrae
Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology say the immunity of the recovered patients would help to slow the spread of the contagion. The reintroduction of recovered COVID-19 patients would, in theory, help reduce the rate of transmission of the coronavirus. If recovered patients were to be released into the general population, this would ensure most interactions include an immune person, which makes it impossible for the virus to propagate. This is known as the “shield immunity” strategy.
Other News:
Patch
GA Governor Says Coronavirus Hospitalizations At All-Time Low
On Saturday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that Georgia has its lowest number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus.
By D’Ann Lawrence White, Patch Staff
ACROSS GEORGIA — On Saturday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that Georgia has its lowest number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus since the state’s hospitals began reporting data on April 8. He said there are currently 1,203 positive patients in hospitals. Additionally, Saturday marked the lowest number of ventilators in use – 897 of the 1,945 available ventilators, said Kemp.
The Augusta Chronicle
Analysis: Augusta-area COVID-19 cases level off since businesses reopened
By Tom Corwin
The number of patients infected with COVID-19 appears to have leveled off in the Augusta area even as Georgia cases mount, an Augusta Chronicle analysis showed. While the Augusta area saw a rapid increase in the number of patients with COVID-19 soon after a shelter in place order on April 3, that has since leveled off over the six weeks since even as some businesses reopened two weeks ago, an Augusta Chronicle analysis found. Georgia, however, appears to still be adding cases rapidly even as the death rate seems to have slowed, the Chronicle found. The total number of cases in the Augusta area when Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter-in-place order went into effect stood at 110 total, with most of those cases in Richmond and Columbia counties, according to the analysis. That number jumped more 150 percent to 281 by the following week, and then took a sizable but smaller increase to 464 by April 17, an increase of 66 percent. Testing was also being ramped up in the Augusta area and across the state during that time period.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Latest Atlanta coronavirus news: Georgia’s COVID-19 cases near 33K
There are now 1,404 deaths from COVID-19 and 32,969 confirmed cases
Noon: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is keeping track of reported coronavirus deaths and cases across Georgia, as reported by the Department of Public Health. As of midday, Georgia has at least 1,404 deaths and 32,969 confirmed cases. 8 a.m.: In Georgia, a very limited study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found African Americans made up 83% of 305 Georgians who had been hospitalized with COVID-19 and whose ethnicity was known. Ernie Suggs investigates patterns in the African American community.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus may spread too fast for Georgia tracers to catch up
By Tamar Hallerman, Johnny Edwards and J. Scott Trubey
State’s plan to expand contact tracing: Too little, too late?
After an 82-year-old woman died of COVID-19 in South Georgia, the state’s epidemiologist wanted to warn anyone she might have infected. He tracked her trail to a Sunday worship service attended in March by some 60 people in Waycross. Ordinarily, under the method of epidemiological detective work known as contact tracing, every person in the woman’s close orbit while she was contagious would be identified and told to take steps to avoid infecting others. But ordinary methods wouldn’t do, given the possibility the highly contagious coronavirus was spread by people without symptoms and the risk of quickly overrunning local hospitals. So the Department of Public Health took the extreme step of posting a public announcement in early April: “If you or someone you know have recently attended New Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Waycross, Georgia, you may have been exposed to COVID-19.”
Albany Herald
Legislator donates PPE equipment
From Staff Reports
State Rep. CaMia Hopson, who recently coordinated a fundraising effort that raised more than $12,000 to purchase personal protective equipment for more than 350 school lunch volunteers in Dougherty County, last week donated PPE to the SOWEGA Council on Aging and area senior service centers in the county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Quandary: How Can I Represent My Department in a Season of Budget Cuts?
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz and Sarah Brown
How can the chair best represent your department in a season of budget cuts?
Most institutions will cut budgets, and some of those cuts could hit academic departments. It’s too early to tell how academic programs will be affected by budget cuts prompted by the coronavirus economic crisis. Anything is possible. Higher education could even look completely different after the pandemic. Department chairs are positioned to lead that change and reinvention, says Ralph A. Gigliotti, director of the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership at Rutgers University. Gigliotti is researching how department chairs at Big Ten conference universities are reacting to the crisis.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Scramble to Administer Emergency Aid
The coronavirus pandemic has left thousands of students in need of financial assistance. The race to meet that need has been slowed by red tape and insufficient funding.
By Emma Whitford
In early April, the Mission Asset Fund launched the California College Student Emergency Support Fund, which offered $2.3 million to low-income, undocumented or otherwise in-need California college students in the form of $500 grants. “Within the first 10 minutes, the system crashed,” said Audrey Dow, senior vice president at the Campaign for College Opportunity, one of several organizations donating to the private fund. One thousand students applied in the first 90 minutes. A day later, Mission Asset Fund, a nonprofit organization, had put 65,000 students on a waitlist. The coronavirus pandemic has shed light on existing disparities in student wealth and security. Campus shutdowns sparked conversations about students’ housing security. As unemployment skyrockets, the number of food-insecure students grows. Online learning revealed that many students don’t have access to computers and reliable internet. Colleges are scrambling to meet the needs of their students remotely, and to do it fast. But distributing aid dollars can be harder than it seems.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Top Higher Ed Groups Create New DACA Resources Website
Several influential higher education groups have created a new website, ‘Remember the Dreamers’, that will provide information and resources for students and institutions on what efforts are being made to help Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, students. Many of these students are also called ‘Dreamers’, after the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which did not go through Congress. DACA students are barred from receiving emergency funding allocated to colleges and universities under the federal coronavirus stimulus program under the CARES Act. Many higher education leaders have criticized Congress for refusing aid to DACA students.