University System News:
Savannah CEO
Georgia Southern and Ogeechee Tech Create Accelerated Pathway for Student Success
Staff Report
Georgia Southern University signed a memorandum of understanding with Ogeechee Technical College to provide an automatic admission pathway for local students. The agreement creates an Accelerated Transfer Program that allows students who have been denied admission to Georgia Southern to enter Ogeechee Technical College (OTC) with intent to transfer to Georgia Southern at a later date. “Georgia Southern University is committed to providing opportunities for student success,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “We are proud to partner with Ogeechee Tech to provide students with the tools and support they need to excel.” The Accelerated Transfer Program will begin in the Fall 2020 semester.
Albany Herald
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College student selected for National Teach Ag Ambassadors
From staff reports
Jack Bazemore, a junior agricultural education major at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, is one of 14 students nationwide selected as a National Teach Ag Ambassador for the 2020-21 year. A native of Roswell, Bazemore graduated from Roswell High School before he began attending ABAC. His family now lives in Rutledge. Bazemore is the first student from a college or university in Georgia selected for the honor in the history of the National Teach Ag Ambassadors’ program.
Griffin Daily News
UGA food scientist named first Koehler-Ayers Professor
By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia food scientist Yen-Con Hung has been named the first recipient of the Koehler-Ayers Professorship.
Moultrie Observer
SRTC Foundation awards over $37,000 in scholarships for Summer Semester 2020
Staff Reports
For the 2020 summer semester, which begins on May 21, the Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) Foundation awarded scholarships to 56 students totaling over $37,000. This semester, these scholarship funds may be used to assist students with technology expenses associated with online coursework as well as more traditional education-related costs such as tuition, fees, books, and classroom supplies. …SRTC offers over 155 degree, diploma, and certificate programs that are designed to get you quickly into your desired career, and 28 general education courses that transfer to the University System of Georgia institutions and 19 private colleges and universities in Georgia.
Do Savannah
Ardsley’s Got Talent: Residents find creativity in the face of pandemic
By Blair Wagner / For Do Savannah
“I like the idea of taking a difficult situation, and finding the silver lining,” says Mia Merlin, resident of Ardsley Park and a senior lecturer in the art department at the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern University. It was this sentiment that led to the creation of a “physically distant, neighborhood, yard-based talent show,” Ardsley’s Got Talent. On Friday, May 15, anyone within the limits of Ardsley Park can safely gather to watch their neighbors display their talents in a friendly competition. Merlin, along with other members of the Ardsley Park Chatham Crescent Neighborhood Association (APCCNA), have come together to bring a positive event to their community during this socially distant time. The APCCNA is an all-volunteer organization that serves Ardsley Park through hosting social events, publishing a neighborhood directory, and holding regular community meetings.
11Alive
Jefferson Park resident, Matt West donates partial proceeds from custom garden signs.
Author: Dorjan Williams
Like many others, 2020 started off great for Matt West. The Philadelphia native was in the third year of his Ph.D. program in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. He and his girlfriend had also just moved to the Jefferson Park neighborhood of East Point into a new house. Then along came the COVID-19. …In fact, it was through Georgia Tech that West discovered Atlanta beats COVID, an Ad Hoc group of volunteers that been helping to create personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and first responders in greater Atlanta. West himself used his own handmade 3D printer to create parts for the organization. …He sells his custom-made garden signs along with several other handcrafted items at his online shop, West Design & Fabrication. West said any garden sign purchased between now and June 1st, 2020 will have 10 percent of the proceeds donated to Atlanta Beats COVID. Also, if you live in the Atlanta area, he will personally deliver to your home to prevent shipping costs. For the immediate future, West plans to remain focused on re-connecting with his woodworking side venture as well as staying committed to his studies at Georgia Tech.
Business Standard
Virus-attacking cell molecule diminishes with age, may explain severe COVID-19 cases: Study
A group of tiny molecules that attack invading viruses are diminished with age and chronic illnesses, according to a study which says this decrease may explain why older individuals are vulnerable to COVID-19. Researchers, including those from the University of Florida in the US, said microRNAs play a major role in controlling the activity of genes in the body, and are also on the front line when viruses enter cells. The study, published in the journal Aging and Disease, noted that microRNAs latch onto and cut the RNA of invading viruses. However, with age and some chronic medical conditions, the attacking microRNA numbers dwindle, reducing our ability to respond to viruses, said Carlos M. Isales, study co-author from Augusta University in the US. The novel coronavirus is then better able to hijack the host cell machinery to replicate, the researchers said.
WGAU
UGA researchers develop new COVID tracking map
By: Lauren Baggett
Researchers at the University of Georgia say they have created a series of maps intended to help local health officials and policymakers make decisions about next steps in their response to COVID 19. The team from the Economic Evaluation Research Group (EERG) at UGA’s College of Public Health analyzed a range of county-level data to help stakeholders visualize COVID-19 hotspots and understand how these communities compare to state and national averages. In addition, the team mapped counties based on population characteristics such as age, income, heart disease risk and prevalence of heart disease to show how local outbreaks overlap with existing disparities, including health disparities, that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections.
Savannah Morning News
Will Kirby Smart and other UGA coaches be furloughed? Here’s what we know
By Marc Weiszer
The University of Georgia along with other state universities and colleges are mapping out implementing cost-cutting furloughs for staff that would likely include high-paid coaches due to expected reductions needed because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ll have those discussions in the coming weeks with the university, but we must remember we’re all state employees,” UGA athletic director Greg McGarity said Wednesday. The Georgia Board of Regents gave approval for furloughs and staff reductions last week. They are dependent on an approved budget in June to meet the state’s request to cut spending for the new fiscal year.
WTOC
One professor at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus is doing his part in the fight against COVID-19.
By Lyndsey Gough
One professor at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus is doing his part in the fight against COVID-19. Making use of the 3-D printers they have available, Dr. Wayne Johnson, an engineering professor is helping to develop and print respirator masks for frontline workers in our area He said Alicia Hawrylko, a Mechanical Engineering student came to him with the idea, and they’re working on perfecting the design before they begin producing large quantities of them, working remotely in conjunction with St. Joseph’s Candler.
CNBC
Georgia tries to balance pressure to reopen economy with threat of coronavirus resurgence
Jacob Pramuk and John W. Schoen
Since Georgia took the widely criticized step to reboot its battered economy last month, the state has seen new Covid-19 cases steadily climb but not spike. It could take until later this month to know whether Georgia’s move to reopen — condemned by federal health officials and President Donald Trump at the time — contributed to a feared coronavirus resurgence, according to health experts in the state. Georgia became one of the first states to lift its restrictions designed to limit the pandemic’s spread when Republican Gov. Brian Kemp let businesses including salons, gyms and bowling alleys open their doors on April 24. The state allowed restaurants to resume dine-in service on April 27 with restrictions. Kemp will keep bars, music venues and nightclubs closed at least through the end of the month, he said Tuesday. ..New cases in the state appear to have plateaued in recent weeks, increasing by roughly 700 per day since Georgia started reopening on April 24. But due to the disease incubation period and delays in data reporting, a fuller picture of how lifting restrictions affected Covid-19′s spread may not be available until the final days of May, according to Bob Bednarczyk at Emory University and John Drake at the University of Georgia.
Union Recorder
Epidemiologist: Threat not over yet
Gil Pound
Georgia College assistant professor of public health Dr. Damian Francis has followed the policy decisions and spread when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic since its outset. It’s right there in his other title as an epidemiologist, one who studies the distribution of diseases, what causes them and preventative measures that can be taken to stop the spread. The Union-Recorder sat down with Dr. Francis about two months ago when COVID-19 began rearing its head in Georgia. The newspaper spoke with Francis again by telephone Thursday to get his take on where things stand locally, statewide, nationally and globally when it comes to fighting off the pandemic. “We are seeing that across the globe some places are just getting started and in other places like the United States we are beginning to see the trending down of the disease in those areas affected first — the densely-populated metropolitan areas,” he said, citing New York City and Los Angeles as examples. “In those cities, the number of deaths are decreasing and the number of cases are not increasing at the pace they were at the beginning.” In Georgia though, Francis said the line isn’t so clear-cut. That’s because testing has not been as readily available to the public as needed. When he spoke to The Union-Recorder Thursday more than 217,000 tests had been conducted. “That’s not nearly enough,” he said. “How we’re going to truly know the picture and how to control the disease is if we are doing more testing.”
Futurity
WHY RESTARTING THE ECONOMY WILL BE REALLY HARD
As the world contemplates ending a massive lockdown implemented in response to COVID-19, Vinod Singhal is considering what will happen when we hit the play button and the engines that drive industry and trade squeal back to life again. Singhal, who studies operations strategy and supply chain management at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has a few ideas on how to ease the transition to the new reality. But this pandemic makes it hard to predict what that reality will be. “We know pandemics can disrupt supply chains, because we’ve had the SARS experience, but this is something very different,” says Singhal, professor of operations management at the Scheller College of Business, recalling the SARS viral pandemic of 2002 to 2003. But that event did not have nearly the deadly, worldwide reach of COVID-19. …But COVID-19 represents a new kind of mystery when it comes to something as complex and critical to the world’s economy as the global supply chain, for a number of reasons that Singhal highlights:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Economist: Georgia could burn through half of its reserve by June 30
By James Salzer
Gov. Nathan Deal spent eight years after the Great Recession building up a record state savings account to leave to his successor. The state may burn through more than half of its $2.7 billion reserve in three months of the coronavirus pandemic recession. Jeffrey Dorfman, the state fiscal economist and a University of Georgia professor, told state lawmakers $1 billion to $1.5 billion worth of reserve funds will likely have to be used to pay for government salaries and services through the end of fiscal 2020. The fiscal year ends June 30. Part of the state’s shortfall at the end of this fiscal year is due to its decision to put off the income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15.But Dorfman also told members of the House and Senate budget committees Wednesday that he expects the plummet in tax collections to continue through the first quarter of fiscal 2021 before the economy picks up in the fall.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
President Trump predicts 100,000+ US coronavirus deaths, vaccine by year’s end
By Tim Darnell
President Donald Trump predicted Thursday morning the U.S. will lose “over 100,000” people to the coronavirus, but also said “we will have a vaccine by the end of the year.” In an interview on Fox News, Trump also said he disagrees with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who told a Senate committee earlier this year it is unlikely a vaccine would be ready in time for the school year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Latest Atlanta coronavirus news: COVID-19 cases near 35.5K in Georgia
There are now 1,517 deaths from COVID-19 and 35,427 confirmed cases
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Senator Alexander Sounds Positive Note on Reopening Campuses
By Paul Fain
Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate’s education committee, on Sunday questioned whether testing capacities for COVID-19 were adequate to reopen a large university campus in August. Alexander, a former U.S. Secretary of Education and president of the University of Tennessee, expanded on those thoughts during a Fox News interview Wednesday. “If I were president of a university today, I would be planning on going back to school,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview.
NPR
Colleges Around The Country Are Expecting Shortfalls Despite Rich Endowments
Elissa Nadworny
Colleges around the country are expecting significant shortfalls — up to $1 billion for some universities. Many are turning to hiring freezes and layoffs despite rich endowments. Many people in the U.S. have had a giant bite taken out of their finances. Colleges are dealing with a scaled-up version of that. Northwestern University in Illinois expects a $90 million budget shortfall. For the University of Kentucky, that shortfall is $70 million. And the University of Michigan estimates a loss of up to $1 billion. NPR’s Elissa Nadworny has been looking into all of this and joins us now.
Inside Higher Ed
Graduate Degrees Boost Job Prospects During Pandemic More Than Others
Researchers expected any kind of higher education to boost job prospects for Americans recently out of work. But they found those with graduate degrees are doing better than other degree holders.
By Emma Whitford
It’s been well accepted for years that a college degree makes it easier to get a job. A new survey shows that amid the coronavirus pandemic, that may not be true across the board. More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began, and the nationwide unemployment rate has climbed to 14.7 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A Strada Education Network survey released Wednesday shows that more than half of Americans have lost jobs, hours or income as a result of the pandemic. Of those people, graduate and professional degree holders are more likely to have started a new job in the past month than people with a bachelor’s degree, associate or vocational degree, some college education, or a high school diploma or less.
Inside Higher Ed
Online Education Offers New Ways to Identify and Support At-Risk Students
by Sara Weissman
After colleges hastily moved online in response to the coronavirus, higher education leaders worried for low-income students and students of color. Research shows that underrepresented students experience performance gaps and lower retention rates in online courses under the best of circumstances, let alone in a global pandemic. But remote education experts have highlighted a possible silver lining. Online education provides new ways to identify students at risk of dropping out and opportunities to offer targeted supports. On campus, faculty can keep an eye out for early indicators that a student is struggling – a missed first assignment or a low grade on the first test – but online, professors can detect trouble even earlier and “it can be even more nuanced,” said Dr. Di Xu, associate professor of education at the University of California Irvine and co-director of its Online Learning Research Center. “You don’t have to wait until the first quiz,” she added.
Inside Higher Ed
A Playbook for a Second-Choice Fall
If physical campuses cannot open, here’s how colleges can replicate what makes their in-person experience so valuable, according to the research firm Eduventures.
By Doug Lederman
Most college and university administrators and faculty members are desperate for their campuses to be open in the fall, believing that the in-person experience is essential to what they do. But the reality is that campuses may well remain closed to students in the fall, and colleges and universities should focus their attention on making a fully virtual experience the best it can possibly be. That’s the message of a report published today by the research firm Eduventures, days after the head of the California State University system said its 23 institutions would almost certainly start the fall semester virtually — the most visible such announcement yet, with many more colleges announcing they are planning to open. The Eduventures report, written by the organization’s lead researcher, Richard Garrett, hardly roots for colleges to remain shuttered to students this fall. It cites the difficulties the campus shutdowns have imposed on many students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, and acknowledges as legitimate the doubts of many college professors and administrators that “any form of remote learning can truly emulate the college experience.”
Inside Higher Ed
Students say they can’t submit their test answers.
By Scott Jaschik
On Tuesday night, after the second day of this year’s Advanced Placement tests, the first ever given remotely, the College Board issued a statement to the press: “Across today’s exams, approximately 640,000 students tested, representing more than 88 percent of students who registered to take these exams at the start of their AP courses this year … Given the wide variety of devices and browsers students are using, we anticipated that a small percentage of students would encounter technical difficulties. We have a makeup window in June, so students have another opportunity to test. Thus far, less than 1 percent of the more than 1 million students who tested encountered technical difficulties.” To students whose tests were rejected by the College Board’s computer systems, however, the test system is not working.