University System News:
Athens CEO
UGA Online Leadership Program Equips Public Health Leaders for COVID-19 Response
Staff Report
COVID-19 was not on their radar in October 2019 when 28 emerging public health leaders from across the Southeast began a leadership skills program created by the University of Georgia. Within months, however, the first fellows in the Public Health Leadership Institute (PHLI) were putting skills learned through the program into action as the pandemic rolled through the United States. Developed by faculty at UGA’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, in collaboration with the Region IV Public Health Training Center (R-IV PHTC), headquartered at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, the program provided a way for participants from eight Southeastern states to share resources and information as they developed leadership skills through virtual sessions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: Georgia should reopen campuses in fall with COVID-19 testing, masks
GET SCHOOLED BLOG
By Maureen Downey
Professor says plan to encourage rather than mandate masks ignores best safety practices
As a parent of University of Georgia and Georgia Tech students, I assumed they’d be required to wear masks when classes resume in the fall to protect themselves, their classmates and their professors. That is the plan on many campuses around the country hoping to restart on-site instruction. Sounds like I may be disappointed. In a guest piece, a University of North Georgia professor expresses concern over the likely decision by the University System of Georgia to strongly suggest rather than mandate masks. On Monday, the University of Texas at Austin announced it was joining the growing list of public campuses that will require all students, faculty and staff to wear face masks in campus buildings next fall to inhibit the spread of COVID-19.Matthew Boedy, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, believes USG should follow suit.
WGAU
Athens COVID count up slightly
By: Tim Bryant
The Georgia Department of Public Health says Athens has recorded 328 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the local appearance of the pandemic in mid-March. There have been 15 deaths from COVID 19 in Athens. The University of Georgia Law School is hosting a 10am web session for workers who have lost income because of the economic downturn created by the local and state response to coronavirus.
From the University of Georgia master calendar…
Lost income because of COVID-19? Fired for not returning to work? Issues with an unemployment application? Please register for this online webinar. Organized by the Athens Access to Justice Initiative, the University of Georgia School of Law, the Georgia Legal Services Program and the JF Beasley law firm, the webinar will consist of two parts: presentations from local lawyers and a question and answer session.
University Business
Colleges see record enrollment during COVID summer
Students in all areas of the country are flocking to online classes
By: Matt Zalaznick
Several schools, from large state flagship universities to small private colleges, have reported record summer enrollment even as the country grapples with a recession and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Officials at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) outside Atlanta reported a 14% increase in its summer enrollment in online classes, reaching the highest summer numbers in the school’s 15-year history. “In times of economic trouble, people turn to higher education as a path to a brighter future,” President Jann Joseph said in a statement. “And with GGC’s affordability, quality of instruction and a convenient location to such a large population, we know that many people will turn to us.” The school’s administrators also credited retention policies instituted last year that encourage first-year students to focus on a major or concentrated program of study.
Fun 101.1
GORDON STATE IN-PERSON CLASSES RESUME FALL 2020
Gordon State College is launching a phased program for employees and students to return to campus with guidance from the University System of Georgia (USG). The USG is working with the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force, the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts to mitigate the spread of the virus and to make informed decisions affecting the status of any USG campus or the system.
WTVM
Columbus State University ROTC cadets to be sworn in virtually
By Jessie Gibson
Four Columbus State University ROTC cadets will be sworn into office Friday, June 12 at 10 a.m. This commission is the Army’s largest National Commissioning Ceremony to date. More than 1,000 Second Lieutenants across the nation will take their oath. CSU graduates to be commissioned include Durrell and Tatianna Blake, who are husband and wife, Kenney Brown and Alexander Yue. …Cadets will participate from their homes via Facebook and YouTube live events.
POB Online
University of North Georgia Adds Geomatics Graduate Certificate
The geomatics certificate program will feature six graduate courses.
The University of North Georgia’s Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental & Spatial Analysis (IESA) has added a new graduate certificate in geomatics for its fall 2020 semester. The geomatics certificate program will feature six graduate courses, including terrestrial LiDAR methods, legal aspects of surveying, professional practice of surveying, airborne geomatics methods and geomatics I and II. As reported by WGAU, the IESA program graduates around 20 students each year.
Union Recorder
The world’s a virtual realm for Georgia College study abroad students
Special to The U-R
Can’t be there in person? No problem. In lieu of traveling by plane, Georgia College students now have the option to see the world through a different lens. Study abroad — like everything else these days—has gone virtual. “We were originally supposed to be in Europe,” said Dr. Joy Godin, associate professor of Information Systems. The faculty-led trip to the Netherlands, Germany and France was canceled due to COVID-19. Her response was to think outside-the-box and re-imagine the college experience. “I decided to rework the experience to have it take place online,” Godin said. “Overall, I think this has been a unique and rewarding experience for our students, giving them the opportunity to develop virtual collaboration skills, as well as creative problem-solving techniques.”
Inside Higher Ed
New Podcast Episode on Uncertainty Facing College Athletics
By IHE Staff
The Key With Inside Higher Ed is a podcast on the uncertainties both college students and colleges face in coming weeks and months. A new episode discusses recent news of several colleges and universities eliminating intercollegiate sports teams, just as big-time college football gears up for a season filled with uncertainty amid a time of great unrest over racism in society. To help make sense of developments in college athletics, we talked with Welch Suggs, a professor at the University of Georgia, former journalist and university administrator.
Albany Herald
UGA scientist first recipient of research scholarship
By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia food scientist Yen-Con Hung has been named the first recipient of the Koehler-Ayers Professorship. The Koehler-Ayers Professorship was recently established through a donation to the UGA Foundation from UGA food science alumnus Balasubramanian Swaminathan and his wife, Mangal Swaminathan. The professorship in food science at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is named in honor of Swami’s mentors, UGA food scientists Philip Koehler and John Ayers. The Koehler-Ayers Professorship is designated for a UGA faculty member with an outstanding record in externally funded research and/or scholarly publications who is engaged in teaching, research, public service or a combination of such duties.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia colleges see surge in social media shaming of students
By Eric Stirgus
The social media post was obscene and racially offensive. “(Expletive) y’all for making a big deal out of george floyds death it’s not that big a deal (sic),” the caption read underneath the picture of a young, white woman who had her middle finger extended. The message was shared by a young man who named the woman in the picture and said she’s been accepted to enroll this fall at the University of North Georgia. “(I)s this the type of person you would like to represent your school?” the man asked. His response and share of the original post has garnered more than 14,600 retweets since May 30. The question reflects an ongoing challenge for college officials in Georgia and across the nation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Outrage at two Georgia colleges after students’ racist posts
By Eric Stirgus
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly included mention of a student athlete who withdrew from school after using a racial epithet. The student did not attend either of the two Georgia colleges mentioned in this story.
Students, administrators and graduates of two Georgia schools expressed their outrage Friday after white, female students posted racist comments and images on their social media pages.Wesleyan College on Thursday expelled a student for posting statements such as “Bear down on these (expletives),” using a racial slur to demean African Americans. Wesleyan College on Thursday expelled a student for posting statements such as “Bear down on these (expletives),” using a racial slur to demean African Americans. Georgia Southern University wrote a message Friday condemning “inappropriate and offensive social media posts” after a white woman, identified on social media as a student, posted a picture of herself in blackface with the caption “to quote rosa parks. nah.” Georgia Southern declined to say if any disciplinary action has been taken, citing privacy laws.
Statesboro Herald
Black Lives Matter protest changes perception of Georgia Southern football coach
Chad Lunsford: ‘My guys are dealing with things that I don’t understand and we need to have more education’
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police May 25, and the many protests and public outcry since then, have spurred many people to think more about what black Americans fear on a daily basis. Georgia Southern football head coach Chad Lunsford admitted to having his eyes opened, as he accompanied a few of his players to a protest in downtown Statesboro on Saturday. Lunsford sat down with the Statesboro Herald to discuss what he saw, and how he has learned from the hundreds of protests that have sprung up around the country.
Fox5
New UNG observatory nears completion
By Paul Milliken
The University of North Georgia is reaching for the stars with its latest project, a brand-new North Georgia Astronomical Observatory — and right now, all systems are “go” for a summer completion date. “This is a project whose time had come,” says Ken Crowe, Assistant Vice President for Facilities at UNG.
National Interest
A Coronavirus Must: How to Overcome Needle-Phobia
The widespread fear of needles is a public health problem, particularly in the time of COVID-19.
by Amy Baxter
Amy Baxter, Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Augusta University
As progress continues toward finding a vaccine that prevents COVID-19, millions of Americans are frightened at even the notion of getting a shot: Studies suggest 63% of young adults – those born in 2000 or later – fear needles. As a physician trained in pediatrics, I think we found the answer for the huge rise in needle phobia. Now – and even more critical: What might alleviate needle pain and fear? A landmark 1995 study on needle phobia reported that 10% of adults and 25% of children were afraid of needles. The study also noted what typically caused their fear: a “needle event” around five years of age. …Experts in the field – like Dr. Anna Taddio of the University of Toronto – realized needle fear could impact vaccination rates. She and other Canadian scientists created guidelines to reduce vaccination pain. Issued in 2015, those guidelines suggested that interventions, occurring while preparing for and receiving the shot, would help.
Albany Herald
Georgia Tech to Install Artificial Turf at Bobby Dodd Stadium
From Staff Reports
Georgia Tech athletics will install an artificial playing surface at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the home of Georgia Tech football, this summer. The removal of historic Grant Field’s previous natural grass turf began in late May and the installation of a state-of-the-art Legion NXT turf system with Geofill infill, manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf out of nearby Calhoun, Ga., is expected to be completed in late July.
The installation of an artificial surface will allow for Grant Field to be utilized on a far more regular basis than it currently can be. The new surface will expand opportunities for Georgia Tech student-athletes and teams to train and practice inside Bobby Dodd Stadium. Additionally, it will allow Tech athletics to host many more non-football events inside the stadium that are of interest to the Georgia Tech and Atlanta communities, including campus events, concerts and other sporting events.
Other News:
Marietta Daily Journal
Lockheed Martin grants $450,000 to expand COVID-19 testing capacity for Grady Health System
Staff reports
Lockheed Martin Corporation has awarded $450,000 to Grady Health System to increase COVID-19 testing capacity and reach. The enhancement of in-house testing comes at a pivotal time as Grady is testing all admitted patients and making it available to more of its employees, making it one of the first health systems in Georgia to proactively test both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. This extensive testing effort comes at a critical time for Grady as it seeks to resume normal outpatient surgical, primary and specialty care services.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 9, 3pm)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,285 | Deaths confirmed in 137 counties. For one death, the county is unknown, and for 35 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state. CONFIRMED CASES: 53,249 | A case’s county is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. Cases have been confirmed in every county. For 1,291 cases, the county is unknown. For 2,480 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
More Confusion Over Emergency Aid
The Education Department appeared ready to issue a rule limiting who can get the CARES Act’s emergency aid grants but backed off at the last minute.
By Kery Murakami
The U.S Department of Education on Tuesday appeared to be on the verge of issuing an interim rule saying again that undocumented college students and others not eligible for regular financial aid couldn’t get the emergency grants created in the federal CARES Act. But in the latest in a series of twists, turns, advances and retreats by the department as it tries to distribute the grants for colleges to hand out, the department abruptly pulled back. The new rule wasn’t ready yet and wouldn’t be for at least a week, Justice Department attorneys representing the Education Department wrote in a filing in a federal lawsuit brought by the California community college system.
Inside Higher Ed
Reading Scores and the Gender Gap in College Enrollment
By Madeline St. Amour
New research shows that boys’ poor reading skills in adolescence and social attitudes about women attending college could help explain why fewer men than women enroll in higher education. Researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Essex in the United Kingdom analyzed postsecondary education enrollment data between 2011 and 2017 from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, national reading scores for 15- and 16-year-olds from the Program for International Student Assessment and social attitudes toward women pursuing university educations from the World Values Survey for their report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to a news release. With these data, the researchers were able to predict the ratio of men and women attending college.
Inside Higher Ed
What Do We Know About This Spring’s Remote Learning?
What should we try to find out? And how might what we learn influence how colleges educate their students this fall and beyond?
By Doug Lederman
This spring COVID-19 forced hundreds of thousands of college instructors and millions of students to take their teaching and learning into a virtual realm most of them had not chosen and with which many of them were unfamiliar. So how’d it go? First, it’s important to say, it went. In other words, most faculty members made the switch adequately enough that most students were able to continue their educations rather than wash out. Given how consistently people love to say that higher education is stuck in its ways and can’t adapt, that alone might be considered a minor miracle. Professors adapted; colleges adapted. Most educations were not derailed. Second, students and parents, as well as college leaders and professors, overwhelmingly believe that the learning experience was subpar.