University System News:
Athens CEO
Promising Path Found for COVID-19 Therapeutics
A team of researchers at the University of Georgia has successfully demonstrated that a set of drug-like small molecules can block the activity of a key SARS-CoV-2 protein—providing a promising path for new COVID-19 therapeutics. Led by Scott Pegan, director of UGA’s Center for Drug Discovery, the team was the first to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 protein PLpro, known to be essential in other coronaviruses for both its replication and its ability to suppress host immune function.
Education Dive
Colleges adapt gap year programs as coronavirus limits options
Schools that offer their own programs are modifying the experience and even going virtual to keep them running during the pandemic.
Natalie Schwartz
… Although the coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses and colleges to remain closed, the program will be held this year. Colleges nationwide are likewise pushing to resume in-person operations, though some plan to stay virtual through the end of 2020. Incoming traditional-age students, however, don’t seem keen on starting their college careers online. Several recent polls suggest they’re more likely to forgo enrolling this fall if their preferred institutions don’t reopen in-person. …Georgia Tech officials are among those unsure what the fall term will look like. A 31-page memo from Georgia’s public university system says all of its institutions are planning for an in-person semester, though classes may transition partly or entirely online if the coronavirus crisis worsens. More students than usual are inquiring about taking a gap year before enrolling at Georgia Tech, though that hasn’t yet translated into more committing to do so, said Rick Clark, Georgia Tech’s director of undergraduate admission.
The Tifton Gazette
ABAC athletics waiting on plans
Becky Taylor
The athletic fields of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College are quiet now. Athletic director Alan Kramer said to expect them to remain that way at least a few weeks longer. Some movement may start happening on June 19, he said, when the NJCAA releases return-to-play guidelines. ABAC is also waiting on guidance from the state as well as the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association. No decisions will come easily, said Kramer, “Every layer you pull back on the onion of figuring it out has a whole other 100 layers of other issues you have to think about.” He expects any decisions made to be constantly subject to review.
CNN
College coaches and teams want the NCAA to encourage voting — by giving athletes Election Day off
By Rachel Janfaza
A Georgia Tech assistant basketball coach is leading the charge for the NCAA to make Election Day a mandatory day-off for college athletics. The movement, #AllVoteNoPlay, started when a Zoom call inspired the coach, Eric Reveno, to take a stand. Since he first issued the call-to-action last week, other coaches and athletes, both at the college and professional level, have stated their support. Reveno is adamant that the NCAA make the move to demonstrate the importance of civic engagement to the almost half a million college athletes eligible to vote this November — and in all elections moving forward.
WJCL
Georgia Southern president talks more about plans to reopen in the fall
Dave Williams, Reporter
With most businesses in Georgia back open, the 26 universities in the University System of Georgia will reopen this fall. Among those, Georgia Southern University. So how will they handle it? And what about fans in the stands for football? Those were all subjects addressed by Georgia State President Dr. Kyle Marrero in part two of his conversation with WJCL.
Growing Georgia
ABAC’s Forest Lakes Golf Club Opens June 17
Golfers can return to the green fairways and blue skies of the Forest Lakes Golf Club at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on June 17. Superintendent Austin Lawton said Forest Lakes has been closed for 10 weeks because of the pandemic but the staff has used every day during that time to spruce up the course and get it ready for action. “The course looks excellent,” Lawton, a graduate of ABAC’s golf course management program, said. “The greens have been aerified and verticut twice this year, and we have also verticut all the tees and fairways.” As for coping with coronavirus concerns, Lawton said many extra steps are being taken to make sure all golfers feel safe when they are in the clubhouse and on the course.
Albany CEO
Star Business of the Week: UGA SBDC
Staff Report
Congratulations to UGA Small Business Development Center, this week’s Albany Area Chamber’s Star Business. The UGA SBDC offers confidential, no-cost business consulting services on a large variety of business needs from marketing and Human Resources to financial and strategic planning and more. We also offer continuing education courses, and market research assistance to small business owners and potential entrepreneurs.
13WMAZ
‘Words can’t describe how exciting it was’: Macon men find historic canoe in Oconee River
Right now, it’s at Georgia Southern University awaiting testing.
Suzanne Lawler
You may have taken a trip down the Oconee River tubing, canoeing, or kayaking. The next time you go down, keep your eyes open for artifacts from the past, because one group of guys brought home an incredible find. It all happened in November. Four guys went out on the Oconee with a group called Blackwater Paddle. It was a five-day trip. On the fourth night, they pulled onto a sandbar to camp for the evening, and what they found will one day sit in a museum. …”‘Man, this thing looks like it’s hollow, and if it’s hollow, tapered at both ends, like there’s no way — there’s no way that it’s what I think it is,'” Thompson recalled, but James pegged it right — he had stumbled upon an old, well-preserved canoe. …The crew upended it, gently tied it to their kayaks, and paddled eight miles with their treasure in tow from Montgomery County. When they got home, they contacted a lot of organizations, including the Department of Natural Resources. DNR then reached out to Georgia Southern to house and conserve the vessel. The canoe belongs to the state since it came out of a Georgia waterway. Professor Kurt Knoerl brought his students out to take a look and pick it up. “Right now, the canoe is at the Georgia Southern archaeological warehouse in a storage facility that is environmentally-controlled,” Knoerl said. …Once Georgia Southern restores the canoe, they hope to put it on display next spring.
WJCL
College Student Finds Way to Raise Money in Support of Black Lives Matter Movement
A Savannah resident is doing what she can to make sure the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t become a fading trend.
Danae Bucci
A Savannah resident is doing what she can to make sure the Black Lives Matter movement doesn’t become a fading trend. “I wanted to do something to help those people protesting. So the only thing that I could do instead of donating was to raise money,” said Alivia Rukmana. She took four design she had already made to create pins and stickers for people to buy. She posted the merchandise on her social media pages and in just a couple of days sales took off. “I had no idea that I was going to make over 600 dollars in just two days. It’s just crazy,” said Rukmana, who’s a sophomore at Georgia Tech. All the money she makes from the $4 buttons and $3.50 stickers are donated to the black-led organization, National Bail Out.
AllOnGeorgia
Graduate students in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University analyzed mortality data to reveal that southwest Georgia is dealing with deaths from COVID-19 at a rate higher than most other counties in the country. The students found that the mortality rate of 305 per 100,000 residents (as of May 28, 2020) for Terrell County in southwestern Georgia, is 50% higher than that of New York state’s Nassau County, the documented highest rate in New York. The three other Georgia counties that are highest in terms of mortality rate are Hancock, Early and Dougherty counties. Three out of these four are in southwest Georgia, around the Albany area. That accounts for almost half of the 10 counties in the United States with the highest mortality rate, which is defined as a measure of the frequency of occurrence of death among a defined population.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lifts shelter-in-place order for most residents over 65
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp scaled back more coronavirus restrictions Thursday by signing an order that lifts a shelter-in-place requirement for many older Georgians, clears the way for live entertainment venues to reopen and permits larger gatherings. The executive order immediately repeals a shelter-in-place requirement for Georgians age 65 and older unless they are considered “medically fragile,” a designation that includes those suffering from chronic lung or heart disease. Starting Tuesday, it permits gatherings of as many as 50 people without social-distancing requirements. For groups larger than that, the order requires participants to space out at least 6 feet apart. …And it allows live entertainment venues, such as concert halls, to reopen July 1 if they follow a series of regulations. Conventions, too, will be allowed to resume on that date if organizers obtain a special license and follow safety guidelines.
Moultrie Observer
COVID-19 test site to move from hospital to health department
Staff Reports
The COVID-19 testing site that has been outside Colquitt Regional Medical Center since April 24 will move Monday to the Colquitt County Health Department, 214 W. Central Ave. in Moultrie. The site was established to serve both Colquitt Regional and a statewide effort by Augusta University. The Georgia Department of Public Health took over Augusta University’s operations in late May. The DPH will continue to support test collections at Colquitt Regional through Sunday and will continue to be responsible for the test site after that.
accessWDUN
Final tests of some COVID-19 vaccines to start next month
By The Associated Press
The first experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. is on track to begin a huge study next month to prove if it really can fend off the coronavirus, while hard-hit Brazil is testing a different shot from China. Where to do crucial, late-stage testing and how many volunteers are needed to roll up their sleeves are big worries for health officials as the virus spread starts tapering off in parts of the world. Moderna Inc. said Thursday the vaccine it is developing with the National Institutes of Health will be tested in 30,000 people in the U.S. Some will get the real shot and some a dummy shot, as scientists carefully compare which group winds up with the most infections. …Worldwide, about a dozen COVID-19 potential vaccines are in early stages of testing. The NIH expects to help several additional shots move into those final, large-scale studies this summer, including one made by Oxford University that’s also being tested in a few thousand volunteers in Brazil.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 11, 3pm)
UPDATED June 11, 3pm: The Department of Public Health’s coronavirus page now updates once a day at 3 p.m.
DEATHS: 2,375 | Deaths confirmed in 138 counties. For 2 deaths, the county is unknown, and for 38 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state .CONFIRMED CASES: 54,973 | 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 1,019 cases, the county is unknown. For 2,641 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
State-Level Data on FAFSA Renewal Declines
By Paul Fain
Federal data from late March and throughout April showed steep declines in the number of returning college students who were renewing their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to an analysis by the National College Attainment Network, an indicator that suggests enrollments may be down this fall. And lower-income students were the most likely to not renew. A new analysis covering May data showed an overall decrease of 3.2 percent in renewals compared to last year, NCAN found, an improvement from April but not enough to cover the earlier declines.
Inside Higher Ed
Survey Suggests Increase in Requests to Re-Evaluate Financial Aid
By Lilah Burke
Results from a survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators suggest that financial aid offices are expecting an increase in the number of students and families requesting their financial aid packages be re-evaluated. Respondents include 239 offices at institutions that are members of NASFAA, though the sample is not statistically representative. Nearly half of respondents saw an increase this March to May compared to the same period last year in the number of requests that financial aid packages be re-evaluated. Packages are typically decided by a standardized assessment, but when that approach is unsuitable, officers can use their professional judgment to override the standardized approach and revise data elements or cost of attendance. … Ninety percent of respondents said they expect an increase in the number of re-evaluation requests from May to October.
Inside Higher Ed
DeVos Formally Limits Emergency Aid
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos formally moves to limit emergency aid grants, though a court decision looms.
By Kery Murakami
After a series of fits and starts that colleges say has confused the distribution of emergency aid grants to help students dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the Education Department finally issued an interim formal rule saying undocumented students and millions of others who are not eligible for regular student aid cannot receive the help. In part, the department said it took the position out of fear that if colleges were able to hand out the grants to any student they wished, they could create fake classes and programs and use the grants to attract students to pad their enrollment and revenue.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Months After Congress Sent Emergency Aid to College Students, Distribution Remains Spotty
By Danielle McLean
…Such hiccups are hardly unexpected, given the vast leeway afforded by the U.S. Education Department to colleges in distributing the funds, coupled with unclear and evolving federal guidance about which students are eligible to receive the money. Two and a half months after the Cares Act was signed into law, distribution of the much-needed money remains inconsistent across higher education. …The Chronicle reached out to the top recipients of federal Covid-19 relief funds through the Cares Act, including large public universities, community colleges, and private nonprofit institutions, about how they are distributing the money and the number of students that have received it. The numbers and methods are all over the map: Some colleges have distributed a lot, others have distributed very little; some have used a formula or cut checks to everyone eligible, while others have created their own application process. …Meanwhile, as of last week, Georgia State University had already distributed 61 percent of the $22 million it received in emergency student aid under the Cares Act. Some students obtained the assistance from the university through an application process; others automatically qualified for funds through a formula based on their financial need.
Inside Higher Ed
For struggling colleges hoping for help from Congress, the next relief package could be their last chance for a while.
By Kery Murakami
Ever since the coronavirus shuttered campuses, creating costs, among other things, for refunding room and board for empty residence halls and uneaten meals, colleges and universities have been crying for federal help. As their financial situation has gotten worse, university leaders have been making the case to top Republican senators and their aides that more federal help is needed. …Adding to the urgency is that time is apparently running out for getting help from Congress. Negotiations in Congress over its next coronavirus relief package, which likely would come after the July 4 holiday, could be “the last bite at the apple,” as Jon Fansmith, the American Council on Education’s government relations director, put it in an interview.
Inside Higher Ed
Foundations Will Increase Support for Higher Ed
By Scott Jaschik
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation have announced that they will increase grant making by $1.7 billion to support nonprofit institutions in higher education, the arts and the humanities.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
How Your Syllabus Can Cater to Every Student
By Beckie Supiano
Give Students Choices
Among the many challenges professors faced during emergency remote instruction this spring: Students were having very different experiences of the pandemic. Some craved the normalcy of regular class meetings. Some were eager for more to do in the face of boredom. Some were in the midst of life-altering health and financial crises. Some were too overwhelmed to get much work done at all. And there’s little reason to expect that students’ experiences will be more uniform come fall. So how can instructors design their courses to work for students in such divergent circumstances? There are lots of ways to think about that, but I’m hearing a common theme: Be flexible, and give students options.
Inside Higher Ed
Apple to Discontinue iTunes U App
By Lindsay McKenzie
The iTunes U app will be shut down at the end of 2021, Apple announced this week. The app, founded in 2007, is credited with playing a central role in opening up higher education to the public. Institutions such as Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; Duke University; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all shared free educational content on the app in audio, video or ebook format. Some university courses shared on the app were so popular that they were downloaded millions of times. Stanford’s iPhone Application Programming course, for example, reached one million downloads in under seven weeks in 2009. In recent years, however, the app was not regularly updated by Apple, leading some users to theorize that it would soon be shut down. This week that theory was confirmed.