The Chronicle of Higher Education
In Some States This Fall, Masks at Public Colleges Will Be ‘Encouraged’ but Not Required
By Michael Vasquez
Georgia plans to reopen its 26 public colleges and universities this fall without requiring face masks — despite clear evidence that they play a critical role in reducing the spread of Covid-19. The optional policy worries some faculty. “Not wearing a mask is dangerous,” complains Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of English at the University of North Georgia. Instead of a strict requirement, masks will be “strongly encouraged,” according to a reopening plan that the University of Georgia created for its employees. As states get ready for a fall semester filled with uncertainty, Georgia appears to be among the most eager to put the pandemic behind itself, even as the coronavirus threat there rises. After dipping to 306 new cases on June 2, the state’s rate of infections is ticking back up, according to data reported by The New York Times. Georgia State University began a phased reopening on June 1, and Georgia’s flagship in Athens and North Georgia will follow suit on Monday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New study: In Georgia, college degree really pays off
GET SCHOOLED BLOG
By Maureen Downey
Everyone knows it pays to go to college. A new study suggests it pays even more in Georgia. The study — “What you make depends on where you live: College Earnings Across States and Metropolitan Areas” — evaluates the “college earnings premium” by geographic area. Along with Washington, D.C., and New York, Georgia boasts one of the nation’s highest returns on a bachelor’s degree. Workers in Georgia with a four-year degree earn 66% more on average than those with associate’s degrees and 101% more than those with only a high school diploma. Narrowing the focus to the state’s largest metropolitan statistical area — Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell — workers with bachelor’s degrees earn 68.4% more than those with associate degrees ($98,402 vs. $58,442) and 108.2% more than those with high school diplomas.
WGAU
UGA, UNG reopening campuses today
Phased-in return for staffers
By Tim Bryant
University of Georgia staffers will begin, in a limited and phased-in fashion, their return to campus today: it is a campus that has been largely closed since mid-March because of coronavirus concerns. UGA and the University of North Georgia are among the schools that are making plans for in-person and in-classroom learning for fall semester classes that are scheduled to begin in two months.
The Red & Black
Dania Kalaji | Contributor
An American College Health Association task force chaired by former executive director of the University of Georgia University Health Center has released guidelines for universities to return to in-person classes in the fall in the COVID-19 era. Dr. Jean Chin currently teaches clinical skills as a part of the Augusta University and UGA Medical Partnership. Chin said that although she works for the medical partnership, she is not involved in UGA’s plan to reopen, and the task force guidelines are recommendations of what schools should do to minimize risk from COVID-19 as in-person classes resume. She currently chairs the ACHA COVID-19 Task Force, which published the guidelines. The recommendations provide considerations to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection, particularly in a possible second wave of infection as students return to campus in the fall.
Fox 28 Media
Georgia Southern receives 2 Emmy nominations for sports directing
by Marah Brock
Georgia Southern University’s Multimedia Development Center (MDC) was recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Southeast Chapter by receiving two professional Emmy award nominations. The two nominations were for Art Berger, Best Technical Director for Georgia Southern football, baseball and basketball, and Ben Powell, Best Technical Director for Georgia Southern basketball. …The center already received 18 Emmy nominations and five wins.
11Alive
18 UNG graduates joined national commissioning ceremony online
University of North Georgia graduates who are newly commissioned second lieutenants took their military oath in front of a national audience online.
Brittany Kleinpeter
The U.S. Army Cadet Command conducted its national commissioning ceremony live on Facebook Friday morning, and more than 1,000 cadets across the country participated including 18 from the University of North Georgia. 2nd Lt. John Perry IV, a Distinguished Military Graduate who earned a degree in a strategic and security studies in May, represented UNG in the ceremony from the Brooks Pennington Jr. Military Leadership Center (MLC) on UNG’s Dahlonega Campus. “It’s a great honor to have been selected,” he said. “I am very humbled. I think it’s going to be a great experience.” The 21-year-old from Dawsonville, Georgia, was one of the 72 members of the Corps of Cadets who commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army in May. The military tradition followed social distancing guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the number of guests at UNG.
Coastal Courier
GSU offers new Non-profit program
A new certificate program will be offered on the Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus as part of a partnership between the Division of Continuing Education and the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies. The certificate will be awarded upon completion of the Nonprofit Management and Leadership Workshop Series, which will take place Oct. 5-9 at the Armstrong Center. The five-day program focuses on practical skill building and covers a range of management principles including board governance, budgeting, grant writing, strategic planning and volunteer management, among others.
Albany Herald
Lawmakers focus on budget as they return to Capitol
By Beau Evans Capitol Beat News Service
Crunch time has come for state agencies in Georgia wondering how much money they will have in the bank come July 1, as lawmakers return Monday for a reboot of the 2020 legislative session in Atlanta. Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake for agencies in charge of statewide public health programs, mental health and addiction treatment, child welfare services, the courts system, public schools, and more. To float the budget cuts, thousands of state employees are facing furloughs and the continued prospect of working remotely to save office costs. Layoffs lie in wait for some. Others, like Georgia Supreme Court justices, have said they might work for free a few days out of the year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State faculty demand greater diversity and inclusion
By Eric Stirgus
The ongoing national discussion about racial discrimination has started a debate at Georgia’s largest public university among faculty and administrators who say the school must improve in some areas of diversity and inclusion. Georgia State University has created a 17-member task force for racial equality. The group met Monday to discuss how its curriculum, community outreach and research can reduce systematic racism. The group’s goals are also to increase understanding and awareness of police violence and racial discrimination, along with and identifying how the school can better support underrepresented students, faculty, staff and community. On Wednesday, faculty members sent a letter to president Mark Becker making several additional demands such as appointing more black faculty and administrators, establishing an African Studies Center, memorializing the African American female students who ended segregation there and improving working conditions for black employees, noting statistics showing a disproportionate percentage of African Americans have died from COVID-19. The petition has more than 200 signatures.
The Atlanta Voice
150 faculty members sign open letter to Georgia State University president for more diversity
Staff Report
Over 150 Georgia State University faculty members signed an open letter to the school’s president, Mark Becker, regarding a greater push for diversity and inclusion within its faculty. GSU’s student body is 75 percent non-white, while nearly 70 percent of its faculty members are White.
The letter reads as follows:
Dear President Becker,
We are writing this letter both as members of the Black community and as faculty members at Georgia State University.
Atlanta Daily World
Mayor Bottoms appoints members to Use of Force Advisory Council
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the appointment of members to her Use of Force Advisory Council, which was created through an Administrative Order issued last week. “The gravity of this Advisory Council’s actions and recommendations — and their potential to fundamentally transform the relationship between law enforcement officials and those they serve —cannot be understated,” said Mayor Bottoms. “Thank you to every member for their partnership and commitment to bettering the Atlanta community. With peoples’ very lives at stake, I look forward to their recommendations and assistance in implementing needed reforms to the City’s Use of Force policies.” … Additional members of the Advisory Council are as follows: Joycelyn Wilson, Assistant Professor of Hip Hop Studies and Digital Humanities, Georgia Tech. The Advisory Council will review city’s use of force policies and make recommendations for any changes or additions. The Council will make initial recommendations to Mayor Bottoms within 14 days, followed by a more comprehensive report no later than 45 days.
WRDW
AU provides quick tests for SRS staff, which has seen 32 COVID-19 cases
Savannah River Site managers say a collaboration with Augusta University Health is behind a coronavirus testing program that has revealed infections among a workforce of more than 11,000. The agreement between Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and AU Health has been in place since May 7. “The easily accessible testing allows us to quickly identify or rule out transmission within the workforce. We’ve been very pleased with Augusta University Health,” said Brenda Mills, site medical director for SRNS, the management and operations contractor for the Department of Energy industrial complex. “It’s reassuring to know that fast and reliable tests for COVID-19 are now available for our workers.”
Albany Herald
Phoebe simulation lab offers safe training site for medical staff
By Carlton Fletcher
…Welcome to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital’s $5.3 million Simulation and Innovation Center, where $80,000 and $120,000 mannequins offer staff at the hospital heretofore undreamed-of training opportunities in what Phoebe Putney Health System CEO Scott Steiner calls a “no apologies” setting. The otherworldly laboratory is one that Steiner says will pay for itself within a year but, more importantly, save lives. …The Simulation and Innovation Center, which will welcome its first cohort of 40 new hires Monday morning, came about when Steiner had an early conversation with Phoebe Assistant Vice President of Nursing Education Tracy Suber. Suber, who came to understand the educational value of even rudimentary mannequins while teaching at then-Darton College, said she found a willing listener with a similar interest in the technology when Steiner came on board as the Phoebe Health System’s CEO. “I found an old mannequin in a closet (at Darton, now Albany State University’s West Campus) and quickly saw it presented a powerful learning opportunity,” Suber said. “My dean in the health sciences department bought into the idea, and we expanded a closet area in the college’s old nursing building into a lab. When the new nursing building was built, I was fortunate enough to help design an area for simulation work. …Already, health care programs at Albany State University, Albany Technical College, Andrew College, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and other educational institutions in the region are planning to use the simulation lab.
WSAV
Savannah respiratory therapist lends hand in COVID-19 hot spot
by: Alex Bozarjian
A respiratory therapist from Candler hospital is sharing his story after spending four weeks in a COVID-19 hot spot. Rafael Agosto graduated from Georgia Southern Southern University in 2003. After he got his degree he started work as a respiratory therapist and has been helping people breathe for 17 years. Despite being a seasoned medical professional he said his training is still no match for a virus that can shut down the human lungs. “COVID-19 is definitely something new to us we don’t know exactly how to treat it 100 percent so it’s kind of like a trial period for us,” said Agosto. At candler hospital COVID-19 patients numbers are low. On an average day Agosto was attending to about nine patients a day.
Market Watch
The new tech hubs: With more employees working from home, companies could diversify workforces
By Jon Swartz
…A confluence of factors tied to COVID-19, the thriving work-from-home economy, and social protests could be accelerating momentum in Atlanta and other destinations far from Silicon Valley. The events have put a spotlight squarely on the hiring patterns of U.S. corporations during a slice of time when the physical location of prospective employees isn’t crucial, and when most organizations are actively supporting social causes with donations, pledges of support, and vows to do more on diversity and inclusion. …Atlanta has emerged as a prime landing spot because of its engineering pipeline at local colleges — Georgia Tech, Emory University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College — and as the headquarters of major corporations like Coca-Cola Co. KO, -0.25% , Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, -3.70% , United Parcel Service Inc. UPS, 2.34% , and Home Depot Inc. HD, -2.21% . Last year, the industry accounted for about 10%, or $53 billion, of the state’s economy, and Atlanta ranked 10th in tech employment nationally, with 271,000 workers, according to CompTIA.
WALB
Tifton couple’s garden receives ‘Beauty Spot of the Month’
By Matthew Crumley
This month, a retired Tifton couple received “Beauty Spot of the Month” for their garden. “We’ve been married 35 years, so it’s been about 36-37 years we’ve been gardening,” said Lorie Felton. Lorie and Jimmy Felton were honored Tifton’s “Beauty Spot of the Month” after months and years of hard work in the garden that surrounds their home. …They both worked for many years at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in Tifton. Lorie taught landscape design, greenhouse management, along with all the horticulture classes. Jimmy worked as the ground superintendent and then became a technician with the horticulture program.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 14, 3pm)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,451 | Deaths confirmed in 138 counties. For 3 deaths, the county is unknown, and for 35 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state. CONFIRMED CASES: 57,681 | 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 1,675 cases, the county is unknown. For 2,807 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Education Department Officially Bars Emergency Pandemic Aid to Undocumented Students
The Department of Education on Thursday formally issued a rule, which was earlier a guidance, blocking emergency COVID-19 education aid to undocumented, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) and other college students who aren’t eligible for federal aid. However, the department did add that the rule won’t apply retroactively, that is, it won’t enforce the eligibility restriction to funds distributed prior to this rule being published. The full text of the rule is available here. In March, the CARES Act allocated $14 billion in emergency pandemic aid for higher education, at least half of which had to be used as emergency aid for students affected by COVID-19. The final rule comes two days after a federal judge lambasted the department for taking too long to issue rules on who is eligible for emergency aid. “How is that approach and tactic consistent with the word ’emergency’?” asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. “It seems to me like you’re putting roadblocks to the distribution of this money.”
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Apple to Expand Recruitment From HBCUs as Part of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative
Apple Inc. will expand its recruitment efforts at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as part of its new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, reported Forbes. Apple already partners with HBCUs through its HBCU Scholars Program. As part of the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, the company will also run camps for Black developers and increase spending with Black-owned enterprises. The initiative will be headed by Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. In 2009, Jackson was named the first African American Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Inside Higher Ed
Public Research Universities’ OK Year on Admissions
There’s no more talk of 20 percent declines in enrollment. At regional public universities, the picture is more mixed but still better than a few months ago.
By Scott Jaschik
… For public research universities, the admissions picture is cautiously stable. Plenty of things could still happen between now and when students actually show up. Summer melt — those students who make a deposit and don’t come — could be far worse than in the past. But right now, the numbers are largely OK. Regional public universities are experiencing much more of a mix, with some institutions holding steady and others losing ground. But that’s the way it was last year and the year before and the year before that.