University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp signs $26 billion budget as state faces uncertain fiscal future
By James Salzer
A day before the start of the new fiscal year, Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday signed a $26 billion budget that cuts $2 billion in spending amid an uncertain financial future for the state. “Today is quite bittersweet,” Kemp said before signing the spending plan. “Yes this budget reflects the values of this state. This budget emphasizes education, health care and public safety. “But he added, it also reflects the reality of trying to balance a budget at a time when tax collections are shrinking due to the coronavirus pandemic recession.
The Red & Black
State legislature, Kemp passes fiscal year 2021 budget with no mandatory furloughs for USG employees
Jacqueline GaNun | News Editor
Gov. Brian Kemp signed the fiscal year 2021 budget into law Tuesday morning. The final budget doesn’t include mandatory furloughs for University System of Georgia employees. All state agencies, including the USG, were originally told to cut their budgets by 14% for the next fiscal year, starting July 1, due to revenue loss caused by the coronavirus. All 26 USG universities had to submit reduction plans, including possible layoffs and furloughs. The amount of furlough days would have been tiered based on salary. On Friday, the state legislature passed a final budget with around a 10% reduction from last fiscal year, instead of 14%. The USG will take a $242 million cut under the approved budget, according to the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. In the approved fiscal year 2021 budget, no USG employees will be forced to take mandatory unpaid days off.
Athens CEO
Carl Vinson Institute Webinars Help Decision-makers Navigate Unprecedented Challenges
Roger Nielsen
Recognizing how the COVID-19 pandemic could erode local government finances, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government immediately began sharing technical expertise to provide effective assistance. Within days of the coronavirus lockdown, Institute faculty began planning free webinars to give Georgia’s state and local leaders accurate, current data about how the pandemic is affecting their communities and to help them make long-term recovery plans. Nearly 2,000 government leaders registered for the Institute’s Navigating Fiscal Crisis webinar series, which debuted in May.
WALB
VSU program helps track mosquitoes, mosquito-borne illnesses
By Jennifer Morejon
Summertime is known for bringing the heat and mosquitoes. A program at Valdosta State University (VSU) has been working hard to test mosquitoes in different parts of the county. VSU’s Mosquito Surveillance Program recently helped discover two mosquitoes with West Nile Virus in Lowndes County and one case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis in Lanier County. “So, we have traps spread throughout the county, some are in the city, some are in more rural areas,” said Dr. Mark Blackmore, a professor of Biology at VSU. Blackmore runs the Mosquito Surveillance Program. Partnered with the city and county directly, the program has been doing mosquito surveillance for Valdosta and Lowndes County for almost 20 years. …Once they are grouped, they are placed into pools of 25, and then they’re frozen to keep the virus alive and sent to the veterinary school at the University of Georgia. There they have a lab where they test for illnesses.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State group to explore “racial challenges and opportunities”
By Eric Stirgus
Kennesaw State announced Tuesday it has created a task force to explore “racial challenges and opportunities” at Georgia’s third-largest university. “This task force is comprised of a diverse group of students, faculty and staff who will work with existing structures and newly identified stakeholders to lead KSU toward meaningful change for our community and beyond,” KSU President Pamela Whitten said in a blog post announcing the group. The 21-member task force will be led by Sylvia Carey-Butler, the university’s chief diversity officer. The task force is scheduled to meet this week and will have listening sessions on its two campuses.
WABE
Clayton State Professor On Historical Role Black College Students Played In Fight For Social Justice
Lashawn Hudson
In reflecting on the recent protests in Atlanta and across the country, a Clayton State University professor says Black college students have always been at the forefront, organizing and mobilizing for change. “My hope is that in the same way in which Black colleges served as a catalyst and a springboard — not just for discourse but action — they can continue,” said professor Dr. Jelani Favors, who wrote the award-winning book “Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism.”
Savannah Now
Georgia Southern volleyball player apologizes for use of racist language in tweets
By Nathan Dominitz
A Georgia Southern University volleyball player from Savannah has apologized for what she described as “racially insensitive” tweets posted when she was a high school freshman and resigned Sunday as the incoming president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Landon Jones, a senior this fall semester, wrote an apology on her Twitter account on Sunday evening after two tweets from January 2014 — when she was a 14-year-old ninth-grader at Savannah Christian — were screen captured and posted earlier Sunday on Twitter. The N-word was used in the tweets dated Jan. 3 and Jan. 13, 2014. “Six and a half years ago, prior to committing to Georgia Southern, I sent out two tweets and used language that was racially insensitive and that I am not proud of,” wrote Jones, 21. “A lot has changed since I was a freshman in high school and that language does not reflect who I was then and certainly not today. I’ve spoken with my teammates, I take ownership of my actions and apologize to everyone that these words may have offended.”
DVM360
UGA introduces online professional master’s program
The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine will offer a comparative biomedical master’s program online starting this fall. The University of Georgia is now offering a non-thesis online master’s program in comparative biomedical sciences. The interdisciplinary program, with courses in lab animal research, clinical concepts, pathology, human and veterinary anatomy, and cell biology, among others, is intended to build a foundation for students planning to pursue careers in veterinary or human medicine, dentistry, or biomedical engineering or biomedical research. Thirty credits earned over one to two years are required to graduate from the program.
WRDW
AU is back in business, but faculty still concerned about COVID-19
By Sydney Heiberger
Augusta University will begin opening its campus, following guidelines for social distancing and encouraging masks. But some faculty still feel their safety could be at stake. In South Carolina, institutions are making mask-wearing required on campus. Several institutions in Georgia are following the guidelines suggested by the University Systems of Georgia and the CDC, one where masks are strongly encouraged, but not required. Augusta University has been a big player in COVID-19 research and has always encouraged mask-wearing. Gov. Brian Kemp is also embarking on a tour around the state to encourage people to wear masks. So, some professors are confused. If leaders are pushing so hard for people to wear masks, why aren’t they required?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Georgia’s Top-Down Management of Higher Ed Causes Covid-19 Chaos
By Michael Vasquez
In March, as the Covid-19 pandemic exploded globally, the Georgia Institute of Technology ordered an immediate campus shutdown. Classes switched to online instruction. Students moved out of their dorms. But the University System of Georgia objected. The state wanted Georgia Tech to suspend in-person classes for only two weeks, delaying a final decision on the rest of the semester. The university’s president, Ángel Cabrera, backed down. In a tweet posted on Friday, March 13, the night before spring break began, Cabrera wrote that “further assessment” was needed before deciding whether the campus would indeed stay closed. “My apologies for the confusion caused by my earlier statements,” he wrote. The abrupt about-face stunned both students and faculty. “We had kids on planes to China,” said Alexandra Edwards, a postdoc fellow at Georgia Tech. “They landed, opened their email and saw that maybe they were not supposed to go home, because maybe school was going to keep going.” That day’s chaos and confusion is a microcosm of a larger power struggle in Georgia.
Science Mag
Study: New Leaders Emerge As Organizations Go To Virtual Work Spaces
In virtual environments, actions trump more traditional leadership traits
When work meetings shifted online this spring, some may have noticed new standouts among their colleagues. According to new research, members of virtual teams identify leaders in significantly different ways compared to members of in-person teams. The brand new study looked at “emergent leaders”–those who lack formal authority but are recognized as leaders by team members–in teams with varying levels of virtual interaction. Researchers found that in face-to-face gatherings, team members value those with “classic” leadership characteristics, such as extroversion and intelligence, but in virtual settings, those qualities take a backseat. Online, perhaps because there are fewer cues available for human interaction and more opportunities for miscommunication, team members gravitate toward those who take concrete steps to ensure achievement, rather than toward those with charismatic personalities. …“In virtual environments, our actions speak loudly,” said fellow study author Steven Charlier, a professor of management at Georgia Southern University. “The ‘soft’ skills that traditional managers rely on might not translate easily to a virtual environment.”
Savannah Morning News
Savannah State football looks to fill hole in schedule after Morehouse cancels season
By Dennis Knight
The coronavirus pandemic continued to affect the Savannah State football program from afar on Friday as Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta, announced it was canceling its season due to COVID-19. That throws the Tiger program into another scheduling bind as SSU was set to host Morehouse in a SIAC game on Sept. 26. But SSU coach Shawn Quinn and athletic director Opio Mashariki are used to the drill by now. They already scrambled once to fill a hole in their schedule when Florida Tech eliminated its entire football program back on May 11. The Tigers were supposed to open on the road at Florida Tech on Sept. 5. They filled that date nicely by adding a non-conference road game against perennial Division II power Valdosta State. Now they have work to do again.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp to embark on a ‘wear a mask’ tour of Georgia
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp doesn’t plan to require Georgians wear masks. But he’s set to go on a statewide flyaround tour this week to encourage them to do so. The governor is among a growing list of Republican officials imploring residents to don face-coverings to help contain a recent surge in coronavirus cases, even as President Donald Trump refuses to wear a mask in public. Kemp’s set to travel to Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Savannah and Valdosta ahead of the holiday weekend to “encourage citizens to heed public health advice and wear a mask” to stem the spread of the disease, his office said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
US could see 100K new coronavirus cases per day, Fauci says
By Tim Darnell
The U.S. could begin seeing up to 100,000 new cases of the coronavirus each day if current trends continue, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Capitol Hill lawmakers Tuesday. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the comments during a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Currently, Fauci said the nation is experiencing about 40,000 new cases each day.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: CDC official says coronavirus has spread too widely and quickly to control in U.S.
By Jim Galloway, Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell
It’s safe to say that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In Atlanta has come off the sidelines, where the nation’s premier public health agency had lingered for several months after saying more about the dangers of COVID-19 than President Donald Trump thought necessary in February. It is not reemerging as a bearer of good news. Last week, CDC Director Robert Redfield said his agency believes that, for every American who tested positive for COVID-19 this spring, there were another 10 whose cases went undiagnosed .On Monday, Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the CDC, was interviewed by The Journal of the American Medical Association. The coronavirus is spreading too fast and too widely to bring it under control in the U.S., she said. From an account posted by CNBC:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 30, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,805 | Deaths confirmed in 140 counties. For 2 deaths, the county is unknown, and for 47 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state. CONFIRMED CASES: 81,291 | 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 2,699 cases, the county is unknown. For 4,011 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Education
Republicans Signal More Aid for Testing
Senate Republicans signal they will propose funding to help colleges with coronavirus testing, but Democrats propose a much broader and more expensive aid package.
By Kery Murakami
Senate Republican leaders have signaled that their proposal for the next coronavirus relief package will include additional funding to test students for the coronavirus. “The most important thing we need for normalcy is to get people back into school,” Senator Roy Blunt, the Republican chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee that handles funding for education and health, told reporters Tuesday. “And we’re not going to do that particularly in a residential setting without millions of tests people can take dozens of times.” The Republican proposal, which Blunt said would likely be unveiled in about a month, will include more money for testing nationally and to ensure enough funding to develop a vaccine.
Inside Higher Ed
Broad Survey on Academic Engagement and Student Success
By Paul Fain
A recently released report features data collected from more than 180,000 college student respondents at 74 institutions on six noncognitive factors that influence student success, including academic self-efficacy, educational commitment, social comfort, academic engagement and campus engagement and resiliency. The survey data from 2013 to 2019 was produced by Campus Labs, a data collection company focused on institutional effectiveness and student engagement.
Inside Higher Ed
Fall Uncertainty Prompts Students to Consider Tuition Insurance
The coronavirus pandemic has caused more colleges and families to consider taking out tuition insurance, but it would not have helped the students who are seeking tuition refunds for the spring’s forced transition to remote learning.
By Emma Whitford
The coronavirus pandemic caused a colossal disruption in higher education. As a result, colleges and families are looking more closely at tuition insurance to protect against future uncertainties, though it would not have been much help for students who wanted tuition refunds for a spring semester that suddenly shifted online. Just last week, six colleges contacted GradGuard, a tuition insurance company, about offering tuition insurance to students, said John Fees, co-founder and managing director of GradGuard. The company currently provides tuition insurance to students at more than 300 public and private colleges.
The Washington Post
By Valerie Strauss
With the coronavirus pandemic upending everything about going to college, more than 300 admissions deans from schools around the country just released a statement about what they want to see in applicants for fall 2021 — and what they don’t want to see. …This effort comes at a highly unusual time for colleges and universities. They are about to embark on unprecedented experiments welcoming to students to campus during a pandemic disease. Most have waived the requirement to include an ACT or SAT admissions score on freshman applications. According to the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, more than half of four-year colleges and universities have waived the requirement for 2021, and many have done it as permanent policy.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Diversity Conversation Colleges Aren’t Having
By Karin Fischer
…Many students from overseas have an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of race and racial identity in America. Their perspectives can be shaped by stereotypes of African Americans and other minorities in popular culture or reflect very different perspectives on race and ethnicity in their home countries. For some, coming to the United States is the first time they are told they are “Black” or “brown” or “Asian.” Yet, few colleges pay specific attention to the gaps in international students’ awareness of race or to the culture shock they can experience at suddenly being viewed through a racial lens. Of more than a dozen international students or graduates who spoke to The Chronicle, none could recall having substantive discussions of race as part of their international orientation.