University System News:
Tifton CEO
Bridges Begins Record-Setting 15th Year as ABAC President
Staff Report
When he walked up the steps of historic Tift Hall on the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on July 1 to begin his 15th year, Dr. David Bridges became the longest serving president in the history of ABAC. As a member of the Class of 1978, Bridges is also the only ABAC president to have been a student at the school. “My goal for ABAC hasn’t really changed,” Bridges said. “I want us to teach students and give them a life experience they will never forget while they are on our campus.” The 62-year-old native of Parrott, who also happens to be the longest tenured president in the 26-member University System of Georgia (USG), says he does not spend a single moment thinking about his ABAC tenure.
WRDW
AU’s new gadget helps you wash your hands, but with a smile
By Brady Trapnell
As cases continue to rise, Augusta University is working on ways to encourage and remind people to stay safe. And it’s coming through new innovation and some smiling faces. Our local health officials are fighting the battle against COVID-19 inside the hospital. But now they are fighting a battle against perception with everyone outside. Life behind a mask isn’t always easy, but a smile sure is contagious. …For Ekema and a team at AU, Happy Hands is the smile that could change our community. It’s a 3D-printed device that shows a sad face when you don’t wash your hands and smiling face when you do.
The Augusta Chronicle
Four Augusta University buildings to be demolished following governor’s approval
By Jozsef Papp
Gov. Brian Kemp has authorized the demolition of four Augusta University buildings. In two executive orders, Kemp approved the demolition of AC Building (Sickle Cell Center/Huisman Laboratory), AG Building (Environmental Services) and AR Building (Clinical Cancer Research) on Laney Walker Boulevard within the Health Sciences Campus and of a building and adjacent shed known as the UGA Pharmacy Trailer at 815 St. Sebastian Way. According to the orders, Sandra Lynn Neuse, Vice Chancellor for Facilities of the Board of regents of the University System of Georgia, said the buildings can “no longer be advantageously used” by AU or USG and should be removed.
Markets Insider
Dekalb County school employees can earn degree, teacher certification at Clayton State University
Dekalb County School District employees can gain teacher certification and earn a degree thanks to a new partnership with Clayton State University. Under this new agreement, individuals will be able to obtain an Elementary Education degree through the university’s School of Education and become a certified teacher. …Nearly half of the courses will be delivered at an instructional site in DeKalb Country, and the remaining courses delivered online or on the Clayton State campus, offering convenient options to complete the degree. The partnership looks to benefit Dekalb County School district employees who lack a required degree or certification, or those who want to upgrade to a certification.
Savannah CEO
Parker College of Business to Offer New Certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management
Staff Report
Students at Georgia Southern University will soon have the opportunity to earn a certificate in hospitality and tourism management to bolster their degrees and résumés. Beginning in the Fall 2020, the Parker College of Business will offer the Interdisciplinary Certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management, which will foster cross-training between hospitality management and tourism students to better prepare students for success in their studies and in the industry. The faculty who teach hospitality and tourism courses recognize the importance of this certificate and the power it has to help new students who are approaching the job market.
Growing Georgia
Tifton Freshman Receives Masonic Lodge Scholarship at ABAC
Tyler Horne from Tifton has been awarded the Masonic Lodge of Tifton #47 and #745 F&AM Endowed Scholarship from the ABAC Foundation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. A graduate of Tift County High School, Horne has achieved the level of Eagle Scout. As an incoming freshman biology major, Horne will begin his ABAC career on Aug. 12 when classes begin for the fall semester. ABAC Chief Development Officer Deidre Martin said the purpose of the scholarship is to provide support to a graduate of a school in Tift County who demonstrates high standards of character and personal integrity. Recipients must be enrolled full-time at ABAC with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher to continue to receive the scholarship. “I am so proud of the great work of the members of the Masonic Lodge of Tifton #47 and #745,” Martin said. “I want to give special thanks to the late Lamar Jackson and Mr. Gerald Branch who led the effort to make this endowed scholarship possible. “The members of the Masonic Lodge have set a great example for other organizations as they support young people pursuing their dream of a college education.”
Times-Georgian
Contractor endows scholarship to help students stay on course
By Sam Gentry
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented extraordinary challenges to people all over the world. Students at the University of West Georgia are no exception. When Brian Newsome, executive vice president and co-owner of general contracting company Albion, realized that need, he stepped forward to make a difference. Under the leadership of Newsome, and through a generous contribution, Albion has established The Albion Achievement Endowed Scholarship with the University of West Georgia Foundation Inc.
Poets & Quants
Ranking The Top Graduate & Undergraduate Supply Chain Programs
By: Marc Ethier
Everyone is learning a lot about supply chains in the coronavirus era. As Amazon, UPS, FedEx and other delivery services assume ever more prominent roles in our lives, the importance of the production and distribution of commodities is something we all have — and must — come to appreciate. So it’s good timing for Gartner, the research and advisory company, to release its biennial ranking of companies that lead the way in the crucial role of moving needed products or services from manufacturers to consumers. It’s good timing, too, for our purposes at Poets&Quants that Gartner has also released its top-25 rankings of both graduate and undergraduate supply chain programs, giving us insights into the salaries, placement rates, and diversity levels of the best programs in the United States for getting things where they need to go. …Top 25 2020 North American Supply Chain Graduate Program Ranking 3. Georgia Institute of Technology (up from 11th); Top 25 Supply Chain Undergraduate Programs 10. Georgia Institute of Technology
Patch
Parker College Of Business Students Meet Virtually With Potential Employers
The School of Accountancy in the Parker College of Business at GSU helped more than 60 students meet with potential employers.
By Press Release Desk, News Partner
The School of Accountancy in the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University helped more than 60 students meet with potential employers during its first-ever virtual career fair held in June. The virtual event took the place of the school’s annual Accounting Day career fair. Ranisha Newbold, a junior accounting student at Georgia Southern, is looking for an internship in Spring 2021 and was grateful to learn about the event. “The fact that we actually had an accounting career fair was the best thing, given the pandemic and that we couldn’t have the face-to-face Accounting Day,” stated Newbold. “I am grateful to the Parker College of Business School of Accountancy for taking the time to put the virtual career fair together for those of us who wanted to attend the accounting career fair.”
WMAZ
Middle Georgia State prepares campus for in-person return
University staff posted signs, decals and cut down classroom sizes to prepare for social distancing and CDC guidelines for students to return
Pepper Baker
Middle Georgia State Vice President of Enrollment Jennifer Stenander oversees the preparations to make sure students return to campus safely. “We follow the University System guidelines, and so now masks are now required, and so our faculty, staff and students will be wearing masks when they return to campus,” she said. They’re giving students and staff four reusable masks. Stenander helped order decals and signage that are placed all around campus. They’re adjusting classroom sizes and administrative appointments. .. “We have hand sanitizer available for all of our students. They’re either attached to the wall or free standing. They’re all over all five of our campuses, as well as the facilities will be cleaned every evening and throughout the day as protective measures as well,” Stenander said.
Connect Savannah
Georgia Southern faculty ask University System of Georgia to reconsider COVID-19 protocol for fall
For Georgia Southern alone, its three campuses — Savannah, Statesboro, and Liberty — are in very different stages of the pandemic
By Rachael Flora
IN GEORGIA, the plan to get students back to school has been fraught at best. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects have made planning for the fall semester difficult. As it stands, all schools in the University System of Georgia are planning to resume in-person classes this fall. Last week, inspired by similar actions taken by Georgia Tech, faculty at Georgia Southern University released a letter asking the USG to reconsider their protocol. “We assert that the reopening process has not prioritized science-based evidence, creating significant health risks to the Georgia Southern community and surrounding areas,” reads the statement, which as of press time was signed by over 180 faculty members. “The University has not lived up to its values by neglecting to make faculty, staff, students, and the wider community a central part of the decision making process. Furthermore, we do not feel secure that the education we will be offering to students in 2020 will be free from significant and foreseeable disruption.” The letter, which is addressed to the Board of Regents and the USG as well as GSU President Kyle Marrero, asks to enact six protocols. One of the most crucial points of the letter is to encourage the USG to localize decision-making to each university.
Athens Banner-Herald
Face masks required on UGA campus beginning Wednesday
By Lee Shearer
Masks will be required on the University of Georgia campus Wednesday “while inside campus facilities/buildings where six feet social distancing may not always be possible,” according to a UGA announcement. “Face covering use will be in addition to and is not a substitute for social distancing.” Face coverings were optional in earlier versions of the reopening plan — a directive from the University System of Georgia rather than UGA administrators. But USG administrators changed to require masks after widespread criticism. …The new rule comes as UGA prepares to enter the second phase of its reopening plan, a little more than a month before UGA classes are scheduled to being on Aug. 20.
The Augusta Chronicle
MCG students web site aims to inform on COVID-19 and aid public
By Tom Corwin
Medical College of Georgia students have created a web site to help inform the public about COVID-19 and provide credible information. Elena Diller and Krishna Shah can’t really see patients right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic but that hasn’t stopped them from reaching out and trying to help. The two second-year students at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are part of a team that has created and is keeping up daily a web site to help inform the public about COVID-19 and the conditions in the Augusta area.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech scientist: Life’s not going to snap back to normal so let’s improve remote learning
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Pandemic provides catalyst to use technology to make distance learning not feel all that distant
David Joyner is a senior research associate in the Georgia Tech College of Computing and executive director of Tech’s online Master of Science in Computer Science program. Joyner’s experience leading Tech’s highly regarded low-cost online master’s in computer science leads him to believe we’re in a unique moment where we can think bigger and better — blending remote and in-person learning to increase access to education while still providing the kind of college and classroom experience students want (and need).He explains how in this guest column: By David Joyner As colleges make plans for the fall semester, the common chorus is how much of a sense of normalcy we can expect to reclaim in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19.But as we adjust to the widespread impacts of the pandemic, there is a better question we should be asking: why would we go back to normal? Was what we were doing before the best we could do, or can this moment be the catalyst for something better?
Ledger-Enquirer
Columbus State faculty push for online classes this fall in letter to administration
By Mark Rice
As coronavirus cases rise in the region, more than 100 Columbus State University faculty members have signed an open letter to University System of Georgia officials, calling for online instruction as the “default mode” for classes. They acknowledge “other modes of instruction” might be needed “for those disciplines that need it and may feasibly do so safely,” but they insist the following conditions must be met before most classes return to in-person learning on campus during the fall 2020 semester:
KUTV
How likely are you to get COVID-19? This new map will tell you
A new tool could help you determine how likely it is you’ll be exposed to the novel coronavirus based on where you live. The Georgia Institute of Technology made this interactive map where you can select your county and how many people are gathering at a location. It then tells you what the chances are that someone at the gathering has coronavirus.
Albany Herald
General Assembly recognizes UGA’s TifTuf bermudagrass
By Ashley Crain and Tyler G. Duggins CAES News
Earlier this spring, the Georgia General Assembly passed a pair of resolutions recognizing the University of Georgia-developed bermudagrass TifTuf. Adopted during the 2020 legislative session, the House and Senate resolutions commend the continuous success of the Georgia-grown TifTuf and the work of its developers, UGA faculty members Wayne Hanna and Brian Schwartz, and acknowledge that “the highly acclaimed new bermudagrass variety is taking the turfgrass industry by storm” in Georgia. The House resolution was authored by Rep. Houston Gaines and the Senate resolution was authored by Sen. John Wilkinson.
Science Business
HBCUs Still Putting Blacks in STEM
…HBCUs losing Black students
Despite the positives achieved by HBCUs in science and engineering, the rates of STEM graduates at HBCUs have fallen “quite dramatically” in recent years, said Willie Pearson, a professor of sociology in the School of History, Technology, and Society at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He looks at STEM studies at HBCUs. And he said the percentage of science bachelor’s degrees awarded to Blacks from HBCUs has been flat or declining, depending on the area of study, for the last several years. This is because more Blacks are attending traditionally white schools. In 1977, more than 35 percent of Blacks who graduated that year with bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering received them from HBCUs; that figure was slightly less than 17 percent in 2014, according to the National Science Foundation. And while more than 45 percent of Blacks with science and engineering doctorates had received their bachelor’s degrees from HBCUs by the late 1970s that number had fallen to just more than 30 percent by 2006, according to the NSF.
Futurity
Research news from top universities
OZONE GAS COULD DISINFECT PPE FOR REUSE
Ozone gas could provide a safe method for disinfecting certain types of personal protective equipment in high demand for shielding health care workers from COVID-19, say researchers.
They used two pathogens similar to the novel coronavirus in the study and found that ozone, a highly reactive chemical composed of three oxygen atoms, can inactivate viruses on items such as Tyvek gowns, polycarbonate face shields, goggles, and respirator masks without damaging them. As long as they don’t include stapled-on elastic straps, that is. The paper shows that the consistency and effectiveness of the ozone treatment depended on maintaining relative humidity of at least 50% in chambers used for disinfection. “Ozone is one of the friendliest and cleanest ways of deactivating viruses and killing most any pathogen,” says M.G. Finn, chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “It does not leave a residue, it’s easy to generate from atmospheric air, and it’s easy to use from an equipment perspective.” Scientists can produce ozone with inexpensive equipment by exposing oxygen in the atmosphere to ultraviolet light, or through an electrical discharge such as a spark.
WBUR
United Nations Says World May Hit 1.5 Degrees Warming Threshold Within 5 Years
Peter O’Dowd
In 2015, world leaders meeting in Paris to discuss climate change agreed to try to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. On Thursday, a report from the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency, showed that the planet could exceed that watermark in the next five years. “This study shows – with a high level of scientific skill – the enormous challenge ahead in meeting the Paris Agreement on Climate Change target,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a statement. The U.S. announced last year it would pull out of the agreement. The report — which comes just weeks after a Siberian town hit a record temperature of 100 degrees — also notes that the last five years have been the warmest on record. Kim Cobb, a climate scientist and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, says that 1.5 degrees of warming is “a line that was drawn in the sand” by the U.N. and world leaders because of the disastrous consequences that come with higher temperatures. …Cobb also notes that for her and other scientists, there are clear parallels between the hesitant, uneven U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its sluggish response to climate change.
The Brunswick News
Longtime CCGA men’s basketball coach Gerald Cox dies at 80
By Buddy Hughes
For 32 years, Gerald Cox walked the sidelines of Howard Coffin Gym as the men’s basketball coach at College of Coastal Georgia. Even after his retirement in 2014, you could still find him sometimes at practice. Cox, 80, died Sunday. Funeral arrangements have not been announced as of Monday.
Other News:
The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia, Augusta might be headed to a new peak in COVID-19
By Tom Corwin
As Augusta hospitals fill up with COVID-19 patients again, there is debate about whether the situation is headed toward a new peak. Either way, hospitals are handling it better, doctors said. As cases mount and hospital beds in Augusta are filling again with COVID-19 patients, there is a difference of opinion on whether the area and the state might be headed to a new peak. As University Hospital again sets a record Tuesday for the number of infected patients in the hospital at 77 inpatients, ” I think we are on our way there” to a new peak, said Dr. Ioana Chirca, medical director for infectious diseases, infection prevention and microbial stewardship at University. At AU Health System, Chief Medical Officer Phillip Coule said its 37 COVID-19 patients feels more like the peak of flu season in January or February. “We are still providing an incredibly high level of care and are not overwhelmed or overloaded,” he said. “It’s a little stretched but we are able to carry on with all of our other patient care needs.”
Albany Herald
Gov. Brian Kemp faces decision on Georgia’s COVID-19 restrictions
By Beau Evans Capitol Beat News Service
Staff Writer
Gov. Brian Kemp is facing a Wednesday deadline to decide whether to extend social-distancing restrictions for businesses and other requirements put in place in Georgia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor could extend all of the current business and gathering restrictions currently in effect or continue a trend in recent months of gradually relaxing them. He has executive authority to issue emergency orders through at least Aug. 11. Kemp’s office said he plans to update the COVID-19 restrictions sometime Wednesday before they are due to expire at 11:59 p.m.
The New York Times
Trump Administration Strips C.D.C. of Control of Coronavirus Data
Hospitals have been ordered to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all patient information to a central database in Washington, raising questions about transparency.
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and send all Covid-19 patient information to a central database in Washington beginning on Wednesday. The move has alarmed health experts who fear the data will be politicized or withheld from the public. The new instructions were posted recently in a little-noticed document on the Department of Health and Human Services website. From now on, the department — not the C.D.C. — will collect daily reports about the patients that each hospital is treating, the number of available beds and ventilators, and other information vital to tracking the pandemic.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated July 14, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 3,054 | Deaths have been confirmed in 142 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. CONFIRMED CASES: 123,963 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Metro Atlanta CEO
Georgia Lottery Raises a Record $1.23B for HOPE and Pre-K
Staff Report
The Georgia Lottery Corp. today announced that fiscal year 2020 profits transferred to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account amount to a record $1,237,345,246. This brings the total raised for education in the Georgia Lottery’s 27-year history to more than $22.3 billion. “With all Lottery profits benefiting Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs, the Georgia Lottery’s monumental success is a milestone to celebrate,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “By funding HOPE and Pre-K, the Georgia Lottery continues to help Georgia’s students gain a high-quality education from start to finish, which ultimately makes our state stronger and more competitive.”
Inside Higher Ed
Compilation on Curriculum and Assessment
By Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Ed is pleased to release today our latest print-on-demand compilation, “Curriculum and Assessment Amid COVID-19 and Beyond.” You may download a copy here, free.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges are implementing social contracts or making addenda to code of conduct policies requiring students to abide by social distancing guidelines this fall. Some institutions have said they will remove students from campus for noncompliance.
By Greta Anderson
As college leaders move ahead on plans to reopen their campuses this fall, it is becoming more clear that they lack confidence in their ability to control student behavior that can spread the coronavirus. In addition to plans to regularly test students for COVID-19, college administrators are putting faith in conduct codes and written pledges that mandate students refrain from large gatherings, follow social distance guidelines and wear face masks. The administrators are setting up clear expectations for how students must conduct themselves and getting the message out through campus health campaigns and online training modules. What is less clear is how far colleges can go beyond their gates to enforce healthy behavior, which some students have already proven they are not willing to engage in.
Inside Higher Ed
Pence, DeVos Urge Louisiana Campuses to Reopen
By Kery Murakami
Amid the controversy over the Trump administration pressuring schools and colleges to reopen despite the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos met privately on Tuesday in Louisiana with the state’s higher education leaders. But Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge’s interim president, Thomas Galligan, said there were no threats made during a 45-minute private meeting on reopening colleges and universities if campuses do not reopen. “There was not a word like that,” he said. Rather, Galligan said he and Ray Belton, president and chancellor of Southern University, and Kristine Strickland, chancellor of Fletcher Technical Community College, outlined at the meeting at LSU the steps their institutions are taking to resume in-person classes. Pence and DeVos talked about the funds Congress has already provided through the CARES Act and said there was a possibility of more funding in the next coronavirus aid package. …Pence at a news event after the meeting stressed the importance of resuming in-class learning.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
What if More Leaders Had Made the Moral Case for a Remote Fall From the Outset?
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Colleges face an uphill fight for public support. Higher ed built some of that hill itself.
I can’t help but wonder: Would higher ed be in any better shape right now in its quest for at least $47 billion in federal relief — not to mention more robust public support — if more college leaders had spent the past four months being more realistic and candid? What if more had mentioned the unlikelihood of football this fall, of students’ being able to live safely together in residence halls, or even of holding any but the most necessary classes in person? Will it turn out that leaders’ push for a “normal-ish” fall in the midst of a deadly pandemic — whether motivated by good intentions, political pressure, existential financial fears, or some combination of all three — ultimately undermines their credibility and further damages goodwill? The answer from Congress will come soon enough, when the Senate returns next week to consider the latest Covid-19-relief proposal. The public verdict may take longer, but it could be the second blow of a one-two punch that colleges will feel for years to come.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Testing is essential for colleges to reopen safely
By Carl T. Bergstrom
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidance for institutions of higher education in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. In that report, the CDC failed to recommend testing for students returning to campus, and went one step further: It issued an explicit statement of nonrecommendation. Testing of all students, faculty and staff for Covid-19 before allowing campus entry (entry testing) has not been systematically studied. It is unknown if entry testing in IHEs provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected with implementation of other infection preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, cloth face covering, hand washing, enhanced cleaning and disinfection). Therefore, CDC does not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff. The aim of such testing is to identify infected individuals with no or mild symptoms, and to isolate them to prevent them from transmitting disease to others. This is a proven means of disease control, and is being used everywhere from workplaces to our armed forces to the NBA to the White House. The CDC’s decision not to recommend such testing for higher education is inexplicable and irresponsible, particularly given that colleges are environments where Covid-19 spreads easily, and large outbreaks are likely.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
U.S. Rescinds Visa Policy That Could Have Forced Colleges to Hold Some Classes in Person
By Karin Fischer
In a startling reversal, the Trump administration agreed to rescind a visa policy that would have forced international students to enroll in in-person classes or leave the country. The repeal of the policy, which had been broadly seen as an attempt by the White House to pressure institutions to reopen with face-to-face instruction this fall, is an enormous victory for colleges and more than a million international students. Many students, especially those with health conditions, faced a near-impossible choice: return to their home countries in the middle of a global pandemic or risk their health returning to campus. But the battle over the guidance, which was unexpectedly announced just over a week ago, may have further damaged American higher education’s global reputation, sending the message that the United States is an unwelcoming place for students from overseas.
Inside Higher Ed
Government Rescinds International Student Policy
The decision to abandon a directive that would have prevented international students from taking all their coursework online came in response to a lawsuit from Harvard and MIT.
By Elizabeth Redden
The Department of Homeland Security rescinded a July 6 policy directive that would have required international students to take at least some in-person coursework in order to remain in the U.S. The government agreed to rescind the guidance in response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The rescission of the July 6 directive, and an associated FAQ released July 7, means that the government reverts to guidance issued in March that allows international students to remain in the U.S. while taking a fully online course load.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Navigating New Campus Sexual Assault Investigation Rules Will Be Challenging, Say Some Colleges
by Katti Gray
Whether new federal rules governing how to resolve cases of on-campus sex crimes will, as many critics fear, prompt some victims to stay silent about being assaulted is yet to be shown. Nevertheless, in the lead-up to an Aug. 14 deadline to comply with those regulations, many colleges and universities, as well as attorneys, acknowledge that navigating these rules will be challenging.