University System News:
The Augusta Chronicle
CBD could be a therapy for severe COVID-19 lung condition, Augusta University research shows
By Tom Corwin
An active ingredient derived from marijuana could be a potential therapy for the sickest COVID-19 patients, researchers at Augusta University said. Using an active ingredient derived from marijuana could potentially help treat the sickest patients with COVID-19, research at Augusta University suggests. In a study published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the team at AU focused in on cannabidiol or CBD, one of the more powerful active ingredients in marijuana that does not convey a “high” to the user. Since 2010, researchers around the world have been studying the effects of CBD and its different properties have been linked to at least 18 medical applications, said Dr. Jack Yu, chief of pediatric plastic surgery and the Milford B. Hatcher Professor of Surgery at AU. Because of its anti-inflammatory effects, Yu and his surgery team have been “working with CBD to decrease inflammation around the wound to see if we can leverage that to make the wound heal faster,” he said. Those anti-inflammatory effects could also prove useful in treating COVID-19 and specifically a dangerous late-stage condition those patients can develop known as acute respiratory distress syndrome, said Dr. Babak Baban, an immunologist and interim associate dean for research at Dental College of Georgia.
WSB-TV
UGA virus expert says 2nd strain of COVID-19 spreads more easily but less deadly
By: Jorge Estevez, WSB-TV
So is there a reason the death rate in Georgia is dropping? We wanted to know what’s going with a possible second strain of coronavirus. Channel 2′s Jorge Estevez spoke to Dr. Ted Ross, who is the Director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at University of Georgia. Here is their exchange:
Jorge Estevez: Dr. Ross, let’s get right to it. This new strain less deadly, more deadly? Dr. Ted Ross: It seems to be about the same as the other strain, it might be a little less deadly than the other strain.
Jorge Estevez: How is this going to affect our body’s response, our immune system, is it going to attack it more, are we going to be able to fight it off better? Because it seems like it’s spreading more, but less people may be hospitalized because of it.
The Times-Georgian
UWG students can opt for Fall online classes
By Stephanie Allen
Students at the University of West Georgia were given the option Tuesday to opt-in to online classes for the fall semester, which will end at Thanksgiving break. Dr. David Jenks, Interim Provost, sent a message to students outlining the university’s plan for classes in the fall 2020 semester.
WTOC
First day of mandatory mask order on Georgia Southern campuses
By Dal Cannady
Wednesday is the first day masks are mandatory in public places on Georgia Southern’s three campuses in Statesboro, Savannah, and Hinesville. Walk through the student union building in Statesboro and you’ll see more mask flyers than you see students. The requirement for masks came from the University System of Georgia. The hope is for masks, social distancing, and hygiene practices to reduce exposure to COVID-19 and stop the spread. One student said she feels a mask can help.
Patch
Georgia Southern University theatre professor Lisa Abbott has stepped into a new role as Region 4 Chair.
Georgia Southern University theatre professor Lisa Abbott has stepped into a new role as the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) region 4 chair. As chair of region 4, Abbott works with a leadership team that puts together the regional KCACTF festival for Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
KTVZ
UGA professors outraged by ‘next of kin’ teaching requests
Some college professors in Georgia are upset after claiming they have been requested to provide a suggestion for someone to teach in their place if they contract Covid-19. One UGA professor told CBS46 that she got “chills” when asked during a faculty meeting to help figure out who handle her course load if she gets sick and cannot do it. The professor added that the notion reinforces the risk associated with returning to classrooms this fall and how it puts educators, staff and students’ health in jeopardy. Hannah Morris, a graduate student at UGA, tweeted this Friday which has gained a lot of traction on Twitter: “Faculty at UGA are being asked to identify their next-of-academic-kin, meaning someone who can take over their class if they get exposed/sick (or worse). It’s almost like admin know conditions will be unsafe and people will get sick.”
Savannah CEO
Staff Report
Hurricane season is difficult enough to prepare for and endure, and the addition of this year’s ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could complicate things even further. With that possibility in mind, Georgia Tech-Savannah and the Chatham Emergency Management Agency are looking to make it easier for communities to ready themselves for the challenges the next few months may bring. The two entities have partnered to host a virtual Hurricane Preparedness Conference on July 30, 2020. Registration is now open for the one-day digital conference, which will cover a variety of topics with a focus on how to plan for a hurricane during a pandemic.
Mashable
Stretch is an $18,000 robot that can vacuum your couch
Stretch is a robot with a strong grip and it’s ready to do your laundry. Hello Robot launched the 50-pound bot on Tuesday. The startup was founded by Google’s former robotics director, Aaron Edsinger, and Georgia Tech professor Charlie Kemp, who met at MIT. The helpful robot can be teleoperated from a computer, although Hello Robot says it will eventually work autonomously. With the gripper, 3D camera, laser, and other sensors, and the help of open-source software, you can use the robot to open cabinet doors, grab a coffee cup, wipe down a table, or vacuum the couch.
Statesboro Herald
New hires, responsibilities shape senior administration for GS Athletics
Under the direction of new Director of Athletics Jared Benko, the Georgia Southern Athletics Department has announced a revamped organizational structure, several staff title promotions and a number of sport administrator appointments to facilitate continued growth, increased efficiency and greater opportunities for the comprehensive program and more than 400 Eagle student-athletes.
The Augusta Chronicle
UGA AD McGarity: ‘Numerous options’ considered in SEC scheduling and Georgia Tech game
By Marc Weiszer
Greg McGarity wore his Georgia themed face mask adorned with multiple dog bones to and from Monday’s SEC athletic director meeting in an expansive room at the league’s headquarters in Birmingham. Inside a multitude of scheduling options were discussed for a college football season that is in danger of being a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them a 10-game SEC schedule, playing conference only games while keeping longstanding in-state rivalries and delaying the start of the season. The conference hopes to make decisions about the season in late July. “We’re feverishly working on a lot of what-ifs,” the Georgia athletic director said. “There are numerous options that would come into play depending on where things stand at the end of the month. We hope to be in a position where we can say either A, B, C or D and get to that point and not be at a point where we have to start from scratch.”
Georgia Health News
Colon cancer screening gets boost in Augusta, Albany from new grant
Progress in getting more people at risk screened for colon cancer have not been as good in the Augusta and Albany areas but those efforts are about to get a boost from a big grant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a five-year grant at $795,560 a year to Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University, the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education and three Albany area providers to do screening and education. The grant will fund 15,000 colonoscopies as well as other screening tests
The Red & Black
PHOTOS: Amid an empty campus, over 10,000 plants inhabit UGA’s Trial Gardens
Taylor Gerlach | Photo Editor
While students aren’t walking through campus on the way to summer classes or stopping by dining halls for a snack this summer, the University of Georgia’s Trial Gardens continue to thrive. On Tuesday, young kids chased each other through rows of manicured blooms and parents relaxed on benches to watch the sunset. Over 10,000 plants are available for the public to view on this small tract of land behind Snelling Dining Hall, and The Red & Black spoke with garden staff and volunteers about what it has been like to care for these plants during a global pandemic.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp bans cities, counties from mandating masks
By Jeremy Redmon, J. Scott Trubey and Willoughby Mariano
Georgia governor extends coronavirus restrictions while encouraging use of face masks
Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday extended Georgia’s coronavirus restrictions while explicitly banning cities and counties from adopting rules requiring masks or other face coverings, a measure that could bolster the state’s case in a possible legal battle. Kemp’s executive order — which was set to expire Wednesday evening — still encourages, rather than requires, Georgians to wear masks in public. The governor has called such a requirement “a bridge too far,” and his office has said local mandates are unenforceable. The governor’s coronavirus orders have for months banned local governments from taking more restrictive or lenient steps than the state. But the new set of rules he signed on Wednesday specified for the first time that cities and counties can’t require the use of masks or other face coverings.
The Washington Post
Georgia gov. explicitly voids mask orders in 15 localities
By Jeff Amy and Ben Nadler | AP
Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp is explicitly banning Georgia’s cities and counties from ordering people to wear masks in public places. He voided orders on Wednesday that at least 15 local governments across the state had adopted even though Kemp had earlier said cities and counties had no power to order masks. An increasing number of other states order residents to wear masks in public, including Alabama, which announced such a ban Wednesday. The Republican governor has instead been trying to encourage voluntary mask wearing, including telling fans that reduced infections from mask-wearing would make college football season possible. Kemp’s move is likely to infuriate local officials in communities that had acted, including Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, Rome and the governor’s hometown of Athens-Clarke County. Overall, mask orders by Wednesday were covering 1.4 million of Georgia’s more than 10 million residents.
The Augusta Chronicle
Gov. Brian Kemp renews COVID-19 restrictions in Georgia with no mask mandate
By Beau Evans, Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp renewed orders late Wednesday to keep Georgia’s current social distancing and safety rules imposed through the end of July to discourage the spread of coronavirus in place for businesses, schools and public gatherings. The latest executive order also contains new language requiring that any masking mandates put in place by city or county governments that go beyond the state’s voluntary measures “are suspended.” That move could set up a legal battle between Kemp and local officials in Augusta, Atlanta, Savannah, Athens and several other communities in Georgia where mask requirements were recently imposed. The governor’s order arrived hours before a slate of COVID-19 restrictions were set to expire at Wednesday’s end. Kemp has executive authority to issue emergency orders through at least Aug. 11.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated July 15, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 3,091 | Deaths have been confirmed in 143 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 127,834 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Will Push to Reopen Threaten Aid?
As Congress mulls another coronavirus relief package, higher education lobbyists worry any aid will be focused on reopening and ignore billions in financial losses by colleges.
By Kery Murakami
The Trump administration has stopped short of saying it wants to withhold funding from colleges and universities that do not reopen for the fall term, as President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have threatened with K-12 schools. But some higher education lobbyists are concerned the administration’s push to get students back into classrooms could make it harder to get funding in Congress’s next coronavirus aid package to help colleges deal with the financial hit they’re taking from the pandemic. When the Senate returns next week from its July 4 break, Congress will begin racing to reach a deal on the next aid package in three weeks before leaving again until after Labor Day. Lobbyists are concerned that the focus will be on limiting aid for colleges only to help them reopen, which would be a blow to institutions that are dealing with lost revenues and additional costs, as well as significant cuts in state funding in many states.
Inside Higher Ed
Student Success and Enrollment Are Top Priorities in Survey
By Scott Jaschik
More than 80 percent of higher education institutions said improving student success and completion rates was a top priority for 2020 and beyond. And 74 percent of institutions said increasing enrollment was a strategic priority. These findings come from a survey conducted by Jenzabar in collaboration with University Business. The survey said that 11 percent of respondents said the population of nontraditional students has increased significantly in the past five years, while another 38 percent said the population increased slightly during that time. When asked about the impact that nontraditional students are having on their institutions, 66 percent of the respondents who said the population is increasing said their institution is struggling to meet the needs of this demographic.
Inside Higher Ed
More Faculty Fears About the Fall
By Colleen Flaherty
About three-quarters of professors surveyed by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties say they’re worried about teaching in person this fall due to COVID-19. Just 12 percent want to teach in person, according to initial survey results. Most professors reported feeling much more anxiety about returning to campus this year compared to last year, and few believe that students will follow social distancing rules at all times. Professors across the country have expressed similar concerns about a fall plans that don’t default to remote instruction.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Defunded police. Inclusive coursework. Faculty members who look like them. Students demand radical change for racial justice, and they’re not backing down.
By Katherine Mangan and Marc Parry
There was a time when stripping a racist’s name from a building would have been celebrated as a breakthrough for racial justice in higher education. Today, it’s accepted as a starting point. As the Covid-19 pandemic and outrage over police violence converge, college students are demanding radical change. They want Confederate symbols toppled, police departments defunded, coursework diversified, departments restaffed with people of color, and a host of other actions. “We’re past the point of conversation and reforms and panels,” said Maliya Homer, president of the Black Student Union at the University of Louisville. “We can’t panel our way out of this oppressive system that controls us.” For students like Homer, these issues are personal. On a daily basis, they face fear, frustration, judgment, and ostracism because of their race and ethnicity, and their demands are shaped by those common experiences. The Chronicle spoke with four student activists, each shedding light on a single demand.
Inside Higher Ed
23 AGs Challenge DeVos’s Borrower-Defense Rule
By Kery Murakami
The attorneys general of nearly half of the nation’s states filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday, trying to do what Congress couldn’t — end Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s new borrower-defense rule, which makes it more difficult for students who have been defrauded, particularly by for-profit colleges, to have their student loans canceled. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, on behalf of the attorneys general of 22 states and the District of Columbia, continues the long battle over the rule. It comes two weeks after the House failed to override President Trump’s veto of a measure passed by Congress that would have blocked the rule from taking effect July 1. In a statement, the Education Department dismissed the suit.