University System News:
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Tech students from Lawrenceville create app to help with COVID-19 testing results
By Chamian Cruz
Two Lawrenceville residents participated in a COVID-19 Hackathon in May comprised of Emory University and Georgia Tech students, where they pitched solutions to COVID-19 problems and won for their innovative product idea. Brian Chea and David Strube, both Georgia Tech students, made up the team that created CovidHub, an app that integrates COVID-19 rapid testing results collected in facilities outside of hospitals with hospital electronic medical records. Their team won $10,000 in cash and were part of a program at Georgia Tech this summer called CREATE-X Startup Launch, where they worked on turning their plans into an actual startup.
WABE
Students, Faculty Ask Georgia’s Public Colleges To Require Face Coverings
Martha Dalton
The University System of Georgia (USG) says it will “strongly encourage,” but won’t require, students and staff to wear face coverings when classes resume fall semester. Some professors and students say that doesn’t go far enough. More than 7,000 faculty, staff, and students from across the university system have signed a petition asking USG to reverse course and require face coverings. Some students and faculty have also been outspoken about the issue on social media.
Douglas Now
South Georgia State College Is Planning For In-Person Instruction This Fall
South Georgia State College President Dr. Ingrid Thompson-Sellers announces preparations are underway for a return to in-person instruction this fall. The semester is currently scheduled to begin on August 17, 2020. SGSC, and all University System of Georgia institutions, is planning to fully reopen this fall following guidelines of the Governor’s Task Force, the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As guidance from public health officials monitoring COVID-19 continues to evolve, plans are subject to change, and SGSC has developed contingency plans should it be necessary to shift back to remote delivery of instruction at any point during the semester. Best practices and procedures are being developed for implementation across each campus, including expanded workplace health and safety protocols, technology-enhanced teaching and learning agile practices, effective communication systems and protocols and plans for public service and outreach, athletics and campus life. A phased program for employees and students to return to campus is being implemented in accordance with policies and procedures from the University System of Georgia (USG) and other health officials.
The Augusta Chronicle
Reduced state appropriations to slow Augusta University’s momentum
By Damon Cline
Budget cuts will force Augusta University to be “very conservative and strategic” in its spending, AU President Brooks Keel says. Augusta University President Brooks Keel said he never thought he’d be happy about a 10% budget cut. “It’s a big cut, and there’s no doubt that it’s going to hurt,” he said of the $25.9 billion fiscal year 2021 budget signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday. “But you have to keep things in perspective. We were looking at a 14% cut just a couple of weeks ago.” Kemp and legislative leaders told state agency heads to prepare for a 14% budget reduction after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Georgia in March, causing massive revenue reductions as shelter-in-place orders ground commerce to a virtual halt. That cut would have reduced AU’s appropriations by $32 million when compared to the previous year’s budget. Instead, the university will end up with a $23 million cut in state funding, ending up with approximately $211.6 million out of the $2.3 billion set aside for the University System of Georgia.
Patch
Lawrenceville Seeks Participants For Study On Family-Coping Strategies During Pandemic
Sociologist Emmie Cochran-Jackson, Ph.D., is leading the research team. Eligible participants include men and women between ages 18 and …
By Press Release Desk, News Partner
Press release from Georgia Gwinnett College:
Georgia Gwinnett College faculty are seeking participants for a research study. Once completed, the study will shed light on familial coping strategies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Athens Banner-Herald
COVID-19 cases reported by UGA double in 10 days
By Lee Shearer
The number of known COVID-19 cases among University of Georgia students and employees rose 30 percent in three days this week, and more than doubled in the past 10 days.. UGA has been tracking the number of positive novel coronavirus cases since late March, posting a daily number on its University Health Center web page. On June 20, the university was aware of 79 positive cases, up seven cases from a week earlier — a little less than a 10 percent increase. On June 22, the number was 89, and as of Wednesday — a week later — it had reached 173. The number reached 189 Thursday From Monday, when the number of cases was 145, 28 new cases have been added — up 30 percent in three days.
Thomasville Times-Enterprises
ABAC to adapt to changing times for fall term
History has shown that businesses that adapt to changing times are the ones that last the longest. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President David Bridges subscribes to that train of thought. “Like it or not, change is a fact of life,” Bridges said. “At ABAC, we’re facing some of the biggest changes we have ever faced in the 112 years we have been providing a quality education for our student body.” Those changes are a direct result of the pandemic, which forced ABAC to change to online classes for the final weeks of the spring semester and the complete summer term. Now Bridges is ready to charge ahead with the sweeping changes necessary when ABAC returns to face-to-face instruction for the fall semester on Aug. 12. “Our modified class schedule will ensure smaller class sizes, will provide greater distance between students, and will provide hybrid and online options that can reduce the amount of time students spend in the classroom,” Bridges said.
GPB News
Multiple Georgia Tech Students In Greek Life Housing Test Positive for COVID-19
By Sarah Rose
At least 11 Georgia Tech students living in Greek life housing near campus have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks, the university told GPB News Thursday. The outbreak comes as the campus remains largely empty with students taking online courses amid the coronavirus pandemic. It also raises concerns of what the fall semester could bring when thousands of students return as part of the university’s phased reopening. The first student living in Greek housing that tested positive over the summer semester was reported on June 15. Students in that home lived in separate rooms and isolated in place, the university said. Nine more students over the next eight days tested positive, including six students at two different Greek houses near campus, the university said. An 11th student in Greek housing tested positive on June 27.
The Red & Black
UGA to send two cloth face masks and thermometer to all students beginning July 1
Jacqueline GaNun | News Editor
The University of Georgia is sending all students two cloth face masks and a thermometer as COVID-19 precautions for the fall. The masks and thermometer will be sent to students’ home addresses listed in Athena beginning July 1. Students should make sure their address is correct in Athena, according to a Tuesday Instagram story on UGA’s account. The university is spending around $300,000 on approximately 120,000 reusable masks for the UGA community.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
EXCLUSIVE: Grady, Augusta University abruptly end ambulance contract
By Yamil Berard
Less than halfway into its contract with Grady Emergency Medical Services for transport of premature babies and patients to other medical facilities, Augusta University Health has replaced the ambulance company. The abrupt end of the relationship between an arm of the iconic Atlanta-based facility and one of Georgia’s largest academic health centers was “mutually agreed,” according to officials with Grady EMS. But the Augusta region is notorious for political skirmishes between city and county leaders vying for power over ambulance contracts. And it appears that Grady’s involvement in Augusta also was mired by controversy, including accusations of contract violations and unprofessional conduct by a Grady EMS executive.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech students want more help for international students
By Eric Stirgus
More than 1,000 Georgia Tech students have signed a petition demanding administrators help its international students facing hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. They want the school to expand financial aid and scholarship opportunities, and share plans for how those students can learn remotely if they can’t return to campus for the fall semester. Some of the international students left the country when in-person instruction ended in March, but are unsure if they can return. Others are still here, but need funding to be able to stay. All are seeking answers about how the school will conduct classes. “Georgia Tech’s motto of Progress and Service is reflected in the diversity of its student body, which hails from over 100 countries and across the United States,” the petition says. “And as such we believe it is imperative that to cultivate an institutional culture of academic and inclusive excellence, the Institute must consider the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on its international students.”
Athens CEO
Lona Panter
The University of Georgia School of Law’s Veterans Legal Clinic, in partnership with the Georgia Legal Services Program, has received funding from the American Bar Association to extend its work for veterans throughout the state of Georgia. Titled the Georgia Veterans Outreach Program, this partnership will deliver virtual legal clinics to veterans in underserved parts of the state. There will be six clinic events that will connect veterans with volunteer lawyers for brief service and referrals using video conferencing software. Veterans without phone or reliable internet can participate using program computers at venues near where they live that will be set up by GVOP. The virtual clinics will be hosted in parts of Georgia that lack veteran-specific legal assistance and will prioritize veterans in rural areas who often lack access to lawyers and legal advice.
WJBF
Are masks needed to contain COVID-19? Infectious Disease expert weighs in
By Shawn Cabbagestalk
Summer is here in the CSRA and with it comes humidity. If the scorching temperatures make you feel as if you can’t breathe through your mask, you may be trapping heat inside, according to Augusta University Health Infectious Disease expert Dr. Rodger MacArthur. But are masks needed? Dr. MacArthur joined weekend Good Morning Augusta anchor Shawn Cabbagestalk to answer that question and give tips on how to stay safe from COVID-19 while surviving the summer heat.
Albany Herald
UGA tax assistance program has economic impact on state
By Cal Powell CAES News
The impact University of Georgia students have made on the state through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program can be measured in straightforward economic terms. Student tax preparers in the program helped Georgia taxpayers file more than 1,000 federal and state tax returns and save more than $400,000 in preparation and filing fees this year. The IRS estimated the statewide economic impact of the services to be $2.83 million. For faculty member Joan Koonce, equally as important is the impact the program has on UGA students, who apply classroom lessons through direct interactions with citizens seeking the program’s free tax preparation services.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated July 5, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,860 | County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. CONFIRMED CASES: 95,516 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Augusta Chronicle
Audit: Dual enrollment changes to help reduce costs, tighten oversight
By Beau Evans, Capitol Beat News Service
A tidying up for Georgia’s dual enrollment program that state lawmakers passed earlier this year should help rein in costs and tighten what courses high schoolers can claim as college credits, according to a recent state audit. The popular program allowing Georgia high schoolers to take certain courses that satisfy both high school and college credits has faced criticism in recent years over unsustainable enrollment growth and soaring costs. In 2018, the state Department of Audits and Accounts found the program had no clear oversight and that few controls were in place to track dual enrollment’s impact on boosting college readiness for Georgia students. Those problems were addressed in legislation brought by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, that passed out of the General Assembly and gained Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature in late April, according to a state audit issued this week. In particular, the audit highlighted how caps on student enrollment and trimming course offerings to core subjects as required by the bill should help manage costs to keep the program financially afloat.
Inside Higher Ed
Wells Fargo Won’t Issue Student Loans to New Applicants
By Elizabeth Redden
Wells Fargo will not accept new student loan applicants for the upcoming academic year and will only issue loans to people who applied before July 1 or who currently have an outstanding balance on a prior student loan issued by Wells Fargo, according to the business intelligence publication Fastinform.
Inside Higher Ed
In wake of Supreme Court ruling blocking Trump from ending DACA, the future of the program protecting young undocumented immigrants remains uncertain.
By Elizabeth Redden
Advocates for immigrant college students cheered the Supreme Court’s recent 5-to-4 decision blocking the Trump administration from immediately ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides protection against deportation and gives work authorization to about 650,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children with their parents and without legal authorization. DACA remains vulnerable, however. President Trump and officials in his administration have said they plan to end the program, and the Supreme Court ruling left the door open for them to do so should they follow certain steps. Meanwhile, a group of students who were too young to apply for DACA before the program was closed to new applicants in 2017 are newly eligible. They now have to decide whether the benefits of applying are worth the risk of giving their personal information to the government and revealing their status as undocumented immigrants.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges Are in for a Racial Reckoning. Name Changes Are Only the Beginning.
By Marc Parry
… Scholars and activists are debating — sometimes with themselves — whether this could be a watershed racial moment for higher education. Will student uprisings this fall lead to deeper changes than those achieved by the antiracism protests that shook campuses five years ago? What would it take to really address the role universities play in perpetuating racial inequality?
Inside Higher Ed
Campuses Reckon With Racist Past
College leaders are reconsidering the names of campus buildings and monuments that memorialize white supremacists, in reaction to the current movement against racial injustice.
By Greta Anderson
Black college students, faculty members and visitors have long been expected to simply “shrug their shoulders” when they pass by statues on campus honoring Confederate figures and proponents of white supremacy, or buildings or monuments named for them, said Erika Wilson, a professor of law and chair of public policy at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She was relieved, as a Black faculty member, when Silent Sam, the statute of a Confederate soldier on the Chapel Hill campus, was removed nearly two years ago. But there are still physical and written reminders at Chapel Hill and many colleges across the country that send an opposite message of the “welcoming” and “inclusive” environment college leaders say they want to provide for people of color, said Wilson, who is also an expert in critical race theory. But the highly publicized and unjust killings of Black people this year, and the widespread protests across the country over the May killing of George Floyd, has prompted new introspection among many college leaders, who are quickly taking steps to remove the names of such controversial figures from buildings and to move the monuments off campuses — never mind that repeated calls by students and faculty members for these very actions were ignored for many years. There is a new urgency from college presidents and boards of trustees to examine how campus policies and structures can perpetuate racism and white supremacy, said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.