University System News:
WTVM
CSU summer enrollment reaches highest level in nearly a decade
By Alex Jones
More Columbus State University students are taking summer classes than they have in nine years. As of the end of June, 3,967 students were enrolled in more than 25,000 credit hours of classes, which is the highest amount for a summer semester since 2011. Compared to the summer 2019 semester, 11.3 percent more students are enrolled in courses.
WGXA
Middle Georgia State University sets summer enrollment record
by Saskia Lindsay
Middle Georgia State University set a summer 2020 enrollment record, the largest percentage increase in its history. Summer 2020 enrollment is 4,090, a 14.5 percent increase over summer 2019 and a 21 percent increase over summer 2018. Following a spring semester when MGA, like colleges and universities nationwide, moved all instruction to a digital format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, summer semester students are taking all of their courses online.
Gwinnett Daily Post
By Chamian Cruz
Georgia Gwinnett College is partnering with the American Red Cross to solicit blood donations through its #SleevesUp campaign, which uses an online site to attract blood donation pledges. GGC Assistant Director of Wellness Programming Katie Buell-Corbridge said the college’s goal is 150 pledges. She encouraged spreading awareness for the drive, noting that just one donation can save three lives. Participants also can get a free COVID-19 antibody test during their appointment.
WABE
Georgia Tech Study Designed As A Blueprint For A Semester During COVID-19
Lisa Rayam
In the face of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic and a nearing fall school term, a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology has conducted a study on social distancing in the classroom. Dima Nazzal, a faculty member of the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, designed the study to help Georgia Tech and other institutions return to campus. It focuses on social distancing in classrooms and how they must be configured in order to help make the environment more safe.
WGAU
UGA students study abroad during pandemic
Virus poses challenges
By Eric Rangus
In January, 79 students embarked on what many considered a semester to remember: study abroad in Italy through the University of Georgia. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted that study abroad experience, but their learning didn’t shut down and could possibly be more memorable because of it. …In all, 202 UGA students studying abroad were brought home at the start of the pandemic. Despite their travel being cut short, their classes weren’t. Like the rest of the UGA community, study abroad students learned early on that they would be completing their work remotely.
WGAU
Morehead sets stage for next phases of campus reopening
Writes about campus mask mandate
By Tim Bryant
University of Georgia President Jere Morehead is outlining, in an email to UGA faculty and staff, the steps that will be taken for the next phases of campus reopening.
From UGA president Jere Morehead…
We have made significant progress in our Phase 1 work to prepare the campus for the full return of faculty, staff, and students in August. We appreciate the dedication of the supervisory personnel and essential staff members who have been leading the way during this initial period. Their work has enabled us to determine the dates for the commencement of Phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 will begin on Monday, July 20. The following groups of employees will be added to the on-campus workforce in Phase 2:
The Augusta Chronicle
Kirby Smart on how Georgia football is managing the coronavirus and addressing social issues
By Marc Weiszer
Kirby Smart and family squeezed in some down time in this very different offseason as exhibited by a video posted this week to the Georgia football’s Tiktok account of the Bulldogs coach besting his son Andrew in a race on the beach. Smart last spoke to the media that cover Georgia May 28. Players returned to voluntary workouts June 8. In an interview taped last week with former Georgia All-American David Pollack and Kevin Neghandi on an ESPN podcast, Smart touched on several topics including how his program is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, addressing social issues and he also commented on some of his players. While Georgia has not released any data on any positive COVID-19 tests for football players, Smart indicated there has been some.
Douglas County Sentinel
UWG employees want autonomy in re-opening policies
By Stephanie Allen
Masks will now be required on university campus as some UWG faculty and staff petition the state Regents to let them make their own procedures for re-opening universities in the fall. An online petition created by the UWG’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has reached nearly 200 signatures according to Matt Franks, president of the AAUP at the University of West Georgia. This petition is meant to represent faculty, staff, and administrators of the university who are concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic and the plan by the University System of Georgia (USG) to re-open schools. A letter to Chancellor Steve Wrigley and members of the Board of Regents of USG asks for two things: to give UWG and every USG institution the option to require face coverings on campus and to give individual faculty and staff the option to teach and work from home for any reason.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State student catches eye of Disney with viral superhero TikTok
By Courtney Kueppers
Georgia State student, Julian Bass, tweeted a superhero-inspired TikTok and Disney’s top executive, Bob Iger, responded
Before the holiday weekend, a 20-year-old Georgia State University theater student took a risk. He tweeted a TikTok he’d made featuring his favorite superheros and said, “if y’all can retweet this enough times that Disney calls, that’d be greatly appreciated.” Well, more than half a million retweets later, it worked. The tweet from GSU student Julian Bass has gone viral and it caught the attention of some Hollywood bigwigs, including Disney executive, Bob Iger. Iger responded to the tweet saying, “The world’s gonna know your name!!!” …The video, set to Harry Style’s “Watermelon Sugar,” features Bass as his favorite superheros, with some impressive editing. …While it remains to be seen what will come for Bass, he said he’s excited about the opportunities.
Augusta CEO
Augusta Metro Chamber Recognizes Future Leaders with 2020 ‘Top 10 in 10’ Award
Staff Report
Over the past 12 years, the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Augusta Magazine, has recognized 10 rising business professionals that have emerged as the year’s most promising young talent to watch over the next 10 years. In recognizing the 2020 Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch, the Chamber not only honors the achievements in their respective industries, but also the sense of community and passion to move things forward demonstrated by each of these future leaders. The following professionals have been named the 2020 Top 10 in 10: Dr. Stephen J. Ramey, Radiation Oncologist/Assistant Professor, Augusta University; Each recipient will be honored and presented an award from Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. at the Chamber’s Member Economic Series event on Tuesday, July 28 at the Miller Theater.
CBS46
Georgia film industry moves closer to getting back to business
Astrid Martinez
After shutting down movie production nearly four months ago, Georgia is ready to get back up and running, Unions and guilds that represent film and TV workers have released guidelines to consider to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 while filming during the pandemic. Actors and crews are both anxious to restart the business. And while some big TV and film studios in Georgia have already begun filming, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, which keeps getting worse in Georgia. So now the question is not when, but should productions get back to work?
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Tech files plans for giant expansion of Technology Enterprise Park
By David Allison – Editor
Georgia Tech has filed plans for a giant expansion of its Technology Enterprise Park.
The university on July 6 notified the state of Georgia that it wants to develop 18.8 acres bounded by North Avenue on the north, Northside Drive on the west and Marietta Street on the east.
Plans call for 610,000 square feet of industrial space, 1 million square feet of office space, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, and 416 units of multi-family residential. More details about the project could not be immediately learned. The property is bordered by the Northyards Business Park, which was acquired by MetLife in 2016. The project has a proposed completion date of 2029.
The Oconee Enterprise
UGA clinic focuses on speech, press freedoms
by Julia Fechter
In light of citizens voicing their opinions about COVID-19 and race relations, there is now a greater need for more legal knowledge around the First Amendment. University of Georgia School of Law assistant professor Clare Norins will launch a First Amendment clinic this August to provide legal services regarding freedoms of the press, speech and the rights to assemble and petition the government for grievances. The service will be offered to independent media outlets, students, governmental entities and other members of the public.
World Economic Forum
COVID-19: Why higher education in the US must embrace digital
• The pandemic is an opportunity to change higher-education delivery.
• Online learning is cheaper and more flexible than the traditional on-campus variety.
• Universities should embrace a new role as validators of education.
The ongoing global pandemic has changed much of our daily lives, and education is no exception. Almost overnight, students at all levels were forced to homeschool online with little time to prepare. This shift was scary and uncertain for academic institutions, teachers, professors, students, as well as parents now forced to abandon the schooling routine to which they had come accustomed. While the shift has been devastating to many, it also marks an opportunity to address many of the inequities in higher education: increasing costs, greater debt, limited access and curriculum, and a failure to effectively utilize technology to benefit the modern student. In many countries, including the United States, traditional higher education is out of reach for many, and is being re-evaluated for its relevance and return on investment. …Opening up to new, primarily online forms of education means that students can learn from more sources in a greater variety of ways; something universities should embrace. …An online master’s degree in computer science from Georgia Tech is another example of educational innovation and it is now the largest such programme in the country.
hypepotamus
Tech Square Ventures Founder Blake Patton Shares Details Of Firm’s New $75 Million Fund
by Mike Jordan
Blake Patton has seen the rise of Atlanta’s tech ecosystem like few others. As managing partner and founder of Tech Square Ventures, which through two separate funds has already invested in 51 startups such as Cypress.io, Pointivo and Goodr, Patton has led the strategic early-stage venture fund to be one of the most active in the state of Georgia and the wider Southeastern U.S. Now, with the launch of Tech Square Venture Fund II, which has already closed its first round of $26 million toward its goal of $75 million, it appears the investment action coming from Midtown Atlanta will increase exponentially. …Patton gives his relationship with Georgia Tech, his alma mater, credit for much of what he’s doing now.
Savannah Morning News
Second chances after incarceration focus of new Savannah task force
People returning from incarceration need hope — and a helping hand, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said. To that end, the mayor announced at a press conference Wednesday that a task force has been formed to assist those recently released from jail or prison. The task force, named Advocates for Restorative Communities, or ARCS has 19 members and is bringing together experts, including formerly incarcerated people who work with justice-involved individuals in our community, Johnson said. “Their collective knowledge will help guide the committee’s priorities to best serve those with a criminal history when they return home to Savannah.” …Members introduced on Wednesday include Johnson, Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap, Katina Wheeler, Frederic Green, Timeka Johnson, Maxine Bryant, who is lecturer of Criminal Justice at Georgia Southern University …
Venture Beat
Facebook civil rights audit urges ‘mandatory’ algorithmic bias detection
Chris O’Brien
When it comes to Facebook’s progress on civil rights issues, an independent review found the company’s efforts to detect algorithmic bias fall dangerously short and leave users vulnerable to manipulation. According to the audit released earlier today, Facebook’s efforts to detect algorithmic bias remain primarily in pilot projects conducted by only a handful of teams. The authors of the report, civil rights attorneys Laura Murphy and Megan Cacace, note that the company is increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence for such tasks as predicting which ads users might click on and weeding out harmful content. But these tools, as well as other tentative efforts Facebook has made in areas like diversity of its AI teams, must go much further and faster, the report says. While the group looked uniquely at Facebook during its two-year review, any company embracing AI would do well to look at algorithmic bias issues. …The company has also created an AI Task Force to lead initiatives for improving employee diversity. Facebook is now funding a deep learning course at Georgia Tech to increase the pipeline of underrepresented job candidates. It’s also in discussions with several other universities to expand the program. And its tapping nonprofits, research, and advocacy groups to broaden its hiring poo
Cotton Grower
GA Cover Crop Research in Cotton Can Provide Info for Other Crops
By Emily Cabrera
University of Georgia researchers are working on natural solutions to weed problems in row crops as government regulations of chemical herbicides grow stricter. Earlier in June, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals pulled registrations for the use of three dicamba products for row-crop production. The herbicide, which has been around since the late 1960s, became more widely used with the introduction of chemical-resistant cotton and soybean varieties in 2016 that were cultivated in response to growing weed resistance. The herbicide has been at the center of increased controversy over its utilization in field crops due to inadvertent drift onto sensitive crops. With the increasing loss of effective chemistries, either due to weed resistance or through legislation, growers need more tools to choose from when tackling economically threatening weeds, especially as farmers continue to face increasingly erratic environmental conditions and other challenges. …Basinger [assistant professor of weed science in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences] is leading a research group that is examining the potential use of cover crops as part of an integrated weed management program in a number of commercial agricultural systems in Georgia.
Other News:
Albany Herald
Rapid rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations worries Georgia health care leaders
By Andy Miller Georgia Health News
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are soaring across Georgia, with more than 300 additional patients reported in hospitals statewide between Thursday and Monday. Officials representing hospitals in major metropolitan areas, as well as rural counties, told Georgia Health News on Tuesday that the surge in inpatients has come over the past week or two. Many of the newly hospitalized patients are in their 40s or younger, unlike the first wave of coronavirus patients earlier this year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated July 8, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,922 | County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. CONFIRMED CASES: 103,890 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
One University Asked Students for Social-Distancing Ideas. Here’s What They Proposed.
By Elin Johnson
With Covid-19 cases already spiking in college towns this summer, institutions are scrambling to find ways to ensure student and employee safety as fall approaches. And encouraging college students to practice social distancing is no easy task. Experts say student buy-in is essential for such policies to work — something the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor took to heart. Its school of engineering invited all Michigan students to propose their own social-distancing solutions through a new Covid-19 Campus Challenge, which drew 89 submissions that proposed measures ranging from bus-system contact tracing to subscription services for masks. …Though the university made no guarantees it would carry out the students’ proposals, some are already in the works. These include a redesign of the fall activities fair, a student-led social-media campaign to encourage mask use, virtual study groups, and a peer-led lunch series. The top 30 teams presented their proposals last week. Here are a few of their suggestions:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
A Look at Colleges’ Fall Reopening Plans
by Sarah Wood
With many colleges and universities choosing to reopen for in-person instruction this fall, campuses will look different for returning students. The University of California San Diego, for example, is requiring that students, faculty and staff undergo COVID-19 testing when returning to campus. …Testing sites are located around campus for individuals to swab themselves orally. Samples will be picked up every few hours for testing and barcodes on the swabs will be connected to each person’s medical history. Results are provided within 24 hours, according to Schooley. Testing is free at UC San Diego Health locations or through the school’s Student Health Services. …Testing will occur once a month. However, athletes or students living off-campus will be tested more often. …A 330-room building is set aside for those students who test positive for COVID-19. The dormitory includes private bedrooms and bathrooms, and food will be delivered to students. …Other schools, such as Amherst College, announced plans to limit campus return to 1,200-1,250 students in the fall. This is equivalent to over 60% of total enrollment and between 70-75% of those students who expressed interest in returning, according to a letter from Amherst College president Dr. Biddy Martin. Priority will be given to first-year students, transfer students, all sophomores and seniors who are either scheduled to graduate in the fall or who spent the 2019-2020 academic year studying abroad.
CNN
One million foreign students risk being frozen out of US colleges. Some might never come back
By Julia Hollingsworth
In two months, 19-year-old Tianyu Fang is due to start his first semester at one of the most prestigious schools in America: Stanford University in California. Now, the Chinese national isn’t sure if he’ll make it. Fang is one of the million or so international students who could be made to leave the United States if their universities switch to online-only learning, under a rule announced by Washington on Monday. Those who don’t leave voluntarily face deportation. Some universities have announced they will deliver all courses online due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 2.9 million people and killed more than 130,000 in the US alone. Other universities are still planning to run classes on campus, but with the US outbreak still not under control, there’s a risk that those institutions could go remote, too.
Inside Higher Ed
Ivy League Postpones Athletics Until 2021
Conference is first Division I league to postpone its fall football season, which some believe could influence other institutions’ plans.
By Greta Anderson
The Ivy League, whose member universities are among the most visible but whose sports programs fill a unique role in college athletics, will postpone all fall sports until 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The league was the first Division I athletic conference to call off the 2020 football season, while others, prodded by alumni, state politicians and even President Trump, continue to push forward for a September start. An official announcement from the league, whose members include Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton and Yale Universities, Dartmouth College, and the University of Pennsylvania, was published Wednesday evening. The league’s release said that “it will not be possible” for Ivy League teams to compete before the fall semester is over, due to the institutions’ campuswide reopening strategies that include travel restrictions and social distancing requirements. Practices and training could still take place, if they follow individual institutions’ requirements and government regulations, the release said. …Welch Suggs, associate director of the Grady Sports Media Initiative at the University of Georgia, said it’s hard to predict what will happen with the virus and where higher education as a whole will stand in August or September. But the decision from the Ivy League is not premature, given that it is based on what the fall semester will look like for all students at its institutions, Suggs said. Any plan for the return of athletics that differs from the average student experience could cross too far into treating athletes as employees of colleges, he said. “That’s a tactical notion to preserve the model of college sports that we have,” Suggs said.
Inside Higher Ed
Stanford to Cut 11 Athletics Programs
By Paul Fain
Citing financial challenges, Stanford University on Wednesday announced it will eliminate 11 of 36 intercollegiate athletics teams by the end of the 2020-21 academic year. The teams cut are men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, coed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball, and wrestling. Stanford said in a statement that 240 student athletes will be affected by the cuts, as well as 22 dedicated coaches. The university is eliminating 20 support staff positions as part of the reductions.