University System News:
Albany Herald
Leaders of Georgia’s public HBCUs make joint statement
From staff reports
In a joint news release by the presidents of Georgia’s three publicly supported historically black colleges and universities, the three noted our nation’s current state of affairs requires the attention of all leaders to champion social justice and end racial inequality. But, they added, before action must come thoughtful, engaged and strategic planning. The presidents released the following statements: …The HBCU presidents jointly added, “As university presidents, we are taking an active and distinct role in educating our constituents (students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members). Our institutions have a historic legacy of developing strong leaders who fight at the forefront for equality in education, social justice, and who died for civil rights.
Times-Georgian
Despite pandemic, UWG students score more ‘A’s
By Stephanie Allen
Students at the University of West Georgia earned on percentage more “A’s” this spring than in the previous semester, despite the transition to online instruction. The university, along with all institutions in the University System of Georgia, moved to online instruction on March 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition to online remained for the rest of the semester and continued into summer.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Presents Awards at Agricultural Education Bachelor’s Degree Pinning Ceremony
Staff Report
Norman Gay from Perry was named an Honorary 2020 Cohort Member at the virtual pinning ceremony for the 33 graduates of the bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education held recently at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Gay, a 1968 ABAC graduate and the president of the Georgia FFA Alumni Association, is a longtime supporter of Agricultural Education and the FFA. “He has 60 years as a student, a leader, and as an unwavering supporter of Agricultural Education and ABAC,” Dr. Frank Flanders, ABAC’s Agricultural Education Program Coordinator, said. Dr. Glen C. Shin, Emeritus Professor at Texas A&M University, congratulated ABAC on the virtual ceremony.
CBS46
Morehouse and UGA partner to bring business development to Atlanta’s West End
Terrance Kelly
wo metro-Atlanta colleges are teaming up to help bring economic growth to Atlanta’s West End neighborhood. According to a press release, Morehouse College and the University of Georgia will open an entrepreneurship center at Morehouse College. The state and federally funded center will provide business owners and prospective entrepreneurs with consulting advice. The center is expected to open in 2020 and will serve small business leaders, prospective owners, and student entrepreneurs, both in person and online. According to the press release, the center will open during a time of crisis for blacks in America.
WALB
Video from WALB
GSW Implements New Initiatives to Promote Diversity and Inclusiveness
Moultrie Observer
Goodroe awarded Georgia Foundation for Agriculture Scholarship
Staff Reports
Lane Goodroe, of Doerun, has been selected to receive a scholarship from the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture. Goodroe is one of 10 rising college juniors and seniors selected to receive a $2,000 scholarship statewide. The scholarships recognize deserving and outstanding students who are pursuing a degree in agriculture or an ag-related degree at a college in the University System of Georgia, Berry College or Emmanuel College. …Goodroe, the son of Craig and Melissa Goodroe, is a rising senior at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences where he is pursuing a degree in agribusiness and applied agricultural economics. He previously attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where he was named to the ABAC President’s List for his 2018 spring and fall semesters and to the ABAC Dean’s List for his 2019 spring semester; he was named to the UGA Dean’s List for fall semester 2019.
The Tifton Gazette
ABAC announces 2020 spring semester graduates
A total of 366 students completed the requirements for graduation from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at the end of the 2020 spring semester. ABAC President David Bridges said 169 of those graduates received bachelor’s degrees. During the spring term, over 2,000 students pursued four-year degrees at ABAC in biology, nursing, agribusiness, agriculture, agricultural communication, agricultural education, business, environmental horticulture, history and government, natural resource management, rural community development, and writing and communication.
Ledger-Enquirer
Can analyzing Twitter help fight coronavirus? CSU professor’s study will find out
By Mark Rice
A Columbus State University faculty member is using a National Science Foundation grant to conduct a study related to the coronavirus pandemic. CSU assistant professor of computer science Anastasia Angelopoulou is collaborating with Konstantinos Mykoniatis and Alice Smith of Auburn University to measure public compliance with mitigation strategies and health guidelines, such as social distancing, stay-at-home orders, quarantines, mask wearing and hand washing.
13WMAZ
Thousands push for University System of Georgia institutions to make masks mandatory
USG says they “strongly encourage” everyone to wear a mask, in a statement to 13WMAZ.
Author: Ashlyn Webb (WMAZ)
The University System of Georgia says they’re not requiring masks at any of their 26 university campuses during the continued coronavirus pandemic. In a statement to 13WMAZ, a USG spokesperson says instead, they’re strongly encouraging masks. Thousands of people, including students, faculty and staff, are now pushing the University System of Georgia to require face masks on campus in a petition. As of Thursday evening, that petition has over 3,000 signatures.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA faculty moms petition for stronger COVID protections
By Lee Shearer
An online petition by University of Georgia faculty mothers says the university’s planning for a return to in-person learning this fall does not do enough to protect students and UGA workers or their families. Begun by the UGA Women’s Caucus two weeks ago, the petition had garnered more than 2,000 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, and is one of several now circulating that call on the university and other Georgia public colleges to implement stronger measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when classes resume in August. The change.org petition, “UGA: Protect staff, faculty, and students,” calls on the university to require face masks except when people are alone behind closed doors or partitions or when someone delivers a lecture with social distancing. It also asks UGA to expand the categories of people who can apply for accommodations from face-to-face teaching or work to also include ‘people who need to take extra precautions,’ such as pregnant or breastfeeding women or employees with vulnerable family members at home with conditions such as heart disease or cancer. The university should also address the special risks faced by people of color, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, according to the petitions.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As coronavirus cases rise, Kemp has no plans for new restrictions
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday he doesn’t plan to impose new restrictions or require the use of masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus in Georgia, as he tried to balance a new increase of confirmed cases of the disease while trying to justify his decision to rollback limits. The Republican said mandating masks is a “bridge too far for me right now” and said the state continues to “hold our own” in the quest to contain the disease, citing increased troves of life-saving personal protection equipment and testimony from hospital executives encouraged by new treatments.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CDC head estimates COVID-19 cases 10x higher than official counts
By Tamar Hallerman
Agency also reports pregnant women more likely to become very ill
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said his agency now believes that, for every American who tested positive for COVID-19 this spring, there were another 10 whose cases went undiagnosed. The eye-popping figure came the same day that the Atlanta-based federal agency acknowledged for the first time that pregnant women are at an elevated risk of severe illness due to the virus.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Report: Focus Funding on Colleges Best Able to Help Unemployed
By Kery Murakami
As higher education faces an uncertain future amid a global pandemic and calls for greater racial equality, the nation’s governors should chart a long-range strategy that stimulates the economy, avoids the boom-and-bust cycle of funding colleges, and avoids mistakes that have left many behind, write experts from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and a policy consulting firm. In a policy brief released Thursday, the experts on state higher education funding called on governors to create broad task forces to develop plans that would not be “a short-term ‘fix-it’ but rather a long-term commitment — one likely to span more than a single election cycle.”
Inside Higher Ed
Senate Dems Say Student Debt May Be Withheld From Tax Refunds
By Kery Murakami
Top Democrats on the Senate committees dealing with education and tax revenue raised concerns Thursday that the IRS has continued to withhold owed student loan payments from borrowers’ tax refunds, despite a prohibition in the CARES Act. Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, and his counterpart on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee, Senator Patty Murray, asked the Treasury and Education Departments in a letter how much in refunds have been seized from borrowers since the passage of the coronavirus relief package in March.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Sallie Mae Fund Commits $4.5 Million to Promote Diversity in Higher Education
Sallie Mae Fund, the charitable arm of private student lender Sallie Mae, said on Thursday it will contribute $4.5 million over the next three years to promote diversity in higher education. “Systemic racism, discrimination, and oppression of African Americans and communities of color have gone on too long. It’s not enough to acknowledge that there’s a problem, or that inequities exist. We need to listen, and we need to act,” said Jonathan Witter, CEO, Sallie Mae, in a statement. “As a company with a foundation in education, we see first-hand how education opens doors, creates opportunities, and advances us as a people. …In partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Sallie Mae Fund will launch new programs this fall to provide a total of $3 million in scholarships over the next three years to help minority students and underserved communities access higher education and complete their post-secondary education program.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
McDonald’s Starts $500,000 Fund to Help HBCU Students Return to College Amid COVID-19
McDonald’s USA has started a $500,000 fund to help students attending historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) continue their education this fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Black & Positively Golden Scholarship Fund will be facilitated by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and scholarships will be distributed for the 2020-2021 academic year. “This year, donations to HBCUs are even more critical, as students continue dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 and, now, civil unrest and demands for Black equality,” said Harry L. Williams, Thurgood Marshall College Fund president & CEO, in a statement. “