University System News:
Fox28 Media
Georgia Southern sees decrease in COVID-19 cases since students’ return
by Cody Thomas
Officials on Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus say things are looking positive since students returned to class. They say there was an expected spike in COVID-19 cases when students first returned. But in the past three weeks, they said the number of confirmed cases has dropped drastically. Vice President of Communications John Lester also said students are doing their part with wearing masks. They also have testing sites on campus for symptomatic students.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State COVID-19 results were false positives
State Sports Report
Georgia State will return to practice Monday after an error in reading COVID-19 test results postponed Saturday’s game at Charlotte. The Panthers conducted required tests last week on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday’s testing, the results of which were announced Friday before the team’s departure for North Carolina, included four positive results for the coronavirus. The school identified 17 other Georgia State players, and one coach, who would be forced into quarantine and therefore postponed its game against the 49ers. “Out of an abundance of caution for the rest of our team and Charlotte, we could not in good conscience put our team on the bus and play a game,” explained Charlie Cobb, Georgia State director of Athletics.
WRDW
Starting today, CSRA leads the way in saliva testing for coronavirus
By Staff
It’s a big day for Augusta University Health: Starting today, saliva testing will be offered as another option for COVID-19 testing. It’s said to be more comfortable than testing with nasal swabs, but just as accurate and effective. AU Health won’t be getting rid of the nasal tests completely; the staff will still use that method to patients who are admitted to the hospital. AU Health has been working with the Food and Drug Administration to get the saliva tests approved since May, and now it will be the first lab in Georgia to process them.
The West Georgian
LIFE DURING WARTIME: PRESIDENT BRENDAN B. KELLY’S MESSAGE OF HOPE
By Brittany Shivers
President Brendan B. Kelly joined UWG during the initial two-week suspension of classes last Spring when COVID-19 first hit. Since then, he has made numerous video messages to communicate and encourage faculty, staff and students during the pandemic. He has also enforced several COVID-19 guidelines in ensuring the safety of UWG students. Thankfully, he does not make these decisions alone because there is a hierarchical process. By understanding this process, students can equip themselves with the knowledge to feel safe and secure. They can know decisions are being made based on current scientific research instead of just being enforced for the sake of political gain.
Gainesville Times
New testing program could help University of North Georgia track COVID-19 trends on campuses
Nathan Berg
The University of North Georgia will begin offering free COVID-19 surveillance testing for asymptomatic students and faculty beginning on Monday, Sept. 28, according to UNG spokeswoman Sylvia Carson. “Surveillance testing is conducted to monitor the spread of COVID-19 within a community, particularly among asymptomatic individuals,” Carson wrote via email. “This program is part of the university’s multi-faceted approach to monitor the spread of COVID-19 within the UNG community.” The surveillance testing program is voluntary, and interested UNG students and staff can sign up to be tested on the UNG website. Testing will be done one day of the week every week on each UNG campus, with registration for the following week opening each Sunday.
Jackson Progress-Argus
Gordon State College launches Emerging Leaders Program
Katheryne Fields
Gordon State College launched the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) for new and freshmen students on Sept. 23. ELP will serve as an introductory leadership development experience. Last year, the college launched Student Leadership Academy (SLA) in August of 2019. SLA serves returning and upperclassman with advanced leadership experiences and currently has 28 students participating in the Fall 2020 cohort. The Emerging Leaders Program is intended to serve as a pathway for students to become engaged and involved student leaders on campus. The program will assist new and freshmen students as they explore and develop their own leadership potential through the completion of personal and leadership self-assessments, values exploration, and practice leadership skill through program activities.
The Augusta Chronicle
AU study to look at immunity and reinfection in front-line workers
By Tom Corwin
With the spotlight on vaccines against COVID-19, Augusta University is part of a national study to look at the effectiveness of the immune response those vaccines hope to create. While all of the attention is focused on a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19, a new national study that includes Augusta University will look at the antibodies that could protect against the virus, how long they last and how much is needed for immunity. The study will focus on front-line workers, those who are potentially the most exposed to the pandemic such as health care workers and law enforcement. It will include those who have already been infected with the virus. The national study, in addition to AU and Augusta, will include 6,000 people recruited at the University of Georgia, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Clayton News-Daily
Clayton State cross country staying in-state for all meets
From Staff Reports
Clayton State head men’s and women’s cross country coach Mike Mead announced the program’s fall schedule, which includes three races. The Lakers will stay in-state for all three events beginning Oct. 10 in Carrollton with the Coach Gary Wilson Invitational, hosted by the University of West Georgia. … Clayton State then will take the next two weekends off before returning to the course for the Peach Belt XC Preview on Oct. 31 hosted at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville Campus in Oakwood.
WSOCTV
Lab fails to report thousands of COVID-19 tests to SC
By Associated Press
For the second time this week, South Carolina health officials said a lab failed to report thousands of COVID-19 tests over several months. Officials said urgent care clinic chain Doctors Care reported the results of more than 7,000 COVID-19 tests from July through this week. About 400 of them were positive. The state health agency reminded labs they are required to report both positive and negative COVID-19 tests to the state within 24 hours or face punishment if they repeatedly delay results. On Tuesday, state officials announced the Augusta University Healthcare system in Georgia failed to report the results of 15,000 coronavirus tests.
Moultrie Observer
By Eve Copeland-Brechbiel
The University of Georgia Tifton Campus has adapted well to the new realities of college in the type of COVID-19, according to Dr. George Vellidis, director of academic programs. Vellidis said the campus is well poised to transition to online classes, since many students already virtually attend lectures at UGA’s Athens campus from Tifton. He said the campus has widened the variety of classes available to graduate-level students, since more professors are either streaming lectures, recording them and putting them up online, or both. Much of the necessary technological infrastructure was already in place, Vellidis said. Class sizes are smaller; social distancing can be accommodated because furniture is mobile. Dr. Michael Toews, assistant dean for UGA Tifton, said campus classrooms look different and students and staff have adapted to new procedures.
The George-Anne
Savannah cyber exercise presents new opportunity for GSU Students
Davis Cobb, Correspondent
As part of a virtual exercise conducted by the Army Cyber Institute to examine proper conduct during cyber attacks, director of the Armstrong Campus Center for Applied Cyber Education Frank Katz represented Georgia Southern University as an observer over the exercise September 24. The exercise, called Jack Voltaic 3.0, is designed to simulate a potential cyber attack on Savannah’s ports, participants were given the task of helping deploy United States troops from the ports to a European country, where a potential threat had occurred, while also working with and ensuring several governmental and utility agencies, including the US Army and Georgia Power, returned to and remained fully operational. “The purpose of the exercise was to gauge all sorts of governmental and private agencies.” Katz said. “The best way to describe it is if the port of Savannah–two days earlier they had done it with the port of Charleston–had been hit by a cyber attack.”
Patch
Moxie Awards Winners Featured On Business RadioX
Built for women who are bold in business, the awards recognized both individuals and organizations.
Business RadioX’s show, “The Voice of Business” features and highlights businesses and business leaders that are members of the Gwinnett Chamber. This month’s show featured our Moxie Awards winners. Built for women who are bold in business, the third annual Moxie Awards recognized both individuals and organizations alike. Organizational awards highlighted companies that support the advancement of women, as well as those that are women-led. Individual awards honored those who are trailblazers in a male-dominated field, Gwinnett County champions, emerging leaders, professionals who are at the peak of their career and those who are generous with their time, talent, or resources. Designations were given for the following awards: Moxie Award – Dr. Jann L. Joseph, President of Georgia Gwinnett College
WTOC
Georgia Southern warns students about potential payment scam
By WTOC Staff
Georgia Southern University issued a warning to students Friday about a possible phishing scam. According to the university, several students reported receiving a text message stating they were about to be dropped for nonpayment and asking to call a phone number. The university says that phone number is not a registered university phone number. The university says that the appropriate authorities have been contacted …
U.S. News & World Report
Atlanta Man Gets 5 Years in Prison for Running Ponzi Scheme
Federal authorities say a former University of Georgia student who ran a Ponzi scheme and defrauded more than 100 investors has been sentenced to five years in prison.
By Associated Press, Wire Service Content
A former University of Georgia student who ran a Ponzi scheme and defrauded more than 100 investors has been sentenced to five years in prison, federal authorities said. U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal sentenced Syed Arham Arbab, 23, of Atlanta, on Friday, U.S. Attorney Charlie Peeler said in a news release. Arbab was also ordered to pay $509,032 in restitution to his 117 victims. Arbab pleaded guilty in October 2019 to a one-count bill of information charging him with securities fraud. Prosecutors said he preyed on inexperienced investors, including his own fellow students.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tech athlete disciplined after drive-thru dispute captured on video
By Asia Simone Burns
Georgia Tech said it is disciplining a student-athlete from Alpharetta after a video of him cursing at two women in the drive-thru of a northwest Atlanta restaurant surfaced online. The 66-second video shows Tech baseball player Charlie Benson berating the women and slinging politically charged insults at them after an alleged fender bender. The women tagged the Georgia Tech baseball program in a Facebook post, saying they were “still shaking” after the incident. According to the post, the women were in the drive-thru line at the Cookout on Northside Drive on Sept. 19, when another car bumped them from behind. One of the women got out of the car to get the driver’s information and “he immediately started yelling at us,” they said.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How long, really, before there’s a COVID-19 vaccine? Experts weigh in
By Helena Oliviero and Eric Stirgus
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told governors that, by Election Day, they need to have plans in place for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine. Not that he thinks that most Americans would have access to such a vaccine by then, even if one becomes available. That probably won’t happen until the second or third quarter of next year, Dr. Robert Redfield has said. Not so, says President Donald Trump. A vaccine could be released as soon as next month, he insists, and it will be distributed immediately to “a vast section of the country.” It’s just one of the conflicting narratives on the highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccine.
The Augusta Chronicle
Opinion
Guest Column: Young athletes should take COVID-19 conditions to heart
By Pushpa Shivaram, M.D.
The writer is a pediatric cardiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta.
Fall sports are in full swing, but amid growing concerns on how COVID-19 affects the heart, emerging data suggest the virus may be triggering a wave of heart disease among young athletes. Data published in the journal JAMA Cardiology shows four out of 26 college athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 had signs of a heart condition called myocarditis, the swelling of the heart muscle usually caused by a viral infection. Unfortunately, this rare condition could emerge as a significant cause of sudden cardiac death in competitive athletes. According to the study, none of the 26 athletes involved — who play football, soccer, basketball or lacrosse, or run track — were hospitalized due to COVID-19. However, 12 of them, including two of the four with signs of inflamed hearts, experienced mild symptoms during their infection, such as fever, sore throat, muscle aches and difficulty breathing. Of course, it will take more research to understand the data of this report. But the results suggest young athletes must pay close attention to how they are feeling, especially as we continue to forge ahead in this global pandemic.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Sept. 27)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 6,946 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 314,685 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Have College Students Spread Covid-19 Beyond Their Campuses? It May Be Too Early to Tell
By Nell Gluckman
The migration of students back to college campuses this fall has led thousands of young people to contract Covid-19 who probably would not have otherwise gotten the disease. But have those cases led to outbreaks beyond their campuses? A report published on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that it is a possibility. Cases among younger people surged in June, July, and August, the report says, and younger people probably spread the disease to older populations. The CDC said the data “provides preliminary evidence that younger adults contributed to community transmission of Covid-19 to older adults.” But in conversations with The Chronicle this week, public-health officials in counties and states that saw outbreaks on college and university campuses this summer said that if they had seen evidence of infection in the areas surrounding those campuses, it was limited.
Inside Higher Ed
Four Bright Spots in a Year That’s Irreversibly Changed Higher Ed Admissions
Liaison’s CEO, staff and partners illuminate how to grow applicant pools and boost enrollment—even during a pandemic
By Laura Nicole Miller
From staff furloughs to campus re-openings that led promptly to campus re-closings, it’s easy to see the outlook for higher education as darker than it has been in decades. Still, thanks to the outcomes we’ve seen across our Centralized Application Service (CAS™) Community, the admissions and enrollment leaders at Liaison International have found four reasons to be optimistic for the future of our industry.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
What Higher Ed Needs to Know About the Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett
By Sarah Brown
As Amy Coney Barrett enters the process to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, much attention will be devoted to Barrett’s potential support for overturning Roe v. Wade and upending abortion laws nationwide. But if Barrett, a federal judge who was widely reported late Friday to be President Trump’s nominee, is confirmed, her track record also suggests implications for higher education. Trump’s official nomination is expected on Saturday. Barrett, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit who has taught at the University of Notre Dame for close to two decades, wrote a consequential decision last year that makes it easier for students to allege anti-male bias when they’re punished for sexual misconduct. …How has Barrett’s academic career shaped her ascent to nominee for the nation’s highest court, and how could a Justice Barrett affect higher education? Here are three things to know:
Inside Higher Ed
A Supreme Court Shift to the Right
Amy Coney Barrett, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, could have a sweeping impact on colleges and universities.
By Kery Murakami
Before her nomination to the Supreme Court Saturday by President Donald Trump, and her time as a federal appeals court judge, Amy Coney Barrett was a popular law professor for 15 years at the University of Notre Dame, where one former colleague recalls her impact on one student in particular. A brilliant first-year law student had been blind nearly since birth, said O. Carter Snead, a Notre Dame law professor specializing in bioethics. The university hadn’t given her the equipment she needed to read her texts, and the student went to Barrett asking for help. “Judge Barrett replied, ‘This is no longer your problem. This is my problem,’” Snead recalled. “And Judge Barrett proceeded to straighten the matter out herself.” She mentored the student, who went on to become the first blind judicial clerk on the Supreme Court. While former colleagues at the university describe Barrett’s compassion, legal experts also see her appointment as potentially having far wider ramifications on the nation’s colleges and universities. And to her critics, those impacts could be far more hard-hearted than what she does in her personal and professional life.