University System News:
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University to offer saliva COVID-19 test
Miguel Legoas
Augusta University Health will start offering coronavirus testing via saliva for children Tuesday and for adults Monday, Sept. 28. Spokeswoman Danielle Harris said the new test was developed by a team of researchers at the Medical College of Georgia led by Ravindra Kolhe, director of the Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory and vice chair for translational research in the school’s Department of Pathology. AU had been testing via nose swabs, which many have found to be uncomfortable. The new test will have patients spitting into sterilized containers and handing their samples over to a medical professional. Harris said Kolhe’s team has found that this test gives ‘essentially equal’ results as the swab test while also making it much easier on the patient.
WSAV
Ricardo Lewis
The White House coronavirus task force is releasing its latest recommendations to help Georgia stop the spread of COVID-19. The report is shedding light on increased exposure on college campuses. The latest report says the state of Georgia is making progress with decreasing COVID-19 cases. The report lists 11 recommendations, most of them highly critical of the potential spread of the virus at universities. “As we expected right after students came back we saw a spike in cases, but its been dropping drastically over the weeks since,” Georgia Southern University Spokesman, John Lester said. Lester said Georgia Southern has seen a decline in cases for three consecutive weeks and adds that Georgia Southern students are doing their part to stop the spread of the virus.
Athens Banner Herald
Athens mayor asks Georgia Gov. Kemp to tighten, clarify COVID restrictions
By Lee Shearer
Athens-Clarke Mayor Kelly Girtz has asked has asked Gov. Brian Kemp to strengthen state emergency orders to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Clarke and several other Georgia counties.
Clarke County’s new COVID-19 case rate (recorded as cases per 100K people) over the previous two weeks was 800 as of Sunday, higher than all but three small Georgia counties, Wheeler, Chattahoochee and Stewart. In a Monday letter to Kemp, Girtz asked Kemp for more clarity in the state executive orders restricting how bars and restaurants operate “to ensure that seated environments and table service are the only manner of operation allowed.” Girtz also asked Kemp to change the maximum number of people allowed in a gathering to 10 from its current 50.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Class of COVID-19 may pay career price
Maureen Downey
If college is the most well-traveled and reliable pathway to the middle class, why aren’t more students on it? Anthony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, tackled the question Thursday in a virtual forum, “Closing the Widening Gaps,” by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The question is relevant in Georgia, where there’s been a concerted push to expand vo-tech options for high school students under the contention not all teens need to go to college. But should they go? And how are COVID-19 and the recession impacting their ability to go? Somewhere between 60% and 70% of the dramatic earnings inequality that began in the mid-’80s in the United States is accounted for by differences in access to and completion of college programs valued in the labor market, said Carnevale. (Typically, STEM degrees.)
The Washington Post
Jaclyn Peiser
Since August, Arianna Mbunwe has used her Twitter account to expose covid-19 violations at the University of Georgia — particularly by those in Greek life — and to critique the school’s response… But on Saturday, Mbunwe, who is Black, learned that members of fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha had been privately mocking her in a group chat, using offensive and racist language…Mbunwe promptly posted images from the group chat on Twitter. Now, Lambda Chi Alpha has self-suspended its operations indefinitely, according to statement Sunday from the university’s Interfraternity Council. UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office is investigating the matter “in accordance with our Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment (NDAH) policy” the university said in a statement.
The Charlotte Observer
White House targets historically Black colleges for rapid Covid-19 tests
Francesca Chambers and Grace Asiegbu
In an effort to prevent potential COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk communities, the Trump administration said it has started shipping rapid coronavirus tests to more than three dozen historically Black colleges and universities… The rapid coronavirus tests were sent to Howard, a private university, and 41 public institutions, including Winston-Salem State University, Fayetteville State University, Florida A&M University, Kentucky State University, Elizabeth City State University and Fort Valley State University.
University of North Georgia News
Spring and summer graduates honored at weekend ceremonies
Clark Leonard
About 400 University of North Georgia (UNG) spring and summer graduates and their families celebrated their accomplishments in a series of small commencement ceremonies held Sept. 19-20. The carefully planned events were spaced out over two days with limited guests to facilitate social distancing to adhere to COVID-19 public health guidelines and state parameters on gatherings. The long-awaited ceremonies brought smiles and relief at the Convocation Center on UNG’s Dahlonega Campus. A trio of outdoor ceremonies had been planned for Sept. 18 on the Gen. William “Lipp” Livsey Drill Field, but events were moved indoors due to inclement weather.
The Albany Herald
Albany State receives planning funds for nursing simulation center
By Elissa Nadworny
Albany State University has been appropriated $800,000 in design funds from the Georgia General Assembly to begin planning for the construction of a new 20,000-square-foot advanced Simulation Center for Nursing and Allied Health…One-third of Albany State’s degrees are conferred in nursing and allied health disciplines. The proposed simulation center will support existing enrollment, as well as growth for ASU’s health professions programs. In addition, the center will create opportunities to support and enable collaboration with other programs in the region. This includes University System of Georgia programs such as Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia three-quarter-year residency program and the University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy, as well as programs from the Technical College System of Georgia and private nursing and allied programs.
Insider Advantage
USG Post Tenure Review Committee to work on policy review
By Cindy Morley
A committee charged with looking at the University System of Georgia’s (USG) 24-year-old post-tenure policy plans has begun its work and hopes to have a report ready for the Board of Regents in January. “We held an organizational meeting last Friday, and the process is underway,” said Regent Harold Reynolds, one of two members of the BOR chosen to serve on the committee. “We have been tasked with reviewing the current policy and ensuring integrity. It’s been some time since the policy was written and updated, so I would agree that the review is due, if not overdue.”
Albany Herald
UGA dairy science class goes international
Staff Report
An animal and dairy science class at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gaining international experience by establishing a virtual collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in the Institute of Animal Science (CAAS-IAS) in Beijing, China. This intercultural partnership allows students and faculty to sustain a joint scientific effort while travel is largely suspended due to COVID-19. Todd Callaway, now an associate professor of animal and dairy science at UGA, traveled to Beijing in 2017 to present at the American Dairy Science Association meeting as an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. There he formed a working relationship with CAAS professor Dengpan Bu and began to formulate ideas for a collaborative project in teaching and research between UGA and the China-based academy.
The Georgia State Signal
It’s time for Georgia State to have its first Black president.
Kenneth Lockett
On Sept. 15, Georgia State University President Mark Becker announced that he would be leaving his position after the 2020-21 school year. The sudden announcement comes as the university tries to find its new normal during the pandemic. Since 2009, and especially in the last year, Becker has made it a point to increase the university administration’s diversity. This all came to a head in late July. On July 27, Becker announced significant actions the university would take to increase diversity in response to the Student Government Association and The Signal’s criticisms of the university’s lack of diversity despite having a student population composed predominantly of people of color.
The New York Times
Ex-Georgia Tech Researcher Can Proceed With Lawsuit Against University Officials
By Cade Metz
In 2010, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided the Atlanta home and office of Joy Laskar, a professor of electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Accused of misusing more than $1 million in university funds as he built a private start-up, Dr. Laskar was later fired from his tenured position at Georgia Tech and indicted by a grand jury. But seven years after the raid, a judge dismissed the case before trial. Now, a federal appeals court has ruled that Dr. Laskar can proceed with a lawsuit accusing university officials of malicious prosecution. The ruling marks another turn in the engineer’s decade-long effort to prove he was wrongfully attacked as he navigated the middle ground between academic research labs and the tech industry.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
OPINION: Honor ‘hidden figures’ of Georgia’s college desegregation battle
By Maureen Downey
In a guest column, Maurice C. Daniels urges the University System of Georgia to honor three forgotten activists who won a landmark case against segregation in the South…The three women – only Elliott is still living – were heroic figures, enduring attacks on their characters and physical threats. They won the case, but were still not able to enroll at GSU; while the judge ordered the campus to integrate, he did not mandate the admission of Elliott, Welch and Hunt. Daniels said it is time these women’s contributions were recognized by the University System of Georgia.
Other News:
WSAV
Despite COVID-19 struggles, 2020 GA public school graduates beat national SAT average
Staff Report
For the third year in a row, Georgia public school students outperformed the nation’s public schools on the SAT. Georgia public school students recorded a mean score of 1043, which is 13 points higher than the mean for U.S. public schools, according to the Georgia Department of Education. “The class of 2020 has faced unprecedented adversity and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Given all they have overcome, I am so proud of these students for becoming the third graduating class in Georgia history to beat the national average on the SAT. I continue to be optimistic about the future of Georgia public schools as our students, teachers, and schools continue to surpass expectations and outperform their peers nationally.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Sept. 21)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is keeping track of reported coronavirus deaths and cases across Georgia according to the Department of Public Health. DEATHS: 6,604 | 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: 307,339 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
The Savannah Morning News
Black death rate from COVID-19 in Georgia far higher across all ages
By Tom Corwin
Black adults in Georgia are dying at much higher rates from COVID-19 than whites across all age groups, sometimes by as much as three or four times the rate of whites even at relatively younger ages, according to an analysis by The Augusta Chronicle. The disparity could stem from systemic inequities in employment and health care or higher levels of chronic stress experienced by minorities, a public health expert said. The Georgia Department of Public Health late last week began reporting deaths from COVID-19 by race and age. The Chronicle took those numbers and analyzed them by race and population for each age category and calculated that rate per 100,000 population.
The New York Times
Public health experts have long been worried that the end of the summer — as some students returned to school and the weather cooled — would bring a surge in coronavirus cases. That surge appears to have begun. The number of new daily confirmed cases in the U.S. has jumped more than 15 percent in the past 10 days. It is the sharpest increase since the late spring, and it has arrived just before the official start of autumn, which is today.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
On the Journey to and Through College, Location Matters
Audrey Williams June
The hurdles to earning a college degree are many — confusion about the application process, lack of academic preparation, and cost, to name just a few. But another obstacle can be considered just as significant: geography. Think of the students who live in “education deserts” — areas where two- and four-year public colleges, which accept most applicants, are few and far between. For some students, the farther they live from a college, research says, the less likely they are to attend one. The importance of geography also comes into play for students who actually do make it to college. Studying close to home is increasingly common, despite the popular belief that going to college means traveling far away. In 2019, nearly 42 percent of freshmen reported that they attended a college within 50 miles or less of their home, up from about a third two decades earlier.
Inside Higher Education
Lilah Burke
With the fall semester now in full swing, college planning has moved on to the next challenge: the spring. A number of colleges and universities have made announcements about their plans for the upcoming term. For the most part, those proposals look very similar to the ones they put in place for the fall…So far, that also holds for institutions that have spent the fall mostly online. Last week, the California State University system announced that a majority of spring classes would continue to be online, with limited numbers of students in residence halls. In his announcement, Chancellor Tim White said the coronavirus continues to spread and testing infrastructure is still lacking in California.